Silks on Saddles , Problem or Not...

[KidAmnesia]

Does it still ground with the silk? That would be my only concern.

Metal-to-metal contact needed to ground strings happens where the ball ends are seated against the tail of the bridge base plate.

I would think it doesn't ground, but a while ago I noticed all my tuners are somehow grounded through the silk. Or at least I didn't saw any point of contact between the tuning post and the unwrapped part of the string. Maybe it isn't a layer thick enough to isolate?

 

[Grinderman]

Metal-to-metal contact needed to ground strings happens where the ball ends are seated against the tail of the bridge base plate.

 

[Turnaround]

Metal-to-metal contact needed to ground strings happens where the ball ends are seated against the tail of the bridge base plate.

But there may be a grounding problem with strings that are mounted through the body and there are silks insulating the strings from the saddles.

 

[Grinderman]

But there may be a grounding problem with strings that are mounted through the body and there are silks insulating the strings from the saddles.

EDIT: I didn't see the OP's pictures of their setup earlier.

Perhaps, if the silks were at least 1-1/4" long they might need to be cut open.

On the two basses I've owned that took strings through the body, I don't recall ever having strings with silks long enough to cause that sort of problem.

Fender ships these American Vintage II '54 P basses with Fender 9050L flats which are made with silks on the ball ends.

Link Removed

 

[JimmyM]

It makes no difference sonically, but you can remove it if it bothers you.

 

[Mili]

If a Brass nut has no effect there is no problem! now you tell me!

 

[Root 5]

Yesterday I put new La Bella MUS flats on my Sire U5, using thru-body stringing, and replaced a light set of round rounds, strung via the back of the bridge. The flats had a possible problem - the silks on some strings extended over some of the saddles! Apparently, the U5 bridge location is closer to the thru-body ferrules than is the case on Mustang basses, which these flats were designed to fit. I emailed the vendor and LaBella for replacements thinking the silks on the ball ends were maybe not to spec and continued to work on the problem. This morning, I cut the end balls off of a set of old strings and restrung the flats using the end balls as spacers on top of the original end balls. Result: more metal string over the saddles, better sustain, and total body vibration. And with the flats, I was additionally able to lower the action! Have any of you ever had this silk-on-saddle issue? Is it a real problem?

You may have purchased the incorrect set for your instrument. Mustangs have quite a bit of length from ball end to saddle & silks may be longer.

 

[EDH37855]

Just posted a question about these very strings on the same bass. Looks like I'll stick with the top mounted set I ordered...

There are probably other flatwound strings that are short scaled and can be fitted through the back of the bridge. I was looking at some GHS Precision flatwounds to consider doing that, and swapping these La Bellas 760F-MUS strings onto another Mustang clone, a Squire Vintage Mustang which also uses thru-body stringing. The spacing might be better there for these strings. Have you found a flatwound set for the back-of-bride stringing yet?

 

[EDH37855]

You may have purchased the incorrect set for your instrument. Mustangs have quite a bit of length from ball end to saddle & silks may be longer.

Seemed like a reasonable gambit at the time, purchasing these strings (760F-MUS) that are specifically designed for thru-body stringing on 30" short scales, which maps to the Sire U5. However, as the pics show two out of four strings had substantial silk on saddle issues, and more importantly, to my ears, also had sound issues like less sustain and what seemed like tuning issues on the Lower E string. I found that variation in silk length disconcerting, and that's why I thought the two strings with silk on the saddle might just be out of spec, and emailed the vendor and maker. The vendor is still willing to replace them, and no word yet from the maker. Also thought of moving these strings over to a Squire vintage Mustang bass to see if they fit better there, and putting on some GHS Precision flats, stringing them via back-of-bridge on the U5...

 

[EDH37855]

I remember from an old bass I had LaBella sells some strings specifically designated for Through body stringing for this reason. Maybe these strings are the same?

These are LaBella 760F-MUS flats designed for thru-body string, yes.

 

[EDH37855]

I avoid having silk on my saddles or bare string on tuner posts.

Sounds like a smart practice to me. Here's a Blog post from a string vendor enterprise suggesting the same: Why do we have silk on our strings? | Strings DirectStrings Direct.

 

[EDH37855]

Might be a very small affect on the string but not a lot. It isn’t ideal. You can peel it back if you want. Silk doesn’t have a mechanical function.

Well, depending on where you have silk it may serve some mechanical function as suggested in this blog post from a UK string enterprise, helping the grip on tuning posts and also serving as a wear-and-tear buffer on same: Why do we have silk on our strings? | Strings DirectStrings Direct.

 

[EDH37855]

I razor the the silk off if crossing the saddle. I'm more concerned with the wire over-wrap crossing the saddle as seen on the D string in pic #1.

Riis

Sounds reasonable (Razor) on some strings with purely cosmetic silk wraps. The D string was a clear issue and needed an extra end ball to move the silk wrap back. These strings seem to have a different way of using silks, though. They aren't just cosmetic. They mark different sections of the string intended for bending, at the top on the tuning posts, and at the bottom to bend up and over thru-the-body to the saddle. It's like marking sections that suspend the rest of the sounding string. On the ball end, the sounding string does not, like other strings, extend all the way to the ball end. The sounding string stops where the silk begins on both ends. So razoring silk only uncovers a suspending wire, which attaches to the sounding wire. Unlike other strings where the silk cosmetically (for appearances or branding only) covers more sounding wire, razoring would uncover more sounding wire, which isn't the case with these particular strings.

 

[EDH37855]

It's definitely maybe a problem or maybe not.

None of my preferred string sets, flats and rounds, have sicks at the ball ends. Coincidence? I don't know.

Not all strings have silks, on either end... Here's a blog for why they (silks) are used... Why do we have silk on our strings? | Strings DirectStrings Direct.

 

[Killing Floor]

Well, depending on where you have silk it may serve some mechanical function as suggested in this blog post from a UK string enterprise, helping the grip on tuning posts and also serving as a wear-and-tear buffer on same: Why do we have silk on our strings? | Strings DirectStrings Direct.

I worked in the industry. There are a lot of bass strings without wraps but I definitely get that strings could wear tuning posts. However, the industry never expected “tuner post wear” with guitar strings. This is because bass guitar’s origin is the bass violin.
Guitar strings don’t have wraps. Do guitar tuners have different physical properties? I play guitar and baritone. I can get bari strings up to .080 gauge, that’s like a bass guitar A string. But they aren’t wrapped ever.
But getting back on track, D’Addario and Ernie Ball, Warwick, Elixer, DR, Mangan, Stringjoy, all have made round wound bass strings without silks. These aren’t discount off-brands.
I’m just saying, sometimes manufacturers tell you what their marketing managers tell them to say. And silk on bass strings is branding.

Also, knowing from physics that the friction at the post is equal to the friction at the saddle (and is not distributed around the entire saddle so the local contact is higher) does it really make sense that some brands would silk the leads but not silk the ball ends? Is it at all within reason that the extra cost of wrapping a part that might be completely invisible (through body?) is less profitable?

The “mechanics” answer has too many gaps to be a reasonable answer.
When in doubt always follow the marketing. And remember that by definition most product engineers and product managers fall under the marketing umbrella. Sometimes employees say what they are told to say.


And last but not least, tell your Rotosound guy that Rotosound 45 NPS bass round wound strings do not have silk. They’re marketed as the same string as 66 but without silks to save a couple bucks.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

add a spacer... Works on EB through-body or bridge load, or ABG with saddle pins. Can help with silks, or removing a taper.

 

[Root 5]

Seemed like a reasonable gambit at the time, purchasing these strings (760F-MUS) that are specifically designed for thru-body stringing on 30" short scales, which maps to the Sire U5. However, as the pics show two out of four strings had substantial silk on saddle issues, and more importantly, to my ears, also had sound issues like less sustain and what seemed like tuning issues on the Lower E string. I found that variation in silk length disconcerting, and that's why I thought the two strings with silk on the saddle might just be out of spec, and emailed the vendor and maker. The vendor is still willing to replace them, and no word yet from the maker. Also thought of moving these strings over to a Squire vintage Mustang bass to see if they fit better there, and putting on some GHS Precision flats, stringing them via back-of-bridge on the U5...

If I were you, I’d measure the distance of your strings from inside ball to the outside of your nut when using the top loading holes. That will tell you the winding length you need. Then look up La Bellas in the correct length, top load, and you’re golden.

 

[EDH37855]

If I were you, I’d measure the distance of your strings from inside ball to the outside of your nut when using the top loading holes. That will tell you the winding length you need. Then look up La Bellas in the correct length, top load, and you’re golden.

LaBella had me make those measures and agreed to send me a top-loading replacement set of LFT-4A-S flat wounds. I played the Thru-body 760F-MUS Strings with spacers today at practice, and the U5 bass sounded like it woke up! The signal was stronger than ever, though very bassy, still even tone across all strings, and did I say strong? Whoa! I tried to control the volume on the two pickups and they acted almost like on-off switches. Not a lot of volume variation once the pot is turned on, for either pickup, either neck or bridge pickup. I feel like these strings send out such a strong signal that I may need new pots with more tapering, or maybe I should lower the pickups... I don't know, but I do like the way the thru-body flat wounds totally energized the bass. Has anyone else had this happen after changing to flat wounds? Thanks.

 

[EDH37855]

add a spacer... Works on EB through-body or bridge load, or ABG with saddle pins. Can help with silks, or removing a taper.

I used some end balls as spacers. It sounded fine today at practice...

 

[GIBrat51]

I couldn't say if it's a problem or not, really. Although, I suspect that having the silk actually in the bridge saddle's string notch isn't the greatest idea in the world. I do have a couple of basses that have the silk actually on a bridge saddle, but it doesn't quite make it into the notch. And, if it did? I'd fix it so the silk didn't do that any more. So, I guess it's up to you..