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String Gauges
- Thread starter Your Uncle Al
- Start date
I'm not sure what the first gauges in the early 50's were.
The search engine is your friend. Links to prior threads, although I'm not sure any of them report actual gauges:
What strings were used on 1951 P-bass ??
History of Fender Brand Strings
History of bass guitar strings?
You can also find images of early Fender string catalogs in threads on this forum and on line otherwise which do set forth gauges. I don't believe there is any reason to supposed that once V. C. Squier got the initial set perfected and the company was bought by Fender that they changed anything until way after CBS bought the company.
EDIT: I found a 1962 Fender catalog on line.
What strings were used on 1951 P-bass ??
Until the introduction of the Jazz Bass, of course, there was only one bass and one set of strings. In the 1962 catalog, only the set and the individual strings were mentioned, set #90, and individual strings 91-G, 92-D, 93-A, 94-E, 95-high C. No gauges listed. But since change occurs slowly: commonly found on line are a 1966 catalog, and it is well known that CBS, even though it bought Fender in 1965, were slow to change things. The 1966 catalog lists the individual string gauges of the same set as 91-G .053; 92-D .065; 93-A .085; 94-E .115; 95-C .045, as well as one other set. This is repeated in the 1969 catalog, also on line, which by then added other sets as well. So these gauges are probably the "original" production version of the V. C. Squier Company Precision Bass strings.
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Yep, I'd go with iii's assessment. Brutal! Comfy flats didn't arrive until the 70's. LaBella's flats (think Jamerson) were also gigantic. I have a few sets of their 1954 set, tried one and absolutely couldn't believe how stiff, tight and huge they were. I put probably three turns on my '66 P's truss to counter it. One gig and off. Crazy.
Look closer: a No. 80 set is also there, already in the 1962 catalog Link Removed.
The #80 set had gauges 48-64-80-95 in 1966, and the single high C is revealed there to be a .045, vs. the .046 that went with the No. 855 set (55-71-90-105) but same as the No. 90 as you said.
Speaking of which, I'm super curious why Fender made a high C before the introduction of the Fender V... Any ideas? Anyway, thanks a lot for the '62 catalog.
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It may be worth noting both GHS Precision Flats and Fender 9050 come in those gauges, 55-70-90-105.
Of course, GHS was started by three people who worked for V.C. Squier, and interestingly enough, GHS labels the 55-105 set (3050) "Regular" instead of "Heavy".
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Ayuh. There's definitely continuity. However, speaking of old string design and how much it still survives in today's market, I've always been intrigued specifically by those fat high-C strings I mentioned above: attempting to tune a "modern" flatwound .045" up to C would result in disaster real fast. Those 45 C-strings back then were probably unlike modern-day G-string flat 45s (GHS or other wise) in that, I believe, had to have a lot of silk damping between core and ribbon, like orchestral strings. If I'm right (but I really can't come up with alternative explanations), this both lowered the mass/tension and made the tone more similar to the rest of the set: the Fender V, what with its 15 frets, was apparently thought of as an instrument for position playing, with less shifting up and down the neck, so the highest string was purposefully designed in order for it not to sound too twangy.
...But, again, what to make of high C strings already sold as singles...three years before a 5-string electric bass even existed?!? Fascinating enigma.
Yes, I missed the #80 set in the 1962 catalog. But I stand by my opinion regarding the #90 set. I base my opinion on the analogy of guitar strings: the original steel string sets were heavier, 12-54 or so, or even heavy 13-56 or so. Rockers bought the heavy set, discarded the 56, and substituted a banjo D string 10 or 11, and the standard light set was born. Fender guitar necks were made for the 12-54 set in mind. So string sets over the decades have gotten lighter, not heavier. I see nothing to indicate otherwise with bass strings. Moreover, it may be a coincidence, but Fender flats of the last few decades also have a 90XX designation. Therefore, I stand by my conclusion and extrapolation that the #90 set was probably the "original" string set as developed by V. C. Squier. The problem is that nobody ever thought an original string envelope, or a set of original strings, once used up, or even broken, would ever be collectible or a subject of now-historical research. I challenge everybody to research and find an original 1950's string envelope and, even if in the worst of condition, one or more 1950's strings so someone can take a micrometer to it. The measurement of even one string will help extrapolate the rest of the gauges.Look closer: a No. 80 set is also there, already in the 1962 catalog Link Removed.
The #80 set had gauges 48-64-80-95 in 1966, and the single high C is revealed there to be a .045, vs. the .046 that went with the No. 855 set (55-71-90-105) but same as the No. 90 as you said.
Speaking of which, I'm super curious why Fender made a high C before the introduction of the Fender V... Any ideas? Anyway, thanks a lot for the '62 catalog.
Oh, you may well be right about that. If (as I also find likely) Fender offered only one string option between 1951 and some time before the '62 catalog, I have no particular reason to believe the lighter set to be the original one.
