Double Bass , String ID

[Bruce Calin]

I have a young friend who recently found a 1/2 size Kay M model. It has strings that are red coming out of the tailpiece with black above that. The pegbox end are: G-orange, D-blue,A-black, and E-red. Any ideas about brand or any other info? Thanks in advance.

 

[Francois Blais]

I bet some cheap chinese no-name.

 

[PBandJazzBass]

I’ve seen stock strings on Chinese Palatino basses that sound similar to what you’re describing. We’d get them in (B-stock) occasionally at a store I used to work at. Red tipped with black at the tailpiece (sometimes with a thin black spiral). Silk colors at the tuners would vary. Sometimes all black. Other times various colors.

If you dig around eBay (maybe Reverb) you might find something similar.

 

[Francois Blais]

Is the reason to ID them for ordering another set ?

 

[Anne Millington]

There are a number of these resources around the Internet, which mostly will help you know what they are NOT:

Gollihur Music's Upright Bass String Identification Page

If you're trying to figure out what strings you have on your bass (or in your spares bag) you can often identify double bass strings by their thread wrappings. Here we have some of the most common strings - with photos!

gollihurmusic.com

How to figure out double bass string brands by sight - Double Bass HQ

This nifty guide from one of our double bass heroes will save you time and trouble!

doublebasshq.com

 

[Bruce Calin]

Thanks for the replies. They're worn out in any case and will be replaced. I was curious because I had not seen a similar pattern before. I'm going to recommend one of the name brands for 1/2 size. I didn't realize there were as many options for this size as there are. Any suggestions? It's a cool little bass and the kid really wants to learn. I have no experience with strings for such a small instrument and would appreciate some advice.

 

[Francois Blais]

Corellis and Pirastro Obligatos come to mind.

 

[Bruce Calin]

Corellis and Pirastro Obligatos come to mind.

Thanks, Francois. I will recommend one of these.

 

[A. Munk]

I have a young friend who recently found a 1/2 size Kay M model. It has strings that are red coming out of the tailpiece with black above that. The pegbox end are: G-orange, D-blue,A-black, and E-red. Any ideas about brand or any other info? Thanks in advance.

Kay did not make 1/2 size basses.
Your looking at 1/4 size.

 

[Bruce Calin]

Kay did not make 1/2 size basses.
Your looking at 1/4 size.

It doesn't seem to be that small. Do you know what the measurements are? I haven't heard from the registry one way or the other. I have no experience with this size bass so you may very well be right. I do want it to be as playable as possible for the kid.

 

[crd]

D'ddario orchestral's are great on little student basses. Those strings on a ply are almost impossible to make squeak so they work well for beginners.

 

[A. Munk]

It doesn't seem to be that small. Do you know what the measurements are? I haven't heard from the registry one way or the other. I have no experience with this size bass so you may very well be right. I do want it to be as playable as possible for the kid.

 

[gna]

A 1/4 bass is about 62" tall and the body is about 37" long.

 

[SAlcott]

What's the string length from bridge to nut?

 

[gna]

What's the string length from bridge to nut?

35.4", according to Golihur.

 

[Francois Blais]

Are you the owner of the bass which is questioned in this thread?

 

[gna]

Are you the owner of the bass which is questioned in this thread?

Who, me? No, I am not. @Bruce Calin has a young friend with the bass in question. I was replying to @salcott 's query. I was just trying to add info. I apologize for any confusion I may have caused.

 

[Bruce Calin]

I'm the original poster. I've gotten a lot of good info from this thread. Now I'll let his parents decide how much they want to spend.