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Strings ID help, please
- Thread starter Phaidrus
- Start date
I thought this was a video at first, but I guess not... 
The only thing I can tell based on the pic is the silk is red. That's about it.
The only thing I can tell based on the pic is the silk is red. That's about it.
I can't make out any ball end colors. The silks do look Rotosound-red to me. Unfortunately, they use the same red silk on both Swing Bass 66 and Jazz Bass 77 strings, so, can't tell from the silk color alone which it is. [Edit: or even for sure if it is Rotosound -- could be some other red silk string.]
The 66 set is, of course, a very popular choice on Rickenbackers.
The 66 set is, of course, a very popular choice on Rickenbackers.
Also could be the red silk of Thomastik flatwound strings, another popular Rickenbacker choice. Or the Infeld Superalloys.
Assuming the white balance on the picture is reasonably good, the red silk looks brighter red than GHS Boomers. The only other string I am aware of with such a bright red silk is some stock Yamaha strings, which, it seems very unlikely those would make their way onto a Rickenbacker, but I wouldn't rule it out as impossible.
Assuming the white balance on the picture is reasonably good, the red silk looks brighter red than GHS Boomers. The only other string I am aware of with such a bright red silk is some stock Yamaha strings, which, it seems very unlikely those would make their way onto a Rickenbacker, but I wouldn't rule it out as impossible.
I thought this was a video at first, but I guess not...
@trothwell
Thanks. Here's the video.
I would rule out the TI. The start of the red silks line up fairly evenly across all four strings in the pic, while TI's would have the E shorter than the other three (like La Bella).
Does the bass tone in the video speak for any string set in particular?
Between 66 and 77, I'm leaning toward 77.
(DISCLAIMER: I'm relatively foreign to both Rick and Roto.)
I would be inclined to agree. I have used Rotosound 77s and do have a Rickenbacker, though I have never used 77s on a Rickenbacker! That said, the bass in this video does seem to bring out some of what I recognize as the Rotosound 77 tone, moreso than it stands out to me as the 66-on-Rickenbacker tone. I'd try the 77s for this sound.
(Beware they are pretty stiff! If you like stiff strings, no problem, but I've mostly used the 40-100 SM77 set, and still find even those on the stiff side for my tastes.)
The strings themselves look black to me in that photo.
Rotosound black tape wounds?
No those have yellow silks
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Have no idea, perhaps. But would that fit a stoner/afrobeat/folk band with heavy fuzz guitars?
More bass & fuzz from 3:18 on
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The strings themselves look black to me in that photo.
Rotosound black tape wounds?
No those have yellow silks
Yeah, especially over the neck, they look black, but on the headstock I am seeing what looks like a more typical silvery color. I think the black appearance might be a lighting/shadow effect?
Well, upon 1st glance of the photo, I thought it was Geddy in a Kimono, so the obvious answer would be Roto 66s. 
Then I read the caption...
My ears tell me 77s, unless he has the tone attenuated.
Then I read the caption... My ears tell me 77s, unless he has the tone attenuated.
Man, these folks don't make it easy to track down info on their stuff. Do we have a name for the bass player?
Yes, they're quite secretive about their identity. It's part of what they are about.
I've been listening to them for a couple of years and find interesting that they combine quite disparate styles of music: stoner rock, afrobeat, folk, which I all like and never though it possible to combine. Sometimes they combine these styles in a single track that starts as afrobeat influenced and ends up full stoner fuzzed out.
The bass (saturated SVTesque sound) is quite upfront in the mix and sometimes the bassline plays the melody against a backdrop of fuzz and wah wah guitars. He's not flashy but solid enough and has a feel for the strong psychedelic undercurrent of their music.
Here's an older live set. The first couple of songs will give you an idea of what it's about.
