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The cloth things on the end of strings...

A

AwkwardBass

Aug 21, 2010
29
0
#1
I have three questions about the cloth on the end of strings.
The first is, do they have any actual purpose, or do they just look cool?
The second is, do they have an actual name?
And, the last question is whether there is a place I can buy them, and after that, how would I go about stripping/replacing them from and to the string. All help with these questions would be appreciated.
 
#2
I think you are referring to the 'silk' on the ends of some strings, usually always on flats to protect the windings as they wrap around the tuning posts ... they come from the string mfr. the way you see them, and they are not reusable ... not sure if this answered your question or not ...
 
#5
Protection for the hardware is one of the main reasons. It helps with brand identification as well... but some brands will use the same color across all their string lines...

You pretty much can not remove and replace the silk, I mean you can try... I remember years ago I removed the silk from the tuning peg end on an old set, took a while... They start to look raggidy if you remove the strings and boil them.

You can always get really thin yarn from a craft store and attempt your own wrapping, but it will never look as slick as a fresh factory set of silk wrapped strings.
 
#9
The silk is mainly to prevent slippage, although it also helps identify the maker. Sure you can dye them, like Randyt says just use a sharpie.
Sometimes if you remove the silk the metal winding will start to fray. I've learned that the hard way.
 
#12
Another function of the silk is to secure the end of the wrap as it tapers to the core for ease of securing the string to the tuner post, and so the string doesn't risk breakage from the speaking diameter of the string being wrapped around the tuner post and risking binding.
 
#13
jlane72t said:
Is it possible to dye them? I strongly dislike the yellow silks on the end of my roto tapewounds, they spoil the otherwise "none more black" aesthetic I built around.
Click to expand...

I guess the simple solution is trying it with a black sharpie & some patience...
The only tapewounds that I've ever used with silk that is hardly noticeable dark purple (black on any stage that is : ) are the LaBella's wich have way better harmonics than the Rotosound tapes. At least that was my experience with an acoustic fretless, wich I can't finetune as opposed to separate bridge saddles.
 
#14
A while back, I contacted Jason at bassstringsonline and he's in the process of categorizing sets by 1) if they have wraps or not, and 2) by wrap colour. So far I've not found any overview of string manufacturers providing this information. I've seen many different colours of wrapping but haven't personally used all the variables.

For the time being, If anyone wants to add to the list below of different strings - we can start the process of categorizing them. Here's the ones I'm familiar with:

GHS Progressives - burgundy wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Precision flats - burgundy wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Pressurewound - black wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Boomers - red wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Basics - no wrap
DR Sunbeams- no wrap
DR Drop Down - no wrap
LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats - black wrap at string end/taper only
Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Bass flats - red wrap on both ends
D'Addario XL's - no wrap/coloured spools
 
#15
JIO said:
A while back, I contacted Jason at bassstringsonline and he's in the process of categorizing sets by 1) if they have wraps or not, and 2) by wrap colour. So far I've not found any overview of string manufacturers providing this information. I've seen many different colours of wrapping but haven't personally used all the variables.

For the time being, If anyone wants to add to the list below of different strings - we can start the process of categorizing them. Here's the ones I'm familiar with:

GHS Progressives - burgundy wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Precision flats - burgundy wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Pressurewound - black wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Boomers - red wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Basics - no wrap
DR Sunbeams- no wrap
DR Drop Down - no wrap
LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats - black wrap at string end/taper only
Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Bass flats - red wrap on both ends
D'Addario XL's - no wrap/coloured spools
Click to expand...

The GHS Precision flats I received look purple to me maybe burgundy to others?
RotoSound 77's - Red wrap
Shouldn't there be individual pictures from the bass string manufacturers of their string colors wraps, if it is a branding thing?

fnord!
 
#17
JIO said:
A while back, I contacted Jason at bassstringsonline and he's in the process of categorizing sets by 1) if they have wraps or not, and 2) by wrap colour. So far I've not found any overview of string manufacturers providing this information. I've seen many different colours of wrapping but haven't personally used all the variables.

For the time being, If anyone wants to add to the list below of different strings - we can start the process of categorizing them. Here's the ones I'm familiar with:

GHS Progressives - burgundy wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Precision flats - burgundy wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Pressurewound - black wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Boomers - red wrap at string end/taper only
GHS Basics - no wrap
DR Sunbeams- no wrap
DR Drop Down - no wrap
LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats - black wrap at string end/taper only
Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Bass flats - red wrap on both ends
D'Addario XL's - no wrap/coloured spools
Click to expand...
D'Addario XL's-Chromes/Blue wrap
 
#19
Personally, I hate silk on strings. However, I never knew that there was an actual functional purpose to it so I suppose I'm a little less hateful.

Only slightly however.

ETA: Dean Markley Helix - Red
 

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