The cloth things on the end of strings...

[PapaT]

I have a theory that i think it is logical. I do't think anyone thought anything when it came to wrapping the ends of bass strings other than looks and easier on the fingers when use restring i guess. But my thing is I don't understand why you would at all. !st of all there is a wire to your bass bridge grounding your electronics to your strings for them to work. less contact is more noice in sound. So if the ball ends are wrap with thread it reduces metal contact to strings damping your ground causing more noice. And if your ends are wrap they are not making contact with your tuners also reduce the amount of metal mass that is more ground which reduces unwanted noice. This is my understnding on how the strings transfers sounds to the pickups. is because of the strings being grounded. So how or why did they start wrapping the string ends. I don't think anyone thought about this at all. My best hypothosis though but bet it can be scienctifically proven !

 

[Drgonzonm]

I have a theory that i think it is logical. I do't think anyone thought anything when it came to wrapping the ends of bass strings other than looks and easier on the fingers when use restring i guess. But my thing is I don't understand why you would at all. !st of all there is a wire to your bass bridge grounding your electronics to your strings for them to work. less contact is more noice in sound. So if the ball ends are wrap with thread it reduces metal contact to strings damping your ground causing more noice. And if your ends are wrap they are not making contact with your tuners also reduce the amount of metal mass that is more ground which reduces unwanted noice. This is my understnding on how the strings transfers sounds to the pickups. is because of the strings being grounded. So how or why did they start wrapping the string ends. I don't think anyone thought about this at all. My best hypothosis though but bet it can be scienctifically proven !

the pickups generate a magnetic field. That is the function of the magnets in the pickup. Now you take a vibrating string with ferro-magnetics properties. Disturb the magnetic field and you generate a electric current. The windings in pickup carry thaat current. Your amp increases The signal, and you're playing bass. The strings don't need to be grounded.

 

[farace]

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.

Ancient post to respond to, I realize, but I can't be the only one here that has ever tied fishing flies. Any fly tier would recognize the floss used for some fly bodies to be similar if not identical to the string wrappings. Fabric stores also carry small skeins of floss in myriad colors.

Personally, I wouldn't waste my time trying to re-silk my strings. This isn't haut couture.

 

[PapaT]

the pickups generate a magnetic field. That is the function of the magnets in the pickup. Now you take a vibrating string with ferro-magnetics properties. Disturb the magnetic field and you generate a electric current. The windings in pickup carry thaat current. Your amp increases The signal, and you're playing bass. The strings don't need to be grounded.

 

[PapaT]

if you thing the bridges on guitars and basses in which make contact to your strings. then go ahead and cut that wire and see what happens. Yes they need to be connected to the ground circuitry to work that electric field with the pickups.

 

[Wfrance3]

I always like the silks to clash badly with the headstock color when possible. Would never angle for that, but if what I am playing turns out that way, BONUS!

 

[Drgonzonm]

if you thing the bridges on guitars and basses in which make contact to your strings. then go ahead and cut that wire and see what happens. Yes they need to be connected to the ground circuitry to work that electric field with the pickups.

I wasn't quite sure how to answer your comment. I have tripped metal detectors on several occasins, and I know the objects that disturbed the magnetic field were not grounded.
I don't why the metal bridge on my bass is grounded, or if it is. Recently I was researching curved pickups for uprights, and found a company that makes them. There was no need to ground the strings.
So, I respectfully disagree with your answer.

 

[farace]

The bridge/strings don't need to be grounded in order to generate a note through the pickups, but they are grounded in order to reduce hum. I don't recall the details, but years ago I read that Dan Armstrong had a way of putting a disk capacitor in line with the bridge ground wire to electrically isolate the bridge and strings to reduce shock hazard (this was more important in the days of non polarized two-prong AC plugs) but to still keep the hum reduction.

 

[Haymaker]

Deadens the tone a bit. Love em wrapped.