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Silver ball ends no wrappingIf no silk at the ball end and brass ball ends, then they could possibly be La Bella Low Tension Flats. They always have the winding length on the E shorter than the other three just the way they are in the pic.
Silver ball ends no wrapping
could be from the 80,sI'm not aware of any strings by La Bella that come with silver ball ends.
The other possibility is the GHS Precision Flats, but they must be an old set with the old winding length (36.5") on the E. The current 4-string sets would have all four strings at 38" from ball end to silk.
Any idea how old they might be?
could be from the 80,s
The guy that used that bass never used flatsThey're GHS Precision Flats then. La Bella didn't have the Low Tension Flats that long ago; in fact, they've only been around for the last several years.
The guy that used that bass never used flats
I did ask you if they were flats in post #2. You gave me no definitive answer.
Now are you telling me they're not flats? If they're roundwound, they could possibly be the GHS Progressives, which are Alloy 52 roundwound and they came with burgundy silk. Is the ball end on the E string an exposed core?
Here's pic of the Progressives on my Yamaha from a few years ago...
View attachment 4609122
As you can see, the E is shorter in winding length than the other three.
Thanks. So would theses be around in the 70,s 80,s?Yup, there you go... Exposed core on the E! They are GHS Progressives for sure.
FYI...
The old version of the Progressives was discontinued at the end of 2019 to make way for the updated version in the spring of 2020. Unfortunately, though, that never happened due to the pandemic. Some of us are hoping the new version will be available sometime in 2022. Keeping our fingers crossed.
This means you probably won't be able to find any right now.
Thanks. So would theses be around in the 70,s 80,s?
just an FYI, in 1966 it came with Fender flatwounds. He or someone had to change them out. Round wounds didn't become OEM until sometime in the 70's. My '65 that I bought in 1966 came with the Fender Flats and then in about 1972 while I was touring I changed them out for the Fender black nylon tape wounds. Anyhow, none of the Fender basses came with roundwound strings in 1966. Back in the late 60's there were man roundwound strings around about the only ones being sold commercially were from James and Ron Howe's company "Orchestral and Jazz Strings", later to become Rotosound Strings. The very first roundwound bass strings were brought out in 1962 but again, they didn't come standard on any bass at the time.The guy that used that bass never used flats
The Progressives I've had had a brown silk - those look rather red to me.
boomers
Winding lengths (36.5" on E and 38" on A-G) and the exposed core on the E both point to the Progressives, not the Boomers.
Burgundy can look either brown or red depending on the lighting condition.
I am aware, but....it could also be a dye lot thing - I don't think I could make the silks I've had on Progressives (I would never call the color burgundy) look that red, no matter the lighting.