What strings are these?

[Supernaute]

Hi all, this is my first post here. Long time reader, first time poster and all that.

Anyways, I could use some help. I'm getting back into playing bass after not touching it for years. I just changed the strings on my Epiphone Viola bass to LaBella Beatle Bass flats .050 to .100 and I'm not sure if I like them.

To get some sense of a reference, I'm trying to figure out what strings were on the bass to begin with. But it's been so long I have no idea what they are or where I got them. They look and feel thinner. I'm guessing maybe .040 to .095 or somewhere around there. I think I might have bought them sometime in the mid 2010s. Anyone have any idea what kind of strings these are and who manufactured them, based on these pics? Any guesses would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Hi all, this is my first post here. Long time reader, first time poster and all that.

Anyways, I could use some help. I'm getting back into playing bass after not touching it for years. I just changed the strings on my Epiphone Viola bass to LaBella Beatle Bass flats .050 to .100 and I'm not sure if I like them.

To get some sense of a reference, I'm trying to figure out what strings were on the bass to begin with. But it's been so long I have no idea what they are or where I got them. They look and feel thinner. I'm guessing maybe .040 to .095 or somewhere around there. I think I might have bought them sometime in the mid 2010s. Anyone have any idea what kind of strings these are and who manufactured them, based on these pics? Any guesses would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

View attachment 5040578 View attachment 5040579

They might be Rotosound Jazz Bass 77 RS77M (here's a picture of the old package sleeve).

 

[Supernaute]

They might be Rotosound Jazz Bass 77 RS77M (here's a picture of the old package sleeve).

Hey thanks for the fast response! So I looked those strings up and see a couple issues. The silk on those are red and the balls are multicolored (red white and blue). Would they have altered those colors since I bought these?

 

[michael_t]

So I looked those strings up and see a couple issues. The silk on those are red and the balls are multicolored (red white and blue). Would they have altered those colors since I bought these?

As far as I know, the Roto Jazz 77 flats in "medium scale" DID come with light blue silk at one point. And Rotosound started doing color-coded ball ends only in the last few years.

Here's the current set: Jazz Bass 77 Medium Scale | 40-90 • Rotosound Music Strings

 

[HaphAsSard]

Hey thanks for the fast response! So I looked those strings up and see a couple issues. The silk on those are red and the balls are multicolored (red white and blue). Would they have altered those colors since I bought these?

Have a look at this thread from 2014:
Roto 77 flats w/ blue tapering?

 

[Supernaute]

Ah ok, that makes more sense then, thanks guys. If I may, I would like to ask for a recommendation.

The main reason I changed the strings was because the old set was very floppy, which I hated. The LaBellas feel like they have much higher tension which is a lot better. I assume this is because of the heavier gauge or maybe the construction. Or both, maybe you can tell me.

But the old Rotosound strings had a bit more growl to them, which I liked. The LaBellas are nice and fat but are very smooth and are missing this growl somewhat. Can you recommend a flat wound set with the fat tone and higher tension of the LaBellas but with a bit more growl like the Rotosound ones had? Thanks!

 

[michael_t]

The main reason I changed the strings was because the old set was very floppy, which I hated. The LaBellas feel like they have much higher tension which is a lot better. I assume this is because of the heavier gauge or maybe the construction. Or both, maybe you can tell me.

But the old Rotosound strings had a bit more growl to them, which I liked. The LaBellas are nice and fat but are very smooth and are missing this growl somewhat. Can you recommend a flat wound set with the fat tone and higher tension of the LaBellas but with a bit more growl like the Rotosound ones had? Thanks!

I would suggest the GHS Brite Flats, which are Alloy 52 (nickel-iron) half-rounds/groundwound. Their tonal character is very much flatwound, but with some bite and definition of roundwound. When I had them on my P bass, I was surprised at how much growl I was getting out of that bass.

They do come in "medium scale" with 35.5" winding length (ball end to taper/silk) and in heavier gauges (49-62-84-108) with plenty of tension/stiffness.

SETS - MEDIUM SCALE BRITE FLATS™

 

[BobKos]

I would recommend you try Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats to get the sound you are describing.

 

[Supernaute]

Yeah I think I like the look of those Ernie Balls. The GHS brites look cool but that low E string...damn lol. 108? That's huge haha. And I thought the 100 was big. That might be too beefy for my poor fingers. The EB set comes in 45-100 which sounds perfect. Thanks guys!

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to ask. Will the EBs fit my Viola bass?

 

[mrperkolator]

Ah ok, that makes more sense then, thanks guys. If I may, I would like to ask for a recommendation.

The main reason I changed the strings was because the old set was very floppy, which I hated. The LaBellas feel like they have much higher tension which is a lot better. I assume this is because of the heavier gauge or maybe the construction. Or both, maybe you can tell me.

But the old Rotosound strings had a bit more growl to them, which I liked. The LaBellas are nice and fat but are very smooth and are missing this growl somewhat. Can you recommend a flat wound set with the fat tone and higher tension of the LaBellas but with a bit more growl like the Rotosound ones had? Thanks!

Viola basses tend to have unique setup compared to other basses due to their construction. LaBellas do have some growl in them, you may have to play with your setup. Check your action, and pickup height. If the labella's are "stiffer" they may not be travelling through the same area the old ones were, and the pickup may not be "hearing" the growl. Try raising your pickups a bit. I've got Labella Black tapes on my Sire right now, and I can get growl (admittedly more difficult because I've intentionally dialed it down in my setup).

In addition to checking pickup height/action, I'd recommend checking amp/pedal settings. Tapes tend to hide their internal construction, and each company's "black tapes" may be wildly different in construction -- thus a different sound. So it very well may be that you need to cut a bit of bass freq to dial back boom to hear the beautiful tone the tapes have -- especially likely with a resonant hollowbody.

Try tweaking before giving up on those strings. They are great strings. Especially good on a resonant viola bass. I've seen lots of people use this setup. Sir Paul used black tapes on his viola at one point.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

I would recommend you try Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats to get the sound you are describing.

Absolutely +1 on the EB Cobalt flats!

 

[michael_t]

Absolutely +1 on the EB Cobalt flats!

Do they come in "medium scale"? I think that's what the OP needs.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Yeah I think I like the look of those Ernie Balls. The GHS brites look cool but that low E string...damn lol. 108? That's huge haha. And I thought the 100 was big. That might be too beefy for my poor fingers. The EB set comes in 45-100 which sounds perfect. Thanks guys!

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to ask. Will the EBs fit my Viola bass?

Two sets of short-scale Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwounds are coming up in summer. Unfortunately, they may be too short for your Viola (as in, the headstock-end silk possibly start before the nut, due to the bridge-to-tailpiece distance on violin basses). No announcement has been made of a medium-scale being offered, and I doubt it will.

In turn, long-scale cobalt flats are too long, i.e. the low E is too close to the post for the entire full-diameter length to be accommodated between tailpiece and tuning post, and some of it will be wound on the latter, which is usually not recommended (too stiff a string can break when forced at sharp angles).
However,
- the cobalts are usually described as being fairly supple, which lowers the risk of breakage
- the Epiphone Viola has regular (if not very large-posted) bass tuners
- a member has recently reported that his Slinky Flat low E measures 36.75". If consistently true, this would mean you'd have about 2-3/8 turns of full-gauge string around the E-string post.

You may or may not consider it worth a try.

 

[TigerInATrance]

The stings in the pics are the Ernie Ball "group" stainless flats. I've got a set that I use when I think I want to go back to flats.

 

[michael_t]

The stings in the pics are the Ernie Ball "group" stainless flats. I've got a set that I use when I think I want to go back to flats.

No, the ones in the OP's pic are not the Ernie Ball SS flats. For one thing, they don't come in "medium scale". Secondly, the silked part of the tuner end doesn't look like EB Stainless Steel Flats as the EB would have much tighter and finer winding under the silk.

EB Group IV on my P:

 

[HaphAsSard]

No, the ones in the OP's pic are not the Ernie Ball SS flats. For one thing, they don't come in "medium scale". Secondly, the silked part of the tuner end doesn't look like EB Stainless Steel Flats as the EB would have much tighter and finer winding under the silk.

EB Group IV on my P:

View attachment 5041247

Additionally, short- and medium-scale Roto flats are as glassy smooth as the...glassiest of them. An overall much better match for the OP's pic.

 

[JimmyM]

You got the heavy set of LaBellas. The light set is much better and easier to play.

And those old strings are totally Rotos.

 

[Supernaute]

Viola basses tend to have unique setup compared to other basses due to their construction. LaBellas do have some growl in them, you may have to play with your setup. Check your action, and pickup height. If the labella's are "stiffer" they may not be travelling through the same area the old ones were, and the pickup may not be "hearing" the growl. Try raising your pickups a bit. I've got Labella Black tapes on my Sire right now, and I can get growl (admittedly more difficult because I've intentionally dialed it down in my setup).

In addition to checking pickup height/action, I'd recommend checking amp/pedal settings. Tapes tend to hide their internal construction, and each company's "black tapes" may be wildly different in construction -- thus a different sound. So it very well may be that you need to cut a bit of bass freq to dial back boom to hear the beautiful tone the tapes have -- especially likely with a resonant hollowbody.

Try tweaking before giving up on those strings. They are great strings. Especially good on a resonant viola bass. I've seen lots of people use this setup. Sir Paul used black tapes on his viola at one point.

Well, I should mention that these are in fact stainless steel and not black tape. Sorry, I probably should have mentioned that before, my bad. I don't know enough to know the difference in tone there. I would assume the stainless steel would have more growl, but maybe you can tell me.

But you might have a point about the pickup height. I did tweak them a little but I'll take another look when I get home from work today and play around with the height a bit and see what happens. Thanks!

 

[Supernaute]

You got the heavy set of LaBellas. The light set is much better and easier to play.

And those old strings are totally Rotos.

I did look at the 39-96 set but I was concerned about lower tension, which I don't want. The tension on the 50-100 set feels pretty good to me. Would the 39-96 be a lot more floppy? Or not much?

 

[Supernaute]

Two sets of short-scale Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwounds are coming up in summer. Unfortunately, they may be too short for your Viola (as in, the headstock-end silk possibly start before the nut, due to the bridge-to-tailpiece distance on violin basses). No announcement has been made of a medium-scale being offered, and I doubt it will.

In turn, long-scale cobalt flats are too long, i.e. the low E is too close to the post for the entire full-diameter length to be accommodated between tailpiece and tuning post, and some of it will be wound on the latter, which is usually not recommended (too stiff a string can break when forced at sharp angles).
However,
- the cobalts are usually described as being fairly supple, which lowers the risk of breakage
- the Epiphone Viola has regular (if not very large-posted) bass tuners
- a member has recently reported that his Slinky Flat low E measures 36.75". If consistently true, this would mean you'd have about 2-3/8 turns of full-gauge string around the E-string post.

You may or may not consider it worth a try.

Yeah, this Viola bass has proven to be a pain the neck to get strings for. And I don't think I want to take the chance on winding full gauge strings. I don't know much about bass, but I know that's bad lol. I guess I'll skip the EBs for now, thanks for the info.