What strings did early Fender basses come with?

[ole Jason]

Interesting discussion over on TGP about flatwounds here: Flat wound strings and vintage guitars.

I had always assumed the basses in the early 50's came with Fender spec'd flatwounds, or ground rounds, of some sort but there is some pretty good documentation in the thread indicating that might not have been the case. Anyone know what strings Fender shipped basses with?

 

[trothwell]

That thread includes a picture of Fender set #90 and describes them as "not flatwound". That meshes with this report from a decade-old TalkBass thread:

Early '60s Fender JB String sizes?

Which describes that Fender made 80 and 850 sets that were flatwound, and a 90 set that was roundwound.

So that appears to confirm that the roundwound strings existed at the time, but was that what shipped on the basses? I have heard from multiple sources that their basses shipped with flatwound strings [a practice which supposedly ended in the early 1980s], but it's certainly conceivable that some also shipped with roundwound strings even in the 1950s. I wasn't there, I don't know. But the strings existed!

 

[ole Jason]

The claim I found interesting was that flatwound bass strings didn't exist until the mid 50's or slightly later. Seems like there is still some debate as to whether that is actually true though.

 

[trothwell]

Some related musings here:

What strings were used on 1951 P-bass ??

 

[ole Jason]

Interesting thread... If true that would possibly indicate flatwound bass strings came along before flatwound guitar strings

 

[J Wilson]

Ostensibly, these are supposed to be like the OG strings from the 50's. They USED to offer a separate .130 B to add to these sets, but they stopped.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[brianrost]

Ground/half rounds didn't arrive until the 1970s.

Roundwounds for bass didn't show up until 1962..."Swing Bass" by the company that would become Rotosound in 1966.

There were no bass guitar strings at all until Fender contracted V.C. Squier to make a set for the P bass.

 

[logdrum]

In the 1930s, Squier began making strings for the era's new electric instruments; the company also sold pianos, radios and phonograph records until divesting itself of all products other than strings in 1961. Fender Electric Instruments entered the picture in the 1950s, when the V. C. Squier Company began supplying Southern California inventor and businessman Leo Fender with strings for his unusual new electric guitars.

Squier - Wikipedia

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

I believe the very first bass strings were piano strings used by leo. After that VC squier made strings for fender until they became GHS. The flatwound set was called the F-80 or F-80L set

 

[Grinderman]

I like GHS P flats.

I've seen it suggested that a dead set of GHS Balanced Nickel strings may sound even more like VC squier made flats that Fender basses in the '60s came with.

 

[GretschWretch]

And I have read somewhere that the EARLIEST Fender strings were gut DB strings with wire wound around the part that would be over the pickup, in order to excite the electromagnetic field.

 

[ole Jason]

And I have read somewhere that the EARLIEST Fender strings were gut DB strings with wire wound around the part that would be over the pickup, in order to excite the electromagnetic field.

I've read that on a few forums but haven't found any evidence of them actually existing. It's an interesting idea though, it would have been around the same time steel strings were beginning to be adopted by upright jazz players. If nothing else this topic is interesting because of the amount of conflicting answers you'll get from people, I guess that's just a result of poor record keeping and the transitional nature of string technologies entering the market.

 

[2saddleslab]

And I have read somewhere that the EARLIEST Fender strings were gut DB strings with wire wound around the part that would be over the pickup, in order to excite the electromagnetic field.

I'd read the same.

 

[brianrost]

And I have read somewhere that the EARLIEST Fender strings were gut DB strings with wire wound around the part that would be over the pickup, in order to excite the electromagnetic field.

Yes, when prototyping. V.C. Squier made the strings for production instruments.

 

[bobyoung53]

And I have read somewhere that the EARLIEST Fender strings were gut DB strings with wire wound around the part that would be over the pickup, in order to excite the electromagnetic field.

Rickenbacker did that with their electric uprights but it was in the thirties.

 

[logdrum]

I believe the very first bass strings were piano strings used by leo. After that VC squier made strings for fender until they became GHS. The flatwound set was called the F-80 or F-80L set

I thought GHS was founded by Gould, Holcomb and Solko or do you mean the OEM string supplier for Fender was GHS

 

[PDW30]

And I have read somewhere that the EARLIEST Fender strings were gut DB strings with wire wound around the part that would be over the pickup, in order to excite the electromagnetic field.

I've wondered from time to time whether the pickup covers on very early Fender basses were there to protect the wire wrap from over-enthusiastic players. Or am I just plain wrong?

 

[JimmyM]

I've wondered from time to time whether the pickup covers on very early Fender basses were there to protect the wire wrap from over-enthusiastic players. Or am I just plain wrong?

I’ve always heard it was because Leo thought the covers looked more professional.

 

[Jack Becknell]

I bought a first shop order Fender of the legendary '62 P-Bass in February of 1962. It was made in September of 1961 and came with flatwound strings. It was the best playing bass I have ever put in my big mitts and had a tone that could not be matched. With original strings 40 years later it still had a great sound. I just bought a new bass that feels a lot like the '62 P-bass but it has round wound strings and the E string has so many unrelated high frequency parasitics that it sounds slightly less musical than dropping an 8 foot metal pipe on a concrete driveway. I am ordering a set of flatwound strings to put it and hope the sound improves. Flat wounds also have little finger moving skreech when moving to a new note.

 

[Jack Becknell]

I bought a first shop order Fender of the legendary '62 P-Bass in February of 1962. It was made in September of 1961 and came with flatwound strings. It was the best playing bass I have ever put in my big mitts and had a tone that could not be matched. With original strings 40 years later it still had a great sound. I just bought a new bass that feels a lot like the '62 P-bass but it has round wound strings and the E string has so many unrelated high frequency parasitics that it sounds slightly less musical than dropping an 8 foot metal pipe on a concrete driveway. I am ordering a set of flatwound strings to put it and hope the sound improves. Flat wounds also have little finger moving skreech when moving to a new note.