This just does not look right!

[rhomco]

I guess I am showing my bass knowledge ignorance here but.... do these strings look right on this bass? I have never seen a bass using strings like this. Has the owner (not me) installed the wrong kind of strings for a top loader bridge on this Fender Jazz? I have never seen string cores passing over the saddles before.
Just askin,
Rob

[bassflyer]

I've NEVER seen that!

[Big Tony]

I've seen that before. I think the string design is supposed to give your bass more of a piano-like twang.

Someone more knowledgeable will probably soon chime in.

/ Tony

[giginthesky]

aren't they blue steel strings? i had a set on my 79 pbass years ago and couldn't stand them.

[Dave W]

Those are contact core strings, a/k/a exposed core. They seemed to be popular for a while about 10-15 years ago. They allegedly helped intonation in certain cases but I never saw how an exposed core sitting on the bridge saddle could give you a true overtone series up and down the neck. These may be LaBella Super Steps, but there are other brands.

[marshman]

I had seen them and wanted to try 'em...I thought they were called 'taper-wounds', maybe?

[bassflyer]

I thought they were called 'taper-wounds', maybe?

Certainly not tape-wounds! Not sure about "taper".

[Dave W]

Taperwounds are stepped down at the ends but the last step that goes over the bridge saddle still has a winding on it. Contact core strings have the exposed core wire going over the saddle. I thought these were contact cores, but after a closer look, I think they are taperwounds.

[marshman]

Yeah, I got tapewounds on my fretless, I know they weren't those.

[Lawn Boy]

They look like they would break very
easily. LB

[martini]

First time I saw them was about 1980. Those were made by Rotosound and were called 606 Funkmasters I believe.
I heard about 'em because Geddy Lee was using them a lot, I tried them but I found they were harder to intonate, a lot of clarity and very snappy but quite a brittle tone.
I was using gauge 90's as opposed to my normal 105's

Did they break easy? Yes.

[Sl8e]

Those are hand wound custom strings mostly made for headlless basses.

Just another sales pitch. They are more apt to break at the bridge.

right now DR is making the best strings out there.

[4mal]

DR ? I've tried a couple of sets and would consider than in the middle of the pack quality wise. I'll stick with Thomastic Infeld...

those look like taper would meant for string through and they sure do look out of place on that bass. Personally - not a setup I would probably bother with but then strings are an easy fix ...

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by Sl8e

Those are hand wound custom strings mostly made for headlless basses.

Just another sales pitch. They are more apt to break at the bridge.

right now DR is making the best strings out there.

No, they're not hand wound.
No, they're not custom strings.
No, they're not mostly made for headless basses.
I've never seen or heard of any evidence that they're more prone to breaking at the bridge.

Offhand I know of four companies making taperwound sets, LaBella (Super Steps), Ken Smith (Taper Core), Dean Markley (SR2000) and GHS (Taper Core), and Rotosound PSD 99s are a contact core set. These are all regular production sets for regular basses. They just don't seem to be much of a factor in the market anymore.

In addition there are five string sets made with a taperwound B and sometimes a taperwound E too. Unless something has changed recently, the LaBella Hard Rockin' Steels have a tapered B, and there's a Fender set with tapered B and E.

If you like DR Strings, fine. That certainly doesn't make them the best.

[Anchoret]

Originally Posted by rhomco

I guess I am showing my bass knowledge ignorance here but.... do these strings look right on this bass?

No, not for that bass because it looks like a toploader.

These are taperwounds and are for use with through-body stringing, which will put the step-downs right about even with the witness points on the saddles.

[giginthesky]

Originally Posted by Anchoret

No, not for that bass because it looks like a toploader.

These are taperwounds and are for use with through-body stringing, which will put the step-downs right about even with the witness points on the saddles.

thanx anchoret. you've cleared that up nicely. my 79 pbass is a top load and i was too stupid to consider the through-body scenario. you finished a 15 year old riddle for me.

[Anchoret]

Originally Posted by giginthesky

thanx anchoret. you've cleared that up nicely.

Hey, that's my job.

[rhomco]

double post sorry

[rhomco]

who replied. The owner bought the bass second hand five years ago and these strings were already on it. To say they were dead after all that time is an understatement.
Thanks again TDPRI lowenders!
Rob

[guitarzan13]

Originally Posted by Anchoret

No, not for that bass because it looks like a toploader.

These are taperwounds and are for use with through-body stringing, which will put the step-downs right about even with the witness points on the saddles.

Wrong.....try again. They are supposed to be that way...I have been using strings like these for ten years. More edge and way better sustain. You might have to adjust saddle height.

[Dave W]

guitarzan13 is correct. Taper wounds are not designed for through body stringing, they're for any bass you want to use them on. The pic is exactly how they're supposed to look.

[Anchoret]

Originally Posted by Dave W

guitarzan13 is correct. Taper wounds are not designed for through body stringing, they're for any bass you want to use them on. The pic is exactly how they're supposed to look.

I'm extremely skeptical.

I'll ask around, but I don't think that's right. I know why taperwounds were invented and it was to have the capacity to make a tight break angle over a saddle (as is usually the case with throughbody stringing) without disrupting the windings and to have a smaller, more heavily loaded, witness point. You can of course use them on any type of bass.

There's zero reason for there to be long extensions of the nearly unwound portions sticking out past the saddle, as in the picture. Those strings just don't fit the bass. The step should be closer to the saddle as it is with OEM E-string 8250M installations.

[Dave W]

Don't take my word for it, then. Call up Ken Smith tomorrow and ask him, he was the first to bring them to the market and they may still be standard equipment on his basses. And AFAIK none of his basses are strung through body.

Or call up LaBella. Ask for Bob Archigian, the GM. I've never asked him about the Super Steps, but I've called with a question a few times over the years and he was very helpful.

I'm not trying to be critical, I would be interested to hear what they have to say.

[Anchoret]

Originally Posted by Dave W

Don't take my word for it, then. Call up Ken Smith tomorrow and ask him, he was the first to bring them to the market and they may still be standard equipment on his basses. And AFAIK none of his basses are strung through body.

Or call up LaBella. Ask for Bob Archigian, the GM. I've never asked him about the Super Steps, but I've called with a question a few times over the years and he was very helpful.

I'm not trying to be critical, I would be interested to hear what they have to say.

I can find no indication so far that there's any advantage to (or intention of) having the steps that far out from the saddle, except one-size-fits-all marketing. The one site I've found that addresses the "why" says it's to have the smaller witness point on the saddle (this results in more twang [spit!] for those who like that sort of thing in "bass guitar"), so the steps out in the middle of nowhere give no additional advantage.

FMIC made the 8250M E's step to just have enough length to clear the saddle on a stock through-strung P or J with slack for normal adjustments, and I got that directly from those responsible on the old FDP when FMIC still participated there, so presumably there is some disadvantage to excessive step distance.

I'm still looking. I'm curious about the intonation aspects.

[dlb1001]

Might be Warwick strings...I had a Thumb BO, for awhile and it was tough to find someone who sold Warwick strings. So, I used Pedulla's, which are also similar to the strings in the picture.

[Anchoret]

BTW, after some research, it turns out that I was right all along about this:

These extended bare cores on toploaders are incidental, not intentional. The strings (such as SIT Powercores) come in only one set of dimensions, intended to fit through-strung basses. If you put them on toploaders, the excess bare core lengths are hanging out in the breeze like this.

I found none available with different exposed-core lengths to suit different bridge schemes.

[Fretless Eric]

"Since its founding 32 years ago, James How Industries has been one of the few British music companies to have gained worldwide acceptance for its products. Marketed in scores of countries worldwide, the firm's guitar and bass strings are sold under the Rotosound and Superwound tradenames. The company has been the source of numerous innovations in string designs, and its products have been embraced by luminaries like Jimi Hendrix, Stanley Clarke, Paul McCartney, U2, and Billy Sheehan, to name but a few. Based in Sevenoaks, England, James How Industries today employs over 100, and its operations are directed by founder James How and his sons Martyn and Jason.

James launched his first music strings in 1952. He had qualifications in engineering at Vickers Armstrong and turned his vocation as a musician into a professional career with the launching of James How and Company. From the start he designed and manufactured his own machines and used his own formulas for guitar, banjo, mandolin, autoharp, violin, viola, cello, and bass strings, including double bass. Like many music firms, How's company was a beneficiary of the rising popularity of British music in the '60s; it made strings for the Beatles, The Stones, and The Shadows, plus large volumes of strings for Vox, which were used by many other top bands.

To cope with the expanding demand for his products at that time, How built a new factory and expanded his staff to 30. In addition to marketing guitar and bass strings under his own brand, he sold products to Burns, Eko, Baldwin, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, Hagstrom, and many others. At the same time, world-famous orchestras like The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Radio Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra were also using strings made by James How.

He launched the now-popular "Rotosound" strings in the early '60s, contriving the name from roto (Latin for "round") and sound. He recalls, "It had a nice sound that seemed to describe the sound of a music string." Top musicians turned to him for his guidance, and his factory was frequented by performers like Jimi Hendrix, John Entwistle, and Chris Squire. "When musicians were looking for a specific sound or concept, they would come visit me at the factory. Jimi Hendrix was not pleased with the sounds he would get when he bit his strings, so I developed a special gauge that he thought 'tasted' right. The .006 and .007 first strings which he used to bite gave him the sound he was looking for," states How.

By 1970 James How Industries had grown to employ 90 and relocated into a large factory built at Bexleyheath. He was continuing to pioneer new string designs like his original Swing Bass, Jazz Bass, Tru Bass, and Jet Bass formulas, by introducing into the unique line a process which crowns the strings thus allowing for a smooth string without loss of metal and sound.

A few years earlier he had designed and patented the revolutionary Superwound string with Piano String concept, which has gained world acceptance for its added brilliance and sustain. Although Superwound strings were developed for all instruments, they have been most popular with bass players, but now the acoustic and electric six-string sets are starting to take off.

How developed a patented ball-and-cone adjustable ball end, which allowed Superwound strings to be correctly positioned towards the bridge on any guitar or bass. This noteworthy design concept was quickly embraced by professional bass players in certain countries.

The last decade was marked by large capital investments in new plant and equipment at James How Industries. The company recently installed 16 machines designed by James How and his engineering staff; the machines allow one operator to make 12 strings simultaneously. These devices will soon be augmented by a series of machines dubbed "Mark Ill," which will further refine string manufacturing at the Sevenoaks factories.

For over five years Rotosound has had a close association with Billy Sheehan. Sheehan, who was voted "Top Rock Bassier " by Guitar Player magazine in its annual polls (and many others), has worked with Martyn How to develop a new gauge of bass strings. The BS Signature bass strings feature the gauging of 43, 65, 80 and 110, and were introduced to the music industry in 1989 at the Anaheim NAMM show. Since then, the new Sheehan strings have been a top-seller in the Rotosound line. The Sheehan line has been expanded with a new Sheehan Nickel Signature bass guitar string designed to retail at a list price of $38.

In August James How Industries named Stringer Industries its exclusive import agent for the U.S. In making the announcement, Martyn How, managing and marketing director, stated, "Stringer Industries' extensive marketing background in the music business should allow us to increase our share of the growing U.S. string market. We look forward to a long and successful relationship."

Swinging currencies have made competing in certain key export markets difficult in the past year, according to Martyn How. He stated, While factors beyond our control have had an impact on our business, those are behind us, and we are now experiencing strong growth. Dealers can continue to expect us to lead the way with unique promotions and innovative strings."

I hope that helps.