Bass string question.

[peedenmark7]

I recentl;y picked up an '81 Kramer Pioneer bass "A" serialized with fender headstock, to plunk around on. Love whatever brand strings that are on it, but have no cluse as to what brand they are.

I called the previous owner who said they were probably about 20 yrs old and had no idea what brand he used to use.

So.... They are round wounds, with silver ball ends , and gray silk at the tuning peg end of the string.. Any ideas what brand they might be ?

[Bobby Marshall]

I will ask on another forum where they know such things and get back to you.

I have one of those myself. Double J bridge with P in the middle.

[peedenmark7]

Great little bass ! thanks for the help !

[Turdus]

I tried out one of those Kramer's in the early 80's... Fender headstock, P/double J, sunburst, maple.... I remember it being a tone monster, but I've never owned one. Funny, as that bass + the alum neck DMZ's are 2 I keep my eyes on, on Ebay.

On the string question... I bought a pair of '08 Fender American basses... The strings were gold ends, with grey silk at the peg end. Their bass strings today are repackaged D'addario, I believe.

So maybe you have an older version of Fender strings on the Kramer.

[peedenmark7]

they almost look stainless, different than nickel, but these are old too..So who knows.

I've gone through a number of old USA Charvel explorer basses over the last 10 yrs, but they are too cumbersome to sit or stand with..I liked the old Jackson concert basses , but as my tastes have changed , neither really sounds or plays as I had wanted. A buddy of mine had a Hamer 2 Tek cruise that sounded greatm it but my back couldnt take it.

I'm a guitar player, but love dinking around on a bass now and again, so when this one came in across my repair bench , I had to ask if it was potentially for sale.. Got 'er very reasonable actually. its the sunburst model with rosewood board.. Great electronics in this thing ! Not a screw turned on it !

[Ethan]

They might be Dean Markley Blue Steels...can't remember the ball end color on those though sorry.

[velorush]

You might contact Jason at basstringsonline.com. In addition to great customer service, he has remarkable recall of old string sets and can typically suggest a comparable set if they are unavailable. He's got great prices too. He posts as SLaPiNFuNK on the Talk Bass forum.

[murkat]

If they are old, and still sound good...

I would guess rotosounds

[JohnnyB]

I recentl;y picked up an '81 Kramer Pioneer bass "A" serialized with fender headstock, to plunk around on. Love whatever brand strings that are on it, but have no cluse as to what brand they are.

I called the previous owner who said they were probably about 20 yrs old and had no idea what brand he used to use.

So.... They are round wounds, with silver ball ends , and gray silk at the tuning peg end of the string.. Any ideas what brand they might be ?

What is it about the strings that you like so much? The touch and feel under hand? The response? If it's the tone, then if the strings are 20+ years old then the major portion of the tone probably resides in the bass itself as the strings would be on the dead side (at least). In that case you'd probably like just about anything you put on. The safest bet is something like GHS, Fender, or D'Addario

NPS.

Here's what you know and don't know: They are roundwound. You don't know if they're pure nickel wrap, nickel-plated steel (NPS), stainless steel, or possibly Alloy 52 (52% iron, 48% nickel). You also don't know whether the core is round or hexagonal.

If the strings feel soft and somewhat relaxed in response, they probably have round cores which have lower tension. If they are more responsive with more "snap" to the tension, then they're probably hexagonal core.

Warmest-sounding metal wrap is pure nickel, followed by Alloy 52, then NPS, then stainless, and finally cryogenic stainless (e.g., Blue Steel).

There are also variations in ratio of core thickness to wrap thickness to arrive at an overall gauge, but finding that out--let alone finding out those specs on in-production strings--would prove elusive.

As for the color of the ball ends and silk wrap, several brands use the same color silk, and ball ends are usually gold or silver-colored unless they're D'Addario multi-colored. Silver balls and silk would narrow it down if the manufacturer is still in business and didn't change colors or drop the silk wrap altogether in the decades since. I've used lots of silkless NPS roundwound strings that sound really good.

[peedenmark7]

Upon closer inspection core is round.

They still have a good snap to them. definitely not light tension. The sound is real live plugged or unplugged. Not d'addarios as that is my brand of choice since '84.

The outer wrap sure looks stainless to me. No discoloration as you would see with nickel and plating eventually wears off.

Blue steels, maybe... I am thinking GHS or Rotosound.

[Bobby Marshall]

Check the link I sent you again. Seems like there is a consensus.

[Turdus]

If they are old, and still sound good...

I would guess rotosounds

I've not used Roto's in 20 years, lol... I stopped as at that time my band was in the studio for a month, and I burned through 2 sets in a week... I almost think that I got part of a bad batch or something. They went flat almost overnight. I am about to give them another try though.. after seeing Geddy the other night... I am everything Geddy this week!

[Bobby Marshall]

Geddy's roadie might change his strings for every gig. I read some guitarist does this even for guitars he did not play at the last gig.

[peedenmark7]

Bobby, thanks for posting the topic for me.. I am guessing based on what was most readily avaiable in the stores back in the day that they are either GHS or Rotos.

I remember the roto issues back in the day. the store I did repairs at stopped carrying them for a while because of that issue.

I would think that DR & SIT were not that popular or even around back then ?

While on the road in the 80's I changed the strings on my main guitars after every show. Back ups every 3rd , whether they were used or not.

Kind of overkill looking back, but I got my strings for free, so why not

[blackfbiv]

Rotosound is number one in my books!

I won't use anything else. Not that I'm such hot shite... but well, you know.