Identifying strings by silk colour

[Clarky]

Hey all, I have a Fireglo Rick 4001 (see avatar) I bought a couple of year ago off eBay and the strings are now pretty past it. I am keen to get identical replacements as the strings were great for a long time and allow fantastically low action (getting the neck right on a Rick is more than a bit tricky with dual truss rods etc). I reckon they are probably gauges 45-105, or thereabouts, and they have a white silk wrap at the ends (perhaps silvery white, depending on light).

Anyone recognise these strings from the description? They could even be Rick strings but I have no idea what colour silk Rick use.

Cheers Clarky

Edited September 5, 2008 by Clarky

[bass_ferret]

Never seen silvery wrap

[Clarky]

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='278337' date='Sep 6 2008, 12:41 AM']Never seen silvery wrap [/quote]
OK, it could be the 2nd bottle of chardonnay (see Vino thread)! Forget the silvery, go with the white

[G-77]

do we need a string Porn thread to help people identify stings?

[stingrayfan]

They *might* be Roto nickels. I had some with silver silks but I can't remember what they were.

[BigRedX]

The strings on my Traben when I get it had silver/grey silks and if they were still the originalones would have made them GHS of some description.

[simon1964]

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='278558' date='Sep 6 2008, 01:19 PM']They *might* be Roto nickels. I had some with silver silks but I can't remember what they were.[/quote]

Just put some roto nickels on my Precision, and they have light blue silks. I've never seen white ones!

[Alastair]

On a slight tangent does anyone else hate strings with threads?! They look cool but after youve used them once or twice they fray and leave fluff everywhere and look scruffy as hell >=[

Especially true with my flatwounds that I'm always taking on and off when the mood takes me...

[Protium]

[quote name='Alastair' post='278634' date='Sep 6 2008, 03:11 PM']On a slight tangent does anyone else hate strings with threads?! They look cool but after youve used them once or twice they fray and leave fluff everywhere and look scruffy as hell >=[

Especially true with my flatwounds that I'm always taking on and off when the mood takes me...[/quote]

I know what you mean, it annoys me no end.

[ARGH]

Probably Rickys own brand...a mate had a shop get hold of a few sets of Ricky strings,because he though they were really good,were not cheap as I recall either.

Not seen a white wrap though.

[Tait]

a long shot but perhaps you can remember who the seller was and email him or something? even if you do still have a record of the sellers username/email adress, its even less likely he can remember what strings he had on what (unless he uses the same strings on all his basses like i do). could be worth a go though?

[Clarky]

Unfortunately I have lost the eBay seller's details but, as noone on the Forum seems to recognise the strings and there are very few Rickenbacker players here, my guess is that they must be Rickenbacker strings. I have just ordered a set (£27, not exactly a bargain) so we will see...

Edited September 7, 2008 by Clarky

[MuseMatt]

could have been Warwick EMP's.... where they coated or not?

[phil_the_bassist]

[quote name='Clarky' post='279147' date='Sep 7 2008, 02:59 PM']£27, not exactly a bargain[/quote]

Cheaper than my local shop does rotosounds!

[Clarky]

[quote name='MuseMatt' post='279161' date='Sep 7 2008, 03:20 PM']could have been Warwick EMP's.... where they coated or not?[/quote]
Nope, not coated, bog-standard looking roundwounds

[stevebasshead]

Dean Markley 'Blue Steel' have white/silvery silk. I use them on my Rics and they're excellent strings, great sound when new and even when they lose the newness they sound fantastic for months whereas I find other strings just sound dull/lifeless/woody once they've gone off. I get 6 months plus out of a set, gigging 2-3 times a week, thoroughly recommended. Usually cheaper from the States than here in the UK so trawl eBay

I don't know if there are other strings with white/silvery silk but I'd say it's a really good bet they're Blue Steels.

Edited September 8, 2008 by stevebasshead

[Clarky]

[quote name='stevebasshead' post='279784' date='Sep 8 2008, 04:06 PM']Dean Markley 'Blue Steel' have white/silvery silk. I use them on my Rics and they're excellent strings, great sound when new and even when they lose the newness they sound fantastic for months whereas I find other strings just sound dull/lifeless/woody once they've gone off. I get 6 months plus out of a set, gigging 2-3 times a week, thoroughly recommended. Usually cheaper from the States than here in the UK so trawl eBay

I don't know if there are other strings with white/silvery silk but I'd say it's a really good bet they're Blue Steels.[/quote]
This rings a bell - I do believe you have solved the mystery! Many thanks!

However, I have a set of Ricks strings on the way now They better be good!

[KevB]

I bought a few packs of S/H ric strings on eBay a longtime ago (all used now) and none had silver or grey wraps. The roundwounds were black wraps and the groundwounds (a sort of semi-flat) were a faded red. I doubt yours were original ric strings, which is probably no bad thing as they can be rather expensive. Only thing to really watch with rics is if the nut at the A slot hasn't been refiled then you will probably find the A string on most sets to be too wide as the original ric specs are a slightly odd gauge. Last time I restrung mine I ended up with some extra light gauge so the A string was at least correct, can't recall the manufacturer, possibly Daddario?

[stevebasshead]

I keep promising myself I'll try another set of Ric's own at some point, they do have a reputation for sounding good and lasting a long time. The only one's I've used came on my MapleGlo Ric which I bought new but that was some 6 years ago and I can't remember much about them, other than I was in a hurry to put some Roto's on it purely because I wanted Roto's. (I liked the Roto's but I kill 'em too quick and they don't sound good in their 'off' state.)

[jonsmith]

Currently, Rickenbacker strings have no silk wraps. I use Rotosounds on my newer basses, but my older Rickenbackers, that seem to like a slightly lower tension string, are getting Rickenbacker strings. The roundwounds are not as bright as Rotos to start with, but they hold their tone for absolutely ages.