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Who makes which strings???


LITTLEWING
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[quote name='BassBod' timestamp='1332150022' post='1583807']
I'm pretty certain Sadowsky have all their strings made elsewhere - Roger is pretty open about his suppliers. Some would argue their basses are also "made" elsewhere! And before anyone gets too upset I love Sadowsky stuff...
[/quote]

From the man himself:
[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/will-flats-work-new-precision-v-445678/#post5900640"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/will-flats-work-new-precision-v-445678/#post5900640[/url]

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/sadowsky-strings-good-bad-351449/#post4479037"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/sadowsky-strings-good-bad-351449/#post4479037[/url]

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My bad. :blush:
I just remembered reading a few years back when Sadowskys were all I was buying (and needlessly spending a lot on importing it would seem) at the time what he was saying on TB about how [b]he[/b] does this and that with his strings and I got the impression that he was actually doing the winding in-house.

Haha touche Nick.. :D
I haven't got the time to follow your links right now (on my phone and will read later)... but thanks for going to all the effort.

Edited by Ou7shined
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I think, contrary to what's been said on here so far, Ernie Ball do make their own...that unpleasant man in charge has certainly said as much on the EB forum anyway (kind of puts me off buying them as I find him so rude and annoying). If someone has any evidence otherwise then I'd happily stand corrected though!

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[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1332166639' post='1584131']
I think, contrary to what's been said on here so far, Ernie Ball do make their own...that unpleasant man in charge has certainly said as much on the EB forum anyway (kind of puts me off buying them as I find him so rude and annoying). If someone has any evidence otherwise then I'd happily stand corrected though!
[/quote]

I do wonder whether the flatwounds are contracted out though, as they seem identical in all respects to D'addario. This is purely conjecture, but with flatwounds selling smaller numbers and needing specialised processes and equipment, not all makers of roundwounds will be set up to do them. Does anyone fancy asking that on the EB forum? I don't feel the urge to, but their response might be entertaining.

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I think the Ernie Ball company was originally a string maker/seller before taking over Music Man? I may be confused, but that's how I remember it.

There was also a huge manufacturer called Mapes (or similar) who made them for lots of companies, but never had their own brand. Not sure if they still exist, but I'm sure Google will tell us.....

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[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1332100709' post='1583341']
All I can add is;

Picato make their own [i]and,[/i] I do believe, Overwater strings
AFAIK DR make their own, too.
[/quote]

I'd have put my money on GHS making the Overwater strings. I put some GHS Bass Boomers on my five string and when I bought my Overwater bass I was surprised to find that the strings felt and sounded very much alike, both when new and dulled after a few months. They could just be similar sounding and feeling though.

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[quote name='BassBod' timestamp='1332171352' post='1584220']
I think the Ernie Ball company was originally a string maker/seller before taking over Music Man? I may be confused, but that's how I remember it.

There was also a huge manufacturer called Mapes (or similar) who made them for lots of companies, but never had their own brand. Not sure if they still exist, but I'm sure Google will tell us.....
[/quote]
[size=4]Are you thinking of The Mapes Piano String Company[/size]?

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[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1332281491' post='1586197']
Anyone want to dispute or add to this list:
[/quote]

Surely there must be some anonymous factory in "String City" China, churning out roudwounds at an incredible rate for some of the budget basses being churned out across SE Asia?! :blink:

Edited by walbassist
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Interesting topic. It would be good to know how many strings are made each year as I suspect the machinery is pretty quick nowadays. I used to work in an electrical cable making factory and the capital cost of the machines was high so they had to be run efficiently with minimal change-over times.

I can't imagine string winding machinery is greatly different so if the 15 companies above are all churning them out ...well it's one for a spreadsheet I think! There will be cries of "these are hand wound strings made by virginal elves high in the Andes where the air is pure" - again if it's like a cable that means somebody is watching the machine and making the odd adjustment (more often on the older machinery).

I also had the chance to visit a synthetic yarn making company in Italy recently converting pellets of platic into yarn. Unbelievable place, fully automated about 250,000 sq.ft. most of it unlit and employed about 20 people in the production facility turning out squillions of kms of yarn each year.

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[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1332281491' post='1586197']
Anyone want to dispute or add to this list:

D'Addario (Fender)
DR
Dunlop
Elixir
Ernie Ball
Gallistrings
GHS (Lakland, Overwater?)
La Bella (Sadowsky)
Mapes
Newtone
Picato (Overwater?)
Pyramid
Rotosound
Status
Thomastik
[/quote]

I just bought some Status hotwire 'ground wounds' and the packaging said 'Designed by status and made in the UK' - or something similar (packets at home - I'm at work), which suggests that do not actually make them themselves.

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[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1332496849' post='1589033']
I just bought some Status hotwire 'ground wounds' and the packaging said 'Designed by status and made in the UK' - or something similar (packets at home - I'm at work), which suggests that do not actually make them themselves.
[/quote]

There aren't that many string makers in UK.... Got half-wounds on my fretless & a set of their flats on my precision - great strings IMHO. :)

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[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1332411381' post='1587805']
Here's a good way to kill 5 minutes...

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPfR9uH8vlg[/media]
[/quote]

That's fascinating - they check each wire under a stereo microscope?! Presumably that's just a single short sample from a really long wire or the'y need about 1000 times more workers looking into microscopes than at any other point in the factory!

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[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1332496849' post='1589033']
I just bought some Status hotwire 'ground wounds' and the packaging said 'Designed by status and made in the UK' - or something similar (packets at home - I'm at work), which suggests that do not actually make them themselves.
[/quote]
That does sound like someone else does the manufacturing to Status' requirements.

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Nice vid of the manufacturing there Ou7shined. Interesting points where the outer wrap is fed by hand and the hand packing. Thats some very fiddly labour intensive work. No wonder the're so bleedin expensive for what you get!!!!!

And its also a standard company style vid since they show you all the QA first ;)

A

Edited by apa
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  • 3 weeks later...

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