The magic of the internet! A few days ago I made a post that I was looking for an original set of 1950s Danelectro six-string bass strings to put on Grady Martin’s six-string bass, which I recently acquired. The bass had baritone strings on it (tuned higher) when I got it, and I wanted to take it back to original.
Now, keep in mind, these strings are made out of UNOBTANIUM. You could probably spend years looking for a set for sale and never see any. They’re also very specific, made by a piano string company (Mapes) back in the day to supply trebly, round-wound bass strings for Danelectro’s new instrument, the six-string bass. They do make modern six-string bass sets, but they’re not right for this vintage bass, because the newer sets either have the large ball ends on them, which won’t work, or the gauges are too heavy.
So, I put out feelers on a post the other day, and had not one, but two of my best old pals reach out and let me know that they had an extra set of these very rare six-string bass sets that they would send me to put on Grady’s bass. Ain’t the internet incredible sometimes? I want to thank Jimmy Roy (who used to play steel guitar for Ray Condo back in the day, and currently with Petunia and the Vipers) and also my old buddy Trent Ruane (of the legendary garage punk band The Mummies) for sending these to me. This makes me super happy, I have a spare set just in case something happens down the road and one of the strings breaks. It’s absolutely incredible luck and it’s also great to have such good friends. I never dreamed I would turn up two sets.
It was also good to get two sets of new old stock Danelectro strings, just so I could gauge them out. If I had just got one set, I’d always be wondering if the gauges were standardized or if they changed over the years. The good news is that both of these sets measured exactly the same. The surprising thing is how light these strings are, compared to modern six-string bass string gauges. They’re really, really light!
For the nerds, the guitar geeks, those dateless wonders who hoard such data, here you go: the string gauges for an original 1950s set of Danelectro six-string bass strings:
Low E: .075″
A: .061″
D: .052″
G: .043″
B: .032″
High E: .024″
I should add that I consulted with “The Professor,” Chris Scruggs, last night. Chris and I had a conversation about original Danelectro six-string bass strings a few years ago, and he is (as always) a wealth of knowledge. He said that he got some custom six-string bass sets that were made for Leon Rhodes, and that Leon’s gauges were pretty similar: .076, .066, .056, .046, .036, .026. Chris also said he found the low E to be too floppy and loose, so he wound up putting an .084″ on the low E from a modern set of small-ball-end Ernie Ball six-string bass strings. Just FYI, in case you want to copy the Danelectro gauges, you’re probably going to be a lot happier if you put the .084″ low E on your six-string bass.
Now, with all that buildup, I don’t have time today to put the strings on Grady’s bass yet! I have a gig tonight with Tommy Horton at the Mess Around show at the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles, gotta run. But more on this later once I get the strings on Grady’s bass! To be continued. And once again, HUGE, HUGE thanks to my pals Jimmy Roy and Trent Ruane!
Follow the saga at Deke’s original Facebook post!
