# Kalium (Circle K Strings) .266 string, steels coming soon



## ixlramp (Mar 27, 2014)

Saw this .266 string on their facebook page, this will do octave-down B or G#00 13Hz. Also word from Skip of Kalium is that steel roundwounds are coming soon, perhaps in 4 weeks.


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## HaMMerHeD (Mar 27, 2014)

Steel as in stainless, I assume?

That'd be great. Next up: stainless flatwounds, please.


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## ixlramp (Mar 29, 2014)

Yeah stainless steel in the same gauges/sets and at the same prices.
More new stuff posted by Skip elsewhere: all strings up to .118 will be 2 wrap (amazing!) and all strings up to .110 will be a single length suitable for scales up to 40", since all those are 2 wrap they remain flexible enough to wind around a tuner post at full gauge, good news for anyone wanting to experiment with extra-long scales, the standard strings will be able to do it at no extra cost.


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## insanebassninja (Mar 29, 2014)

This... is ... cool I guess...


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## InfinityCollision (Mar 29, 2014)

ixlramp said:


> Yeah stainless steel in the same gauges/sets and at the same prices.
> More new stuff posted by Skip elsewhere: all strings up to .118 will be 2 wrap (amazing!) and all strings up to .110 will be a single length suitable for scales up to 40", since all those are 2 wrap they remain flexible enough to wind around a tuner post at full gauge, good news for anyone wanting to experiment with extra-long scales, the standard strings will be able to do it at no extra cost.



That reminds me, I asked Skip about windings a few weeks back and this was the response:



> We've changed up a few things - three wrap to .158, two wrap to .118. We went to 4 wraps on the .166s .174s and .182s to reduce the size of the outer wrap as it makes for a more articulate sound.


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## quattro19tdi (Mar 30, 2014)

.266.......

That's awesome.


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## abandonist (Mar 30, 2014)

I can't see a use for this.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Mar 30, 2014)

abandonist said:


> I can't see a use for this.



Suspension bridges.


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## abandonist (Mar 31, 2014)

No, the .266 gauge.


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## Winspear (Mar 31, 2014)

Nice! What's the deal with stainless steel strings? Never tried any. If I remember correctly Kaliums are already a nickel steel hybrid.


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## The Q (Mar 31, 2014)

13Hz. That means you need an über sub-woofer or one of the buttkicker rumble generators for it to make any sense.

At which point you could have a synth to do to job, unless you go for something very very creative on a large THX-and-whatnot-certified venue and certainly *not* a gimmick value.


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## 7stg (Mar 31, 2014)

13Hz... Because you can 

A dingwall bass with their multiscale that has a 37 inch scale on the low side. Even longer multiscale would be better, but I do not know who makes one. 

There is always cabs like the fEARful 15/6/1 and AccuGrove El Wappo

and for a studio monitor setup there is the Dynaudio BM14S, Adam Audio Sub12 or sub15, Neumann KH KH 810, APS SUB 15, or Genelec 7070A


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## Harry (Mar 31, 2014)

EtherealEntity said:


> Nice! What's the deal with stainless steel strings? Never tried any. If I remember correctly Kaliums are already a nickel steel hybrid.



Brighter and last a lot longer than nickel steel.
Other than being harder on frets, I prefer them on basses.


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## MF_Kitten (Mar 31, 2014)

Why would you want this? Well, let's just say that when I was with them at NAMM and I tried their biggest (at the time, before they came out with this monster) string gauge on a 40" scale bass going through a Greenboy cab (look those up, because HOLY SHIT)... Well, you could easily hit the brown note. I actually had a short jam with Bill Clements (the one-armed bass player that shreds better than you ever will), where I used that Quake bass to double his bassline an octave below, and it sounded HUGE. So in an almost orchestral setting, or in a setting with more than one bass player, it's totally interesting. And remember, this was my experience while I was trying to keep the volume within the NAMM max dB limits!


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## vansinn (Mar 31, 2014)

I totally love where this stuff is headed.

However, the latest housewarming party upstairs might make me fear mass production of 13 Hz capable subs - or maybe I shouldn't: I'll likely be the only one in the block with this type of armory, and geez, would I have loved being able to crank up those 4000 watts..


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## InfinityCollision (Mar 31, 2014)

7stg said:


> 13Hz... Because you can
> 
> A dingwall bass with their multiscale that has a 37 inch scale on the low side. Even longer multiscale would be better, but I do not know who makes one.
> 
> ...



Neither of the cabs you named is going to get you any lower than the third harmonic, and you'd probably want a shelf extension on the Greenboy. You'd still have to pair them with a dedicated sub, whether a true infrasound sub to hit the fundamental or a very low tuned sub with specialized drivers and geometry. I've seen folded horn subs that could get you below 20Hz.


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## Winspear (Mar 31, 2014)

Got a stereo pair of fEARless 112son the way for my 20hz!
Indeed Infinity, you are right. Such cabs have plenty of power in harmonics however - it's not really necessary to get that fundamental. I would love an infrasub however


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## InfinityCollision (Mar 31, 2014)

I wasn't really even talking about the fundamental, the suggested cabs fail to reach the octave harmonic in the tuning presently discussed and barely scrape the third harmonic. Accurately capturing the octave harmonic alone would be of great benefit to the quality of such a low pitch, though you'll always be bound in recordings by the capabilities of the listener's equipment.


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## 7stg (Mar 31, 2014)

Is there cabs for bass that go lower? Those are the lowest reaching cabs I know of. 

The fEARful 15/6/1 was designed for f#0 hence the name, I know it's not g#-1 like this .266 string will give, but as someone mentioned there is the option of having them built with a extended shelf to further extend the low end.

The studio monitor approch is a better bet though, the dynaudio bm14s is good for 18Hz at -3db. The aps sub15 hits 12Hz at -3db but it costs substantially more than the already pricy dynaudio. There is a bag end sub that gets low too but I have seen mixed reviews.


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## InfinityCollision (Mar 31, 2014)

7stg said:


> Is there cabs for bass that go lower? Those are the lowest reaching cabs I know of.
> 
> The fEARful 15/6/1 was designed for f#0 hence the name and as someone mentioned there is the option of having them built with a extended shelf to further extend the low end.



It's been ages since I've been on the Greenboy forums (he has a knack for driving those with questions into the arms of his competition), but best I remember his goals as far as frequency response were simply to achieve the fundamental on a standard-tuned 4-string (something conventional cabs utterly fail to do) and in doing so also gain the octave harmonic on a low B string (something most conventional cabs also do not achieve). Gaining the octave harmonic for F#0 is a (desirable) byproduct of his original vision. Granted, factoring in cabin gain might be enough for an F#0 fundamental from a fEARful in a home setting. Still below cab tuning so the cabinet's behavior is affected, but from a pure frequency response standpoint it could be there.

They exist, but they're rare and generally expensive. Typically horns of some sort with all that entails, but for our purposes the notable property is their potential to extend low frequency response. Phil Jones is the usual example. Two of their cabs claim responses extending to 20Hz, though I'm frankly unsure if this is -3dB or -10dB. Still better than a fEARful achieves. There are others... One I've been watching is "Big E", a fairly new company, but moreso because of a guitar cab design they're working on. They've claimed some interesting numbers regarding their bass cabs though, all horn designs after some fashion.


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## MF_Kitten (Apr 1, 2014)

The thing with these things is that people always start talking math and physics. Sure. That's nice. But have you tried it? I have. I tried different fEARFUL cabs with a Quake bass tuned to a LOW LOW LOW G#, and it sounded like a god damn earthquake. Not "meh, not enough fundamental", but "HOLY CRAP THAT'S INSANE!". The point is, when you get that far down, it's no longer about fundamental frequencies or upper harmonics here and there, as much as it's about HEARING THE FRIGGIN' CYCLE FREQUENCIES OF THE STRING. You can literally SEE the frequency of the string at that point. You can literally tune it by vision alone if you have a good sense of rhythm. Trust me, when you turn that stuff up and you blast that low G#, you're no longer in doubt. There's a case to be made about it being totally impractical for most bass players in most settings, but the application of it is a totally separate issue.


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## InfinityCollision (Apr 1, 2014)

MF_Kitten said:


> But have you tried it?



Yup. The fEARful sounded good, no doubt. The fEARful plus a sub sounded (and _felt_) even better. It's like the depth of sound you get with a fEARful with a 4 or 5-string, only at still lower frequencies.

A fEARful is certainly an improvement over a normal cab, but further improvements are there if you want them.

EDIT: Since you asked... Have you tried it with an infra sub, or just the fEARful?


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 2, 2014)

Skip at Knuckle Guitar Works took a Quake tuned G# C# F# B with this string to a Talkbass gathering in Seattle. He had very good things to say about AudioKinesis cabinets, particularly their Hathor 1855.

(Note: I am an Audiokinesis user)


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## fwd0120 (Apr 2, 2014)

How would you even trim it... Jaws of life?


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## InfinityCollision (Apr 2, 2014)

It's tapered like all their 3+ wrap strings, so not really an issue. 


TemjinStrife said:


> Skip at Knuckle Guitar Works took a Quake tuned G# C# F# B with this string to a Talkbass gathering in Seattle. He had very good things to say about AudioKinesis cabinets, particularly their Hathor 1855.
> 
> (Note: I am an Audiokinesis user)



The 1855 is an impressive little piece of kit. Great sound and extension in a small package.


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 2, 2014)

InfinityCollision said:


> It's tapered like all their 3+ wrap strings, so not really an issue.
> 
> 
> The 1855 is an impressive little piece of kit. Great sound and extension in a small package.



Have you actually heard one in the wild? There can't be that many out there yet...


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## InfinityCollision (Apr 2, 2014)

I was traveling recently and had a chance to check it out.


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## insanebassninja (Apr 12, 2014)

I know, I said I wasn't going to Rant about this. Now I put more thought into it and, if you want to have this low low G more power to you. However, Am sorry to come off as a A** here but, are we trying to hit the brown note? What Pobbley used can this Be A Low Low G note? I barely understand the Low E note let alone low C# Bass. .(When I mean Nomal E or C, However I can see a use for low F -G. Once again am not trying to come off like a troll. Sorry, for my mini rant. Really, I want see them make for Guitar and Bass a High D made for them for over 28" guitars.... lol


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## Dayn (Apr 12, 2014)

insanebassninja said:


> I know, I said I wasn't going to Rant about this. Now I put more thought into it and, if you want to have this low low G more power to you. However, Am sorry to come off as a A** here but, are we trying to hit the brown note? What Pobbley used can this Be A Low Low G note? I barely understand the Low E note let alone low C# Bass. .(When I mean Nomal E or C, However I can see a use for low F -G. Once again am not trying to come off like a troll. Sorry, for my mini rant. Really, I want see them make for Guitar and Bass a High D made for them for over 28" guitars.... lol


Because it's there. Unless you're jackhammering the heads of babies to sample their screams, there generally doesn't need to be justification. And even then, they'd have to be incredibly homicidal infants.


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## MF_Kitten (Apr 12, 2014)

InfinityCollision said:


> EDIT: Since you asked... Have you tried it with an infra sub, or just the fEARful?



Skip brought one to NAMM, but the DSP wasn't working, and needed reprogramming. So I didn't get to try it


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## insanebassninja (Apr 12, 2014)

Dayn said:


> Because it's there. Unless you're jackhammering the heads of babies to sample their screams, there generally doesn't need to be justification. And even then, they'd have to be incredibly homicidal infants.



....dufvuk?


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## fwd0120 (Apr 12, 2014)

insanebassninja said:


> ....dufvuk?



Seconded.


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## InfinityCollision (Apr 13, 2014)

Dayn said:


> Because it's there. Unless you're jackhammering the heads of babies to sample their screams, there generally doesn't need to be justification. And even then, they'd have to be incredibly homicidal infants.





I dunno, I was kicking around an idea recently for using an octave down 5-string to double bass parts when I wanted a really massive bass tone, or just provide a thicker bass tone in the normal register (potentially letting the normal bass play higher lines). That'd be down to B00, not that much higher than this string. No idea how well it'd work (or not work), but it was interesting to think about.

The usefulness of anything in the context of art tends to be first and foremost bounded by your own creativity.


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## Hollowway (Apr 13, 2014)

Experiments in the extremes of things always help. I doubt Skip plans on buying a new car with the proceeds of these, but this is the sort of thing that advances the technology. 

Off topic here, but does F#1 on my 8 string sound the fundamental through my regular amp? (Fryette 50CL into a Fat Bottom 4x12). Or am I just getting a higher part of the harmonic series?


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## InfinityCollision (Apr 13, 2014)

Your amp might be passing the fundamental at decent level... not immediately familiar with the particulars of that amp's response. The cab is definitely tapering off above the fundamental.

EDIT: One thing I should mention is that interaction between tube power amps and speaker impedance creates a "hump" in bass response. Peaks anywhere from ~100-200 Hz usually... rolls off again usually around 60-100Hz, but sometimes as low as ~45Hz. That'd bump your response up a bit and improve audibility of the fundamental.


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## Hollowway (Apr 13, 2014)

InfinityCollision said:


> Your amp might be passing the fundamental at decent level... not immediately familiar with the particulars of that amp's response. The cab is definitely tapering off above the fundamental.
> 
> EDIT: One thing I should mention is that interaction between tube power amps and speaker impedance creates a "hump" in bass response. Peaks anywhere from ~100-200 Hz usually... rolls off again usually around 60-100Hz, but sometimes as low as ~45Hz. That'd bump your response up a bit and improve audibility of the fundamental.



Wait, what do you mean about the tube power amp and speaker impedance? What would bump the response up a bit?


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## NcLean (Apr 13, 2014)

13 Hz? The Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ laughs at your piddling 13 Hz with its massive 64' Contra-Trombone stop, shaking your skull at 8 Hz http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...an.jpg/800px-Sydney_Town_Hall_Grand_Organ.jpg


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## insanebassninja (Apr 13, 2014)

NcLean said:


> 13 Hz? The Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ laughs at your piddling 13 Hz with its massive 64' Contra-Trombone stop, shaking your skull at 8 Hz http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...an.jpg/800px-Sydney_Town_Hall_Grand_Organ.jpg



why do I have that scene from devil may cry 4 in my head. I do know it has to do with a church anyways. it was the younger booth Dante looking person fighting Dante. I'm quite sure this didn't make a any since. It was a random picture that gone through my mind


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## ixlramp (Apr 13, 2014)

Fun video of electronic organ with serious amplification down to 4hz The 64ft and 128ft pedal organ stop experiment - YouTube

Hill organ 8hz acoustic Demonstration of the 64&#39; Contra Trombone - YouTube


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## InfinityCollision (Apr 13, 2014)

Hollowway said:


> Wait, what do you mean about the tube power amp and speaker impedance? What would bump the response up a bit?



Speaker impedance ratings are nominal; actual impedance varies significantly with frequency. Interactions between a tube amp's power section and this impedance will affect frequency response in ways not necessarily indicated by a 1W/1m response graph.


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## Bretton (Apr 17, 2014)

why not just string up your bass with your patch cord?

lol, this is cool.


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## DarkWolfXV (Apr 18, 2014)

inb4 1bpm 34" china Drop G#00 breakdown only audible to sperm whales

I want this.


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