History of Rotosound

Started in the late 1950's by James How -a musician and engineer by trade. How started manufacturing music strings for many famous artists across the world. Still a family run business all Rotosound strings are made in England.

Rotosound's trademark Swing Bass string set was first produced in 1966. John Entwistle

John Entwistle

John Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...

 of The Who

The Who

The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...

 came to the Rotosound string factory looking for an even-sounding, heavy roundwound bass string. Entwistle spent the afternoon there, trying string after string before settling on a set that would become known as Swing Bass 66. A fake jingle for RotoSound can be heard on The Who's 1967 album The Who Sell Out

The Who Sell Out

-Track listing:All songs written by Pete Townshend except where noted. The between song jingles apparently have no official titles and are not listed anywhere on the original album packaging, though they are listed in the inner booklet of the 1995 remaster.Side one...

, immediately preceding "I Can See For Miles

I Can See For Miles

"I Can See for Miles" is a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who, recorded for the band's 1967 album, The Who Sell Out. It was the only song from the album to be released as a single, on 14 October 1967...

". This jingle would later be covered by the American band Shellac

Shellac (band)

Shellac is an American group composed of Steve Albini , Bob Weston and Todd Trainer...

 on their album Excellent Italian Greyhound

Excellent Italian Greyhound

Excellent Italian Greyhound is the title of Shellac's fourth album. It was released on June 5, 2007. The album's title is a reference to drummer Todd Trainer's Italian Greyhound, Uffizi. The album was recorded at Electrical Audio and mastered at Abbey Road by Steve Rooke. The drawings for Excellent...

.

Jaco Pastorius

Jaco Pastorius

John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....

was also dedicated user of Swing 66 bass strings.