Anyone tried the "new" Fender strings ?

[gmanbass]

Hello everyone. What are your opinions of the "new" fender strings from their new supplier, and how they compare to the "old" strings. 8250s, 7250s, 7350s or any other fender sets you may have tried.

[TimB 619]

Here's my opinions on the sets I've tried;

9050L's These restored my faith in Fender flatwounds quite honestly. Much lower tension than the previous set, and seem to be of a higher quality. I don't know, but the last couple of sets of the old ones I bought seemed to have something wrong with them. IMHO I think these sound better on a J type bass, but they'll work just fine on a P bass too. The price is nice as well.

7150XL's Has been was kind enough to send me a set of these for free. I finally got around to putting them on my 2002 MIM jazz fretless, with DiMarzio Model J's. The only thing I miss are the nice gold silks the old ones had. Otherwise, IMHO these strings possess the characteristics that made me like Fender nickel rounds so well-they seem to have a percussiveness I haven't heard in any other roundwound. They feel great under the fingers, and seem to mellow very nicely. Jury's still out on long term use, but so far, so good.

I like them, and I think they're worth trying, at least once.

A big shoutout of course to Hasbeen, for his generosity!

[Shiftkitty]

Just got some 9050MLs on my bass and am very happy with them. I play oldies and these really helped me work my sound to that smooth, deep tone that made me fall in love with the bass in the first place. (Well, that and the cute guy who was playing the bass...)

[mellowgerman]

Until I read the first response in this thread, I had heard nothing but bad stuff about the new flatwounds...
I personally like the high tension and was a big fan of the old formula. Tried Labellas, Pyramids, Chromes, TI's, Ernie Balls, but always came back to Fender flats... Only had one "bad" set. Exchanged them for a new one and was good to go. I will say that some sets are phenomenal and some are just good, but besides that one time I never really felt let down

[iiipopes]

Having played bass since 1975, these are the first flats that I didn't immediately take off and either throw away or give away. Always a round wound guy, for 35 years. They have a growl to me that is unlike any other flat ever. It's more like a subdued Roto growl. They are staying on my custom fanned fret bass for now.

I can't wait for the new 9050CL (a 105 for the E instead of a 100 in the current 9050L set), due out @ the first of the year, as I like a little more out of my low E string.

[LowDownWays]

Put some of the new 7250ML's on my jazz last week and have done one show with them. Thought they were more middy than the old ones - and THEY were middy. Actually rolled the mids off on the amp. Loved the highs- fat and clear. None of that wimpy G string thing. Lows were harder to judge. They were OK but I want to do another show in another venue to hear 'em again. And of course they're not broken in yet. So they are staying on for a while.

[seanm]

I bought a set of 9050M's. They are still relatively new so they are not completely broken in. I would place them somewhere between chromes and LaBella. I'm really enjoying them.

They seem to be less tension then I remember, but I haven't played 9050Ms for years, so take that with a grain of salt.

[markjazzbassist]

Originally Posted by seanm

I bought a set of 9050M's. They are still relatively new so they are not completely broken in. I would place them somewhere between chromes and LaBella.
They seem to be less tension then I remember, but I haven't played 9050Ms for years, so take that with a grain of salt.

wow really? my 2 favorite flats, these might be it for me then. and what's this i hear about a ML set with 105 E? is that hearsay or fact?

i love the middyness of the labella, but the brightness of the chromes. best of both worlds sounds like my string

i'm going to have to stay tuned to this thread

[jasper383]

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

wow really? my 2 favorite flats, these might be it for me then. and what's this i hear about a ML set with 105 E? is that hearsay or fact?

i love the middyness of the labella, but the brightness of the chromes. best of both worlds sounds like my string

i'm going to have to stay tuned to this thread

I have tried two different gauges of the the new 9050s. I can't tell them from Chromes.

[RCCollins]

If you liked the old 9050s, you'll hate the new ones. They are light years from that classic string. If anyone has any of the old sets lying around they don;t need, let me know!

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

If you liked the old 9050s, you'll hate the new ones. They are light years from that classic string. If anyone has any of the old sets lying around they don;t need, let me know!

Well, I hated the old flats so tell me why you dont like the new flats. If they are less tension and as another said between chromes and labella's I agree with Markjazz I am interested and will watch this thread too.
I love Chromes and Fender rounds were my fav strings when I played rounds. If they are making a good flat...I might be trying those real quick. How is the price v.s chromes?

[CPplaysBASS]

I played Chromes for years and love them, but found it annoying that when stringing through the bridge, the threads would go over the saddles (long scale, which is fine stringing through the body on 34" Fenders).

Early on there were some rumours that the new Fender flats were in fact Chromes with the blue threads replaced with green threads. I decided to try them thinking if they were the same, but not so much thread on the bridge end, it would be perfect.

As far as I'm concerned, they are Chromes ... I'm very very picky about my setup and no adjustments were required at all. None. Tension is the exact same (talking about the 45-100 set or 9050L). Even the amount of thread is the same, albeit a different colour, so I string through the body now. Not definitive, but like I said, I've played nothing but Chromes for years.

Interestingly, Fenders are slightly cheaper by a couple of bucks or something, maybe because they have economies of scale with their massive distribution, but other than that I'd say it comes down to whether you prefer blue threads (Chromes) versus green (Fender).

[wingman]

What about difference in break-in between the new Fenders and Chromes?

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by CPplaysBASS

I played Chromes for years and love them, but found it annoying that when stringing through the bridge, the threads would go over the saddles (long scale, which is fine stringing through the body on 34" Fenders).

Early on there were some rumours that the new Fender flats were in fact Chromes with the blue threads replaced with green threads. I decided to try them thinking if they were the same, but not so much thread on the bridge end, it would be perfect.

As far as I'm concerned, they are Chromes ... I'm very very picky about my setup and no adjustments were required at all. None. Tension is the exact same (talking about the 45-100 set or 9050L). Even the amount of thread is the same, albeit a different colour, so I string through the body now. Not definitive, but like I said, I've played nothing but Chromes for years.

Interestingly, Fenders are slightly cheaper by a couple of bucks or something, maybe because they have economies of scale with their massive distribution, but other than that I'd say it comes down to whether you prefer blue threads (Chromes) versus green (Fender).

Thank You for the review. Looks like I will be buying a set soon.

[CPplaysBASS]

Originally Posted by wingman

What about difference in break-in between the new Fenders and Chromes?

I think the break-in period of the Chromes and new Fenders is the same. At first I thought the Fenders were talking a bit longer to lose the "zing", but I've been rotating my basses more lately so hard for me to be definitive about that.

The Fenders on my p-bass are getting to where I like them now ... maybe 20 hours total playing time (four or five 3-set gigs and some practice time), but still much brighter (not in a bad way though) than the Chromes I've had on another bass for over a year.

[seanm]

I have had to tweak the truss rod once switching from Chromes to 9050Ms, and need to tweak once more.

The Fenders are: 105 90 70 55
The Chromes are: 105 85 70 50

So I would expect more tension from the Fender. Although they do not feel as tense as I remember the old Fenders being. The Fender's also didn't have that irritating layer of grinding material that the chromes always have.

It is hard to compare the two. The Chromes are 3 or 4 years old or so, the Fenders are new. I would swear the old chromes where brighter than the Fenders, even though the Fenders are newer. But, obviously, I could not A/B them directly.

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by CPplaysBASS

I think the break-in period of the Chromes and new Fenders is the same. At first I thought the Fenders were talking a bit longer to lose the "zing", but I've been rotating my basses more lately so hard for me to be definitive about that.

The Fenders on my p-bass are getting to where I like them now ... maybe 20 hours total playing time (four or five 3-set gigs and some practice time), but still much brighter (not in a bad way though) than the Chromes I've had on another bass for over a year.

How do you feel the tension is Chromes v.s. New Fender flats...the same? The old Fender flats felt like you were playing steel rods and were to much tension on the neck also.

[CPplaysBASS]

Comparing the 45-100 (45-65-80-100) Chromes to the new Fender set 9050L (45-60-80-100), I'd say with the exception of the D string (which I only notice because it's stated on the package), they are the same tension wise, feel wise and sound wise. Like I said above in my first post, I'm convinced they are more or less the same string coming from the same factory but I'm guessing.

Not even close to the high tension of the older Fender flats - which I used for a time. I actually developed a ganglion cyst on my fretting hand playing those (even the 45-95 set was high tension for me although the tone was incredible I must admit). Once I changed to Chromes, the cyst disappeared!

Despite the small gauge difference in the D string with the new Fenders vs Chromes, I can switch them and my fret-to-string measurements don't move one iota.

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by CPplaysBASS

Comparing the 45-100 (45-65-80-100) Chromes to the new Fender set 9050L (45-60-80-100), I'd say with the exception of the D string (which I only notice because it's stated on the package), they are the same tension wise, feel wise and sound wise. Like I said above in my first post, I'm convinced they are more or less the same string coming from the same factory but I'm guessing.

Not even close to the high tension of the older Fender flats - which I used for a time. I actually developed a ganglion cyst on my fretting hand playing those (even the 45-95 set was high tension for me although the tone was incredible I must admit). Once I changed to Chromes, the cyst disappeared!

Despite the small gauge difference in the D string with the new Fenders vs Chromes, I can switch them and my fret-to-string measurements don't move one iota.

Thanks again for all the in depth information. I will be getting out to pick up a set of these this week.

[dmusic148]

Not familiar with the flats, but I do like the 8250s set that comes on MIA Fenders. Nickel rounds with a taper wound .110 E. Quite nice all around.