MTD Stainless vs. Fodera Stainless

[gruuv]

For those who've tried Mike's strings and the Fodera Diamond set (5 string), how would you compare the two in terms of tone, feel, balance, life, etc...?

Thanks in advance!

Oh, and I've done a few searches and checked out both of the string charts, I'm just curious about TB'ers' real world experience.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by gruuv

For those who've tried Mike's strings and the Fodera Diamond set (5 string), how would you compare the two in terms of tone, feel, balance, life, etc...?

Thanks in advance!

Oh, and I've done a few searches and checked out both of the string charts, I'm just curious about TB'ers' real world experience.

I've only used the Stainless Steel versions of these strings:

MTD.... very aggressive... lot's of upper mid grind and grit, rather tight tension... very nice. The 45-135x (articulated winding on the B) is a nice set... that B string is something! They lasted a moderately long time for me.

Fodera.... smooth sounding, looser tension, very 'balanced'... similar sounding to the Smith strings to my ear.... for me, didn't last very long before they 'deaded out'. Nice match for more organic voiced instruments like the Fodera, Smith, etc..... smooth mids, airy non aggressive treble.

I've switched over totally to DR Hi Beams... they have the aggressiveness of the MTD strings, slightly looser tension, a much smoother feel (the SS really feel like nickels to the hand), and a very live, present top end that seems to last a very long time for me.

[gruuv]

Thanks, Ken. That more or less parallels my experience although the only bass I've had MTD's on was a 535. I've really liked the feel and tone of the Fodera Stainless. I'll have to try them both out on the same bass I suppose. I think the Fodera strings have a tighter feel to them than the DR's, but I agree that the MTD's are even tighter feeling than the Fodera's.

Experimentation time. . .

[KJung]

Originally Posted by gruuv

Thanks, Ken. That more or less parallels my experience although the only bass I've had MTD's on was a 535. I've really liked the feel and tone of the Fodera Stainless. I'll have to try them both out on the same bass I suppose. I think the Fodera strings have a tighter feel to them than the DR's, but I agree that the MTD's are even tighter feeling than the Fodera's.

Experimentation time. . .

+1 the DR Hi Beams are quite pliable.

I had DR's and Fodera's on my Stambaugh, which is what I based my description on. I understand the DR Low Riders have a tension more similar to the MTD strings. I haven't tried those since I love the Hi Beams so much, but that might be an option.

[gruuv]

Originally Posted by KJung

+1 the DR Hi Beams are quite pliable.

I had DR's and Fodera's on my Stambaugh, which is what I based my description on. I understand the DR Low Riders have a tension more similar to the MTD strings. I haven't tried those since I love the Hi Beams so much, but that might be an option.

Yes indeed... I have the same question in a thread over at the GS forums where I stated that DR Lo-Riders are my close second to the Fodera's. They've got similar tension and tone, there's just something about the Fodera's that "fit" me better. I've also grown to really dig the tapered B of the Fodera/MTD sets.

[greenboy]

I got lots of time out of the Fodera SS - which seem to feel tighter than many strings and very aggressive. I like them better than DR for string balance and better B strings. Haven't tried the MTD because I already have a few SS brands that do it for me.

But I actually like the Fodera nickels even better on my fretlesses. Still a tight feel, good string balance, and Fodera always lets me substitute the B string of my choosing on phone orders.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by greenboy

I got lots of time out of the Fodera SS - which seem to feel tighter than many strings and very aggressive. I like them better than DR for string balance and better B strings. Haven't tried the MTD because I already have a few SS brands that do it for me.

But I actually like the Fodera nickels even better on my fretlesses. Still a tight feel, good string balance, and Fodera always lets me substitute the B string of my choosing on phone orders.

If you think the Fodera's sound aggressive and have 'good' B strings, wait until you check out the MTD's...even tighter tension, MUCH more aggressive (the Fodera's sound very, very mild and tame to me), with that 135 tapered B just huge sounding and as tight tension as any B string I've experienced.

I've become a big fan of the B string being more of a logical extension of the E string, versus having a big 'B string' sound... so the .125 B's of the DR's work very well on my J style instruments. It's very hard to distinguish between the open E and the E on the B string tone to my ear. However, on some basses, the DR Hi Beam B can feel and sound a little floppy, so I know what you are talking about there.

I've also gone back to non-tapered strings... very little impact on either, but being an intonation fanatic, I've found that the full B's intonate a little better over time than the tapered ones... however, again, a very, very small issue.

K

[1kinal]

Originally Posted by KJung

If you think the Fodera's sound aggressive and have 'good' B strings, wait until you check out the MTD's...even tighter tension, MUCH more aggressive (the Fodera's sound very, very mild and tame to me), with that 135 tapered B just huge sounding and as tight tension as any B string I've experienced.

K

+1

That 135 tapered B is the best I've used to date. It might change as I've just got a set of Sadowsky's which are supposed to be real good.

I also think the MTD strings are pretty close in feel/sound/tension to the DR Lo-Riders SS.

[gkbass13]

ive switched to DR highbeems as well. when i tried the mtd strings i was not a fan at all. ive heard that mtd string need a few hours of break in time to sound best, and when i played them it was on 2 brand enw mtd zyphers (5 and 4 rosewood boards) adn i found the tension to be a little too tight for my liking, and i also noticed a strange rolling feeling of te string when i bended...which was awkward and uncomfortable, maybe due ot the tension.

[gruuv]

Originally Posted by gkbass13

ive switched to DR highbeems as well. when i tried the mtd strings i was not a fan at all. ive heard that mtd string need a few hours of break in time to sound best, and when i played them it was on 2 brand enw mtd zyphers (5 and 4 rosewood boards) adn i found the tension to be a little too tight for my liking, and i also noticed a strange rolling feeling of te string when i bended...which was awkward and uncomfortable, maybe due ot the tension.

Yes, when the MTD's went on my 535 initially I thought, "Wow, these are a bit too bright and grindy," and I'm a big fan of the bright, stainless round tone. But they did "settle" after a relatively short period of time. They retained that "bright and grindy" thing (for lack of a better way to put it), but got much warmer and rounder at the same time. Great strings fa' sho'. Didn't notice the rolling thing, but I don't bend strings very often.

[gruuv]

Originally Posted by KJung

. . . on some basses, the DR Hi Beam B can feel and sound a little floppy, so I know what you are talking about there.

That's been my experience as well. And perhaps that is what has fueled my adoration for the Fodera Stainless and Lo-Riders - to me, they are a good balance of tension between the Hi-Beams and the MTD's.

I've also gone back to non-tapered strings... very little impact on either, but being an intonation fanatic, I've found that the full B's intonate a little better over time than the tapered ones... however, again, a very, very small issue.

K

That's odd... I've found that, at least with the DR Fat Beams, the non-tapered B is much less intonatable(?) than the tapered Fodera or MTD B's. That may just be the intonator, though...

[KJung]

Originally Posted by gruuv

That's been my experience as well. And perhaps that is what has fueled my adoration for the Fodera Stainless and Lo-Riders - to me, they are a good balance of tension between the Hi-Beams and the MTD's.



That's odd... I've found that, at least with the DR Fat Beams, the non-tapered B is much less intonatable(?) than the tapered Fodera or MTD B's. That may just be the intonator, though...

Intonating a B is difficult in any situation, and the difference I've seen between the taper and regular strings is pretty minor, so again, not a big point here.

[Vic]

I like the MTD strings on my MTDs, but to be honest, on all my basses, my favorite strings are DR HiBeams. On my Jazz bass, I prefer the LoRiders by a shade... I like the stiffer feel on that bass so I can get the action down even further. The downside is, they don't seem to last as long as the HiBeams. I think it's because the points on the hex core wear down faster than the round core does (likely due to more contact, less pressure per square millimeter).

I have to admit, however, I've never tried Fodera strings, but based on the description here, probably not aggressive enough for me. I like a brighter more zingy string.