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Point of Signature strings?

#101
coreyfyfe said:
I for one am glad for that. My go to rounds for a long time. When they stopped making the MM strings I was fearful they'd be gone for good. Was psyched to see them back for a lower price.
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IIRC there was no gap with the name change. In fact I saw some dealers discount the MM sets when the non-signature Fat Beams arrived.

I've been using Fat Beams for a long time. I didn't buy them because of Marcus. I bought them because I played them on another bass. I keep buying them because they work very well for almost all of my basses.
 
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#103
Most products with a known artist attached have a strong marketing component. A lot of bassists try to replicate their target by using what they use. Many find that that is usually futile... because the main reason artists sounds like they do is largely about what they do, not what they use.

The conflicted reviews of the same strings are pretty funny.
 
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#104
Brad Johnson said:
IIRC there was no gap with the name change. In fact I saw some dealers discount the MM sets when the non-signature Fat Beams arrived.

I've been using Fat Beams for a long time. I didn't buy them because of Marcus. I bought them because I played them on another bass. I keep buying them because they work very well for almost all of my basses.
Click to expand...


They disappeared from my local guitar center during the transition, but that says more about that store than anything else if you get what I mean. When I couldn't find the MM in store I went online to try to find more in order to stock up and found out about the fatbeams at that point.

Same boat though, had nothing to do with Marcus, just tried them and liked them. Have them on all my full scales where in using rounds, tried some on my hollowbody but the wrap was too thick for the short scale. Think I have short scale hibeams on there now.
 
#105
coreyfyfe said:
They disappeared from my local guitar center during the transition, but that says more about that store than anything else if you get what I mean. When I couldn't find the MM in store I went online to try to find more in order to stock up and found out about the fatbeams at that point.

Same boat though, had nothing to do with Marcus, just tried them and liked them. Have them on all my full scales where in using rounds, tried some on my hollowbody but the wrap was too thick for the short scale. Think I have short scale hibeams on there now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that seems more likely, Corey. It's like going to a MacDonalds and finding out they're out of ketchup and napkins. Wasn't a MacDonalds problem.
:D
 
#106
SLaPiNFuNK said:
Well, really disappointed to see a brand like GHS would have information on the product description made to look different from other products. At least there is no price difference on the set. Thank you for the wasted time I've spent explaining the difference which GHS posts on the product description to customers.

Change the description of the product on your website to reflect the actual product ...
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Thank you. I can't count how many times I've seen the question replied to here by someone from GHS as if the customers were fools for not understanding the 500th time that they simply weren't going to change the packaging info and that it's wasn't about $$$. Also kind of nutty that the vendors who are responsible for getting the strings into the hands of consumers would be treated the same way.
 
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#107
logicman69 said:
I used to use Flea Boomers for my 4 string Cirrus (before I knew they were just regular GH strings), My only issue was the scale length. The wrap and the end of the E used to sit on the nut. Would drive me crazy. I switched to DR's since then and have been using Low Riders ever since. Of course, only one local shop sells Low Riders and I refuse to go in there, so I usually have to order online.
Click to expand...

Ross Music?
 
#110
HaphAsSard said:
Shush. Read:
Definition of PROVE
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Like I said.....it's marketing 101! Step 1:Take the same product, slap a stars name on it,

Step 2: make subtle (yet refutable) inferences that it is somehow better

Step 3........

Step 4: profit!!

When clients figure it out, make it clear that they should have figured it out on their own.
 
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#111
guy n. cognito said:
Like I said.....it's marketing 101! Step 1:Take the same product, slap a stars name on it,

Step 2: make subtle (yet refutable) inferences that it is somehow better

Step 3........

Step 4: profit!!

When clients figure it out, make it clear that they should have figured it out on their own.
Click to expand...
Sigh. Intriguing. And still not a shred of proof. You may wanna re-read the definition linked to above.
 
#112
coreyfyfe said:
I for one am glad for that. My go to rounds for a long time. When they stopped making the MM strings I was fearful they'd be gone for good. Was psyched to see them back for a lower price.
Click to expand...

To be technical, they have always been "DR Fat-Beams" however the packaging had Marcus Miller on it so people started calling them "Marcus Miller Fat Beams."

Crackle said:
The fact of the matter is Steve Harris used Rotosound Jazz Bass 77s in a 50 - 110 gauge set for most of his career and through what most fans consider Maiden's best days. The signature set didn't appear until the late 1990s. I wasn't aware of the signature set being polished differently; I thought the difference was limited to blue and red fabric on the ends of the strings and Harris' name.
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Hard to tell from the photos but they do have a more polished feel.

Standard Long Scale 77:
rotosound77.jpg


Harris 77:
rotosoundharris77.jpg


logicman69 said:
I used to use Flea Boomers for my 4 string Cirrus (before I knew they were just regular GH strings), My only issue was the scale length. The wrap and the end of the E used to sit on the nut. Would drive me crazy. I switched to DR's since then and have been using Low Riders ever since. Of course, only one local shop sells Low Riders and I refuse to go in there, so I usually have to order online.
Click to expand...

Try out the M3045X set... Is the same string only 1.5" longer (38" winding same as a DR).

jwr said:
The Marcus Miller sig DR's sounded different to me than the regular Fat Beams. I think it's mostly because I'm crazy though. :)
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Same exact strings. They never changed the string, just the package artwork. See above.
 
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#113
SLaPiNFuNK said:
To be technical, they have always been "DR Fat-Beams" however the packaging had Marcus Miller on it so people started calling them "Marcus Miller Fat Beams."

Same exact strings. They never changed the string, just the package artwork.
Click to expand...

Just to add to this...
The only unique feature of the "Marcus Miller" set was the gauge selection, 45-65-80-105, vs. the standard set, 45-65-85-105.
 
#114
michael_t said:
Just to add to this...
The only unique feature of the "Marcus Miller" set was the gauge selection, 45-65-80-105, vs. the standard set, 45-65-85-105.
Click to expand...

That was the "Signature" gauges... DR does not offer them in those gauges anymore, however there is a string re-seller (cough) that does... I believe "he" calls them a "custom" set on his website... (pre-packaged for the same price as the other strings)...
 
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