I'm currently using Chromes and thinking about trying Fender flats. Any opinions/experience out there?
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Chromes vs. fender flats
- Thread starter 4bassjohn
- Start date
Chrome are brighter and sustain more than fender flats- if you want the sound of vintage 5th and 1960 s records get the fender flats. Labell a Jamerson set is pretty authentic too.
I've tried Chromes, current Fender flats and TIJFs. I find the Chromes too stiff and not really my style tone wise. The TIs are a little bit loose but sound nice especially once they settle in. Fenders split the difference nicely though I miss a little of the sustain the TIs have.
Not the new Fenders. Just as bright as chromes but to my ears a nicer sounding upper mid.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
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Ernie Ball Flats Wounds are about as close to the old Fenders as I have found. The LaBella strings are similar but seem oddly clunky to me.
I get more growl from my fretless jazz with 9050's than I do with chromes.
BUT I prefer my P with chromes.
BUT I prefer my P with chromes.
GrumpiusMaximus
I've Seen Things You People Wouldn't Believe
I bought some Fender steel medium light flats yesterday far my Yamaha P/J. They are brighter than I was expecting (brighter than the last set of flats that I bought - I (helpfully) forget which brand they were) but sound good and have a relatively even tension. I like them so far.
It's possible. But no is 100% sure of this. McCartney never paid any attention to what strings he was using.
On Abbey Road he used Rotosound Tru Bass 88 tapewounds.
Fender flats are made by d addario now so they are almost the same string! they have that hollow tinny sound chromes do but are a bit darker....look on ebay for an old set of fender flats before they switched....I just put a pack of those on my new P and they are great! more growly and much more thumpy then the chromes/fender product they are selling now!
I totally disagree. The new Fender's I have been using sound nothing like Chromes...and I use to be a Chromes user.
Used to be.
The Fender's are more pliable, and brighter.
Plus, to me at least, they bring out the best in a split P Pup.
Last time I bought a set of fender flats, they were shockingly bright to be flatwounds. Later on they settled into a really flat middy kinda tone. Pretty good "thump" on the low E and A strings, but the D & G stayed kinda bright and snappy. Dunno, I liked the GHS flats I had on it before better.
I currently have chromes on my p and ti's on my j
The p is back in its case and I am pretty full on onto the j
I am not one for the chromes and plan to restring the p...
But that's just my experience , I had issues early on with ti s ..(See other threads) but I persisted with both ti's and chromes, admittedly on two different guitars but I don't see myself sticking with chromes...
Rossa
The p is back in its case and I am pretty full on onto the j
I am not one for the chromes and plan to restring the p...
But that's just my experience , I had issues early on with ti s ..(See other threads) but I persisted with both ti's and chromes, admittedly on two different guitars but I don't see myself sticking with chromes...
Rossa
The new Fenders look and feel like Chromes to me (I could be wrong of course). They have the same multicolored ball ends that Chromes do, so it might be safe to say that D'Addario is making these. Are they the same as Chromes inside and out? Not sure, but to my ears they're very close. It wouldn't be the first time a major string maker supplied OEM product under a different maker's brand.
All of Fenders strings now are just like d'addario its not just the chromes....the 7250 are just about the same as XLs....the 8250s are totally different now! I dont think they are roundcore anymore...and they go totally dead like d'addario in a week and a half....even the feel...I have many packs of old strings and its a totally different string...the new ones just have that same feel d'addario have.....plus another give away besides the feel the going dead and the ball ends is price.....Fenders used to be almost double in price! now they are the same price as d'addario.
Its too bad they used to make decent strings.
D'addario might make them to Fenders specs....but either the material they use or the process of making it you can totally feel that cheap d'addario feel in all their strings now.
No. They have different cores, different alloy wraps, the wraps are different widths and are wound the opposite way, and have different ratios as to the gauge of the core vs. the wrap.
Chromes have an initial high end zing that fades to thump.
Fenders have a mid growl that gradually mellows over time.
If you play Fender flats for a long time, and your E string gets thumpy, but the rest of the set is still fine, do not despair purchasing an entirely new set. Once settled in, if the E string goes, the same gauges of Ernie Ball flat E-strings have a similar, but more subdued growl that blends with the ADG of the Fenders.
