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Chromes vs. fender flats

#22
Dredmahawkus said:
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....
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Man, I did not want to hear this, if it really is true. I do not like D'addario strings at all on any of my electric instruments (the Bluegrass mandolin strings are nice, though); not so much because of the sound, but because they make my fingers itch after playing them for 5-10 minutes. Hopefully, the Fender strings will be like Rickenbacker strings; made by D'Addario, but to different specs. I can play them just fine. :hmm:
 
#23
they are made to Fenders specs....but you can feel the d'addario in them! like the 7250s arent quite XLs but they resemble XLs more then they resemble the old Fender 7250s they made before like 2010.
The 8250s dont say roundcore on the pack anymore and dont feel anything like the old 8250s.
the flats are pretty much chromes but a touch darker.
they die in 2 weeks like d'addario.
they come in the plastic bag like d'addario strings not in seperate sheets....and have colored ball ends now like d'addario strings.
If you have spent any time with both strings you can tell they feel more like d'addario then they do old fender strings.
 
#26
Can someone in the industry confirm that D'Addario is actually making Fender's strings now? It sounds like Internet lore to me. Sure, Fender is coloring the ball ends of its strings but it's not the same color codes nor hues.

"Don't believe everything you read on the Internet." - Abraham Lincoln
 
#27
Well, I just got 2 sets of the 9050MLs in the mail. Instead of putting a set on my P-Bass, I think I'll put them on something else that I know has D'Addario's on it, which I never got around to changing. We'll see how itchy my fingers get, and how they sound. Oh well; lots of other strings out there...:)
 
#31
The Fender flats are a bit different...a bit darker....but if you have used the old Fender flats with no silks up top and lighter green at the bridge....then you tried chromes...they more resemble chromes then they do their own strings that used to say made in mexico with USA parts.
they shut down their string making plant in Ensenada Mexico and now the packs say made in the US....so if you had to choose what company is now making their strings which would you say it closely resembles the most? labella? GHS? d'addario?
they come in d'addario packaging with colored ball ends and feel like chromes...the 7250s feel like XLs...
when Fender was making their own strings in their own plant pre 2009 not only did the 7250 and 8250 have silks on them which they dont now....but they also cost $36.99 a pack!! now they cost $18 a pack? now what other string company makes strings that are $12-18 a pack?
It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out D'addario makes their strings.
 
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#32
Martin Beer said:
If any five-stringers have tried them, what's the B-string like on the 9050 flats? I'm curious as to how the tapered B of 9050s might differ from the untapered one of the Chromes.
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Much better. I used chromes on my 5 string for maybe 5 years, and found they got dull sounding after maybe 6 months of use. Well, I thought they lost their articulation and punch, especially the B string. I thought the size difference from the Chrome E to the B was a bit of a jump in size, too. When I went to 5 string Fender 9050's, I thought the 128 B would not be able to match the Chrome B, but it felt and played much better, with a consistency in sound like the E string. Tone wise, the taper wound 9050 B does not follow the usual assumptions about taper wound strings - it has the same sustain and close to the same tension and tone, as the non taper E. I think the 9050's are more percussive, with more upper mids, than the Chrome 5's. And I think the 9050s record better, too - they remind me of the Carol Kaye or Chuck Rainey bass sound. On my bass, though, around the 8th fret, the B string sounds thuddier. When I play walking jazz, I will use this when I want to drop a bass line in the background. I tried the LaBellas, and if it is the classic Motown bass sound you want, there it is right there. I think they sound rounder and a bit more mellow than the Fenders. My guess is Fender tried to make a sort of contemporary sounding flats that still kept true to the original sound.
 
#33
Pearly Gator said:
Can someone in the industry confirm that D'Addario is actually making Fender's strings now? It sounds like Internet lore to me. Sure, Fender is coloring the ball ends of its strings but it's not the same color codes nor hues.

"Don't believe everything you read on the Internet." - Abraham Lincoln
Click to expand...

I don't know for sure, of course, but I have to say it wouldn't be much of a surprise. There was considerable shock and some outrage when John Hall mentioned on the RickResource forum that D'Addario was one of the suppliers of Rickenbacker strings; as you can imagine, not a lot of love for D'Addario's over there. Might be a different story if Geddy Lee or Chris Squire used them, but...:rollno: Have to say, though, it does make a company's bean-counters happy any time you can trim the bottom line; and out-sourcing strings would certainly be one way. Like somone's already mentioned; a comparative handful of companies are making all the strings, and we're just not sure who's making what, exactly, or for whom. :hmm:
 
#35
Two more comments after reading the above posts:
1) the B string is not to my liking - too floppy. If I had my flats on a 5-string, I would use the Chromes .132 B string.
2) The tension, to me, seems slightly less for the same gauge as Chromes.
 
#36
GIBrat51 said:
I don't know for sure, of course, but I have to say it wouldn't be much of a surprise. There was considerable shock and some outrage when John Hall mentioned on the RickResource forum that D'Addario was one of the suppliers of Rickenbacker strings; as you can imagine, not a lot of love for D'Addario's over there. Might be a different story if Geddy Lee or Chris Squire used them, but...:rollno: Have to say, though, it does make a company's bean-counters happy any time you can trim the bottom line; and out-sourcing strings would certainly be one way. Like somone's already mentioned; a comparative handful of companies are making all the strings, and we're just not sure who's making what, exactly, or for whom. :hmm:
Click to expand...

Okay I almost hate to ask, but why don't RicResource folks like D'Addario? :confused:
 
#37
I think it's probably that the majority of Rick bass players are looking for the traditional "Rick sound" - me included - and that means using mainly Labellas, TIs, DRs, or GHS'. I don't recall anyone there ever mentioning using D'Addarios. IMO, they're probably regarded as too bright and "modern" sounding. And, actually, I think most of the fuss was over the revelation that, 1) Rick's strings were even outsourced at all; and 2) that they were getting (some of) them from an "improper" supplier, anyway. Which I agree is a little silly, especially since very few people seem to use factory strings. I do; have a set on my 4003. They're pretty good, actually, and make a nice contrast to the Labellas on my 4001.

The other reason might have to do with RIC's warranty policies. One of their favorite reasons for denying warranty claims is "Use of Unapproved Strings". The catch here, is that except for Rick strings, there are no "approved" strings, other than John Hall's caveat to the policy; "or strings that are very similar"(sic). There is a word-of-mouth, de facto list of strings, best described as the "Strings that Didn't void my Warranty" list. Most people who have a valid warranty use those. Some D'addarios might qualify, but AFAIK, nobody's been willing to take the chance and see. And, really, who could blame them?

Interestingly, someone on TB's Rick club thread just posted that they are going to put a set of Chromes on their brand new 4003. Eagerly waiting to see how that turns out!:D
 
#39
Chromes were the first flats I used on my Jazz and Precision, but then I tried the Fenders and never looked back. The Chromes aren't bad but the Fenders (9050ML SS) have the sound I like for blues & classic rock, and they feel smoother & "softer" to my fingers. Debating whether to put flats on the Rick I just bought.
 

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