Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Chromes VS Fender Flats
- Thread starter Eric Kelly
- Start date
So. much. impatience.
It's funny, the roundwound camp bitches that they lose zing in a week and need to be changed.
The flats crew can't even wait the week for them to mellow, and NEVER HAVE TO CHANGE THEM AGAIN.
It's funny, the roundwound camp bitches that they lose zing in a week and need to be changed.
The flats crew can't even wait the week for them to mellow, and NEVER HAVE TO CHANGE THEM AGAIN.
No. I have both on my P-Basses. The 50-105 have much more bass and thump.
And yes: the Fenders need some weeks to break in.
I had a different experience than hover. The Fender 9050L (45-100) sets I bought about 2 years ago have higher tension than the same gauge chromes I bought several months ago. I put the 9050s on a P and a J to switch out Fender 7250ML rounds and both basses needed clockwise truss rod adjustments. The chromes also needed a minor clockwise truss adjustment on another J which also had the 7250 ML set on it before the swap. The chromes also feel less taught when playing.
The 9050L set has higher tension than the same gauge chromes, IMO.
Interesting. Admittedly, the bass in question (my P) has a Warmoth steel reinforced neck, but still...
Perception is key I'm sure, but weird how one person's "tuat" is another person's "loose".
Best of luck with whatever outcome, OP.
Perception is key I'm sure, but weird how one person's "tuat" is another person's "loose".
Best of luck with whatever outcome, OP.
It seems to me that fender strings out of the package have a very zingy metallic sound, and I'm sorry but my chromes did not sound like that out of the package, they were almost upright sounding right out of the package and have mellowed into smooth butter. I'm beginning to think that fender flats are for bassists who want to play more modern music or heavier rock. Chromes, labellas, and ghs precision flats are for guys like me who want to play blues brothers stuff or booker t. Not impressed with fender flats.
To me, the Fender flats when new were very bright. So are the chromes. After about 3 months of moderate playing time, the Fender strings mellowed out really nicely. So far, after 2 months, the chromes are still very bright sounding. But I'm sure, based on others feedback, that they will mellow too. Personally, I like both the Fender and the D'Daddario flats. They are similar, yet different. The Fenders sound more balanced between the 4 strings, where the D'Daddario G string sounds brighter than the E/A/D strings, if that makes any sense.
Interesting observations.. I'm using Fender flats on my P bass, and I play mostly blues, and blues rock. I do run my tone knob completly off, unless the room is dead, and so far it works well.
This is my experience with the Chromes as well. I had a set of ECB84 (40-60-80-100) on my Jazz for four years. E, A and D had mellowed quite nicely, but G stayed annoyingly bright and "pingy" even after four years.
Maybe I should try the 9050L (45-60-80-100). The 45 (vs. 40) for G may help tame the "ping".
I just wish Fender hadn't discontinued the 9050CL (45-60-80-105), which was their best-balanced set.
Right. I like having the option of adding more top end, and use the same way.
Agreed. But if I understand how tone pots actually work its not adding top end but rather cutting bass allowing the other frequencies to cut thru..
Almost. Tone full blast is the raw signal attenuated a little bit by the presence of the pot itself. When you turn down the tone it attenuates (cuts out) more and more high end. It also has a roll off effect if I recall correctly, meaning as you roll it down, the point at which the rolloff occurs is lowered through the frequency spectrum. Turn it down all the way and your highs are cut significantly and your high mids are also cut down.
Thats not my understanding. I agree that the pots cuts some of the signal which is why some players bypass the tone completely. As far as the attenuation of the pot itself I believe as you roll it on the capacitor is introduced into the signsl path cutting the low end. However, I am not an expert and could be completly wrong.
You're all correct. It does introduce the capacitor gradually, taking the frequency response progressively down from the hinge frequency. BUT...since the circuit involves a coil and an AC signal, not just pure resistance and DC voltage, it does also alter the impedance characteristics of the circuit, and can have a little bit of a resonant peak before the rolloff, depending on the values of the components and how they interact.
I can't find it right now, but another TB'er has posted spectrographs of frequency response curves with various value capacitors in the circuit.
I can't find it right now, but another TB'er has posted spectrographs of frequency response curves with various value capacitors in the circuit.
No expert here,but...
I had a set CHROMES put on the 1971 Fender Musicmaster I picked up and I am really liking the sound and feel of them.
I had a set CHROMES put on the 1971 Fender Musicmaster I picked up and I am really liking the sound and feel of them.
Bought a set of chromes today. Tomorrow the fender flats are coming off and the chromes are going on along with a brand new set up. As far as Im concerned, you get what you pay for.
I've used both the Chromes and the new Fenders and I don't recognise the tone from the Chromes that you describe. In my experience they are the furthest from a Jamerson sound you can get in a flat. I found them very much like a roundwound with a high mid peak that I don't like. If a mellow sound is what you're after wait for the Fenders to bed in or better still buy some Labella 760FL's (and play them in too).
