Looks good to me. Color seems to fall between the previous darker colored Chromes and Fender "greenies"
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D'Addario Chromes User Group- Chromeys Speak Out!
- Thread starter Rip Topaz
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Looks good to me. Color seems to fall between the previous darker colored Chromes and Fender "greenies"
I prefer the darker color. Thankfully, I have no plans to change my old Chromes any time soon!
Top tip. Never, ever throw away serviceable chromes..they just get better with age.
Just fitted a 20 year old set on my new CV 70's P bass (avatar). Headstock end is a bit gnarly and frayed but they've been on several basses.
Dead with a gnarly mid range,....pure gold. I treat them with kid gloves when I fit them and I'll be very sad the day one breaks.
Just fitted a 20 year old set on my new CV 70's P bass (avatar). Headstock end is a bit gnarly and frayed but they've been on several basses.
Dead with a gnarly mid range,....pure gold. I treat them with kid gloves when I fit them and I'll be very sad the day one breaks.
This.
The set on my Monterey P-Bass are 13 years old & have been on a few basses. Agreed... they just get better with age.
I just ordered my first set of Chromes in over 8 years! My very first set of flats was a set of Chromes on an Ibanez GSR200 I used to own. I then had them on a Squier P, Squier Jazz V, Squier Precision V and Fender BG-31 ABG over the years.
Since then I’ve taken several detours but I’m still a flats man. The set I just ordered from Fretnation is a custom balanced tension set that I will tune in D Standard on my Ibanez Roadstar II RB630. Gauges are 105-80-60-45. Can’t wait to be back on Chromes!
Since then I’ve taken several detours but I’m still a flats man. The set I just ordered from Fretnation is a custom balanced tension set that I will tune in D Standard on my Ibanez Roadstar II RB630. Gauges are 105-80-60-45. Can’t wait to be back on Chromes!
In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit that, although I do have a set of D' Addario Chromes (as opposed to Optima's "Chromes" - which I also use) on one of my 24 basses, I'm hardly what you'd call a "Chromey". They're on one of my basses - pretty much by chance. Why are they there? Well...
As a general rule, I never use D' Addario strings. They aren't bad strings - by any means; but, something they use in their polishing/finishing process irritates the bejeezus out of my hands. The only way I can make them useable is a long, intense cleaning process - using various nasty, pretty dangerous chemicals that I'd rather not use. Since I can take any other company's strings out of the pack; put them on a bass/guitar; and just... play them, D' Addario strings would have to be really special to make all that worth while. And, TBH, they simply haven't been worth the effort. However...
10-12 years ago, I bought an '80s Kramer Forum III bass - a pretty nasty, beat up one - as a project, and it had a well broken-in but decent set of Chromes on it. Since they were old and broken-in enough that they didn't bother my hands, I took them off, wiped them down, and stashed them away. Moving forward to December 2019, I got my hands on a G&L Custom Shop (Lefty) Tom Hamilton ASAT bass. The EXL 170s that it came with had to go, naturally; so... what to put on it?? I thought "Well, it's an active bass, and God knows I've got enough basses with Old School, thumpy flats already; so... why not try those old Chromes? Assuming they'll fit, of course..." Well, they did fit, and tuned up/intonated just fine. How are they? Well, they're still on the bass, and I'm in no hurry to replace them. Which means that I'm happy with them, I guess. Although, I do have another set of those Optima Chromes...
As a general rule, I never use D' Addario strings. They aren't bad strings - by any means; but, something they use in their polishing/finishing process irritates the bejeezus out of my hands. The only way I can make them useable is a long, intense cleaning process - using various nasty, pretty dangerous chemicals that I'd rather not use. Since I can take any other company's strings out of the pack; put them on a bass/guitar; and just... play them, D' Addario strings would have to be really special to make all that worth while. And, TBH, they simply haven't been worth the effort. However...
10-12 years ago, I bought an '80s Kramer Forum III bass - a pretty nasty, beat up one - as a project, and it had a well broken-in but decent set of Chromes on it. Since they were old and broken-in enough that they didn't bother my hands, I took them off, wiped them down, and stashed them away. Moving forward to December 2019, I got my hands on a G&L Custom Shop (Lefty) Tom Hamilton ASAT bass. The EXL 170s that it came with had to go, naturally; so... what to put on it?? I thought "Well, it's an active bass, and God knows I've got enough basses with Old School, thumpy flats already; so... why not try those old Chromes? Assuming they'll fit, of course..." Well, they did fit, and tuned up/intonated just fine. How are they? Well, they're still on the bass, and I'm in no hurry to replace them. Which means that I'm happy with them, I guess. Although, I do have another set of those Optima Chromes...
Yup, first batch of new color Chromes received. Can confirm. The question is now, did they get a weird supply and this is a temporary change, or is this for good?
The other poster is correct in that that is what the official word from Yamaha is, but as with anything it pays to measure and verify independently - especially as it pertains to specific combinations.
For Chromes, longs have a taper that starts at 36.875" and the super longs 38" for a difference of 1.125". For reference:
Would the super longs have been a better fit? It's debatable: the start of the taper would be right up against the edge of the peg. Before I had them installed and measured just now I had assumed it would have actually have been a bit farther onto the peg - hence my decision to not chance it and go with regular longs.
Regardless, the silks on the longs have more than enough breathing room between them and the nut, so I'll keep it as is for now. I'd file this under both seem to work - and longs are $5 cheaper.
I think Yamaha's recommendation for "extra long" is based on the old "long scale" being 36.5" in winding length. Most companies have since moved to 37.1" - 37.25" for their "long scale" in the last few years, eliminating the need for "extra long" as such.
Anyway, sorry for the digression... Back to the regular programming...
It's a good discussion, because that "new" change in length you're describing can cause issues on some instruments. It's good to be aware of.
Why I always advocate for measuring yourself and not trusting blanket direction.
Update: I was curious enough to actually reach out to D'Addario - they are going back to the original blue color.
Curious if anyone has played the new Gibson flats? They look alot like Chrome's to me but with a nice wine colored silk.... Even the packaging looks alittle familiar....They are only forty bucks so I'll probably just get a set and try them out....
Hi everybody ..
Just wanna say that today I pulled out my Elrick Evo 4 stringers with an old set of ECB84 installed on it, and … wooow ..
After years of TI JF344 and some stints with Pyramid Gold, LaBella LTF and Rotosound SM77, I have to say that this set of Chromes really suits my playing style .. they are balanced and sufficiently flexible and smooth ..
Tone is nice and mellow; good job D’Addario (I remembered they were cheaper though .. in Europe they’ve got the same price as that of TI JF344)
Just wanna say that today I pulled out my Elrick Evo 4 stringers with an old set of ECB84 installed on it, and … wooow ..
After years of TI JF344 and some stints with Pyramid Gold, LaBella LTF and Rotosound SM77, I have to say that this set of Chromes really suits my playing style .. they are balanced and sufficiently flexible and smooth ..
Tone is nice and mellow; good job D’Addario (I remembered they were cheaper though .. in Europe they’ve got the same price as that of TI JF344)
I think they have gotten more expensive. Still a good string. I bought some fender flats due to the lower price, and they are really nice also. They actually feel similar, but don't sound the same (made by d'addario, though). I would say when the brightness wears off, the chromes sound like most flats, but the Fenders have retained some mid-growl. The TIs are almost too flexible, but I wouldn't have anything else on my fretless.
