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D'Addario...Flex Steels?

#241
I just put a set of the flex-steels (45-105) on a Suhr J bass I recently acquired. They didn't change the sound of the bass at all because, as it turns out, it was strung with flex-steels to begin with. I just didn't know that at the time.

I really, really like these on this bass, (but then, I used to like Rotosounds on a Ric back in the day). I play a pretty even mix of finger style and slap, and these do both very well. I have no problem dialing in a tonal range that goes from very modern to very traditional, but you will never mistake these for flats. I've gigged out with these and the sound is very focused and sits well in the mix.

These obviously aren't for everyone, and probably not for every bass. I have a 5-string set I'm going to try on my PJ-5, but I'll wait until the Sunbeams I've got on there now are done. The flex-steels do remind me a bit of Rotosounds, but much more refined and even, and they don't chew my fingers up. I was not put off by the texture at all.

I will say that the tension is not as flexible as I had expected based upon everyone's description, but that's been true for me of D'Addario strings all along. I might try out a lighter gauge set of these on my Fender J-bass which is currently strung with Sunbeams.

Overall I think these strings are a winner. I probably won't use them on all my basses, but definitely will on at least one so far.

-Alan
 
#242
red_rhino said:
I just put a set of the flex-steels (45-105) on a Suhr J bass I recently acquired. They didn't change the sound of the bass at all because, as it turns out, it was strung with flex-steels to begin with. I just didn't know that at the time.

I really, really like these on this bass, (but then, I used to like Rotosounds on a Ric back in the day). I play a pretty even mix of finger style and slap, and these do both very well. I have no problem dialing in a tonal range that goes from very modern to very traditional, but you will never mistake these for flats. I've gigged out with these and the sound is very focused and sits well in the mix.

These obviously aren't for everyone, and probably not for every bass. I have a 5-string set I'm going to try on my PJ-5, but I'll wait until the Sunbeams I've got on there now are done. The flex-steels do remind me a bit of Rotosounds, but much more refined and even, and they don't chew my fingers up. I was not put off by the texture at all.

I will say that the tension is not as flexible as I had expected based upon everyone's description, but that's been true for me of D'Addario strings all along. I might try out a lighter gauge set of these on my Fender J-bass which is currently strung with Sunbeams.

Overall I think these strings are a winner. I probably won't use them on all my basses, but definitely will on at least one so far.

-Alan
Click to expand...

The lighter gauge on a Jazz is a nice combo in my opinion.

On a side note, another possible comparison to the FlexSteels are Dean Markley SS Helix in terms of sound/feel and tension. But a lot less on the wallet. Helix are a bit more modern.

On a 5 string I have, I stumbled into this comparison since I've been waiting on a B string in the FlexSteel to marry up with the lighter gauge set, and I put on a set of the DM's....
 
#243
chinjazz said:
The lighter gauge on a Jazz is a nice combo in my opinion.

On a side note, another possible comparison to the FlexSteels are Dean Markley SS Helix in terms of sound/feel and tension. But a lot less on the wallet. Helix are a bit more modern.

On a 5 string I have, I stumbled into this comparison since I've been waiting on a B string in the FlexSteel to marry up with the lighter gauge set, and I put on a set of the DM's....
Click to expand...

Would you mind doing a more detailed tone comparison?

The Dean Markely Helix Stainless strings are my favorite string. I love the tone. Deeper character than some other strings I have tried. Full low mid, complex mids, even highs. But one of my basses has a tunomatic bridge that wont' work with the tapered cores. So I cannot use the Helix strings on that bass : \
 
#244
Toptube said:
Would you mind doing a more detailed tone comparison?

The Dean Markely Helix Stainless strings are my favorite string. I love the tone. Deeper character than some other strings I have tried. Full low mid, complex mids, even highs. But one of my basses has a tunomatic bridge that wont' work with the tapered cores. So I cannot use the Helix strings on that bass : \
Click to expand...

The set of DM Helix stainless I have on my MM style bass are the M-4's - 45-128. Both FlexSteels and these are extremely similar, and I think the main difference is the less complex midrange on the FlexSteels (this is what I equate to modern. And why I called the Helix more modern). They both embody full low mods, and even highs. Some might disagree with my assessment of the mids. I do find them both very similar even though the Helix set is on a MM style bass and the FlexSteels are on my Jazz basses. Hope this helps some.
 
#245
chinjazz said:
The set of DM Helix stainless I have on my MM style bass are the M-4's - 45-128. Both FlexSteels and these are extremely similar, and I think the main difference is the less complex midrange on the FlexSteels (this is what I equate to modern. And why I called the Helix more modern). They both embody full low mods, and even highs. Some might disagree with my assessment of the mids. I do find them both very similar even though the Helix set is on a MM style bass and the FlexSteels are on my Jazz basses. Hope this helps some.
Click to expand...

hmm! thanks!
 
#246
dtsamples said:
I apologize for not searching this whole thread, but I bought a set and love them except the .130 is visibly and audibly different from the other four strings. Almost looks and sounds like nickel and I'm wondering if it's an error. Anyone else have this experience? View attachment 402554
Click to expand...
wow yeah, that looks like a nickel string next to 4 ss strings!
 
#248
dtsamples said:
It is. They sent me a new pack and the b is fine. They want me to send the old strings back and at that point I don't know whether they'll admit the mistake or whether I won't hear from them again. So they fixed my problem, but others may run into the same issue.
Click to expand...

Well I wouldn't expect them to message you back and say hey guess what that was a nickel string, oops. They might, however. Which would be cool. But they got you a replacement set, so that's great.

they want you to send the whole set back, because they want to be able to source the issue as a whole. If it's a nickel string, they want to figure out how that got in there and if that is happening/could happen again. If it's not a nickel string, they want to figure out why that string is clearly different.
 
#253
scotch said:
Seems like an isolated incident. Not much a company can do but send you a replacement.
Click to expand...

In all the years I have used D'Addarios (at least 20), I got one bad D string. I emailed them and they sent me two for free. They wanted to know the batch number of the package. I've also been using their guitar strings forever, and never had a bad string.
 
#254
I've been trying these out on my Sadowsky. I was using DR Fat Beams before. My take is they are pretty nice...they feel tighter than Fat Beams but looser than the Lo Riders. Due to the hex core, the B string is better, more punchy than DRs. Tone wise, they are not nearly as "scooped" in the mids. They have significantly better low mids than the DRs. I still love the DRs for my Modulus jazz bass...but these are pretty great on my Sadowsky. However, my one major gripe is that they are in no way as smooth as DRs, and surely will eat up the frets faster. Honestly this is their only flaw. If these new Flex Steels had a smoother outer wrap, they'd be close to perfect. I think D'Addario should really consider another formula for the outer wraps, but keep the same core. I hope they are listening!
 
#256
DaveAceofBass said:
I've been trying these out on my Sadowsky. I was using DR Fat Beams before. My take is they are pretty nice...they feel tighter than Fat Beams but looser than the Lo Riders. Due to the hex core, the B string is better, more punchy than DRs. Tone wise, they are not nearly as "scooped" in the mids. They have significantly better low mids than the DRs. I still love the DRs for my Modulus jazz bass...but these are pretty great on my Sadowsky. However, my one major gripe is that they are in no way as smooth as DRs, and surely will eat up the frets faster. Honestly this is their only flaw. If these new Flex Steels had a smoother outer wrap, they'd be close to perfect. I think D'Addario should really consider another formula for the outer wraps, but keep the same core. I hope they are listening!
Click to expand...

Don't know how long you've had them on but IME of about 2 months they do get smoother over time. Haven't noticed any excess fret wear. Have only used the nickel Lo Riders so they are a bit rougher than those at first but as you say also more flexible. And they sound better too.
 
#258
DaveAceofBass said:
my one major gripe is that they are in no way as smooth as DRs, and surely will eat up the frets faster. Honestly this is their only flaw. If these new Flex Steels had a smoother outer wrap, they'd be close to perfect. I think D'Addario should really consider another formula for the outer wraps, but keep the same core. I hope they are listening!
Click to expand...

Man, don't worry about it. I see people talking all the time about how X string is going to eat frets. It's not a problem unless you have particularly soft frets, which is not normal.

I've had a few different basses, am a big fan of steel strings. I used Rotos for a long time. I've never experienced any action/setup ruining fretwear. You're not going to turn around 3 packs of flex steels later and have a compromised bass.
 
#260
DaveAceofBass said:
That's not what we're talking about. We are talking about using a different kind of wrap wire, more like what DR uses.
Click to expand...

These don't sound like DRs. They also last a lot longer.

This is the same case with Rotos. Back int he 70s they were very rough feeling, and super bright. The new Rotos are not made the same way at all. They feel smoother and aren't all that bright like they used to be. ProSteels are brighter than the current Rotos. The FlexSteels are brighter than the ProSteels.
 

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