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Early '60s Fender JB String sizes?
- Thread starter 77PBass
- Start date
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
vintage fender basses came with flatwounds (usually F80's or F80L's). not sure anout the early 60's ones, but i do know that my the '69 p bass that i bought brand new in december of '69 came with F80L's on it from the factory, and the string gauges were .045-.095. a friend of mine had a 100% original '63 fiesta red p bass complete with original strings on it, and the were exactly like my '69's. they had turquoise silk on them at both ends.
Thanks John...I was going to pm you directly. I ask this question because I am going to take my 1965 JB bass for a setup and I want to put the original gauge strings on it. I have been playing D'addario XL170's (.045 .065 .080 .100) and I am becoming less than satisfied with the feel.
OK, by the end of the '60s, all Fender basses were shipped with Fender 850s. I can't find the gauges of them, but I seem to recall the G was around 0.050" or .055, and the E was in the 0.106 range. Fender shipped all the basses with these until about 1982 or '83 when they introduced the short-lived Studio Bass line (my Vintage Series '62 Precision which was from the first batch of Vintage Series stuff shipped to Central Illinois came with Studio Bass flats, which were much like a less refined version of the now common T/I flats).
But, the actual gauge doesn't mean much. Tension and sound would seem to be more important than raw gauge. There's nothing I've found that feels and sounds like the original Fender 850s, though the GHS Precision Flats/Lakland Joe Osborn flats come close to what I recall them being like almost 40 years ago...
John
But, the actual gauge doesn't mean much. Tension and sound would seem to be more important than raw gauge. There's nothing I've found that feels and sounds like the original Fender 850s, though the GHS Precision Flats/Lakland Joe Osborn flats come close to what I recall them being like almost 40 years ago...
John
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
sorry to ressurrect, just bought some f-80 strings for my 69 fender jazz. i wanted to be period correct.
gauges are .050, .064, .080, .095
i'm going to try and hunt down some 850's and studio bass flats as well. great thread, thanks!
this ebay listing explains the difference in strings, 80 are light gauge and 850 are medium gauge, both are flats. 90 are roundwounds and 2200 are nylon tapes. the 3rd picture has a string chart with the different units. also in the fender coronado bass manual it has 80, 850, 90, and 2200 listed as well.
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gauges are .050, .064, .080, .095
i'm going to try and hunt down some 850's and studio bass flats as well. great thread, thanks!
this ebay listing explains the difference in strings, 80 are light gauge and 850 are medium gauge, both are flats. 90 are roundwounds and 2200 are nylon tapes. the 3rd picture has a string chart with the different units. also in the fender coronado bass manual it has 80, 850, 90, and 2200 listed as well.
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their is a set of NOS F-850 strings on ebay now. debating buying them. what's the tone like on those?
i wanted to hop back in here and see if anyone else has any info on the Fender 850 strings. I've gotten the F-80 gauges (2 posts above), just want to find the 850 gauges. I've read elsewhere on the forum .50-.108 but want to know for certain.
anyone?
anyone?
