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Fender 9050 flats

lax4bags

lax4bags

May 15, 2012
1,961
506
Alabama
#1
I never could get in to labellas. GHS precision flats are my standard but this last time I tried out these fenders. Just as I read they start out a little barky with some zing to them but after a few weeks settle in and are really great. The tension is just right without the rubberyness of other expensive flats I’ve tried.

I highly recommended them for all those fellow meat and potatoes p bass thumpers out there.

I’m trying to think of other flats I like and the only other one that comes to mind are the sadowsky blues.

Just my 2 coins.

What are your favorite flats?
 
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#2
Fender 9050L (45-100) are my favorite flats, specifically for my Jazz bass. I tend to agree that they starting out rather bright and even "clangy", but once they settle into their nicely broken-in state after a month or two, they have a very pleasing low-mid grind that seems to match up well with a J bass.

GHS Precision Flats (45-95) would be my top choice for my P bass.
 
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#5
I have Fender 9050L’s on my Fender American Special Precision.

I have DR Legends on my Fender CIJ ‘51 RI and my Squier VM P/J.

I have D’Addario XL Chromes on my Fender Player Jazz and my Squier VM Fretless.

I like each of those string sets on the basses that they are on. I think that they are all good strings. Each of them sound a little bit different, but all of them sound good.

I have a spare set of each of those to try on other basses.

On my basses that have rounds, my Fender LE Am Pro Jazz, Fender Modern Player Telecaster Bass, Squier JV Precision, and Squier VM 70’s Jazz, I use DR Black Beauties. They are my favorite rounds.

I have a Fender American Performer P/J inbound. I plan on trying Black Beauties on that bass. We’ll see how that works out. If I don’t like how it sounds with rounds, I have other strings to try on it.
 
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#6
I don't really have A favorite flatwound brand/gauge. Out of 24 basses, only 2 of them wear rounds (GHS Boomers) because that's the tone I want from them. Two others wear tapes (Roto 88's) because that's the tone I want from those two. All the others? Flats. Currently, they're wearing:
- TI Jazz Flats
- La Bella Low Tension Flats
- La Bella DTFs, in various gauges
- Sadowsky Blue Labels (old style)
- Sadowsky Black Labels
- Optima RB Flats
- Fender 9050M's
- Roto 77's (including the Steve Harris Signatures)
- GHS Precision Flats
- Dogal R44 flats
I find that there's as much difference among flats as there are among rounds, and I like my basses to sound... just the way I want them to. Which has meant a lot of experimenting and string changing. And it's still on-going; there are 4 or 5 basses that I'm still fussing around with. I don't know what they'll wind up wearing as their "forever" strings, but I do know that they'll be flats. Unless they wind up with Roto 88's...:rolleyes:
 
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#7
I too like the Fenders. Have them on my '76 Thunderbird. It had TIs on it for years and on a fluke I thought I try the Fenders I had in laying around. Never worked all that well for me on most basses, but I see no reason to take them off the T-Bird. Very thick and with slight amount of clarity.

I have TIs on one bass right now. GHS Precision flats on a '58 Pbass, '71 Jazz and a G&L BABE L2000. Recently I put some Colbalt Flats on a Epi Vintage Pro T-Bird--very nice.

All the strings do different things I wanting on the various basses.
 
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#10
Hiya all,
I just mounted some Fender 9050 on my precision 70s CIJ. They sound very good.
Just a question: are these the same (eventually other than the different gauge) just in different packagings?
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As to the flats I like...
I like La Bellas Deep Talkin' on precision but my neighbours don't :-D
On the other end of the tension spectrum I also like TI Jazz flats. I have them on a fretless jazz bass and they sing very well. Very low tension and that neck thanks me everytime for the relief :-D
Ernie Ball Cobalt flats are also nice but they sound more like roundwounds in a way.
Haven't tried any other flats. I heard a youtube of ErnieBall Group III flats and they sound very well. Perhaps the next ones I'll try
 
#12
Oh, search all the old threads where I burn a lot of bandwidth waxing poetic about these strings. I wish Fender still made the "CL" set with the 105 E string. In the meantime, when the E string starts to go thump, a new Ernie Ball stainless flat has a similar feel and a little bit of growl that coordinates well with well-seated 9050 ADG strings, and will save having to purchase a new set. Years ago, I steadily gigged with a set of 9050CL's for two years, changed the E string, and gigged the same set another year before moving on to other bands and other repertoire, hence, different strings.
 
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#16
iiipopes said:
9050's come only in standard long scale. That isn't a problem on the ADG strings, but the E string is definitely an issue.
Click to expand...
True, kinda. But all through the 60's and 70's, all Fenders, short or long had one or more wraps on the posts. It is a bit more dicey on a Stang though, being harder to keep twists out. That's why I'd want used, so as not to throw money on a new set and watch it turn to s***....lol
 
#19
FranF said:
If any of y'all tried them and don't like them, let me know! I want to try them on my Mustang, even though some folks are still saying they're wrong for a Mustang.
Click to expand...
They're not wrong tonally. They sound great. It's just that conventional wisdom doesn't like the speaking part of the string wrapped around a tuner post. But if Fender themselves are doing it, then go for it!
 
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#20
Oh I know, tonally it should be acceptable. And really, in the 70s all Mustangs had wraps on the posts, so it's feasible. Just don't wanna drop $25 if I can avoid it. The E string is always a crapshoot when doing this, especially since on a 'Stang, you can't let the string turn to keep from twisting while you're tuning to pitch. That's usually instant death for a flatwound E.... :-(
 

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