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FENDER 9050CL FLATS NOW AVAILABLE AT JUST STRINGS!

iiipopes

iiipopes

Supporting Member
May 4, 2009
12,891
10,355
#1
Fender's new 9050CL set, premiered at the last NAMM show in January, are now in stock at JustSrings.com. These are the new gold standard for flatwound strings: depth, growl, articulation, consistency (both up the neck and string-to-string). These are everything a guy would ever want in a flat. These are the strings that changed me from a roundwound guy after 35+ years.

Even if you don't like flats, or even if another brand or gauge are the preferred favorite, everybody needs to try these strings at least once to see why they are the new reference standard for flats.

No, I'm not connected with FMIC or any other company. It's just after decades of complaining about why string companies don't have a balanced set of flats with tone, and preaching about what is really needed, finally, here they are.

I was lucky last fall and got an advance set from a friend who contacted the Fender rep. Now they're available. 9050CL.

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#4
Fine Cut said:
think you could grab me a couple JustStrings.com discount coupons when you leave work today? ;)
Click to expand...

:D

I gotta say though, you don't have to work for JustStrings to give them props on TB. That's one of the best online retailers out there IMHO.

On edit: Just checked these out at JS, and I'm really liking the gauges on the 5-string set (with the D'A Chromes I have to peel the silk windings off the B to get it through the hole in an EBMM bridge). Do these behave like Chromes? That is, are they meant to also get that very bright, articulate sound that distinguishes Chromes from most other flats?
 
#8
NortyFiner said:
What's the difference, besides the fact that "Fender" flats aren't really Fender anymore?
Click to expand...
Well, first, they really are Fender. Second, they're steel wrap, not chrome, so they aren't hollow sounding. They have actual tone, from mellow to growl, however you may prefer. They keep getting better the more I gig with them. The width of the ribbon of the outer wrap is even varied according to which string, so each stays very flexible, and therefore has superior tone and feel and are balanced not just up the neck, but from string to string across the fingerboard as well.

THEY ARE NOT -- I REPEAT -- NOT CHROME!!!

They are steel. Among their other tones you can get out of them, you can get subdued growl that approaches Roto growl, but controlled.

With most flats, the 105 would be hopelessly hollow, thuddy or clanky, hence most commercial sets until you get to the really thick gauges have a 100 or even a 95. With the new windings/core formula, they have bite and clarity that you can really dig in when you need to, or back off for great understated tone and sustain that just absolutely supports the mix. Add a little foam under the bridge cover, and you can get a tone better than some of the UEB's out there.

I've played rounds that don't have as much character as the new 9050CL (CL for "custom light").
 
#9
Fine Cut said:
oh, i know. i've heard nothing but good things; this post just has a twinge of "phishing" to it.
Click to expand...
No "phishing." I'm not connected to anybody. I don't have any endorsement contracts. They don't know me from Adam. I am just so damn happy that after playing for over 35 years I finally have a set of strings that are flat, have tone, and have balance that I'm just that stoked about it.

No longer do I have to worry about a G string twanging out. No longer do I have to worry about an E string going dead -- dying before its time, and always having to have a spare E string to keep tone consistent. No longer do I have to change strings after every weekend gig, but can actually do multiple gigs with the same set of strings. No longer do I have to budget a couple of months in advance on string purchasing (yes, they're economical as well as durable). No longer do I have to check to turn down the tone knob on my bass from 10 to 8 for the first couple of sets until they settle in.

I can just put these on, and play....
 
#10
I like Chromes a lot and if these are similar or 'better' then they have the battle half-won already. I like the guages of this set, will have to try them one day soon.

Personally I have never had problems with the E string on other sets, nor have I had trouble finding a .105 in a set of my choice (i.e. Labella, Sadowsky, GHS, etc.)
 
#13
Just a clarification for those that tend to absorb things a little slower than some (me), Fender has been offering the 'new' flats for some time, this post is simply referring to the addition of set that offers a .105 E, instead of the .100 E, correct??

... also, what is the ball end color for this new E? ...

... and to those that have used the .100 and the .105 set, comparisons on tension changes, etc?? .. thank you
 
#14
Say what you will: the Fender flats are more grey looking, not shiny chrome. The Fender rep, of course, would not divulge who makes them, but adamantly says they are not by D'addario. I've asked, LowEndLover has asked, Cassius987 has asked, etc.

This may be in common: everyone forgets that Mapes makes the raw wire for just about everybody else.

Of course, chromium steel is a kind of steel. My point being is that they are more of a carbon or nickel steel, not a chrome steel outer wrap.

Oh, yeah -- they're all still light green silks.

And yes, the new set is in the gauges: 45-60-80-105. But in the grand scheme of things, these reformulated flats, of whatever gauge, haven't been out that long, anyway.

The point is they have tone, durability and consistency, especially a nice subdued growl, which a lot of famous flats just don't.

Here is just one example of the care taken in the engineering in these sets: when you look closely at the wrap of an 80 and a 105, you will see that the actual ribbon wind is narrower on the 105, which promotes flexibility, which promotes more overtones, which promotes consistency of tone from string to string.
 
#18
Oh fiddlesticks, more steel strings.

Where can I get chrome strings. I'd imagine they'd be good for metal.

/sarcasm
:hiding:

Honestly though, I haven't really tried the NEW "Fender" Flats. I'm rockin' a set of D'addario Chromes and I don't really see a reason to change to these if D'addario is making the Fender flats, anyway. :o
 
#20
Cassius, It's okay. Remember, I live in a reactionary part of the country. So whatever the subject matter at hand, where I live, anything new and better is reactively greeted with derision and contempt instead of open curiosity and a willingness to discuss the matter. So I'm used to dealing with such.

Yes, forty-five years ago they were burning Beatles records where I live. Over a century ago the most notorious vigil ante group there ever was rode roughshod over the population.

These comments are just more of the same.

I would only say to all those who would sneer instead of at least trying these strings and coming to their own conclusion after a fair trial that there was a time when the very instrument they play was also greeted with derision and contempt by the "real" musicians of the day.
 

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