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Fender Flats 9050M long scale 55-105

jamersonburton

jamersonburton

Jul 22, 2011
1,090
476
#1
Over the next few weeks i will put some reviews on how these strings sound and evolve.
(Rig is a Matt Freeman Squier Pbass---->Big Muff Pi Bass pedal--->Fender rumble 15).
Previous strings on bass: GHS precision flats 45-105 and Dean Markley nickel steel 40-100.
:bassist::bassist::bassist::bassist::bassist::bassist::bassist:

Day 1 with fender flats: Pretty bright right out of the box, my 3 month old dean markley nickelsteel rounds were a mellower but i need to give these fenders some time to age (obviously). They do feel a bit grippy but that starts to die after about an hour of play (still not gone yet).
I took out a peanut butter jar and sliced off a little bit (NOT TOO MUCH) of the oil resting on top of the peanut butter. I lubricated my fingers with no more than a little bit of it and then jammed away, it seems to have worked well.

I think im gonna run on the tredmill and use the punching bag before i play it again to get nice and sweaty :D
This is just day one, more to come...
 
#2
I am interested on if dirtying your hands before play really does deaden the strings faster. I personally just wanked on them pop & slap and that did the trick just fine, but to each their own. I've also spent about 3+ weeks with the same set of Fenders as well as over 2 months with the regular light set and though they do have a dead thump as flatwounds should, the new Fender flatwounds lack the most fundamentals of any flatwound I've tried (GHS, La Bella, Ernie Ball, D'Addario, Rotosound). To me, they have least amount of presence and tend to have a muddied-up thump. Again, this is just to my ears. Fender flats are just one of those flats that are good to have if a player's limit is strictly around the $20-25 range for flatwounds, but even so, there's GHS to (more than) accommodate those needs.

Hope they work out for you.
 
#3
Day 2 with fender flats: Not bad strings. the stickyness bugs me and the massive guage (55-105), but thats because im used to playing 40-100 rounds. the trebely fresh clank is dying now, and its the way a flatwound should sound. i personally so far, prefer the GHS flats 45-105. but its only been two days.
 
#4
Day 5 with fender flats: For flats in the price range of 20-25 bucks, they are great. they have lost that initial stickyness and have but still have some high mids to cut through. they sound great, however i am finding the tension to be a pain. SUPER HIGH. i think im more of a rounds person so im gonna switch back to rounds.
 
#5
jamersonburton said:
Day 5 with fender flats: For flats in the price range of 20-25 bucks, they are great. they have lost that initial stickyness and have but still have some high mids to cut through. they sound great, however i am finding the tension to be a pain. SUPER HIGH. i think im more of a rounds person so im gonna switch back to rounds.
Click to expand...

Haha! Well, those Fender flat gauges are (at least in my book) one of the top 5 stiffest flats anyone can buy. Among the heaviest brand of (usual) flats available, I would rank them as such:

La Bella Original 1954 (James Jamerson set)
Rotosound 77LE (Steve Harris set)
Fender 9050M
Ernie Ball Group I
D'Addario ECB82

Of the heaviest gauged brands that I've listed, I have tested all except the La Bella set, so anyone is welcome to switch the top spot between the Rotosounds or La Bella set. And yes, as stiff as D'Addario Chromes heaviest set is, of all the heavy/medium, sets, it's the absolute lightest and flexible. Also, Fender's set is (from my experience) stiffer than Ernie Ball's heaviest set. Even though the EB flats have slightly thicker gauges, they just barely loose out to the Fender flats in terms of flexibility/stiffness. If anything, $20 for a set of stiff flats (if that's your thing) isn't bad.
 
#6
okay... i just put them back on O.o, how could i not resist?
Day 6 with fender flats: Still has some high end twang. i actually like these strings now. no more stickyness and now i just need them to age.... back to the kitchen!!!!!! :)
Ill put up a soundclip onto my soundcloud page (name: Musician-Hobby).
 
#7
I have a soundclip of what the flats sound like in a mix.
the song is called Silver Lining. Keep in mind that the eq is NOT flat so its not a 100% accurate representation of what the strings really are but its close. here's the link

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#10
I just got some today and found I couldn't get the E string through the p bass body because the winding around the string is too fat - so I've put it through the bridge and the winding is now lying on the saddle because it's too long! Seem alright though, bit brighter than I remember the old ones were
 

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