Fender flats wearing down//similar reco?

[keatz]

I absolutely love the sound of Fender flats on my 79 Tokai Hard Puncher, but Ive had the same issue twice now in 2 sets with them wearing down on my frets, causing a flat spot which leads to string buzz and sustain issues. Once on d string and once on g string on different frets(frets have been leveled and polished between string sets). I've lost faith in the strings now and I'm not getting bitten a third time.

Suggestion on another flatwound with that similar midrange push? I've put some La Bella's on(knowingly not similar) and as good as they are, I've discovered it's not the tone I'm after. I've had a play with TI's at a bass store and the super low tension is really hard for me deal with.

Thanks.

 

[michael_t]

I absolutely love the sound of Fender flats on my 79 Tokai Hard Puncher, but Ive had the same issue twice now in 2 sets with them wearing down on my frets, causing a flat spot which leads to string buzz and sustain issues. Once on d string and once on g string on different frets(frets have been leveled and polished between string sets). I've lost faith in the strings now and I'm not getting bitten a third time.

Most flats are stainless steel, so if Fender flats are wearing down the frets, you might have to lighten up on your fretting action. I don't think changing to another brand of flats will help much.

I've used Fender 9050L extensively on one of my Jazz basses, and no fret wear to speak of.

 

[keatz]

Most flats are stainless steel, so if Fender flats are wearing down the frets, you might have to lighten up on your fretting action. I don't think changing to another brand of flats will help much.

I've used Fender 9050L extensively on one of my Jazz basses, and no fret wear to speak of.

Ok, well I've been playing for over 20 years, I used to play a bit harder when playing metal and prog, but the last few years I'm just playing general rock with a much lighter touch, and this has only ever happened twice, with these strings. I have cobalt flats on my other P bass with no issues.

 

[rockear]

Just to be clear you're talking about the strings getting dented by the frets, not the frets being worn by the strings, right?

I'm a big fan of the "old" 9050s, that they stopped making ~2010. I haven't tried the new ones. I probably should. The closest I've found in terms of feel and sound to the old ones have been DR Legends and Roto 77s.

I've got a set of 22 year old 9050s on my #1 P bass. They definitely have dents in them, but I don't find that it affects the sound or the playability in any way that's noticable to me.

 

[michael_t]

Suggestion on another flatwound with that similar midrange push? I've put some La Bella's on(knowingly not similar) and as good as they are, I've discovered it's not the tone I'm after...

For another flatwould that's similar to the Fender in tonal character you can try either the Dunlop Flats or the Ernie Ball Stainless Steel Flats (NOT Cobalt), both of which are "semi-modern" in their flavor.

 

[keatz]

Just to be clear you're talking about the strings getting dented by the frets, not the frets being worn by the strings, right?

I'm a big fan of the "old" 9050s, that they stopped making ~2010. I haven't tried the new ones. I probably should. The closest I've found in terms of feel and sound to the old ones have been DR Legends and Roto 77s.

I've got a set of 22 year old 9050s on my #1 P bass. They definitely have dents in them, but I don't find that it affects the sound or the playability in any way that's noticable to me.

Yes correct. I really have no idea how it's happened and can't comprehend it myself, but it's happened twice in different spots and never had it happen before with any other string, so who knows......

 

[michael_t]

Just to be clear you're talking about the strings getting dented by the frets, not the frets being worn by the strings, right?

Yes correct.

Sorry I misunderstood your post. I thought you were talking about frets being worn down by the string.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

Hard Puncher indeed

 

[logdrum]

Maybe a bad batch of strings. GHS but they are really thumpy. I say DR Legends are in order

 

[SharpCat]

I would say ‘try chromes’ but the stainless mix is probably the same as 9050s. If it’s the strings that are wearing, not the frets, maybe just change the strings more often? Flats have that “lasts forever” vibe, but even if in your usage they need changing sometimes, they’re probably longer lived than rounds.

 

[keatz]

Sorry I misunderstood your post. I thought you were talking about frets being worn down by the string.

I also missed your wording in your reply which would have pointed the misunderstanding out to me.
All good mate.

 

[Freddy T]

I would suggest you take the bass to a different guitar tech for a second opinion on the last crown and leveling job in that area of the D and G strings. Is it possible the frets in that area were shaped too flat or too peaked, causing the odd string wear? If that's the case then you may have string wear problems with any set you use until it's fixed. Otherwise, it may just be an issue with the strings, although that seems unlikely to me, it's always possible. Good luck!

 

[Yahboy]

I absolutely love the sound of Fender flats on my 79 Tokai Hard Puncher, but Ive had the same issue twice now in 2 sets with them wearing down on my frets, causing a flat spot which leads to string buzz and sustain issues. Once on d string and once on g string on different frets(frets have been leveled and polished between string sets). I've lost faith in the strings now and I'm not getting bitten a third time.

Suggestion on another flatwound with that similar midrange push? I've put some La Bella's on(knowingly not similar) and as good as they are, I've discovered it's not the tone I'm after. I've had a play with TI's at a bass store and the super low tension is really hard for me deal with.

Thanks.

Control your fretting finger pressure....

 

[fretno]

With metal on metal you are going to get wear. Ideally the strings wear more than the frets. I personally play very light and wear is minimal for me. Some players go through frets and fingerboards. It is what it is.

 

[el murdoque]

I've had the same issues with Chromes. A mere four years after installing them on my P bass, I was able to tune the instrument without a tuner, just by lining up the dents in the string and the frets. However, the sound had not changed, so I ignored the issue. I have that bass tuned to D standard now and installed Fender Flats (heavy gauge), which held up great for the year they've been on.
One more string that may or may not give you a longer life span are the Optima Flats. They have a very balanced, middle of the road kind of sound.

 

[keatz]

Control your fretting finger pressure....

I'm not an overly hard fretter. I used to be but the last 5 years I've put more focus on fretting softer because I realised I was pressing some notes sharp on the lower frets. I now glance at my always on tuner every now and then to make sure I'm not fretting sharp, which means I'm not fretting too hard. I've been playing over 20 years and this issue only just happened with these recent sets. Unless my frets weren't levelled properly. I guess I wait and see if it happens to my next set of strings.

 

[micguy]

This is what you want - you want your strings to wear, as changing them is much easier than changing your frets. If you get strings that are hard enough that your frets wear, you'll be in a much worse situation.

 

[klyph]

All flats on a fretted bass will eventually do this, but tall frets will do it much faster, so I guess if you keep getting the board leveled and dressed the problem will lessen. Stainless steel is pretty soft AND brittle and fatigues rather easily. I don’t know what the core construction is on the Fenders, but you might want to find something with a different core construction and/or wound with NPS.
It could also simply be an inexperienced winder or bad QC at the manufacturer. I play with a full time guitar tech and worked as a production machinist and the pandemic/tariffs really messed with both the quality of consumables used in production AND staffing. My friend would sometimes break three or four strings at a gig when previously he would change all of them weekly. This was in ‘20-early 2022. We made lots of jokes about “pandemic strings”. At the same time I was experiencing really bizarre issues with consumables at work- bundles of blank sandpaper, contaminated lubricants and coolants, etc. It can take a long time to cycle out even just a week or two of bad production!
Strings have to be wound with a balance between form and tension on the core and the winding. Too much tension and the core or the winding can break. Too little and the winding doesn’t “wrap” properly. It’s possible that you have experienced the latter with two sets of strings made by someone who was just trying to get through the day without breaking another d@mn core. Often times with anything made from steel, the imperfections are completely invisible until fatigue sets in. I would say to hold off on doing anything else to your frets and hunt for different strings. I have been using DR Legends and really like them for a firmer string, I still have light gauge Chromes on some basses, I usually get five or six years out of them before they get divots (I have a pretty heavy left hand). Good luck.

 

[shirojiro]

How long has it taken to dent the strings?

(BTW I read it as the frets getting dented as well)

I just changed a set of Cobalt flats on my SBMM Ray34 because they were dented from the frets. I look at strings (even flats) as consumables, and don't expect them to last forever. I know some people have decades-old flat wound strings on their instruments, but I haven't had that experience in general.

 

[keatz]

How long has it taken to dent the strings?

(BTW I read it as the frets getting dented as well)

I just changed a set of Cobalt flats on my SBMM Ray34 because they were dented from the frets. I look at strings (even flats) as consumables, and don't expect them to last forever. I know some people have decades-old flat wound strings on their instruments, but I haven't had that experience in general.

Yeah good point. When I used to use rounds I was happy to change every few months, but maybe I had too high expectations for the longevity of flats. First set was about a year and second set maybe 9 months. I do like the tone of them, maybe I stick to them and just simply get a new set whenever needed.

Sometimes you need the simple answers on these threads to cut through our over-thinking and presumptions.....