• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Fender flats

#21
I use them on both my fretless basses (80's MIJ J, DiMarzio Model J pups, and active 80's Ibanez Musician) and they work really fine. Balanced is the right word, in comparison to the .050 Chrome (I put on a simple Squier CV 60 P), that are still too bright to my taste.
Im very happy with them.
 
#22
I love Fender flats, my second favourite.
Only thing i dont care for is the sizes and for the first few weeks they sound awful.
55/70/90/105 set needs a 110E
50/65/85/100 set needs a 105E
45/60/80/100 set is the best.
After about a month they sound great.
 
#23
I had the fenders on my p type for about 10 years and recently switched to LaBella. Right now the labellas have a bit of zing still so it's hard to compare tone. The fenders are more flexible though
 
#24
I have a set of the 9050CLs on my Hamer Cruise Bass 2-Tek. Down-tuned DGCF. Love em! Plus the green silks look cool on my matching green headstock. On that bass, Chromes always were a bit too zingy/ringy, even when broken it. The 9050s are just right.
YMMV
 
#25
MobileHolmes said:
I had the fenders on my p type for about 10 years and recently switched to LaBella. Right now the labellas have a bit of zing still so it's hard to compare tone. The fenders are more flexible though
Click to expand...
La Bella's can take a while to break in, months in fact. However I find that on a P bass, you can still get that grind and crisp edge that may disappear with some flats, or be over exaggerated with others. What worked for me was balancing out the natural characteristics of the bass. For example a bass that tends to be muddy, something like chromes may work, for a bass that is naturally brighter or aggressive, the La Bella's balance it right out.
 
#26
Thanks for all the replies. How long is break in period for these strings, or do they get better as they get older? Another thing that i was thinking of, is the sharp break angle behind the saddle, strung through bridge. Is that bad for flats?
 
#27
Eikari said:
the sharp break angle behind the saddle, strung through bridge. Is that bad for flats?
Click to expand...
It can be with some: La Bella specifically recommends against stringing their flats through the body unless except those they make especially for thru-body stringing.
There might be also other brands for which it's better not to, but I've used the Fender 9050CL through the body, on a bass-VI type instrument of all things, with saddles all the way back and thru-body holes not enough so, meaning the shape of the string past the saddle was that of a question mark - no trouble ensued, whatsoever. They're rather flexible as flats go.

EDIT: also, on the same guitar two short-scale Rotosound .090 E's, various D'Addario guitar Chromes and Pyramid Golds, and also a Thomastik-Infeld, all survived. Well, Pyramids did break at one point or another, but they are fragile as feck (I can't say if toploading would have saved them but I doubt it).

EDIT2: as mentioned, all the above were installed on a bass-VI type, short-scale instrument, ergo at reduced tensions.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Eikari
#28
'78 P-Bass-2.JPG
I have the 9050Ms on my P-Bass (not in this picture, though; it's an old one). They work perfectly fine for me; especially with a pick, and the mute in the bridge cover, too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eikari
#34
I remember the original Fender flats before they changed to the formula to what they use now now. They were extremely stiff. Didn't care for the sound. The ones made now are less stiff, but still too much for me, although I did use them in DGCF tuning without too much of a drop in tension. Great sounding strings now. What I wish for would be a .40-.90 or .95. I could return to playing them then.
The only flats I play now are GHS Precision Flats and I use them on my 54 P Bass reissue. They are nice. I would rank them #1 on my list and TI Jazz Flats # 2. The Fenders would come in third with Chromes 4th and LaBella flats fifth.
 
#35
fretlessguy said:
I remember the original Fender flats before they changed to the formula to what they use now now. They were extremely stiff. Didn't care for the sound. The ones made now are less stiff, but still too much for me, although I did use them in DGCF tuning without too much of a drop in tension. Great sounding strings now. What I wish for would be a .40-.90 or .95. I could return to playing them then.
Click to expand...

I currently have the Fender 9050CL (45-60-80-105) on my J and the GHS Boomers (45-60-80-105) on my P, both in the standard tuning. I personally don't find the Fender flats any harder to play on than the Boomers. Mind you, the Boomers are the stiffest of all the rounds I've tried to date. They both allow a nice low action due to their natural stiffness.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: fretlessguy
#36
I have some very recent experience I can share. Just today I swapped a set of Fender flats and a set of Fender rounds across 2 Fender P basses. I don't know the part numbers of the strings unfortunately. I did this out of sheer curiosity.

For starters the first bass is a MIM standard Precision, no mods. It had the round wounds on it and sounded good, like a P should.

The second bass is a Highway One Precision, no mods. It had the flats on it and sounded really good, exactly like a P should sound with flats.

I was most interested in the fact that the Highway One has the Badass II bridge and the other has the bent metal bridge, and was wondering what each bass would sound like with the strings swapped. Now that they are swapped each bass sounds like the other one did before the swap. I don't think the high mass bridge makes much of a difference with flats, but I will admit the sample size is small with just the 2 basses.

But I've become a real fan of P's with flats, to the point that a P with rounds sounds funny now.
 
#37
CZGunslinger said:
I was most interested in the fact that the Highway One has the Badass II bridge and the other has the bent metal bridge, and was wondering what each bass would sound like with the strings swapped. Now that they are swapped each bass sounds like the other one did before the swap. I don't think the high mass bridge makes much of a difference with flats, but I will admit the sample size is small with just the 2 basses.
Click to expand...

This is very interesting...
My J is a 2008 Highway One, which came stock with a BAII bridge, while my P is a 2014 Am Std with the Fender high mass bridge.
I like how the Fender 9050 flats sound on my J better than on my P and have wondered if it had anything to do with the BAII bridge. Sounds like maybe not...
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back