Opinions on Fender Flat wound Bass strings

[grrg63]

Turns out the Fenders were unavailable and I managed to get some Daddario Chromes at a very good price. They seem to be well regarded.

Fender 9050s are my favorites because they are very bright which I like for playing funky stuff but you can also make them thumpy for a more old school sound. Unfortunately I always have a hard time finding them, especially medium scale sets. D'Addarios are fine though.

 

[andare]

Fender flats feel very smooth. They are stiffer than rounds but you can still bend them. I have the 9050ML on a P bass. I find the 50 G too stiff and the 100 E too floppy. I can't for the life of me understand why the A and E must have such lower tension. They have too much midrange on a P bass for my taste. They work better on a Jazz.
Chromes are more scooped and have more high end but also suffer from uneven tension.

 

[matti777]

I love the Labella 760FLs (p bass strung through) but want something lower tension so I ordered their LTF-4A low tension strings. I don't know why a vendor like stringsbymail can't ship to you.

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

Tonight I put Fender 9050Ms on my brand new Player P. Three weeks ago, I put them on my new-to-me Vintera 70s Jazz.

I must admit I was a little skeptical as the only other flats I had experience with were EBs which I love. But, money is a little tight due to the Christmas season, so I didn't mind saving $13 per set.

I needn't have worried. The Fenders are every bit what I wanted!

Roundwounds will never be on either of the Brothers Fender so long as I own them.

 

[7dollarbologna]

Turns out the Fenders were unavailable and I managed to get some Daddario Chromes at a very good price. They seem to be well regarded. How about stringing these at 90 degrees over the bridge? Any problems?

Years ago I had an American deluxe Jazz V that was string through - chromes were fine

 

[Root 5]

I haven't had my fingers on any new Fender flats since 2017. I liked them very much - had a supple, very smooth feel and sounded great with good tension.

 

[iiipopes]

My favorite flats. Search the threads where I have waxed poetic over the last ten years consuming much bandwidth on the forum analyzing and discussing the Fender Flats 9050 and why they are a great set of modern flats. I currently have a set on a Squier Jaguar MM as my flats bass, as I contemplate adding a Jaguar-style mute to it to complete the vibe.

 

[iiipopes]

Fender flats feel very smooth. They are stiffer than rounds but you can still bend them. I have the 9050ML on a P bass. I find the 50 G too stiff and the 100 E too floppy. I can't for the life of me understand why the A and E must have such lower tension. They have too much midrange on a P bass for my taste. They work better on a Jazz.
Chromes are more scooped and have more high end but also suffer from uneven tension.

You're right. History: the gauges of this set are modelled after the original Fender flats of the late 50's and 60's. The G is greater diameter to keep it from sounding thin and increase sustain. The E string is made thin so it will vibrate in its overtones easier for consistent tone and not go thumpy. Yes, this is a modern tone set with growl. That is the way it was designed. Yes, they work great on a J-Bass, especially the 9050L set, 45-60-80-100. They discontinued my favorite set some years ago, the CL, with 45-60-80-105, which addressed your criticisms on tension and feel, which were also my criticisms of other flats sets of all makes. I have scrounged one set of NOS CL's and have another used set on the way which should last me quite awhile. For your P-bass, maybe a set of La Bella 760FL 43-104 would suit your preferences?

 

[andare]

You're right. History: the gauges of this set are modelled after the original Fender flats of the late 50's and 60's. The G is greater diameter to keep it from sounding thin and increase sustain. The E string is made thin so it will vibrate in its overtones easier for consistent tone and not go thumpy. Yes, this is a modern tone set with growl. That is the way it was designed. Yes, they work great on a J-Bass, especially the 9050L set, 45-60-80-100. They discontinued my favorite set some years ago, the CL, with 45-60-80-105, which addressed your criticisms on tension and feel, which were also my criticisms of other flats sets of all makes. I have scrounged one set of NOS CL's and have another used set on the way which should last me quite awhile. For your P-bass, maybe a set of La Bella 760FL 43-104 would suit your preferences?

I have two P basses now (plus a Squier Mini P with Chromes which sounds fantastic) so I have no more excuses and I'll have to get a set of Labellas. The 43-104 gauge seems the obvious choice but I'm intrigued by the 49-109 and the LTFs at the same time. It's quite spendy indecisiveness.

 

[iiipopes]

I have two P basses now (plus a Squier Mini P with Chromes which sounds fantastic) so I have no more excuses and I'll have to get a set of Labellas. The 43-104 gauge seems the obvious choice but I'm intrigued by the 49-109 and the LTFs at the same time. It's quite spendy indecisiveness.

Yes. I forgot to mention one thing: The gauges are what are modeled on the ML set, but the tone is completely different. Way back when, Fender bought the V. C. Squier string factory to make all of Fender's strings. The bass flats had that woody, organic feel that we all still love, but doesn't exist anymore. The closest are either the La Bella or the GHS. The La Bella LTF's feel similar to the TI being so light, and the La Bella 49-109 are bridge cables. Yes, I recommend you start with the 43-104 to get a little more even tension with a good flats tone. When they are new, there will be a little bit more pronounced top end articulation, but that will settle in.

 

[andare]

Yes. I forgot to mention one thing: The gauges are what are modeled on the ML set, but the tone is completely different. Way back when, Fender bought the V. C. Squier string factory to make all of Fender's strings. The bass flats had that woody, organic feel that we all still love, but doesn't exist anymore. The closest are either the La Bella or the GHS. The La Bella LTF's feel similar to the TI being so light, and the La Bella 49-109 are bridge cables. Yes, I recommend you start with the 43-104 to get a little more even tension with a good flats tone. When they are new, there will be a little bit more pronounced top end articulation, but that will settle in.

Yes it seems the 43-104 are the ticket. Thanks for chiming in!
About that old woody tone that doesn't exist anymore, I don't wanna get into it...one day we'll get to the bottom of why everything old sounds better but not today

 

[michael_t]

About that old woody tone that doesn't exist anymore, I don't wanna get into it...one day we'll get to the bottom of why everything old sounds better but not today

GHS Precision Flats are the closest thing to the original Fender flats. GHS was started by three people who worked for V.C. Squier after all. "Warm and woody" is exactly how I would describe their tone.

The nice thing is they come in a balanced-tension set, CM3050 45-60-80-105.

 

[Mastermold]

GHS Precision Flats are the closest thing to the original Fender flats. GHS was started by three people who worked for V.C. Squier after all. "Warm and woody" is exactly how I would describe their tone.

The nice thing is they come in a balanced-tension set, CM3050 45-60-80-105.

I just bought that GHS set -- CM3050 -- a few weeks ago and really liking the strings lot. Only criticism is the silk being a bit short on the E-string but doesn't affect the tone or feel, both of which I'm liking a lot and I think more than the LaBella 760FLs which surprised me.

I've got Fender flats and D'Addario Chromes on other basses too by the way and find them to be excellent strings, bright when new, but they both break in nicely and seem very consistent and well made. I've got very old versions of both on a few basses and they keep on keeping on.

 

[Mastermold]

Yes it seems the 43-104 are the ticket. Thanks for chiming in!
About that old woody tone that doesn't exist anymore, I don't wanna get into it...one day we'll get to the bottom of why everything old sounds better but not today

I really like LaBella 760FLs, use them on several basses and they sound great. My only gripe is their string to string inconsistencies can be a little frustrating, and I've sometimes had to buy several sets to mix and match to get a pairing that work together.

 

[Mike Vee]

Fender flats are amazing on a maple board P for a brighter 70s type sound. Not a round sound, but something warmer and a little clanky. The 9050CL set feels amazing. *EDIT 9050L (lightest gauge)

 

[rodl2005]

I love em and when I can, use em on a 62AVRI P. Sound great, feel great, and love the green silks

 

[michael_t]

Fender flats are amazing on a maple board P for a brighter 70s type sound. Not a round sound, but something warmer and a little clanky. The 9050CL set feels amazing.

Too bad the 9050CL set (45-60-80-105) is no longer available, although I'm quite happy with the 9050L (45-60-80-100) on my Highway One Jazz.

 

[Mike Vee]

Too bad the 9050CL set (45-60-80-105) is no longer available, although I'm quite happy with the 9050L (45-60-80-100) on my Highway One Jazz.

Oops, I actually meant the 9050L, the lightest ones. Never tried the CL.

This is my second run with Fender flats. I always missed them since the first try a few years back. This set I am keeping clean to retain the clank, but still they are breaking in to be warm but still with some cool brighter overtones. I play these on a maple P with 3.5k boosted on an API 500 EQ, it sounds SOOOO GOOD.

 

[BlackWolf]

I love them on my Yamaha BB734A. This bass was too bright and zingy with the stock D'Addario XL strings Imho.

I want to try the 9050L set on my Precision, which has a maple fretboard and Aguilar AG 4P-60 pickup.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Yes. I forgot to mention one thing: The gauges are what are modeled on the ML set, but the tone is completely different. Way back when, Fender bought the V. C. Squier string factory to make all of Fender's strings. The bass flats had that woody, organic feel that we all still love, but doesn't exist anymore. The closest are either the La Bella or the GHS. The La Bella LTF's feel similar to the TI being so light, and the La Bella 49-109 are bridge cables. Yes, I recommend you start with the 43-104 to get a little more even tension with a good flats tone. When they are new, there will be a little bit more pronounced top end articulation, but that will settle in.

In reality, I didn't find any significant difference in tension between the 760FL and the LTF.
I shall add that the TI JF344 flats are still much lower in tension than the LTF; they can't be easily compared IMO.