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Opinions on Fender Flat wound Bass strings

#43
Craig Williams said:
Hi all live in Thailand and pretty much the only viable flat wound strings available are La Bella, which are ok but they are very high tension and my 51 P bass is a string through and I believe the La Bellas wont take the 90 degree angle through the body and over the bridge. They do actually make a specialized through body string but they aren't available here.

Firstly has anyone used standard La Bella flat wounds through the body of their P bass successfully? I thought I had read somewhere people did. Only reason I ask is I have some on order, ordered for another bass which I have since sold, so if I can't use the standard La Bella Flats I have on my 51 P Bass through body I am stuck with them.

Other option I have is I have seen some Fender Flat wounds I can order from Japan. Has anyone had any luck with these? Are they as stiff and high tension as the La Bellas?
Click to expand...
this may be old news to you, but yes, Labella makes special through body flats.
 
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#46
Swap out the Ti flat with 9050L.
The silk color look less greeny than the earlier set I been use.
So far look quite match with the surf green bass body.

IMG_20260312_233729.jpg
IMG_20260312_233614.jpg
 
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#50
andare said:
Now you have to play the snot out of them so they lose the brightness 😀
Click to expand...

You are right, once the brightness tame out, i need it low mid punch shown well on this Bacchus P.

This Bacchus P bass has custom wound 10.8K pickup and A500K volume pot / A250K tone pot . This pickup has nice upper mid character along with slightly less low end. With Ti flat and -25% dial back tone control , she sound pretty close to my Vintera 50sP ( wide open tone ) which has Ti flat too. So, there are no point i own two P bass has similar vibe.

The reason i wanna try the 9050L on this bass are get it sound close ( as bright , growl and aggressive ) to Matt Freeman Sig P ( EB Cobalt flat loaded ) when wide open tone knob ; meanwhile dial back tone control about 20-30% for the punchy low mid voice that missing on EB Cobalt flat.

If it work, will place order the Fender Bassman Driver pedal .......
 
#51
Forget mention one thing when swap from Ti flat to 9050L .

it just need close to 1/4 turn on tighten truss rod to get same neck relief that i set for Ti flat.

9050L has equal string tension to EB Cobalt flat and still lower tension compare to Chrome ECB81 and EB Group flat 45/100.

But on plucking hand , 9050L feel stiffer than EB Cobalt flat , and the E string notable less crispy and clarity then Cobalt flat. :cool:
 
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#52
Yahboy said:
Forget mention one thing when swap from Ti flat to 9050L .

it just need close to 1/4 turn on tighten truss rod to get same neck relief that i set for Ti flat.

9050L has equal string tension to EB Cobalt flat and still lower tension compare to Chrome ECB81 and EB Group flat 45/100.

But on plucking hand , 9050L feel stiffer than EB Cobalt flat , and the E string notable less crispy and clarity then Cobalt flat. :cool:
Click to expand...
What about 9050L vs Chrome for E string clarity?
 
#53
TomB said:
What about 9050L vs Chrome for E string clarity?
Click to expand...
My previous opinion on both 9050L and ECB81 100E string in same Pbass are Chrome notable dull faster then forever ...... :smug:

When they in fresh condition, 9050's E sound less deep as Chrome, but Chrome E has right amount of Metallic crisp but in short period.
 
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#54
Yahboy said:
My previous opinion on both 9050L and ECB81 100E string in same Pbass are Chrome notable dull faster then forever ...... :smug:

When they in fresh condition, 9050's E sound less deep as Chrome, but Chrome E has right amount of Metallic crisp but in short period.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I'm always curious how similar the Fender 9050 and D'Ad Chromes are, given their close kinship.
 
#56
Yahboy said:
You are right, once the brightness tame out, i need it low mid punch shown well on this Bacchus P.

This Bacchus P bass has custom wound 10.8K pickup and A500K volume pot / A250K tone pot . This pickup has nice upper mid character along with slightly less low end. With Ti flat and -25% dial back tone control , she sound pretty close to my Vintera 50sP ( wide open tone ) which has Ti flat too. So, there are no point i own two P bass has similar vibe.

The reason i wanna try the 9050L on this bass are get it sound close ( as bright , growl and aggressive ) to Matt Freeman Sig P ( EB Cobalt flat loaded ) when wide open tone knob ; meanwhile dial back tone control about 20-30% for the punchy low mid voice that missing on EB Cobalt flat.

If it work, will place order the Fender Bassman Driver pedal .......
Click to expand...
I had the 9050MLs (50-65-85-100) on two P basses, my MIJ with ceramic pickups (too muddy) and my Vintera II 60s (just right). The change in tone after two months of playing was really dramatic.
I think these strings work better on a bass that has some brightness to it ( abright P bass or a Jazz), and yours does because of the 500k volume pot. I love how they feel too, they have a bit of texture so they don't feel sticky like Labellas.
I'm sure you will be happy once they settle in!
 
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