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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 1:21 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
Well the truth (at least *my* truth) is, I started with Fender's 150L sets back in '67 and used them until Ernie Ball's Slinky strings showed up in 1970. I haven't touched a Fender string since and have no plans to do so.

Arjay


Same here. I used Fender 150XL's for a couple if years, then something happened to them. I switched to Dean Markley High Output, Light Top/Heavy Bottom for a long time till they discontinued them. Then I went to D'Addario XL. I tried Fender Super Bullets when they first came out and they were horrible too. Never tried another Fender string after that. There was no consistency with them.

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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 1:29 pm
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Location: On the loo, regretting that gas station burrito.
I see what you mean. That is a cool package. I love the term "Electric Spanish Guitar" they use to use many moons ago. It's something you don't see anymore, so that's cool that they put that on there. I've been thinking about trying Dunlop strings on at least one of my basses, maybe the Tele too, to see how they are. I do like the MXR pedals they make, anyhow.

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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 1:32 pm
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Location: On the loo, regretting that gas station burrito.
Oops, I should have quoted SA's post, that's who I was responding to, but 63supro's came up before mine.

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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:53 am
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During CBS Musical, strings put on the instruments in the factory came from Squeir. This was before they had their Squier guitars. I remember in the late 70s.


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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 2:09 pm
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JACSTRAT wrote:
During CBS Musical, strings put on the instruments in the factory came from Squeir. This was before they had their Squier guitars. I remember in the late 70s.


I gave up on them around 1974.
Not all things Fender have been good, that's for sure. I use Gibson strings on my Les Paul. They sound great and hold up really well. But that one has P-90's.

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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 2:50 pm
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PaulLF wrote:
I see what you mean. That is a cool package. I love the term "Electric Spanish Guitar" they use to use many moons ago. It's something you don't see anymore, so that's cool that they put that on there. I've been thinking about trying Dunlop strings on at least one of my basses, maybe the Tele too, to see how they are. I do like the MXR pedals they make, anyhow.

The first time I found a store that stocked them, (in a pawn shop in Anadarko, Oklahoma of all places!) I bought two sets--one for the novelty of the package (I'm a huge ZZ Top fan) and one to try out on my Telecaster, which needed a new set of strings anyway...

I was surprised at the feel...they were some of the best-feeling uncoated strings I had ever played...smooth yet still substantial.

The tone blew me away too; they weren't too bright/jangly/zing-y like many new sets can be, and have maintained their initial tone very well...I don't change strings on my guitars very often (my sweat isn't acidic or corrosive) and my picking style doesn't lend itself to breakage.

They're durable, too (important since I'm not apt to change them very often).

I'm a big Dunlop/MXR fan as well (which is evident by my pedalboard)...I don't know about their other strings, but the Willy G's are great.

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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:43 pm
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Drew365 wrote:
BMW-KTM wrote:
There is no path to truth. It must come to you.

What if you're not home. Do they try to redeliver? I hate when that happens.


It'll probably arrive by drone.

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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:57 pm
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PaulLF wrote:
Speaking of strings, has anyone had any experience with Black Diamond strings? http://www.blackdiamondstrings.com/ They have been around since 1890. I saw an advertisement for them in Bass Player magazine, but other than that never heard about them before.

Paul:
I used Black Diamonds exclusively on my acoustics back in the early 60s. Can't tell you about their electrics, only to say Black Diamond Strings had a good reputation and plenty of sales back in the day. For me, I rather liked them, and I might add a set for my Strat, so I would be interested if anyone has tried them for that.

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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 5:37 am
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Fender Strat Brat wrote:
PaulLF wrote:
Speaking of strings, has anyone had any experience with Black Diamond strings? http://www.blackdiamondstrings.com/ They have been around since 1890. I saw an advertisement for them in Bass Player magazine, but other than that never heard about them before.

Paul:
I used Black Diamonds exclusively on my acoustics back in the early 60s. Can't tell you about their electrics, only to say Black Diamond Strings had a good reputation and plenty of sales back in the day. For me, I rather liked them, and I might add a set for my Strat, so I would be interested if anyone has tried them for that.


Funny you mentioned Black Diamond. My first "Spanish" guitar was a no-name $10 plywood thing with horrible action. As an eleven year old, I knew nothing about strings. Those strings were like barbed wire for me as a kid but I kept playing and built up some pretty hefty callouses for a kid. I couldn't tell if the strings sounded good, all I knew is they "worked" and lasted a really, really long time. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 11:46 pm
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JACSTRAT wrote:
During CBS Musical, strings put on the instruments in the factory came from Squeir. This was before they had their Squier guitars. I remember in the late 70s.


Sorry, but whoever gave you that information misinformed you. V.C. Squier strings of Battle Creek, MI ceased guitar and bass string production in late 1965 or so. After that Fender used Fender made and branded strings made at the expanded Fender complex in Fullerton CA on all Fender guitars and basses for the remainder of the CBS era using machinery transported to Fullerton from Battle Creek in late 1965. An additional building was constructed for the string operation by CBS adjacent to the instrument manufacturing building. V.C. Squier continued making strings for other instruments in Battle Creek at what locals still call "the fiddle plant" until 1975 when CBS shut it down with no warning for the employees. Some of the guitar and bass string workers no doubt went to work for GHS which was just starting up in 1965, at roughly exactly the same time Fender moved the guitar and bass string operation to Fullerton and changed the brand name to Fender.

Under FMIC management Fender would eventually move their entire string making operation to Ensenada, Mexico after renting a former church building to package strings by hand nearly 28 years ago. So, the first Fender branded finished product to come from Ensenada was packages of strings!

The longest tenured employee at Fender Ensenada is Esther Marron who was on the job in the old church packaging strings by hand on day one and even though when hired she was told it was a six-month job she is still working at Fender Ensenada as an invaluable face of Fender Ensenada sort of like Abigail was at Fender USA. Esther is approaching 28 years of service. How many worked that first day in the old church? By Esther's count a total of eight. Other written accounts say the first day there were a total of five string workers. I believe Esther. Would this face lie?

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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 11:10 pm
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brotherdave wrote:
How many worked that first day in the old church? By Esther's count a total of eight. Other written accounts say the first day there were a total of five string workers. I believe Esther. Would this face lie?

Memory isn't about lying or telling the truth. All memory is reconstructed from incomplete bits of stored information where we fill in the blanks, it is not played back like a video. And it's frequently inaccurate or false, without anyone lying.


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Post subject: Re: The True History Of Fender Strings
Posted: Sat May 02, 2015 9:39 am
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arth1 wrote:
brotherdave wrote:
How many worked that first day in the old church? By Esther's count a total of eight. Other written accounts say the first day there were a total of five string workers. I believe Esther. Would this face lie?

Memory isn't about lying or telling the truth. All memory is reconstructed from incomplete bits of stored information where we fill in the blanks, it is not played back like a video. And it's frequently inaccurate or false, without anyone lying.

I once met a doctor who ran the local Med school at university. Discussing Alzheimer's, he told me that when you're young the brain has few shelves of information, and more books are gathered throughout life. When you are older, you have a library of encyclopedias (more or less) and, therefore, there are so many more pages to shuffle, and more details to search, and more chance of losing the information.

Small wonder how one or two things get misplaced. For some of us, however, the library never opens. :lol:

Where did I leave those #~%^* keys?

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