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Post subject: Fender Strings?
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 1:53 pm
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I just got my Tele Modern Player back from the shop yesterday for a set up. The strings on them are what came with the guitar. They are the 3250ls (.009-.042). I like them very much, but I'm wondering how long they will last before changing. Some strings loose their tone qualities very quickly. When I played back in the 60' and 70's, I always used the flatwound strings. I liked them for the type of music we played back then. I played a lot of the Ventures and surfing music. What are your thoughts on these strings? Are Ernie Ball Slinkies any better do you think?


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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 2:02 pm
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String life is determined more by how frequently the instrument is played and the physiological composition of the player's perspiration than by brand or gauge. A high concentration of saline usually decreases a string-set's utility when played often. Wiping your strings and fretboard down after use will extend the service life of a set of strings to some degree.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 2:26 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
String life is determined more by how frequently the instrument is played and the physiological composition of the player's perspiration than by brand or gauge. A high concentration of saline usually decreases a string-set's utility when played often. Wiping your strings and fretboard down after use will extend the service life of a set of strings to some degree.

Arjay


Yes, you are right on that. I was always in the habit of wiping the strings and fretboard after playing. I remember hearing a lot of good comments years back about Ernie Balls strings. I was wondering if they are comparable or better than the Fenders. I suppose they are much the same, and perhaps like many bicycle brands, come out of the same factory.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 3:20 pm
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What does the professor say...

http://professorstring.com/phpbb/viewto ... sc&start=0

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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 4:55 am
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Miami Mike wrote:


Like Arte Johnson from Laugh In days would say - "Very interesting".

I must admit, that was an interesting thread. I had no idea that there was so many companies making strings. The last post on that thread mentions that some of the companies watch each other's back at times.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:05 am
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F-Stop wrote:
I just got my Tele Modern Player back from the shop yesterday for a set up. The strings on them are what came with the guitar.

If so, do not go back to that shop. Doing a setup should also include changing the strings on the first day, so adjustments are made against a fresh set of strings.

And unless you meant "shop" as in "workshop"... In general, I recommend against having a shop do anything to your guitar, except selling it to you. Learning how to do setups yourself isn't hard, and you'll save quite a bit of money in the long run. And what you cannot do yourself, you probably want a luthier to do, not a sales clerk. You don't have your car dealer tune your car engine either, for much the same reasons.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:29 am
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arth1 wrote:
F-Stop wrote:
I just got my Tele Modern Player back from the shop yesterday for a set up. The strings on them are what came with the guitar.

If so, do not go back to that shop. Doing a setup should also include changing the strings on the first day, so adjustments are made against a fresh set of strings.

And unless you meant "shop" as in "workshop"... In general, I recommend against having a shop do anything to your guitar, except selling it to you. Learning how to do setups yourself isn't hard, and you'll save quite a bit of money in the long run. And what you cannot do yourself, you probably want a luthier to do, not a sales clerk. You don't have your car dealer tune your car engine either, for much the same reasons.


You make a good point. It was a Luthier that set up the guitar. When I brought it to him he asked if and what strings I wanted. I told him to keep what's on there until I decide what to choose later on. At the time of set up, I had no idea which way to go. He mentioned that the type of strings chosen makes a difference to the set up and since I wanted the action as low as possible, I decided to stay with what's on the guitar since they were 9's.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 11:36 am
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I'm a D'Addario guy, except for my Strat. Play Fender strings, same as you.

How long they'll last? From experience: if you play a guitar four hours a day, change strings about every two months. Something like that. Extrapolate the data.

If you're recording, don't go from fresh strings to dull ones. Once a month if you're recording on a hobbyist level. Not worth the extra hours of re-recording stuff...

If you're playing at home and/or rehearsing, don't overdo it. Every six months could be just fine. Ten months, tops. As a rule of thumb, I say every 3-4 months.

You sure the luthier didn't put a fresh set on (same brand and gauge), btw...?

Ernie Balls, well... Back when I played just a little, except for rehearsals and gigs, I used to play Ernie Balls. Slinky's. When I got serious, I found they turned black faster than I could say "endorsed by Metallica, but then again, their techs throw on fresh sets daily". I wouldn't recommend them at all. From my experience, I find they're just not that long-lasting.

No issues at all with Fender strings here. Quite the opposite; they stay fresh a whole hella lot longer than most brands IMHO, sound great, and rarely break. Certainly wouldn't change to Slinky's!

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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:47 pm
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Tweek wrote:
I'm a D'Addario guy, except for my Strat. Play Fender strings, same as you.

How long they'll last? From experience: if you play a guitar four hours a day, change strings about every two months. Something like that. Extrapolate the data.

If you're recording, don't go from fresh strings to dull ones. Once a month if you're recording on a hobbyist level. Not worth the extra hours of re-recording stuff...

If you're playing at home and/or rehearsing, don't overdo it. Every six months could be just fine. Ten months, tops. As a rule of thumb, I say every 3-4 months.

You sure the luthier didn't put a fresh set on (same brand and gauge), btw...?

Ernie Balls, well... Back when I played just a little, except for rehearsals and gigs, I used to play Ernie Balls. Slinky's. When I got serious, I found they turned black faster than I could say "endorsed by Metallica, but then again, their techs throw on fresh sets daily". I wouldn't recommend them at all. From my experience, I find they're just not that long-lasting.

No issues at all with Fender strings here. Quite the opposite; they stay fresh a whole hella lot longer than most brands IMHO, sound great, and rarely break. Certainly wouldn't change to Slinky's!


Thanks for the advice. I wondered about the Slinkys considering how dirt cheap they are.

Cheers


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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 2:08 pm
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During the 22 mos. Fender had my '57 for Warranty work, they sent me a near-lifetime supply of Fender strings (for placation purposes).

They may not be my favorite, but they're fine and I'll likely use them up before choosing others.

Which strings? is a 'Motor Oil' question - ask 10 people and get 10 answers. :roll:

If any consensus at all is reached, it's just because your sample size was too small. :lol:

There are lots of loyal people for every brand/type of strings on the market.

If not, you'd see them disappear. Companies won't continue producing strings which don't sell... there's no percentage in it !

The very fact that a particular brand is for sale means people are buying them.

cheers!

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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 2:16 pm
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I think Elixir Polywebs are the longest lasting strings out there but some don't like the way they feel. Elixir Nanowebs feel more like non-coated strings but don't last as long.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 2:38 pm
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I've heard some people don't like phosphor coated strings because the process is not very "eco friendly." I like Bullets on my Strat. (It doesn't say anything on the pack about being phosphor coated.) :?
D'Addario's on my Eastman. (Phospher Bronze!)
No complaints.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 3:23 am
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Tiger J wrote:
I think Elixir Polywebs are the longest lasting strings out there but some don't like the way they feel. Elixir Nanowebs feel more like non-coated strings but don't last as long.


It's Nanowebs for me, I play almost every day and they always last at least six months. I usually break the small E-string first and then change the set.

8)

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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 7:28 am
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As always, these are just my own opinions...

As others have already said, everyone has their favorite brand of strings...it really is more about personal preference than anything else. While I do agree with Arjay's comment about how much you sweat while you're playing, I have to disagree with that comment regarding longevity to some degree. Perhaps it is simply a body chemistry issue, however I have used a few brands over the years that just don't hold up as well as other...most notably D'Addario. I once had a set of D'Addario's rust out on me in a single day...yea, it was humid outdoor gig and yes I was sweating my butt off, however -1- day...wow. I'll never use those again.

In my mind, there are 3 primary factors regarding strings (guitar, bass, etc)...feel, sound and longevity (not specifically in that order). If a specific brand falls short in any of those areas, I don't use them. For instance, Elixers...sure they last a long time, but they don't feel right and to my ears they sound nasty...whatever they coat those suckers with, they're not natural sounding guitar strings. Same goes for SIT's...sure they "Stay In Tune", but again they just don't sound right to me. Gibson strings on the other hand...I don't think I've ever had a set make it past the tuning stage...I start to tune the guitar and a string breaks brand new out of the package...don't know if I just got "old" packages or what, but I've tried Gibson strings 3 or 4 times over the years and EVERY TIME they broke while tuning.

Personally I prefer GHS Boomers myself (for my electrics at least...I use Earthwood's on my acoustics and Rotosounds on my basses), with Fender's being my second choice. In fact I've found both of these two brands to be pretty equal regarding feel, sound and longevity...the primary reason I use the Boomers more often is that their a buck or two cheaper than the Fender strings...and considering I have around 25 guitars, that difference adds up real quick. If I only had 1 or 2 electrics, then it would be a coin toss...I'd probably just get whatever the music store had in stock that week (LOL). I've also used EB Slinky's from time to time over the years...they're decent, but I don't seem to get the longevity out of them that I do with Boomers or Fenders. The Slinky's seem to tarnish rather quickly for me and they also seem to sound rather flat to me after a while.

Now one thing I would add to all of this is that a year or so back I discovered the Dunlap 65 string cleaner. I don't normally go in for gimmicks and such, however I got say that this stuff works well! I don't know how well this Dunlap stuff compares with other similar products, but I'd say that the Dunlap 65 has doubled my string life...if not more...and for $7 I payed for the bottle, I still haven't had to buy another yet.

As far as brand goes, the best thing I can really suggest is to try a few...again everyone has their favorites and the only real way for you to know what's right for you is to simply play them and compare. To be honest, compared with pickups and amps, etc., strings don't really cost THAT much at all. Next time you change your strings, try the Slinkys...string change after that, try a different brand...and if you're not happy with them, just go back to the Fenders. In the 30+ years I've been playing, I've probably tried every single brand of strings out there and personally, I always come back to Boomers.


"It was a Luthier that set up the guitar...He mentioned that the type of strings chosen makes a difference to the set up"

I suspect he was referring more to the string gauge than any specific brand of string. While the intonation and setup should be checked any time you change the strings, whenever you change string gauge, this will indeed affect the setup. Going to a heavier string for example...say going from .009's to .010's...typically requires a slight truss rod adjustment as well as having the nut slots filed a bit for the thicker strings (otherwise the strings can stick in the nut slots and cause tuning problems). In the case of instruments with trems (such as a Strat) a bridge adjustment may even be needed (beyond intonation) because of the extra tension.


Hope this helps!


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Post subject: Re: Fender Strings?
Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 8:33 am
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lomitus wrote:
Personally I prefer GHS Boomers myself (for my electrics at least... I always come back to Boomers.


This is not my endorsement, but, after spending some time checking out various popular strings (one after the other), I also found my chosen strings to be (10 gauge) Boomers. I even went back to the other strings after using Boomers, just to make sure that I hadn't missed something. For me, the Boomers worked with my N3s. Your pups, gauge, or preference may be different, however. I will say that I know a few others who prefer Boomers on their Strats. I have yet to test Elixers, though.

As for D'Addario, I bought a 3 pack XL Nickle string set on sale. I had a set loaded on my guitar for a month or so, and since I needed to get some fretwork done because of humidity, I elected a string change and setup at the same time with the tech. I disliked the D'Addarios, and while some tones were good and they stayed in tune fairly well, I found they lacked some brilliance compared to the Boomers. Again, for some pickups this could be desirable, but, for me, not with the N3s IMHO. Off came the first set of D'Addarios and on went the Boomers. The remaining 2 sets of D'Addarios have been relegated to the backup department.

I have no doubt that different strings will sound different amongst the variety of pups and axes out there . . . so preferences will follow.

Note: As a former commercial director, although even I get bit sometimes, I know that just because a product is in the limelight, it does not make it worthy of praise. Economics and patronage may be the prime reason why it is used or promoted, and all things have to be equal for reproduction. In the world of entertainment these and other variables take part.

Example: A set of strings on Clapton's guitar is unlikely to sound the same on yours . . . even were you to have similar gear . . . there are unknowns. What appears to be isn't always what it is. Perhaps, different brands or same brand sets are mixed and matched with customization. This is very true with guitars and amplification and so, even with strings, it will definitely be an individual consideration for sound preference.



Cheers!

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