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Post subject: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 8:18 am
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I like these strings. I chose this stringset over all others mainly because of things I didn't want to hear. On the top end nothing: bright; clanky, 'modern', or twangy. On the bottom end the last thing I wanted was a dull dead thumper. Things I wanted to hear included: strong attack, a well focused fundamental, full midrange content, smooth glassy highs, and good sustain. The Fender 9050M stringset gives me all of that and more. They sound good straight out of the pack, and have good string-to-string balance of volume and tone. I put these on last month and have 40+ hours playing time on them and they have begun to settle in nicely. It is easy to tell they will sound superb far longer than I will live.

Although Fender does not publish tension measurements, make no mistake, the tension is high. I used D'Addario's figures for their Chromes just to get a ballpark estimate at about 225 pounds total set tension. Anything over 200 is quite a bit. The .055 G and .070 D are both around 65 pounds each. That's a lot. Yes, you can feel it when you play. So what. Don't be a wimp.

The heavier G & D strings gave me that solid, powerful, and authoritative tone and attack that I wanted straight away. There is a tremendous amount of bass meat to be had and it makes my ears happy. The .090 A string is nothing short of glorious. You would think that the .105 E would unbalance the set, but it doesn't and fits in and plays well with the others. If I really wanted a .110 E, I could get a D'Addario Chromes E.

An extreme strong point of this stringset is the full well focused midrange. It presents itself like a herd of wild mustangs thundering across the western plains powerfully muscular and unrestrained. The low mids are especially strong & clear, but don't overpower the rest of the midrange.

The top end is smooth and glassy with a bit of air underneath to give the tone a bit of lift right where it needs it. It's a nice touch that allows for some delicate dynamics when desired.

There is a dry leathery percussive quality to the attack that is very conga like.

Flexibility is not a term in this stringset's lexicon. Stiff, yes, but not completely unyielding. I would not recommend through body stringing.
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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 11:04 am
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Sounds good. 8) They also have a light gauge with a .100/.80/.60/.45 set. Guitar Center has them as a price drop sale for $21.99 a set. They didn't have either set in stock on the Fender site.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 2:52 pm
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PaulLF wrote:
Sounds good. 8) They also have a light gauge with a .100/.80/.60/.45 set. Guitar Center has them as a price drop sale for $21.99 a set. They didn't have either set in stock on the Fender site.

Flatwounds don't sell very well and Fender may discontinue flats altogether.

D'Addario Chromes; Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats, and also Dunlap Flats are all very bright and considered modern in tone. They are the last strings I wanted.

LaBella's "Deep Talking Flats" Original 1954 (AKA 'The Jamerson Set') Are dead dull thumpers. All attack and no tone. No Thank You.

I've had Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats before and they are way too light and weren't up to the task at hand. DR Legends just don't have any balls at all. A real nothing of a stringset.

I wanted a very assertive and authoritative stringset, so the Steve Harris signature Rotosound flats were in contention, but Fenders won out on tone alone.

GHS Precision flats fulfill all demands, but I already have a nearly five year old set on my 1976 Precision. They're staying on forever. Best sounding flats I've ever played. These Fenders are a close second. Not too shabby.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 9:29 pm
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Location: On the loo, regretting that gas station burrito.
The first time I'd even tried flats were a set of Fenders that I got at a flea market in 1990. I still remember them because they were really good. Most of the time, I used rounds, because they were either cheaper, or that's all the local store had in stock. There wasn't any online shops to order from back then, or the internet in general. I do remember a couple of record stores also selling strings and similar accessories, though. I'd actually bought a couple of sets when I was shopping for albums and the guitar shop was already closed.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 2:03 am
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linnin wrote:
Flatwounds don't sell very well and Fender may discontinue flats altogether.

From a business point of view Flats are evil.. they last forever....
I use the light version of the 9050 on a Precision, and love them.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 6:55 am
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Location: On the loo, regretting that gas station burrito.
I've been debating eventually trying out the light version of these flats as well. I haven't changed the strings on my Squier Precision that I got recently, and I have to say they're pretty decent strings.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 1:48 pm
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I have no idea where the information that Fender was discontinuing flatwound bass guitar strings came from. I doubt it will happen, but if it does it will cause a price increase on GHS Precision Flatwounds because the demand will go up. They have increased in price enough already anyway.


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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 2:15 pm
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Location: On the loo, regretting that gas station burrito.
I've been using Rotosound flats for years, but I've been thinking about trying something else for a change of pace.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 8:01 am
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linnin wrote:
Flatwounds don't sell very well and Fender may discontinue flats altogether.


I don't think Fender would discontinue them.


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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:00 pm
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chromeface wrote:
linnin wrote:
Flatwounds don't sell very well and Fender may discontinue flats altogether.


I don't think Fender would discontinue them.


I don't care what you or anybody else thinks. F.M.I.C. has been on a tare discontinuing products left and right. If it doesn't sell at a profitable volume, it's gone. Some instruments are just a one time run. Others go on forever such as the Geddy Lee basses.

If a product doesn't sell well enough for retailers and e-tailers to stock, chances are good it will become discontinued. Fender flats are no different. No Demand = No Product. It's just that simple.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:51 am
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I use the 9050s on all my basses since 1998 and had no plans to switch to another brand unless Fender definitely drops them from their production lines.


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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:53 am
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lstelie wrote:
From a business point of view Flats are evil.. they last forever....
I use the light version of the 9050 on a Precision, and love them.


You're not alone! :wink:


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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 5:03 pm
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I've always gone with flats as I play Jazz most of the time. As long as people want to hear Swing, Jazz, and Motown there will always be flats. I've tried them all and Labella's Jamerson set was a great set with gobs of tone but rough on the neck as far as tension went. I settled on TI's Jazz Flats.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 6:41 am
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I just put as set of 9050Ls on my favorite Precision and man have I been missing out! I couldn’t put my bass down once it was strung up yesterday! I’m ordering 5 or 6 more sets! Great strings that totally help define the tone I’ve been chasing!


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Post subject: Re: Fender 9050M Flats
Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:00 am
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airbornestrat wrote:
I just put as set of 9050Ls on my favorite Precision and man have I been missing out! I couldn’t put my bass down once it was strung up yesterday! I’m ordering 5 or 6 more sets! Great strings that totally help define the tone I’ve been chasing!

Give 'em three or four months to play in and settle down and you'll really be in bass heaven then. The good thing about flats is you can leave 'em on nearly forever.

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