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Post subject: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 4:49 pm
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I recently purchased a Fender American Special Precision honey burst with maple neck brand new in the box. I love the strings on it and I was told that the strings were Fender 7250M 45-105’s. I purchased a set from the Guitar Ctr for my other bass and these strings have colored ball ends and seem to feel different. Any ideas on how I can get the exact same strings that my American Special came with that do not have the colored ball ends?


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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:40 pm
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Okay. This is going to sound odd, but I'm pretty sure I'm right on this. They are the same string. Hear me out. Up until recently (maybe the last year or so?) Fender strings didn't have the color codes. SO it's likely that the factory is still using the older kind with the plain ends. (all the same)

It really weirded me out at first. The only Fender strings I use are flats and I'm a firm believer in the Jamerson advice to never change them. Now I used to run flats on my old 51 P bass but sold it a little over a year ago and the flats I had been running were 6 years old. So when I bought flats for my Antigua and 70's Precision (which sound AMAZING with flats, btw) I was totally freaked when they had the color codes on a single plastic bag and no longer came in paper sleeves with the guages on them.

So, someone may know different. However, as far as I know the strings themselves have not changed at all. (My flats sound and play exactly the same) They simply started using the colored ball ends so they could package all the strings together and cut cost.

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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:43 pm
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That makes sense to me. I have looked at many brand new Precisions and they do not have the colored ball ends from the factory , so maybe you are right on this.


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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:48 pm
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Jamerson didn't change his strings cause he probably couldn't afford to. :D


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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 6:24 am
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At 21 bucks a set I really can't either. :? We're not all Steve Harris. Unfortunately.

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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 12:17 pm
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I agree on how great the stock strings are. My new Precision has NO colored ball ends and these strings sound great. But the colored ball ended strings, which are suppose to be the same as what Fender puts on their basses stock, are NOT the same strings and IMO do not sound as good.


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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 2:01 pm
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:idea: :arrow: To the best of my knowledge, factory strings are delivered straight boxed in bulk with no color coded balls. Strings packaged for retail sale have color coded balls. They are the exact same string.

For those of you that love Fender branded flats, rumor has it that they have been discontinued due to poor sales. Get them while you can.

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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 5:05 am
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Could be that Fender are sourcing their strings from D'Addario, who use colour coded ball ends.....It's possible ?


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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 7:02 am
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pete bass wrote:
Could be that Fender are sourcing their strings from D'Addario, who use colour coded ball ends.....It's possible ?


More than possible, it's true! :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 7:45 am
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linnin wrote:
:idea: :arrow: To the best of my knowledge, factory strings are delivered straight boxed in bulk with no color coded balls. Strings packaged for retail sale have color coded balls. They are the exact same string.

For those of you that love Fender branded flats, rumor has it that they have been discontinued due to poor sales. Get them while you can.



THANKS! They are the only flat I play. I'll be sure to order a bunch from one of the online discount sites! Good lookin' out! :)

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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 1:33 am
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Hard to swallow but Fender has gone back to 1963 by outsourcing their strings ending their long run as one of the top string makers and now are a string seller. I found this particularly puzzling. They were making strings at the Ensenada plant where labor costs are far lower. Now Fender is contracting them from D'Addario or whoever in the USA and they cost about the same.

The truth is that there are only about 3 companies in the world that make piano type wire, which is what is used to make guitar strings by most guitar string makers in the world. Most string companies today buy wire from these sources to fabricate their guitar, bass, banjo and whatever else string sets. VERY few companies, like Thomastik-Infeld for one, actually WIND all their own strings. Some may wind some specialty strings like flatwounds. The rest just use the bulk piano wire which comes on spools, cut it to length, add the balls, silk or plastic machine head wrap and package it up. Some add coatings or do other voodoo treatments (cryogenics for example) for marketing purposes.

When Fender outsourced they wanted certain specs to make them very much like the Fender strings everyone was used to using. Therefore they'd be using the same bulk piano wire sizes and basic material composition. However the sets are bound to be different if a different brand wire is used from a different supplier.

I suspect that it is possible both North American guitar factories are using up a large stockpile of bulk strings fabricated at the old Ensenada plant which is why factory strings seem different from the outsourced strings now in retail. They actually ARE different.

How can they sell a USA made string set for about the same price as the Mexican made ones? Cheaper wire maybe? Could be.

Still it is a head shaker that the very thing that started Fender up in Ensenada was strings and now they don't make them anymore. It is also possible for all I know that Ensenada is STILL making strings for both factories but Fender is outsourcing the retail sets. That sounds silly, but I don't know for sure what is going on. The Fender change to outsourcing retail strings has been sort of hush hush and nobody from Fender has commented on it in the forum once that I know about. Part of the outsourcing contract is probably a secrecy clause so that whoever is making them can't say they are making them.


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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 7:44 am
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Great info as always, Dave. Fender outsourcing really doesn't change the string much as far as I can tell. As you say, everyone in North America gets their material from a small list of suppliers. I'd imagine that any spec changes made to the retail strings are simply there for packaging and presentation purposes. I'd imagine Fender simply made the changes they wanted in that department and then took the technical specs for the string, and the material to be used and gave it to the contract manufacturer. Fender wouldn't put them in the market place unless the suppliers process had been validated, and they had passed Fender QC. Like I said, the flats play EXACTLY the same. Same feel, same sound, same weight. The only difference I can see is the color code painting on the ball end and the fact that they now come in one plastic bag with the guide printed on the bag instead of individual printed paper envelopes. I would assume this is much cheaper from both the materials and labor standpoint.

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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 12:50 pm
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I heard the early P-basses were fitted with double-bass strings wrapped with wire over the pup area to excite the pup. How long did that go on for?


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Post subject: Re: Factory strings for American Special Precision
Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 10:43 pm
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linnin wrote:
:idea: :arrow: To the best of my knowledge, factory strings are delivered straight boxed in bulk with no color coded balls. Strings packaged for retail sale have color coded balls. They are the exact same string.
For those of you that love Fender branded flats, rumor has it that they have been discontinued due to poor sales. Get them while you can.



Of course who's to say the strings I have been running tests on are different than what others who posted above and say they are "same strings" are not actually getting strings that were from the same original batch.

No one really knows for sure on this forum or anywhere else unless you are a Fender insider. What we all do know is what we hear personally and I have many sets of used Fender strings, new stock strings and even a package of new-old stock CBS era strings (Ebay).

I have been noticing a difference and not a slight one either. Obvious differences in tone and feel. That would be because they are different. At least the sets I have been testing through.

So no, the strings I have been examining are not the same as strings I have received in the past.


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