dmc79

How did it go Trevor?

Still getting used to the flats vibe, but I must say I really love the smooth feel and lack of finger screech. Still feels a little hard to judge, with how rough the D is. I don’t recall ever getting a duff string before, but this one feels like someone in the factory was having a bad day, and put a Seafoam Green wrap on a stainless steel round for fun, and packaged it in with 3 flats. It sticks out like a sore thumb from the other strings, and may give me sore fingers to play it. Kind of feels too late to contact the seller (a music shop’s eBay store) especially as I left feedback when they arrived. I suppose I could mention it to them, but I doubt they’d split a pack up to send a single string replacement to me. I’ve had a look and it seems you can’t buy these strings individually, which is a shame. I’d happily send someone a few quid for a single Fender 9050L ‘D’ flatwound string (0.60). . .

Fender 9050L flats are on. I guess this is why it’s worth wiping new flats with alcohol. Only had a little play acoustically and haven’t checked the intonation yet, but these strings feel so nice and smooth. Except the D, which is strangely rough and grabby and almost feels like they put a round in by mistake.

Thanks. No nitro finish here anyway. I found some 91% alcohol IPA. I guess I can find a cotton cloth / old t-shirt. You wouldn't use a soft paper hand towel even on flats?

Thanks for your kind offer. I've got the Fender 9050L flats ready to go on, so I'll pass, but thanks anyway. I'll see how the flats go, if I like them I guess I'll keep the Fenders on for a while, then maybe try the Ernie Ball stainless steel Groups.

Thanks. I’m unfamiliar with cleaning new strings, come to think of it I never clean my strings at all, though I do always wash my hands before playing. Can I pretty much use any isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for this? I may have some in the shed, will check when home. I guess you just apply with a soft paper towel or similar? Also I suppose there are packs of IPA wipes out there too. I see there are actual guitar string wipes such as Ernie Ball Wonder Wipes. Are these worth getting? Thanks

Thanks. Whilst I don’t feel the need to bend strings much, I guess what you are meaning is this kind of thing. . . ‘My Echo’ by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Cool slice of summer jangle with a fun video. A fair bit of bending going on here, see 2:00 - 2:20. During the solo bass bit, I really like that tone that is slightly gritty yet still smooth, as opposed to abrasive with a ton of finger screech. I’m guessing he’s using flats there, likely the lower tension ones like TI or La Bella. What do you think? My Fender 9050L strings have arrived & will be going on soon. I keep feeling how smooth they are through the packet!

Here’s my new custom order Heistercamp strap. I haven’t used it yet other than trying it on at home and matching the length to my old strap, but it looks & feels great. Top service from the staff, they contacted me when it was posted with tracking details (sent next day guaranteed by 1pm, though I was out so got it a day later). It came well wrapped with tissue paper, in a lovely box, with a cuddly keyring (which is now on my gear rucksack), strap blocks, picks, business card & handwritten note. In case anyone is curious (most of their straps I’ve seen on here are unpadded), the padding is about 21” long, 2.5” wide, and makes the strap about 8mm thick for the part it covers. The padding is as wide as it can be to allow for the stitching on the 3” strap. The front is most definitely black, it just looks a bit grey as I took the pics outside in the sun. The leather is super soft and the quality is amazing. The option to customize colour & have a differently coloured backing is really cool. This will go well with my Candy Apple Red Precision. I’m impressed.

Thanks, this is the Fender guide I refer to. I guess I was just curious about them recommending a 3” cut on the E, and 3.5 on the A, D & G. It seems that people generally just go 2 tuners (around 3.5”) up regardless of the string. Cheers all.

The black silks (top pic) are top loaded, and from memory as I didn’t keep the bass long, the red silks (bottom pic) were thru body strung Maybe GHS Pressurewounds just have a particularly short silk on the E, just done a bit of searching and other photos of them are very similar to mine. Which means I’m most likely overthinking it anyway!

Interesting stuff. Here’s mine right now, following Fender’s advice of 3” for E, and 3.5” for all others. GHS Pressurewounds. This is what I mean when I say it somehow doesn’t seem quite right not having any ‘spare’ silk on the E once tuned up. Here’s a P bass I received with La Bellas on. Nicely lined up and plenty of silk on the E: I wonder when I restring soon (with Fender 9050 flats), whether to just cut an inch longer on them all (that would be 3.5” for E, and 4” for others). I’d love to get it looking like the La Bella pic, but is it just the case that they have longer silks to begin with, so it’d make little difference?

Thanks for replies so far. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not obsessed over the silks lining up perfectly, I’d just like them to be close, and for there to be a bit more silk showing on the E once tuned.