shoulderpet Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 I have hands that are very sensitive to high tension or stiff strings and typically tend to go with 95-40 or 95-35 gauge, put some Fender strings 95-40 on the other day and whilst they are not high tension due to the low gauge damn they felt stiff for such a light gauge, I have played 100-40 gauge strings that felt looser, my action jumped up a bit immediately after fitting them, anyone else find they are really stiff strings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 It's not you. They are unnecessarily stiff. I tried their flatwounds, light gauge, once - and once only! - and they stayed on the bass for half a day before being thrown in the bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 I bought a Precision, which had them factory fitted, and found them pretty high tension. I fitted a set of Rotosound Swing Bass to, it and they felt a lot more flexible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 I only use flats and It’s not you, as Silvia says, they are stiff, I’ve got the fender flats on one of my jazzes and I’ve left them on hoping they would flex a bit with use, but they haven’t , I wouldn’t use them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 16 minutes ago, gjones said: I bought a Precision, which had them factory fitted, and found them pretty high tension. I fitted a set of Rotosound Swing Bass to, it and they felt a lot more flexible. Im glad you said that, I actually had a set of Roto's on previous to the Fenders and found the same thing, as Roto's are usually said to be stiff I thought I was going mad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Reggaebass said: I only use flats and It’s not you, as Silvia says, they are stiff, I’ve got the fender flats on one of my jazzes and I’ve left them on hoping they would flex a bit with use, but they haven’t , I wouldn’t use them again. I can only imagine how stiff there flats are if there rounds are as stiff as they are the flats must be terrifying Edited June 2, 2020 by shoulderpet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 1 hour ago, shoulderpet said: I have hands that are very sensitive to high tension or stiff strings and typically tend to go with 95-40 or 95-35 gauge, put some Fender strings 95-40 on the other day and whilst they are not high tension due to the low gauge damn they felt stiff for such a light gauge, I have played 100-40 gauge strings that felt looser, my action jumped up a bit immediately after fitting them, anyone else find they are really stiff strings? I think tension isn't the correct word here. I think flexibility is more appropriate. If you're after light gauge, flexible roundwounds then I would suggest the following: Dunlop Black Label Nickels Dunlop Super Brights D'Addario XLs DR Sunbeams / Hi Beams / Fat Beams Thomastik Jazz Rounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Silvia Bluejay said: It's not you. They are unnecessarily stiff. I tried their flatwounds, light gauge, once - and once only! - and they stayed on the bass for half a day before being thrown in the bin. You should try the Dunlop flats in 45-105 gauge if you're looking for a flexible flatwound string. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 1 hour ago, ClassicVibes said: You should try the Dunlop flats in 45-105 gauge if you're looking for a flexible flatwound string. D'Addario Chromes and LaBella Low tension flats are my go-to strings. I'll keep your suggestion in mind if I feel like a change. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 Fender strings are currently made by D'addario and I alternate between the 7250M Fender strings and D'addario EXL165 as they are so close so if the Fenders are stiff then the equivalent D'addarios will feel the same. I'm guessing that there will be slight differences in the construction of the strings but apart from the slightly different coloured ball ends, they feel and sound pretty close so as to be interchangable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 Roundwounds? Certainly not the case with flats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 42 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said: D'Addario Chromes and LaBella Low tension flats are my go-to strings. I'll keep your suggestion in mind if I feel like a change. I would say the Dunlops are easier to play than the Chromes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 41 minutes ago, Delberthot said: Fender strings are currently made by D'addario and I alternate between the 7250M Fender strings and D'addario EXL165 as they are so close so if the Fenders are stiff then the equivalent D'addarios will feel the same. I'm guessing that there will be slight differences in the construction of the strings but apart from the slightly different coloured ball ends, they feel and sound pretty close so as to be interchangable. D'Aaddario used to make strings for Fender but I believe Fender now have their own string machines so it's in house again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 1 hour ago, ClassicVibes said: I would say the Dunlops are easier to play than the Chromes. It's not a matter of being easy or difficult, it's the right kind of compliance that I'm after. For instance, Thomastik Infeldt strings are softer/easier than either Chromes or Labellas, and I do love them, but for certain kinds of songs/styles/genres they are too floppy. (I have them on my Hofner violin.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 3 hours ago, ClassicVibes said: I think tension isn't the correct word here. I think flexibility is more appropriate. If you're after light gauge, flexible roundwounds then I would suggest the following: Dunlop Black Label Nickels Dunlop Super Brights D'Addario XLs DR Sunbeams / Hi Beams / Fat Beams Thomastik Jazz Rounds Id love to try the Thomastik jazz rounds but the price of them means that's not gonna happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 1 hour ago, ClassicVibes said: D'Aaddario used to make strings for Fender but I believe Fender now have their own string machines so it's in house again. Ah, I'll need to have a scout around to see if I can find anything more out about this. I'm guessing that it must be relatively recently as it was strings that I only just bought at the tail end of last year that I compared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 If they have the brass ball ends then they're the Fender in house strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 4 minutes ago, ClassicVibes said: If they have the brass ball ends then they're the Fender in house strings. The ones I had where colour coded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 35 minutes ago, shoulderpet said: The ones I had where colour coded They're the D'Addario versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 It's only been the colour coded ones I have used as well. As I mentioned, the ball ends are slightly different colours to the D'addario ones but still coloured Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebadon2000 Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 The 7250M 45-105 came with my Ultra Precision They seem a little stiffer than EB Super Slinky [comparing D and G] 45-100 And more flexible than EB Cobalt Flats 45-100. To be honest when playing I never had 'that' thought, wow these are stiff for rounds; until I read this thread.😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebadon2000 Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 PS: After doing some investigating Fender 7250's are 'Hex' core any many feel Hex core strings are stiffer than round core both flats and rounds. But with internet info being so ambiguous........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthedoghouse Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Too stiff for me too. Because of the covers band I was in at the time I wanted to try flats on a P for that classic sound without paying a lot of money for something that might not suit me, so I tried Fenders. They seemed to get a lot of good reviews, but while I liked the sound I didn't like the stiffness. I left them on for a few weeks to see if I would get used to them, but I didn't. So now I've got both feet firmly planted with rounds. As chance would have it, I'm now in an originals band that needs a more modern rock sound that my good old Rotos or LaBells give so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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