The Inevitable String Thread
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:20 pm
Bear with me on this one:
I went through four sets of strings trying to find the right set for my new old fretless MusicMan Stingray. I ended up reverting to the D'Addario flat wounds that came with it but discovered tapewounds before that. Roto-Sound tapewounds are nice but impossibly thick gauge-wise. I found Fender 7120s strings in the process of searching for an alternative. The strings are "nylon filament roundwound", but more interesting, string gauges are .070, .080, .090, and .100. The nut on my 4005 has been widened out by others over the years, so I thought why not try the Fenders on the 4005.
It is an interesting situation. The Fender strings are VERY slinky despite being large. The casing resembles a round-wound but is slightly flat and is plastic. The sound is somewhere between a flatwound and a round-wound, closer to the round-wound in sound. They have a bright round-wound pop but the overall tone is a bit muted, probably because of the nylon wrap. I like having the gauges closely grouped: The feel between the four strings is similar and the tone is rather consistent. I even think I like having the thicker G string. I can do nearly everything I did before with light gauge strings.
That said, my favorite strings are still Dean Markley Ground Wounds. They don't make them any more, so I foresee a set of TI Flats in the future. Still, these Fender strings are kinda interesting. Puts a different twist to my groove.
d
I went through four sets of strings trying to find the right set for my new old fretless MusicMan Stingray. I ended up reverting to the D'Addario flat wounds that came with it but discovered tapewounds before that. Roto-Sound tapewounds are nice but impossibly thick gauge-wise. I found Fender 7120s strings in the process of searching for an alternative. The strings are "nylon filament roundwound", but more interesting, string gauges are .070, .080, .090, and .100. The nut on my 4005 has been widened out by others over the years, so I thought why not try the Fenders on the 4005.
It is an interesting situation. The Fender strings are VERY slinky despite being large. The casing resembles a round-wound but is slightly flat and is plastic. The sound is somewhere between a flatwound and a round-wound, closer to the round-wound in sound. They have a bright round-wound pop but the overall tone is a bit muted, probably because of the nylon wrap. I like having the gauges closely grouped: The feel between the four strings is similar and the tone is rather consistent. I even think I like having the thicker G string. I can do nearly everything I did before with light gauge strings.
That said, my favorite strings are still Dean Markley Ground Wounds. They don't make them any more, so I foresee a set of TI Flats in the future. Still, these Fender strings are kinda interesting. Puts a different twist to my groove.
d
