Fender 9050L

I believe these strings are manufactured by D'Addario but they're not the same as the D'Addario Chromes. I've never liked the Chromes, they're too stiff and metallic/bright for my taste. With this in mind I didn't really expect to like the Fender flats but I wanted to give them a chance.

I actually like them more than I expected. They certainly have a bit of initial metallic brightness but unlike the D'Addario Chromes they slowly mellow out into a nicer, warmer tone (D'Addario Chromes just go completely dead in a really bad way).

These Fender flats will never sound of feel like proper old school flats though. They are brigher, feel stiffer and are lacking the "bouncy" feel of classic flatwound strings. You will never get a Motown thump or a 60s vibe out of these strings. These Fender flats will never get that bouncy feel and thumpy tone. They will also retain a certain midrange "grind" that you won't get with old school flats. Whether this is good or bad will of course depend on what kind of tone/feel you're looking for. Just be aware that these strings will not sound of feel even remotely like old school flats. If you're looking for THAT kind of tone/vibe you will be far better off with LaBella, Pyramid, Optima or any of the other old school flats that are available.

If you're looking for a set of stiffer "modern" flats with a tone that leans a bit towards roundwounds you might like these Fenders.

I wrote a bad review of the medium version of these strings as I found them hard to play, stiff and cable like compared to regular medium strings. I also had an issue with the silks breaking when I moved them to another bass rendering them unusable. I gave them another chance because to be honest I couldn't afford anything else. This time I went with the lights which are still pretty thick I would say the equivalent of medium gauge regular strings. They actually sound really good on my vintage modified squire jaguar bass and feel nice and smooth. They also sound really good when you play with a pick. I suspect that these will have the same problem with brittle silks so they are staying on the same bass tell they wear out.