Anyone experience with Fodera strings?

That fretless five-string MusicMan is one of the most gorgeous instruments I’ve ever seen.

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Thanks @JustTim i kid you not when I said that it took me a few weeks to be able to play it in tune and a few minutes each time I pick it up. The stripes pattern really distractingly gorgeous. I play unlined Fretless in 2 of my fender and a music man, and I’ve not affected by that at all.

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And yet, Warwick does :rofl:

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Labella Deep Talking bass strings are the bomb.

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It’s hard to argue with that. Their strings feels and behave like a dead strings but not on all just a one or 2 in the set, :joy:

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TI Jazz Flats are the best I’ve used. Smooth playing and great sounding on my EBMM Cutlass (P bass). Truly great flats.

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Don’t do it, trying them will make you replace all your LaBella’s…

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Seriously? I have to try them now because I am loving these LaBella flats. And, by trying them “now”, it will be awhile. I have a professional set-up and string change on each of my basses every 6 months, but my understanding is that with the LaBella flats, string changes will be far and few between.

I ordered two of the T.I. rounds yesterday. I’m looking forward to trying those on two of my active basses, just a little curious/worried about the changes to the neck, and I’ve even heard about having to make changes to the nut (not sure- the dangers of internet reading).

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Minute, if any! But, yes, a small adjustment might be necessary.

Hasn’t been necessary on any of my basses :smile:

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Does anyone actually change flat wounds? Do they go dead like rounds? I like rounds so much I’ve never had a need to try flats.

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Good question :sweat_smile:
I have flats on my bass for a year now, barely broken in, some might say. I have not thought about changing them yet even though I have a spare set - accidents do happen, so better be prepared.

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Flats have higher tension than rounds, so the neck relief may need adjusting. Nothing crazier than a setup.

Or to get more technical, most flats have a hex core and thereby a higher tension. Some flats, like LaBella low tension flats, or TI flats, have a round core and tension similar to roundwounds. TLDR, it’s not because they are flats. And nothing a setup wouldn’t fix

The classic flats Jamerson used or the modern ones Steve Harris uses are heavy gauge. The nut may need some adjustment.

But you could say the same thing about Billy Sheehan rounds; it’s the gauge not whether it’s flat or round. You can buy LaBella Low Tension Flats and bypass all this stuff. Or TI flats.

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How would you tell? They kinda start out sounding like dead rounds.

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I know! That’s what I’m trying to figure out! :rofl:

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As @joergkutter mentioned, TI Jazz Flats won’t require any nut filing. They’re good to go on whichever bass you want.

And, as Wombat said, they are lower tension than regular La Bellas. For that reason, and because the windings are so smooth, they’re so fine to play. :+1:

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You only need to file the nut for drastic changes in string gauge. We’re talking like from .100 to .130 or .045 to .065 here. Strings in the same range of gauge (under +/- 10% or so) should be fine with no modification. Worst case is minor filing if needed, and you can do this with just a small, cheap diamond file - no need to buy luthier’s tools for this.

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The Jamerson Motown strings are like 52-73-95-110 and the Steve Harris Strings are 50-75-95-110 and those are the only two common sets that come to mind as possibly needing some filing

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I have never had issues with .105’s and .100 being interchangeable so .110 would probably be ok or require just minor filing.

With rounds, if it is just a bit tight you can even file the nut with the string itself, which is not a bad plan.

Nut modification is generally easy and painless, you’ll be surprised. You might even want to just buy a second nut blank to work on and save the original, allowing easy popping back and forth between strings of very different gauges. This is great for trying out BEAD. Changing nuts is easy.

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When I received my Monarch I was in a hurry to replace the strings after setting it up and playing it. They are round core and more flexible than the hex core I am used to playing and I didn’t care for them much. My laziness won out and I ended up keeping them on. They have ended up growing on me and I just dont play the Fodera as aggressively as my other basses. As @booker_t said, DR is making them now (I think mine are made by DR and not the originals), and you already know of their reputation. If you like round core give them a try. They won’t break the bank, and if you don’t like you can take them off and send to me :joy:

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I guess I won’t ever be able to start a post like this :joy:

But, yes, I also tend to gravitate towards round core strings. Both my favorite strings (TI rounds and DR Pure Blues) are round core strings. They need a tiny bit more attention when mounting to avoid slippage of the wound wire from the core, but their overall feel is softer and more flexible, which I like.

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