My Labella 760 FL Dilemma

[73Jazz]

I loved the Labella 760 FL for a long time and they were my favourite strings on p bass like a religion.
But the last two sets seem to be different and so i want to ask you for your experience and maybe confirm my impression.

old set:
the strings look a little bit dull, dark grey and feel little bit blunt..what i look also soundwise it adds a little bit character when the finger streak the strings.

new set
sound different and are shiny, silvery and really clean

from the new set 1 string broke after 10 min of play, can happen anytime, i know.
but the problem is sound..i prefer the old set soo much over the new set.
if they changed their production and produce only those shiny ones..i will not buy them anymore.

so here is my question:
do you have the same experience with newer sets of 760 fl?
that they are shiny and clean and maybe yourecognized the change in sound as well?
or was ist just a bad pick of 2 sets or whatever. or, what i hope, the newer sets you bought are also a little dull looking and blunt feeling?
they are too expensive to try out 5 other sets, especially when they are not my cup of tea anymore..so you may excuse to bother you.
Thanks in advance

Edited June 13, 2011 by 73Jazz

[Ross]

Yeah the set I've put on my project seem to be really shiny and not nearly as thumpy as I was expecting having heard them on other basses.
And the first set the e string broke with my thumb resting on it.

I'm hoping that they'll dull down after a while though, with my filthy hands. The roundwounds on my jazz are 7 years old and have more low down thump than the la bellas do.

[chrkelly]

I think it's just down to brand new strings versus ones that you've played for many years. I recently bought a FS gauge set for a new bass and noticed how shiny they were too. My other ones are about 5 years old and look really dull. On the bass though they react exactly the same as the old ones and definitely have the same sound characteristics, just a bit stiffer sounding and brighter (again down to being brand new). Give them 6 months and I'm sure they'll look and sound like the old ones.

[73Jazz]

[quote name='chrkelly' post='1268464' date='Jun 14 2011, 12:54 PM']I think it's just down to brand new strings versus ones that you've played for many years.[/quote]


Definitely not. I know Labellas very well and also know the difference between broken in strings and new strings.
but i also recognize the difference between two different production runs.
It seems they use 2 different materials. And all my friends confirm if they have old sets they are dull and blunt and new sets are shiny and unfortunately not the same sound anymore.

Edited June 14, 2011 by 73Jazz

[chrkelly]

[quote name='73Jazz' post='1268491' date='Jun 14 2011, 12:11 PM']Definitely not. I know Labellas very well and also know the difference between broken in strings and new strings.
but i also recognize the difference between two different production runs.
It seems they use 2 different materials. And all my friends confirm if they have old sets they are dull and blunt and new sets are shiny and unfortunately not the same sound anymore.[/quote]

I really hope that's not the case. I really love the old ones too. The p bass I've tried the new ones on is also new to me so I can't compare them properly at the moment. Fingers crossed I can get another 10 years out of the old ones before they lose their tuning.

[dannybuoy]

This is rather disconcerting to read, I have a shiny set of 760FL ready to fit to my P! I can always go back to my used set of TI's or Pyramids though if need be!

[wateroftyne]

Hmm... I've just bought my first new set (to keep in reserve) for about five years. The packaging is very different.

I hope they haven't changed them, but barring any breakages I won't find out for another six or seven years. ha ha.

[JTUK]

I have a theory that some brands have changed things fundamentally and not for the good, either.

I have always used clean rounds and the quality in steel and out of the pack performance is very varied now, IME.
I have spent the last year swapping out strings and a few brands are showing problems in brand new packs that I never got from any multiple cleaned sets before....

So.. not at all good, IME.

I can't talk about this particular model, but I think there is something in string production/material that is not that consistant.

I have been playing way over 30 years and only ever broke 2 strings before.. and that was before I knew what I was doing.
Now, I have broken 2 strings in the last year...!!

To have to write off a set of strings that cost £40 for a 5st set is not good for that brand loyalty... I took the whole set off as soon as I put them on..duff, straight out of the pack.
Other sets have kinked in a string... when going for a cleanse.

Stuff like that. Never had these problems before...in nigh on 20 years with that brand. Others are questionable as well, IME.

Edited June 15, 2011 by JTUK

[73Jazz]

Maybe this has to do with rising prices for raw material of steel e.g.
And manufacturers are trying to compensate this in different production to maintain nearly same prices.

I remember one fact, which might be important for the change of Labellas 760Fl.
There was a long period, i think 1 year ago, where you can`t get 760FL anymore..they were out of stock everywhere.
After that period those different string sets where delivered to me.
so
a ) They bought different strings to ciompensate lack of production in that period
b ) They changed their way of production and this caused the period in their delivery chain

I don`t know, just presumption..but maybe we will find the answer together

Edited June 14, 2011 by 73Jazz