Best Flats on a J-Bass for Country ?

Fender4Me · #1 12-04-2008, 10:16 PM

I am looking for opinions on flatwounds for my J-Bass for playing country /gospel music. I am going broke trying various brands. So far, I have tried TI's, LaBella 760's, and Roto's. I like the LaBella Deep Talkin strings the best so far. I have a set of DR Hi Beams enroute to try also. Thoughts? Thanks, Cliff

bertbassplayer · #2 12-04-2008, 10:20 PM

I like D'addario Chromes on my ash bodied jazz.

bassbully · #3 12-05-2008, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertbassplayer

I like D'addario Chromes on my ash bodied jazz.

Yep! I just restrung my old 70's Aria lawsuit jazz with a set of chromes i took off my P bass and took it to my country band practice last week. The sound of the thumpy woody chromes and the higher output jazz pups was wonderfull. I had a serious old school tone to die for and was in heaven. In the past all my chromes had been on my P basses and they were great but on a jazz ..WOW!

BTW did you like the TI's on your jazz?

Fender4Me · #4 12-05-2008, 07:34 AM

Great! I'll give the Chromes a try. I hated the TI's. They sounded dead, had a low volume output.

bassbully · #5 12-05-2008, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fender4Me

Great! I'll give the Chromes a try. I hated the TI's. They sounded dead, had a low volume output.

Humm...you here how great they are on here. I wanted to try them but i hate to drop the $. I did buy a set of the TI powerbass rounds and they are great.

Fender4Me · #6 12-05-2008, 10:18 PM

Well, maybe I had a bad set. I thought they sounded pretty good the first hour or so but, the next day, they sounded really bad. I didnt want to take another $70.00 chance.

DavePlaysBass · #7 12-05-2008, 10:22 PM

The magic of TI Flats is at loud volumes in a mix. By themselves they do sound dull compared to rounds at least.

sometypeofplay · #8 12-07-2008, 09:29 AM

I would also recommend the D'addario Chromes. I play modern country covers and originals and thought they were great. The band likes the bright punchy sound of roundwounds more, so I'm back to using those. But, I've got a back-up Jazz that's strung with Chrome flats.

mello_bedwetter · #9 12-07-2008, 09:54 AM

I play some country and I have EB 2806's on a Geddy Jazz. They do fine with country as well as other types of music like classic rock and southern rock. GHS makes a flat that's good for country but I didn't like them for any types of rock. I think they are called Precision Flats.

Craig_S · #10 12-07-2008, 10:42 AM

I just tried the Chromes last week and was very surprised at how even sounding they are. They are a pretty balanced flat. Some flats punch out more mids, some are really "boomy", the Chromes are, to me, a good mix of thump and mids. I like them a lot.

bassbully · #11 12-07-2008, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sometypeofplay

I would also recommend the D'addario Chromes. I play modern country covers and originals and thought they were great. The band likes the bright punchy sound of roundwounds more, so I'm back to using those. But, I've got a back-up Jazz that's strung with Chrome flats.

I am in the same boat. I was a chrome playing fool on my P basses and loved the tone but my bandleader wanted more punch and brightness from rounds like your band. Since i went back to rounds i have not had an easy time finding my sound. I am now using TI powerbass rounds and so far so good but i really miss chromes. I might slip them in and see if they say anything

Psychicpet · #12 12-07-2008, 11:35 PM

I've just gone through a few bucks trying flats and I think I have found my favourites. Now keep in mind that I'm a fairly hard core (not genre, just demeanor)

Stainless Steel rounds guy. My fav's for that are DR FatBeams.

BUT!! I went out and have just restrung 2 of my 4s and one of my 5s with Ernie Ball Flats.

out of TIs, Rotos, and Chromes, these are by far my favourite. there is just something about them for me that does it. didn't particularly dig the Chromes, and the TIs were waaaay too loose but the Ernie Balls are just fantastic.

Psychicpet · #13 12-07-2008, 11:37 PM

Oh,

and the basses are:

4 string Peavey Zodiac BXP

4 string Vantage maple fretless (with stock DiMarzio P)

5 string custom Mollerup , passive with a pair of Aero Js from a Lakland DJ 5

fearceol · #14 12-08-2008, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fender4Me

Well, maybe I had a bad set. I thought they sounded pretty good the first hour or so but, the next day, they sounded really bad. I didnt want to take another $70.00 chance.

You did not give the TI's a chance IMO. They can take a few weeks to break in. Admittedly, not everyone likes their low tension.

bassbully · #15 12-08-2008, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psychicpet

I've just gone through a few bucks trying flats and I think I have found my favourites. Now keep in mind that I'm a fairly hard core (not genre, just demeanor)

Stainless Steel rounds guy. My fav's for that are DR FatBeams.

BUT!! I went out and have just restrung 2 of my 4s and one of my 5s with Ernie Ball Flats.

out of TIs, Rotos, and Chromes, these are by far my favourite. there is just something about them for me that does it. didn't particularly dig the Chromes, and the TIs were waaaay too loose but the Ernie Balls are just fantastic.

Ernie Balls??? Really? I swore those suckers off in my guitar playing days horrible strings. I played an older bass i bought and the guy said it had fresh EB rounds on it

But you say the flats are good ? Hummm..never tried them. Whats the tension like compaired to chromes,tone? Same with TI. I must admit you have me thinking of trying them ...what guage did you buy?

Psychicpet · #16 12-08-2008, 11:33 AM

For me the tension of the EBs are not as stiff as the Chromes but definitely tighter than the TIs.

They feel to me me to be closer to Chromes as far as feel and sound but there's just something with them that I'm digging more.

With that said.... I still need to try some DR flats as their strings for rounds are my all time favourites.

but I do dig the EB flats.

maybe if I can find some DR flat 5s I'll swap them out and send my set of EBs that I've got on right now for a taste test.

62bass · #17 12-08-2008, 12:13 PM

I've played country with my P bass with TI flats. They sound great for country. Much bigger sound than other flats and more musical sounding. I've never noticed any set of TI flats being weak sounding. I currently own 4 basses, down 2 from 6 a couple years ago. I've used TI flats on every bass I've owned for over 10 years and have played a lot of gigs on them. My longest lasting set was on my P for over 8 years before I changed them and they still sounded good. They are worth the money for me and considering their long useful life are actually a bargain.

But they aren't a good string for everyone.

bassbully · #18 12-08-2008, 10:15 PM

Would love to try TI jazzes but that tension thing scares me away...and my wallet