Do Older Bassists Gravitate Towards Flats?

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by mrjim123

I mean, my God, if that horrible slap bass on The Seinfeld Show (loved the show, HATED the slap bass riffs) didn't burn people out on slap and roundwound sound it should have! That, of course, is just my opinion.

bow-bow-bow-Buck-a buck-a waaaa.....

Oh I know. And that wasn't even a bass. It was a Yamaha DX-7 synth.

[JKT]

I am definitely in the demographic of older bassists.

Until about 2 years ago it was nothing but rounds. But I started using 2 different basses and discovered that for some things flats just rule IMO.

Now one is strung with rounds, the other with flats. IMO there is no substitute for either.

JKT

[bad_andy]

Originally Posted by mrjim123

Good point.

I think, too, that even bass tone can be subject to fads. I might be wrong, but I don't think slap is as popular as it was even a few years ago. I mean, my God, if that horrible slap bass on The Seinfeld Show (loved the show, HATED the slap bass riffs) didn't burn people out on slap and roundwound sound it should have! That, of course, is just my opinion.

Funny, I knew a guy in college who never watched that show without a bass. He'd listen for the breaks and spend the next two scenes figuring out how to play the bass licks they'd just used.

[HaPpYfAcE]

i started playing with rounds, then half-rounds, now i'm itchin for a fretless bass, heh. good thing i have one on the way.

i am probably going to stick with flats on this fretless, but the next bass i get will have half-rounds. i like hearing more of the growl from bass pickups rather than more of the brightness from rounds, if that makes sense.

i've only been playing for about 10-11 years, but it's been on and off, so i am teh sux0rz.

[willieG]

Originally Posted by bad_andy

Funny, I knew a guy in college who never watched that show without a bass. He'd listen for the breaks and spend the next two scenes figuring out how to play the bass licks they'd just used.

Interesting......Carol Kaye used to do a lot of funky TV shows in the 70's too....Very funky lines....stuck in the middle of tons of scenes.....

BTW.....I am the guy who named the Bossa bass here in Japan.....

I was in the design team from the begining.....but the name Bossa Bass is mine.

willieG

[Mark Reccord]

I'm 37, been playing for 24 years. I hated flats when I started playing and I hate them now.

I really enjoy the brightness of new roundwounds.

Interestingly, I've gravitated away from cabinets with tweeters. Most of them are beamy and harsh sounding, especially a lot of the compression driver ones.

[kirkm24]

Originally Posted by KJung

At age 51 at the moment (and about 35 years of playing bass), you will have to pry my stainless steel roundwounds from my cold, dead hands.

Based on all your great posts I've read the past few years, you definitely seem to like the sizzle. I'd really like to hear you play sometime BTW.

[kirkm24]

I like them both for their own respective tones and applications. If it was solely my preference, I would play my P with flats but my gigs usually require the more modern tone with stainless steel round wounds. I'm a huge Jamerson fan and have always like his style and tone.

[willieG]

Originally Posted by Mark Reccord

I'm 37, been playing for 24 years. I hated flats when I started playing and I hate them now.

I really enjoy the brightness of new roundwounds.

Interestingly, I've gravitated away from cabinets with tweeters. Most of them are beamy and harsh sounding, especially a lot of the compression driver ones.

Well if you don't mind me asking, just what were you listening too for 30 years?

Cause I can swear from the mid 50's to the early 70's.....including Beatles, Motown etc etc.....then was "flatwounds"......

WillieG

[Jason Hollar]

I'm 37 -- been playing 20 years or so.

Started out with rounds -- loved the brightness for that slap funk thing.

Switched to flats as I grew more into jazz, blues, r&b, reggae, etc., probably for the last 10 years.

I love my Rotosound flats because they are quite bright when new. I also use some high tech stuff (relatively) like an active Yamaha 5 and an Eden Nav w/SWR cabs so I can get as bright or as thuddy as the song needs to be.

That said, someday I still want a real P Bass with nickel rounds -- and I'm never gonna change them!

[markjazzbassist]

used to play a lot of round, now play mostly flats.

i love labella flats