Which Flats for P/J Jazz Bass?

[Funky-Wunky]

I have a jazz bass with P/J pickups. I like the round fat neck pickup a lot, but sometimes use the jazz pickup for some punchy lines. Anyways, this bass is used mainly for playing jazz standards. Currently I have Thomastik-Infield flatwounds on it, in fact they have been on there for a good 5 years! LOL
I was thinking about trying some different flatwounds on it. Anyone have a suggestion?

[Wootsticks]

TI Flats: Haven't tried them, but there's a huge following of them on these forums.

Chromes: The flats I have on my P, and I get huge tonal versatility out of these for flats. Fat, swampy, thumpy, laser-like, funky, sweet, whatever. Very wide range of usable sounds, imo.

[dewbass4]

Originally Posted by Wootsticks

Chromes: The flats I have on my P, and I get huge tonal versatility out of these for flats. Fat, swampy, thumpy, laser-like, funky, sweet, whatever. Very wide range of usable sounds, imo.

+1 for the Chromes
I've been real happy with Chromes on all 3 types of bass -- P, P/J and J. They sound great and last forever.

[Funky-Wunky]

Thanks, Which brand are you all talking about on the chrome strings?

[Chris Breese]

d'addario Chromes

[Nick Kay]

The only flats fit for my consumption are TI Jazz and D'Addario Chromes. Right now, it's Chromes, though I have a well-worn set of TIs in the bag as backup.

[Wootsticks]

When I say laser-like, I mean like I pluck it and it sounds like "wAAAAAAAAHHHHHH..." without much of an attack but not finger noisy. I tried a long time to get that sound and finally did. How are the TI flats, by the way? If I take the Chromes off of my bass can I keep them somewhere and put them back on if I don't like the TI's?

[Funky-Wunky]

Which gauge of the chromes do you use? I looked and they have a lighter gauge and a heavier gauge. Also, did anyone ever use LaBella stainless flatwounds?

[Wootsticks]

I used the heaviest gauge I could find, which work fantastic for me. Never tried LaBellas.

[Chris Breese]

Not everyone will agree with me, but Labella flats are pretty much the best flatwound string for a P bass in my opinion. I play in a classic rock/country/variety band and they work for all that stuff. They are just plain awesome. I use the set with the .109 E string and they feel great and sound great. I'm just about to say goodbye to roundwound strings...

[lmfreeman9]

Originally Posted by Chris Breese

Not everyone will agree with me, but Labella flats are pretty much the best flatwound string for a P bass in my opinion. I play in a classic rock/country/variety band and they work for all that stuff. They are just plain awesome. I use the set with the .109 E string and they feel great and sound great. I'm just about to say goodbye to roundwound strings...

+1 on the LaBellas, I use the .109 (med) and the.105 (standard). They also come in a lighter and heavier gauge. I'd think that lighter might be better for Jazz.

[GM60466]

Chromes +1

[Frankjohnson]

I have Chromes, Fender 9120, 7120 and Webstrings flats on my basses.......just hit and miss which one has what.

I Just got an american Deluxe Precision and it had the original boingy fender strings, 7120s and now has heavy Webstrings flats. They kick ass. they are on two SX basses I have and when the Jag, Jazz P jr are ready they will probably get them too. Oh the Dean Acoustic has them in Med.

I really like them! Not exceptionally cheap - but well priced.

[kasbrey]

I find Chromes too "roundwound" sounding for most of my basses although they are getting slightly better with age.

I have stopped using the LaBella 760FL's because they seem to lack mids.

TI flats have my favourite sound but I wish they had a little more tension.

I've just put on a set of Elites flats on my 75RI jazz and I like the tone and the tension. A friend of mine has these on his Precision and they sound fantastic after they've been on a year or so !

[nubs]

which ever ones you find most appealing to your ear, and the mix of music your doing.....

[markjazzbassist]

d'addario chromes. i have them on my Jazz and my Precision, so I'm guessing they would sound great on a PJ.

[roosterbass]

ghs precision flats on a jazz bass and i love them, especially after a month

[steveg4330]

I've got Chromes on my Lakie JO4 and my Geddy Lee... I love them...A very "smooth" feel to the fingers. They have good brightness for the highs, and provide a good thump at the bottom.

I use LaBella Flats on my P-Bass... Almost makes me feel like Jamerson.... almost .. Again very smooth feel to the fingers ..

I've used Rotosound 77's. The sound was good. To my ear it's a string that accentuates the high end... For me, I didn't like the winding.. It's much closer to a roundwound in finger feel.. IMO

[JTE]

Lakland's Joe Osborn set. I tried two sets of TI flats and while I liked the sound (albeit it's not really much of a traditional flatwound sound), the way they felt under my right hand was just too floppy. I used Fender 850s back in the olden days (when all Fender bass shipped with a set of 850s) and the newer Fender flats are similar, but much more stiff and twangy sounding. Hated 'em, just hated them. I love the Lakland flats because they're still supple while having some resistance to my plucking (I use the medium set 45-105 or thereabout). They have that nice defined thump on the bottow but they have a definite note too. I used a set of LaBella Old Originals (now called the Jamerson set) decades ago, and while they were very nice when I was practicing all by myself, they never seemed to fit into a band mix because there wasn't enough note definition. The Lakllands give me a nice punchy definite note without the bite I get from roundwounds.

I beleive the GHS Precision Flats are the same or very similar to the Lakland ones.

jte

[Funky-Wunky]

I ordered the d'addario chromes, heavy gauge. I wonder if I'll have to adjust the harmonics with the heavier gauge?