Low tension, fat sounding strings?

[Poor Tom]

I like ligther gauged strings, and roundwounds. What are some good low tension, fat sounding options? thanks.

[Slater]

Thomastik Infeld Jazz Rounds.

[Ryan Mohr]

DR Sunbeams

[Poor Tom]

hah, well how about something that doesn't cost $50 per set?

edit: that was pointed at the TI jazz set

I have been wanting to try some DR strings for awhile. How are the Sunbeams compared to the low riders?

[realbadgroove]

Originally Posted by Slater

Thomastik Infeld Jazz Rounds.

I second that

[Steve Bennett]

DR Sunbeams are wonderful strings, IMO. They're fat, warm, and flexible, and they sound great for a long time. The Lo-Riders are higher tension and stiffer, although great-sounding too.

[Mastermold]

Originally Posted by Steve Bennett

DR Sunbeams are wonderful strings, IMO. They're fat, warm, and flexible, and they sound great for a long time. The Lo-Riders are higher tension and stiffer, although great-sounding too.

I like both, but I'd suggest TI flats for really fat tone.

[OriginalCrash]

Never played the TI's (wanted to, though, from everything I've heard about them), and they are expensive... And of course, as a rule, lighter gauge strings aren't gonna be as "fat" sounding. But I second the Sunbeam recommendation. Lower tension than the Lo-Riders and all the warmth and fatness of nickel. Great strings (I switched to 'em from Rotosounds... and I was a pretty big Roto fan).

Brian

[Mastermold]

Originally Posted by OriginalCrash

Never played the TI's (wanted to, though, from everything I've heard about them), and they are expensive... And of course, as a rule, lighter gauge strings aren't gonna be as "fat" sounding. But I second the Sunbeam recommendation. Lower tension than the Lo-Riders and all the warmth and fatness of nickel. Great strings (I switched to 'em from Rotosounds... and I was a pretty big Roto fan).

Brian

Yeah I was surprised myself given the guage, but they do have a nice fat warm tone. Sounds like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIU66uyE-h4

[Lokire]

I third the TI Jazz Rounds

Lighter gauge strings ARE going to give you a fatter tone, in some ways. Because lighter gauge means lower tension, and lower tension means more fundamental tone. If you can adjust your playing and get used to the feel of lighter gauge strings, then you can have a super easy playing bass and a great warm, fat tone

[greenboy]

Originally Posted by Lokire

Lighter gauge strings ARE going to give you a fatter tone, in some ways. Because lighter gauge means lower tension, and lower tension means more fundamental tone.

In spite of tons of experimentation and a tendency to favor low tension sets (currently using C25-G35-D50-A70-E90-B120taper D'Addario XL on one bass and 40-54-76-96-125 GHS Pressurewounds on another), I'm not convinced that it necessarily means more fundamental, since the lower tension allows more overtones to sustain due to ease of vibration. And analyzing the sound only as a static entity instead of realizing that there's both which partials dominate during attack, and which ones are doing well during sustain/decay seems to lead to a wrong understanding too.

Then, as well, I'm not convinced that MORE FUNDAMENTAL is necessarily percieved as "a fatter tone". To me (and this is rig dependent as the speaker cab especially filters the signal), most people associate a fatter tone as a lot of energy content in the octave, octave-and-fifth, and two-octaves overtones, and a couple of the other overtones just above those. Often the fundamental of the lower notes on lower-pitched strings especially isn't represented hardly at all by the cab[s] anyway!

Probably the only way to find this stuff out for one's own use is to try stuff out more than casually, and then switch things around now and again as a reaility check...

[Slater]

Originally Posted by Poor Tom

hah, well how about something that doesn't cost $50 per set?

edit: that was pointed at the TI jazz set

Well, they just happen to be exactly what you described.

[ProfGumby]

I am fond of Detroit Flats from webstrings. They feel great, boom like thunder and are only 20 bucks a set. I also have DR flats on another bass but the Detroit Flats feel like they have lower tension.

http://www.webstrings.com/flatwound_bass_strings.html

I have the medium set andf they are fantastic!

[greenboy]

Originally Posted by greenboy

analyzing the sound of a string only as a static entity instead of realizing that there's both which partials dominate during attack, and which ones are doing well during sustain/decay seems to lead to a wrong understanding too.

Check this thread out to get a better idea at what I'm trying to get at in the statement above, and look at the waterfall plot below of a 1st fretline low F's various components as time goes by:

AMPS/Bass guitar waterfall plot: what this means to rigs

[greenboy]

By the way, the dark-sounding fretless bass that sample/graph was from had TI Jazz "Flats" on it at the time.