Pyramid Gold Pure Nickel Flatwounds, questions.

santucci218 · #1 02-26-2010, 01:20 PM

So I'm at work, and i just restrung a Beatlebass with some Labella Hofner strings. I was at a cello players house the other day and she had like, 3 regular flats, and one of these pyramid golds on her cello, and just the tone of that one string was so resonant and warm. Kinda thinking i want that on my jazz. I do some slapping, and some tapping. Harmonics as well. I hate how often and how fast these round wound strings go. Burning a hole in my pocket I tell ya! Can you tell me about these strings? Other strings you might find comparable that may suit my style more? I have already read a few threads about these, apparently they are thuddy...idk what that means in reference to my playing style though..

Jefenator · #2 02-26-2010, 01:47 PM

IME the Pyramid Gold flats are all about old-school thud. They embody what flatwound strings have a reputation for but most don't actually do so much. They have a fair amount of tension but without that slightly hostile, clanky feel I get from Fender flats.

For slapping & tapping, all this might not be such a good thing. (I just tried some slapping on them and had fun but I go for that older Larry Graham vibe.) Seems to me these would NOT be the string of choice for tapping.

IME TI flats do "warm" and "resonant" with considerably less tension. Some find them too floppy - I always liked them. Talk about burning a hole in your wallet - TIs and Pyramids are both pretty darn spendy.

On my J bass, I'm happy with D'Addario Chrome flats - they seem to me like they have one foot in each world (old-school and modern) they're lasting nicely and they're not crazy expensive.

That's my take, anyway.

santucci218 · #3 02-26-2010, 02:03 PM

are there any TI flat models that you recommend?

Jefenator · #4 02-26-2010, 02:09 PM

AFAIK they have just the one "model":

http://www.juststrings.com/thomastik...flatwound.html

santucci218 · #5 02-26-2010, 02:20 PM

and these will be nice and fat sounding for slapping but still not muddy for chords?

john-boro · #6 02-26-2010, 02:37 PM

pyramid golds are really superb strings. very well made, extremely tight windings and very smooth to play. each note fills out a huge chunk of the low-end, and the warmth you get from the nickel prevents that overly hollow clanky sound you can get from some flats. on top of that, the 105 gauge e string gives you low end for days. if you want a bass sound that really does what a bass is meant to do, e.g. backing a full big band or playing old motown, they're great.

i prefer a little bit more of an agile sound - more upper mids and a quicker response, so for that reason i use TI's. however, they will never give that same huge (but still tight) low end.

Jefenator · #7 02-26-2010, 03:22 PM

I haven't spent a whole lot of time slapping on TIs to be honest.

I see some just popped up in the classyfieds. They usually go real fast.

santucci218 · #8 02-26-2010, 03:31 PM

John! Go slap on the TI's and report back.

john-boro · #9 02-27-2010, 01:18 AM

I already do slap on them. They have a slightly brighter and snappier slapped tone than most flatwounds, which I like.

santucci218 · #10 02-27-2010, 07:50 AM

Seems like the TI's are going to be it...

markjazzbassist · #11 02-27-2010, 08:48 AM

i owned and gigged with pyramid flats for a couple months. they are IMHO, the most "dead" and thuddy flats available. they start out with some nice brightness, but then just go to straight old school thump.

i've owned labellas, chromes, TI's, fenders, rotos, and pyramid flats. so i've had a lot of experience with flats.

santucci218 · #12 02-27-2010, 09:12 AM

Well Mark, which do you feel is best for my application?

markjazzbassist · #13 02-27-2010, 09:19 AM

not flats. flats don't sound good slapped IMHO. i don't slap at all so they work well for my fingerstyle playing.

a nice warm round would probably do you well. the pure nickel fender rounds are really nice and warm and thick and low endy, but also have some nice edge for the slap.

santucci218 · #14 02-27-2010, 09:23 AM

I know i was compromising some edge to my tone, but i wanted flats for the longer life.

markjazzbassist · #15 02-27-2010, 09:35 AM

flats and rounds have the same life span. it's just the "dead" flats sound is MORE accepted as okay. i have "dead" rounds on some of my basses and i love it. they have more bite and such, and when the "die" they have less, but still more than a flat.

might want to try that too.

john-boro · #16 02-27-2010, 07:21 PM

i just did a gig with the TIs. just... get these strings. such a punchy high mid for flats, not muddy, and beautiful to play. full, fantastic sound. ahhh.

Jefenator · #17 02-27-2010, 07:39 PM

Sorry I couldn't help you more - I had the TIs on my P-bass set up high. Not exactly my go-to for slap. (Given the easier tension, with a lower setup seems like they'd be OK.)

Here's a clip I made with Chromes on my J-bass - the slap section sounds pretty sparkly to me. (As much so as I'd ever expect from a passive axe w/ flats.)

http://jeffaddicottglassworks.com/po...hJ_chromes.mp3

I think the Chromes have a bit more of a metallic "edge" than TIs (Chromes are stainless steel IIRC, TIs are nickel). TIs feel soft & go limper when you handle them - almost as if there were a rope core. That makes for a very friendly (to some) playing feel, but you definitely can feel the nickel difference IMO.

santucci218 · #18 02-27-2010, 08:19 PM

The Chromes have a little growl to them, i dig it. Now, i hate the sound compared to roundwounds, haha, but it will be nice to not replace my strings every month! I'll get the chromes i think. I found them new for 20 dollars, so thats not a big commitment.

C64 · #19 02-27-2010, 09:43 PM

TI JF344's jazz flats, around 49.00. !! If you dont like them I'll buy them from you!

Number27 · #20 02-28-2010, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

flats and rounds have the same life span. it's just the "dead" flats sound is MORE accepted as okay. i have "dead" rounds on some of my basses and i love it. they have more bite and such, and when the "die" they have less, but still more than a flat.

i think that many would say that the "life span" of a string is how long it retains the sound you're looking for... with flats you're for that dead thumpy sound where as the rounds are almost always wanted for their zing, which always disappears after a seemingly short time. so in that way i would disagree with your assessment that rounds and flats have the same life span. although i agree with everything else you said.

after trying most of the flats on the market i settled on pyramids as my overall favorite. you'll find my comments about them in every pyramids thread in this section... but i've got nothing more to add than what these guys already covered.