String suggestions for jazz tone

[wolfestreet]

I am attempting to achieve a jazz tone on bass similar to what many jazz guitarists get (a kind of midrangy mellow sound that is still very clear) and I was wondering if anyone could recommend strings for this tone? I thought about trying nylon tapewounds, but then I thought the sound might be too thumpy, bassy, and muddy for me. I want a clear sound, but without too many highs. I also hate the clacky string sound (if you know what I mean). I play a squier vintage modified fretless jazz bass currently strung with flatwounds (I have no idea what kind, I bought the bass used with these strings already on). Thanks in advance for anyone with suggestions! Also I hope I don't sound ignorant, I am new to this forum.

[Lonesomedave]

the best place to start IMO is always Rotosound 77's. they are a good string and my son now plays them on every bass he has which is strung with flatwounds except one fender Jazz which has D'Addario chromes. (also a very good string)

I will admit to a Rotosound bias- the roundwounds we use are Rotosound 99's (piano strings) and they also sound good on his Geddy Lee custom bass and an Alembic essence that he currently has the use of, but by and large, we have found that 77's are the perfect flatwound.

they are not the cheapest string nor the most expensive, but they give to my ear a good clear sound. If you don't like those, hey, experiment until you find a set you like.

/s/ Dave

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Another string that will be interesting are "Pressure Wounds" aka "Compression Wound." They are like a less aggressive round wound, less finger noise, punchy and solid sounding. They are less aggressive to fingerboards because the outer wrapping is compressed into an oval shape before winding. It makes the outer edges of the string smoother. I used these for a while on my plain ebony fingerboard, so on the VMJ board, you are going to have no issues at all...

Another string are Half Rounds aka Ground Wounds aka Slick Rounds aka Brite Flats (all depends on the brand). They are round wounds where the string is ground into nearly a flatwound. They have the flexibility of a Round Wound but smoothness of a Flat. They are brighter sounding than a flatwound.

Below is an image showing the difference between Ken Smith's Round Wound, Compression Wound, and Slick Round.

[Jim Nazium]

TI (Thomastik Infled) jazz flats, all day long. Very mellow sound, yet clean and clear, not muddy. They sound great on a j-bass. They are expensive, but worth it IMHO, and they last a very long time.

[Grateful]

You might want to consider DR Black Beauties (or other coated strings). I had the DR's on a Jazz bass and they were awesome. String noise is a non-issue and they are quite versatile. I was able to get more treble than I ever needed if I had to, but they were still nice and subdued, but clear. I have had tapewounds and they are a totally different beast from the DRs.
Plus, they last forever....(just about).

[darkstorm]

When I first saw the description for compression wound "oval shape" I couldnt quite figure out how theyd work well. I figured "How are you gonna keep it right from nut to bridge, To much chance of the narrower or wider part of oval string to be face down to fretboard. Twisted string would be a mess contact area to feetbaord wise. Such a hassle, some strings would be narrow side to fretboard and some would be wider part of oval to fretboard. Lol, Then figured out it wasnt about the strings outer shape but rather about the wrap to wrap direction instead. Which lets you have oval string without those pesky stringing problems other type of oval strings would have. This was back in the late 70's for me when comp wound was new thing to hear about. Lol.

[SLaPiNFuNK]

darkstorm - that would be pretty wild if the string its self was oval shaped! As soon as I first played / looked at a set of compression wound strings from Ken Smith in the mid-90's I felt and saw exactly what they were doing. Its really one of those things you need to see / feel to understand.

They are definitely a unique string. Aside from the wrapping feel, they feel tighter than regular rounds.

[wolfestreet]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! those TI jazz flats seem really nice! I think I'm going to try those. Thanks again for helping!

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Depending on your angle of attack with your right hand and your action. I am afraid with a flatwound you may experience that "clacky" sound again the fingerboard of the VMJ. (hence why I did not mention a flat).