String Whiz-New Calluses-Fender P-Bass Question

[SurferJoe46]

I"m old - good that's up front now. I'm not pro although I was almost 1/2 a century ago. Things have changed - some for better or not. I, on the other hand am still the same person only I walk a little slower and don't get into bar fights any more.

My Fender P basses (2x - 1 MIJ 1 / 1MIA) sound lousy and I think it's the strings.

I bought a new SR500 and with the strings on it I don't get all the string noise. This I think is one of the biggest reasons why I hate the Ps so much - they're noisy. The SR500 is sweet, punchy and mellow all at the same time. The strings are soft and velvety unlike the ones on the Ps.

The Fenders scare my wife's cats and the canary stops singing for a week after I play one of them. I still think it's the strings. Without killing too much of the brightness on the Ps, which strings should I try?

I don't mind the crispness, if I could tune it down with just the pup pots and not add filters and stomps to make them mellow.

Here's a big question::: do my calluses make the strings noisy or is this just the way Ps sound with stock pups?

Now I know the Elixers on the Ibanez are prolly the biggest reason why I like them better - but now that I'm old and cranky, I don't think playing bass should be an act of terror for anyone, not even my wife's animals.

Should I try a set of the same Elixer strings on one of my Ps?

I'll be making a "look-see" to GC on Wednesday (55+ miles one-way) - but don't tell my wife!

[bradjonesbass]

brite flats

[SurferJoe46]

There's such an animal?

I always thought flats were thumpers and not crispy enough - not that I like crispy - but I want to be able to turn it down if I can and at least have some control over what I sound like.

[bradjonesbass]

modern flat wounds are quite bright sounding actually, only without the "bite" that roundwounds have. brite flats from GHS are actually roundwounds that have been ground flat. nice and bright sound but without the edge of regular roundwounds. Try a pair sometime and you might be pleasantly suprised.

[SurferJoe46]

OK - I'll look at them in GC this week. Thanks.

[Burnttwaffle]

Originally Posted by SurferJoe46

OK - I'll look at them in GC this week. Thanks.

I don't know about where you live, but around me GC has a TERRIBLE selection of strings. I would call them and check out if they have any kind of stock before going all that way; just something you might want to think about. Good luck!

[SurferJoe46]

Good idea - the website for the store SAYS it has them but that may not be true.

They are a small store on the lowest end of the GC food chain and get a lot of the older stuff and seem to have it longer than - say, a Hollywood GC.

[PSPookie]

Elixirs have a plastic coating over the string which makes it last longer and helps to eliminate finger noise.

IMO/IME DR Sunbeams sound great on a P bass once they lose the new string zing.

If you're having that much trouble with finger noise the answer might be to work on your technique a bit. It sounds like you may have taken a break from playing so this coudl easily be the case. OTOH, flats will get rid of the figner noise without altering your technique and there are some fairly cripsy flats available these days. Take a look at D'Addario Chromes and the new Fender 9050s (green package). I'm also a fan of tapewounds which tend to have the smoothness (physically and sonicly) of flats but tend to retain a bit more high-end.

[SurferJoe46]

I'll try to get the Elixirs at GC tomorrow - possibly Thursday.

Right now I am putting Son-Of-A-Gun on my Crate Cabs and head.