Strings on BG for those of you that double

[bilco]

I have only been playing upright for a year and have settled on the Spirocore Weichs as the strings that work for me for now.
I have played BG for 37 years and am currently using TI Jazz Flats and really like the tone and feel of them on my Pbass except.....

I am thinking maybe there is a flatwound set I could put on the Pbass that would have comparable tension to the Spirocore Weichs and help build up left hand strength that will translate over to the upright. The Jazz Flats have next to no tension.
The only other flats I ever tried on the Pbass were Fenders and I had to take them off almost immediately. They aggravated my carpal tunnel and tendonitus a lot.

Any flatwound BG string suggestions for those of you who double?

Thanks,
bilco

[Francois Blais]

D'Addario Chromes?

[SoLongJake]

+1 to chromes, they are tight.

[bassist1962]

I agree about the Chromes from what I have read elsewhere.

[greitzer]

+3 on the D'Addario (XL Flatchromes, in my case). I use them on my BG and they have tension that's more comparable to Spiros than other BG strings I've tried. And a nice old kind of Motown, thumpy sound to them.

[Bobby King]

I like the D'Addario Chromes as well. They have a great sound and are not as thuddy as many flats, but also not loose like the TIs. They can feel a little stiff to my right hand plucking fingers sometimes though. I also like Sadowsky's flats. They're a little more traditional than Chromes and a little softer to the touch, but still have more brightness than say, LaBella.

[bilco]

Originally Posted by Bobby King

I like the D'Addario Chromes as well. They have a great sound and are not as thuddy as many flats, but also not loose like the TIs. They can feel a little stiff to my right hand plucking fingers sometimes though. I also like Sadowsky's flats. They're a little more traditional than Chromes and a little softer to the touch, but still have more brightness than say, LaBella.

Do the Sadowky's come in more than 1 gauge or model and if so which one would be the most comparable to the left hand tension on the Spirocore Weichs?

If I am understanding the threads I have seen correctly, the LaBella or Pyramids come the closest to the traditional thuddy Motown sound and the Chromes have more highs.

I like the TI Jazz Flat sound, but they are pretty floppy and they are not helping build any kind of hand strength at all for going from the Pbass to the upright.

Thanks for answering everyone,
bilco

[Phil Rowan]

I have the Sadowsky flats on my Fender Jazz V, and I dig that they have that fat, round sound while still being bright enough to not sound dead.

[Bobby King]

As far as I know, the Sadowsky flats only come in one gauge .045 -.105 I couldn't really compare them to Weichs, but it's a comfortable tension. They're very nice strings. More Motown-y than Chromes, but more highs than LaBellas. I have them on a Fender Jazz bass and I like them a lot.

The Chromes are a bit different. They are actually fairly bright, at least at first, but you can roll off a little high end to sound more old-school. But they're more versatile and work for rock and pop too, a little more sustain, etc. They aren't high-tension, but they're sort of stiff and hard. I just played Friday and Saturday night club gigs, 3-4 sets each night, on a P-bass with Chromes and my fingertips are sore today! They sound really good, though. You might want to use the .045 -.100 set, as opposed to the .050 -.105 There's a lighter set too, .040 -.095. Each gauge is comparatively a little heavier feeling to most other sets, IMO

Those TI flat are just too low in tension for me. If you play upright, you tend to develop a stronger touch and those don't fight back enough. I did have them on a fretless once and they worked well for that.

[bilco]

Originally Posted by Bobby King

As far as I know, the Sadowsky flats only come in one gauge .045 -.105 I couldn't really compare them to Weichs, but it's a comfortable tension. They're very nice strings. More Motown-y than Chromes, but more highs than LaBellas. I have them on a Fender Jazz bass and I like them a lot.

The Chromes are a bit different. They are actually fairly bright, at least at first, but you can roll off a little high end to sound more old-school. But they're more versatile and work for rock and pop too, a little more sustain, etc. They aren't high-tension, but they're sort of stiff and hard. I just played Friday and Saturday night club gigs, 3-4 sets each night, on a P-bass with Chromes and my fingertips are sore today! They sound really good, though. You might want to use the .045 -.100 set, as opposed to the .050 -.105 There's a lighter set too, .040 -.095. Each gauge is comparatively a little heavier feeling to most other sets, IMO

Those TI flat are just too low in tension for me. If you play upright, you tend to develop a stronger touch and those don't fight back enough. I did have them on a fretless once and they worked well for that.

Thanks, I'll give the Sadowskys a try then. I grew up with the .45 - .105 gauge on my Pbass and those sound like they have good tone for the styles of music I play, country, standards, a few token classic rockers and acoustic singer-songwriter stuff.

Now I have to start working the upright into the my gigs somehow. It would sound great on the Sinatra tunes and country we play for the most part on my Friday night gigs, but I don't think I could keep up if I had to play "Pretty Woman" or "Born to Be Wild" on upright! I really don't want to drag the Pbass and the upright to the same gigs. My 52 year old back likes being able to load in with just one trip from the truck to the club. I'm gonna have to find a bluegrass type gig where I'll never have a need for the Pbass.

Thanks again to everyone for the string tips,
bilco