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Flatwounds help again - thumpy options

I'm looking for thumpy flats for my big band jazz group on my J bass (neck pickup primarily). I have a gig coming up next week so I'm looking at local options.

I like the LaBella DTFs generally, currently installed, but the string-to-string variation in tone is just too severe. Worse than other flats I have tried.

I have some 9050 Fender flats but they have a little bit of a raspy tone that I don't want.

Also have some Cobalt Flats in the drawer but that's the wrong direction for this.

Looking locally, I see Ernie Ball Group II flats available in stock. I haven't tried those and don't know if they'll be in the right direction. Little worried about fatigue on a long gig with heavy strings (these appear to be on the heavy side). But setting that aside, anyone know if these are a good option for thumpy, uniform tone?

Also see Chromes which I have tried and don't like the feel. Others available - EB Pino Palladino and RotoSound Jazz Bass RS77LD.

Any suggestions on these?
TIA!
Have you ever tried these: ETB92 XL (very warm smooth no string noise)

Bye bye, Boom Boom

The film’s star, Timothy Carey…
…wrote and directed it. He was, well, quite a character.

Another film of this ilk, concerning powertripping demigod types(but not music related)that you should track down is The Loved One. Put out by MGM, with a cast of notables, it was way ahead of its time, still savagely funny(keeping things in context), biting satire that’s unfortunately become reality. Billed as a film “with something to offend everyone”, it can still do that after 60 years, and that’s a good thing. Here’s one of my favorite scenes…
Login to view embedded media When I had to make the arrangements for my mother, this played in my head, and the reality wasn’t too far off.

1) Dang, Robert Morse, haven't seen that guy's mug for years. Like Michael J. Pollard, Terry-Thomas.
2) And....Liberace!!??
3) The tone reminds me of a Michael O'Donoghue short, "Jack LaLanne's Spas for the Dead". Bodies simply thrown into Jacuzzis, bodies bouncing on "fat rollers and leaning in those jiggle belt things. And Jack LaLanne was actually in it. I KNOW I remember this thing, but I can't find a trace of it's existence on the internet. I guess there is a limit.
4) My dad, a bundle of contradictions, used to always talk about The Loved One, and a movie called Bye Bye, Braverman by Sidney Lumet.
5) My brother and avoided all that funeral business stuff, dad was already gone. Mom was cremated. I picked her ashes up one day on the way home from work in Seattle, (they put them in a silver-colored can in little shopping bag), and rode with them on the bus. It was all kind of unreal and surreal, I guess the fundamental hit of it or something.
........
I delivered flowers for a while, age 20, between mill jobs in a lumber town.
Mortuaries were a big part of the regular routes, a very strange business.
We would set up in the "slumber" rooms, open casket.
We'd sometimes pin boutonnieres into the lapels of those in the caskets.
On one delivery, someone I knew as a teenager was lying in state, hadn't seen him in years: wig to replace his long hair with a headband to hold it in place.
It was crooked, I straightened it out.
I was kind of numb. My girlfriend didn't understand why I was quiet that day.
  • Wow
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What pickups for rock bass.

Yeah, the saturation the forum has been experiences does make it more difficult for new, flesh & blood people to voice their questions. I guess we'll have to see if the OP will respond with some non-stock photos of an actual instrument. 🤨
No luck yet. Looks like they made the account and posted three threads within an hour, and never replied to any. Back in the old days we called that sort of thread abandonment “getting Lownered.”
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Ideal Electric Bass Studio Recording Chain

Here's my most recent and preferred chain.

Zon Sonus Special (used for most tracks, it's a clarity beast with a B string that's more piano-like than a piano) > Pedalboard including Cali CB (always on, hitting the peaks, medium-fast attack/release) > BAE 1073DMP (the 1073 especially gives it a hint of growl and liveliness that works so very well for me). [Edit: the 1073DMP is better, for me, than either the REDDI or the Solo/610.]

One channel DI, one channel into Orange AD200 (with custom rebuild including MM transformers, p2p wiring, NOS tubes etc,) into Baer ML112.

I'm still looking for a pedal that'll give me that hint of grit without muddying the low end, I have a couple of new dirt-adjacent pedals to try out so there's that to look forward to! :woot:

20260715_120609.jpg
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LeCompte MEGA Thread!!!!

I've been rocking a set of Triple Tthreat single coils in this Crescent Moon bass for a few years now. They are so good they beat out Q-Tuner BL4s for me, which is saying a whole lot!

CMB_LC3T-1.jpg


I did my own preamp design and build specifically for this instrument and pickups, as usual. Bud was a real pleasure to work with and he even had me measure string spacing at the pickup positions and adjusted pole piece locations to match.

Double Bass I made a thing and I'm pretty proud of it!

View attachment 7540561

I have a Schatten design pick up, which includes the same idea: a mini no fuss pre-amp, that attaches under the tailpiece.
It's super convenient, I can just plug into what ever is available (amp, PA board, stage DI) no extra cables, pedals or power.

My concern with your design is the weight on the after lengths would act like one giant wolf tone eliminator, and might kill some resonance?
A smaller form factor mounted under the tailpiece might be ideal.
Oh cool, yeah that's basically what i was looking for! Luckilly the FC pickup has a RCA connector so I didn't have to permanently alter the pickup, and I can always go back to the regular jack if I run out of batteries or something (I'll keep it in my case). I also have a kk pickup that goes in the wing of the bridge, but it always sounds kind of muddy, and the volume difference between e and g string was annoying.

As far as the resonance, the regular FC jack clips on to two adjacent strings (D and A usually), and therefore mutes the after lengths, this one is on the E and G string. I don't notice any difference, and actually depending on the gig sometimes I put a sweater between the tailpiece and the top to help with feedback and mute the natural resonances. It's super easy to take on and off, so I'll probably remove it for unplugged classical stuff, but mostly for the visual effect.
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Tech21 SansAmp Geddy Lee YYZ Protection Diode Replacement

The protection circuit has a 0 ohm resistor and the protection diode. The current spec is to replace it with 24 volt Zener diode.

These failures are almost always caused by people using 18 volt power instead of 9 volts. Sometimes it's accidental because many multi-outlet power supplies have 18 volts taps. We always recommend marking any cable that is not 9 volts with a piece of tape or some marking so it is not confused with a 9 volt outlet.

Care and shine for Limited Edition Roasted Ash Jazz.

I suspect it was meant to be satin from the factory, so it would require a refinish to bring it back to true gloss.
Or you could start sanding through to micro mesh if you really want to bring it back to shiny.

Also lighter fluid (AKA Naptha) can be very destructive to a finish.
Great I suppose if you're looking to remove the finish.

Your best minimal effort/destruction would good Ol' Howard Feed N wax.

DiMarzio Ultra Jazz for 3rd pickup

Where would the new Ultra pup go, between the existing ones or on the other side of the split-coil?
Original plan was to put it between the existing ones, J, J, reverse P, but now that you asked, I could imagine an Urge-ish setup, with a reverse P.

Edit: in the latter case it is clear: I need a neck pickup
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Show us your bicycles

People swear by Brooks leather saddles but I can't imagine they're really that comfy...
I have 3 like new Brooks Saddles: B17 classic black, Swift w/ Ti rails black [TI rails model is discontinued], & [rubber all weather] Cambium C17 black. Brooks saddles are amazingly comfortable & break in much faster than expected.

I'd be willing to sell any of the above if anyone is interested.
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