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A flatwound problem

#41
I used either la bella jamerson flats or fender nylon wounds depending on the tension/tuning I'm using (la bella > fender in terms of tension). Never had one break unless I am going heavier with a BEAD tuning and don't file the nut enough. More often than not with my experience with flats, they tend not to fail on their own, it is usually something with setup like others have mentioned. IE burrs, nuts too narrow, etc.
 
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#43
Ciacchi said:
So recently I discovered the joy of flatwounds, and decided to stick to them. I got a pack of GHS Precision Flatwounds and immediately loved the sound and the feel. I thought about not changing them for a very long time. But suddenly yesterday during rehearsal, after only 7 months of use, the A string broke while playing with the thumb.

I now must replace the strings and have some questions. I actually felt that the strings were a bit fragile for some time, as if their surface was slightly "peeling". I'm inclined to think that they were not as solid as I thought. I'd like your opinion on which flatwounds you prefer in terms of durability. I usually prefer medium to heavy gauge, and the sound I play with my jazzbass style instrument is with both pickups on maximum and tone knob on zero. I can try pressure wounds instead of flats if someone gives me a very good reason.

Long question short: I want to buy a flatwound that will last for a very long time, since GHS lasted less than I expected. Which one should it be?
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TI flats, 9 years going on a decade now.
 
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#45
Flats come is a variety of sizes. Although they are pretty new, I have a set of low tension flats on my jag 5, and a set of Dunlop flats on my schecter elite 5 and they are approaching their second birthday. no probs. I think the schecter keeps sounding better the older those dunlops get.

personally, I dig the flats. Some say that they are "dark", and that could be true, but I can eq that into a pretty favorable tone and can't, at this point, see me stringing up a bass I own with anything but flats going forward.
 
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#46
BadAss bridges sometimes come with grooves so you can choose your strings spacing - but all the ones I've had were completely ungrooved and were intended to have grooves professionally made in the right places - at the right angles - and of the right shape to fit the strings (and then polished).

Every used bass I've ever seen with a BadAss bridge had the grooves made poorly. Usually with a triangle file so the grooves are sharp edged. IMHO, the best thing to do with a BadAss bridge is take it off and sell it to someone who thinks they are the best thing since sliced bread --- and put an ordinary old bent plate type bridge like the old Fenders.

As always - others are entitled to a different opinion :)
 
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#48
Ciacchi said:
So recently I discovered the joy of flatwounds, and decided to stick to them. I got a pack of GHS Precision Flatwounds and immediately loved the sound and the feel. I thought about not changing them for a very long time. But suddenly yesterday during rehearsal, after only 7 months of use, the A string broke while playing with the thumb.
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I've had GHS precision flats on my Ibanez Roadstar II precision for about 10 years and they're still going as strong as ever. I love them so much I put them on my Lakland Skyline 5502 too a few years ago.

I think the first part of your post is important - "you've loved the sound and feel" - that's my experience too. I lucked into these flatwounds - they were the first ones I tried along time ago. Since then I have tried several other flatwound strings along the way and always came back to the GHS. They'er the most "flatwoundy" flatwounds if that makes sense. These strings are not trying to be anything else!

I also slap on them occasionally for an school slap sound and that's fine too. They're not expensive either, so even if one did break I'd just get another one. The only problem would be having 1 string that's not played in as much as the others.
 
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#49
AndyPanda said:
BadAss bridges sometimes come with grooves so you can choose your strings spacing - but all the ones I've had were completely ungrooved and were intended to have grooves professionally made in the right places - at the right angles - and of the right shape to fit the strings (and then polished).

Every used bass I've ever seen with a BadAss bridge had the grooves made poorly. Usually with a triangle file so the grooves are sharp edged. IMHO, the best thing to do with a BadAss bridge is take it off and sell it to someone who thinks they are the best thing since sliced bread --- and put an ordinary old bent plate type bridge like the old Fenders.

As always - others are entitled to a different opinion :)
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Good way to shave a few ounces off the weight and not have to worry about whether the saddle grooves are cut correctly (or at all), as well as decreasing the likelihood of having to shim the neck. Don't forget the insanely small height adjustment screws...
 
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#51
FugaziBomb said:
I've broken two (Boomers) in my life, one a low E and another G - both on different basses. I do not play witch a pick, either. Come to think of it, I believe those are the only two bass strings I have ever broken, and I use pretty wide selection...
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And this is the first time for me to be reading about anyone breaking Boomers. As I said, it's rare...
 
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#52
michael_t said:
And this is the first time for me to be reading about anyone breaking Boomers. As I said, it's rare...
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Also, a fellow bassist of mine who is into slap bass busts Boomers on the regular. I don't think any brand of string is that much more impervious to breaking than any other (though I'd bet core construction makes a slight difference).
 
#53
FugaziBomb said:
Also, a fellow bassist of mine who is into slap bass busts Boomers on the regular. I don't think any brand of string is that much more impervious to breaking than any other (though I'd bet core construction makes a slight difference).
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I never said GHS strings were totally immune to breaking. I only said it's rare to "read about them" around here. Just my observation...
 
#55
Tpaul, the bridges I own for my Warwick came as a full set. One is black, which is for the Nirvana Black color. The second is all gold, which I put on other Warwicks when I have other Warwicks. Both ran about $350, so I'd rather just keep them as is for future sale. I can deal with the low B 'hump' and it does sound good. I should say here however that they do NOT sound good in passive on my bass, only in active mode. Also I have a powerful amp and a good cab so I can get rather loud with these strings. They really sound good when played loud!
 
#59
Ciacchi said:
Thanks for all the answers! I think I might be making a bridge thread now. Even if this was not the problem apparently there are divided opinions on the Badass...
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This is definitely where I would start, to see if you can figure out the root cause. I've broken a number of strings over the years (back when I was in a house band at an amusement park, playing 6 shows daily, I was breaking D strings almost every other day) and EVERY - SINGLE - TIME the bridge saddle was the culprit. Once that was addressed, breakage didn't happen again on that bass. Might not hurt to have a tech look over all the saddles, if you're not sure if the Badass bridge was professionally slotted. Otherwise, experience tells me you're going to have the same issue.

That said, I'm sorry you broke one of my strings after seven months of use.
 
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