That's an orgy.. not swinging..For all the swingers try this method, E string (round), A string (flat), D string (pressure wound), G string (tapewound). It might sound weird but at least you might swing less this way...
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Are you a string swinger?
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
- Start date
I guess I'd say I'm a part time string swinger.
Some basses have a pretty well defined role for me. The active 5-string will probably always have rounds for as long as that modern / active sound is part of my bread & butter. Fretless & hollowbody usually get flats.
I've recently had rounds on my P-bass & J-bass partly to experiment and partly to burn through some 4-string sets I've had lying around. (The P is back to flats now, probably for good. The J is up in the air; it sounds so good, both ways...)
My 6-string has had flats for 4 years. That set still sounds terrific, so it's not going anywhere anytime soon. If it finally does die, I have another set ready to go. But I could see that bass going back to rounds eventually – or not if I source another set of fanned fret flats and/or an active 6-string.
Some basses have a pretty well defined role for me. The active 5-string will probably always have rounds for as long as that modern / active sound is part of my bread & butter. Fretless & hollowbody usually get flats.
I've recently had rounds on my P-bass & J-bass partly to experiment and partly to burn through some 4-string sets I've had lying around. (The P is back to flats now, probably for good. The J is up in the air; it sounds so good, both ways...)
My 6-string has had flats for 4 years. That set still sounds terrific, so it's not going anywhere anytime soon. If it finally does die, I have another set ready to go. But I could see that bass going back to rounds eventually – or not if I source another set of fanned fret flats and/or an active 6-string.
I switch brands a lot just to try them out - I had a pretty long love affair with SIT Power Wounds, but at the end of the day my hands are so acidic and I hate changing strings so much that I have once again walked back into the sweet, loving embrace of Elixir Nanoweb nickels.
Except for my 83 P-Bass, which gets Rotosound flats that I keep on as long as possible.
Except for my 83 P-Bass, which gets Rotosound flats that I keep on as long as possible.
I used to be. I solved the issue by having a dedicated flats or tapes bass. Then I realized I was spending a fortune on strings, went all flats and tapes with a dedicated rounds bass (or 3)
I don't go to flats, but I have a multitude of brands/ gauges and I keep F'ing around with to see which feels / sounds best on which bass based on tension/ tone/ brightness. Then many times I forget to write anything down and sometimes can't remember what I put on etc. so it's usually completely unscientific futzing.
Typically I just default back to DR strings.
Typically I just default back to DR strings.
Fretted and Fretless P basses both have tapes.
4 string jazz has rounds (old, dead) and this bass sound best with them.
2 five string J have rounds, my favourite 5er has LaBella Flats, and I LOVE the silky feel and tension.
5 string fretless J has LaBella tapes.
I really like LaBella tapes and flats, each for different reasons.
4 string jazz has rounds (old, dead) and this bass sound best with them.
2 five string J have rounds, my favourite 5er has LaBella Flats, and I LOVE the silky feel and tension.
5 string fretless J has LaBella tapes.
I really like LaBella tapes and flats, each for different reasons.
For the most part, I'm a nickel round kind of guy. That said, I put a set of TI flats on my Alembic and it really suits the bass well. Also, my recently acquired American Vintage II '54P came with Fender Flats on it. As with the Alembic, I think the flats are the right set of strings for the bass.
Bones
Bones
I experiment a bit until I find the sound that I have in my head for each one of my basses. I tried flats many years ago, and they just weren’t my thing. But I’ve changed my sound to a much fatter tone, and I’ve been meaning to try a set of flats on one of my basses.
My P-Bass is my perfect candidate for flatwounds, but a couple of years ago, I was participating in a Rotosound Swing Bass thread here, which led me to buy a set of them. I put them on my P-Bass, and POW!!! Perfect match. So, I might buy another P-Bass, -or even better, a PJ, and string it up with Rotosound SB66’s, and put flats on my current P-Bass.
Some years back I experimented with different sets of roundwounds for my 6-string bass, and I stumbled upon GHS Pressurewounds, which match up with it perfectly. I’d say overall, Pressurewounds are my favorite strings available. I find them to be incredibly versatile, and their lifespan can’t be beat.
And when I bought my latest 6-string, I intended to put Pressurewounds on it. But I found that I really liked the sound of the D’Addario XLs that it came strung up with. But from many years of using XLs and GHS Bass Boomers, I had a hunch that Bass Boomers would be an even better match. So when the set of XLs became too dull sounding, I put a new set of Bass Boomers on it, and I’ve been stringing it up with them ever since.
For most of my 40 years as a player I have been ambiguous about strings in terms of brand, etc. In the past decade or so, I got into flats for certain applications. In the past 5 years, I really dialed in a preference for low tension strings. I am still pretty open in terms of brand and overall characteristics, as long as they are low tension. That said, I have developed a preference for DR round core strings and Dunlop Super Brights as they seem to give me the sound and feel I prefer with their nickel offerings.
BobDeRosa
Commercial User
- May 16, 2012
- 2,445
- 4,403
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- Owner, Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camps
A couple of years ago I finally bit the bullet and bought a set of TI Flats... and as @RichSnyder says above, "Couldn't get them off fast enough"!! The adjective that comes to mind is "Plinky"
I sometimes wonder if maybe I just got a bad batch! I took them off and replaced them with Sadowsky Blue Label flats - which are absolutely heavenly (Now that I've sold all of my long-scales, I wish I could get those Blue Labels in short-scale...)
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
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- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
to get rounds to sound a little more like flats:
- let them age
- palm mute
- turn up the mids
- turn down the treble
really old flats and really old rounds sound almost identical
- let them age
- palm mute
- turn up the mids
- turn down the treble
really old flats and really old rounds sound almost identical
Nope. I find a set of rounds I like and I stick with them for years (buying new sets, but same brand / gauge). The I might switch between Ni and SS, but generally, I set and forget.
That’s my excuse to keep buying basses. Wife’s not buying it… (pun not intended)
I was until I met the Dogal Hellborg. Now I'm string monogamous.
D'Addario Prosteels 45-105 on my P bass, add a 135 for my five string PJ style bass. The bright sound really works in punk/pop punk/rock settings that I'm usually in. Then I have a jazz bass strung with D'Addario Halfrounds 40-95 because it was also used by other people so I wanted it as easy to play as possible with a warm sound. At this point I'm convinced that jazz bass will have the sound I want in church sets forever so I'll probably never change the string set again.
