Best flat wounds for reggae and dub?

[SystolicDub]

I can understand the thumb/palm mute recommendations if you are emulating Ska upright tones but for rock steady and classic reggae I don't really get it. Are people just repeating what they read or do they really play reggae this way?

I was wondering the same thing, I haven't seen reggae/dub bassists play like that. Most just play near the neck with their middle and index fingers. You can't play close to the neck if you are muting at the bridge...

 

[One Drop]

I was wondering the same thing, I haven't seen reggae/dub bassists play like that. Most just play near the neck with their middle and index fingers. You can't play close to the neck if you are muting at the bridge...

Family Man and Robbie Shakespeare both use their thumb (Robbie uses up and down strokes with his thumb, too) a lot but they don't palm mute much or at all, AFAIK. The both use a lot of LH muting, obviously.

 

[SystolicDub]

Family Man and Robbie Shakespeare both use their thumb (Robbie uses up and down strokes with his thumb, too) a lot but they don't palm mute much or at all, AFAIK. The both use a lot of LH muting, obviously.

I have to admit I haven't seen much video of Family man or Shakespeare.

I was thinking of Bill Laswell's dub playing style

Although I think he uses his thumb when he funks it up.

 

[One Drop]

Yes, very typical. Both Fams and Shakespeare play that way a lot, too, and it's by far the most common LH style in reggae.

I like Laswell a lot, he has a unique approach. I think he was one of the first to effectively extend the tonal palette of the bass itself in Dub music. With all the experimentation in mixing and EQing during Dub's first incarnations in the '70s the bass remained fairly conservatively EQed, kind of the fixed point in the sonic maelstrom, with some exceptions.

 

[DTF]

i like labellas the trubass88 nylon wraps sound great as well , theyre wrapped rounds though , nice sound, low tension , may need to re-slot your nut though , im gonna try the nylon wrapped labellas next , see how they compare

 

[Ubersheist]

I didn't say I didn't want one, just that I didn't need one. I'd love a vintage SVT 8x10, but I don't think my neighbors need to hear my pinky finger missing strings.

Still BLASPHEMY!!!!

I can understand the thumb/palm mute recommendations if you are emulating Ska upright tones but for rock steady and classic reggae I don't really get it. Are people just repeating what they read or do they really play reggae this way?

Well, it's one way. In the end, it probably doesn't matter much live (so long as there's enough thump in your amp), but can change the dynamic of the song.

Our band isn't exactly reggae, but we have one reggae-drenched song. I palm muted the strings on most of this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvcPkixOlkA Not every note, but most of 'em. However, I did record this on roundwounds, not flats...

 

[Phaidrus]

Still BLASPHEMY!!!!



Well, it's one way. In the end, it probably doesn't matter much live (so long as there's enough thump in your amp), but can change the dynamic of the song.

Our band isn't exactly reggae, but we have one reggae-drenched song. I palm muted the strings on most of this song: Not every note, but most of 'em. However, I did record this on roundwounds, not flats...

Nice fat tone! And nice dubby groove! Well produced too. Is that rounds on a Pbass or Jbass? Compression?

 

[andare]

The strings do not matter ... just roll off the treble.

Have you ever played flats? They sound nothing like rounds with the treble rolled off. They also have more variation in tone between brands than rounds.

 

[Ric5]

Have you ever played flats? They sound nothing like rounds with the treble rolled off. They also have more variation in tone between brands than rounds.

I started playing in 1968 ... pretty much all basses had flats back then ...

When I finally got round wound strings I said YA BABY!!!

So yes I have years of experience playing flats ... I currently have 15 basses ... I don't string any of them with flats ... I have played tape wound, half round. ground wound, and other types of flat wound strings ... none of them are what I like in strings

 

[el murdoque]

I can understand the thumb/palm mute recommendations if you are emulating Ska upright tones but for rock steady and classic reggae I don't really get it. Are people just repeating what they read or do they really play reggae this way?

I think that when your Reggae horizon does not reach past Bob Marley, you can get away with that kind of muting. You can play Stir It Up just fine with foam under your bridge.

 

[Phaidrus]

well, he wasn't using chromes for his classic recordings, because they didn't exist then! I'm not even sure he was using flatwounds...

Yes, I can't imagine he's playing flats in, say, The Passion of Lovers

 

[aLion]

I play reggae for 25 years now, live I use roundwounds because they have more definition on stage. In the studio I prefer flats, because of the focus on the fundamental. But strings are just one part of the chain; you can use all different kinds of strings, depending on your personal taste. As long as they have enough body in the sound (not too light).

 

[marchone]

I started playing in 1968 ... pretty much all basses had flats back then ...

In NYC at that time Rotosound 66 roundwound strings were very popular.

 

[J-Mags]

It depends on how you feel about mids. There are so many dub and reggae tones. Some of them really focus on the lows and very low mids. Others have more mids creeping on for a bit more definition. Overall, any thumpy strings will do.

If you want mids, GHS Precision Flats have a lot of them and get a classic old-school sound. One of my favorite Reggae tones isn't flats at all, even though, even though all my basses have flats on them. Dead GHS Boomers have really thick mids, and you can get a lot of definition with everything rolled off, and no audible highs.

If you don't want a ton of mids, go for Fender 9050s.