Best flatwound strings for Jack Casady bass

[1stnamebassist]

Yes, he may play Blue Steels now. But forty years ago in his interview with Guitar Player magazine (before Bass Player spun off) he said he used Pyramids and asked the factory to alter the silks by the extra half-inch needed to clear the nut on his Guild, as the strings were originally developed for the Hofner.

I see, but that was before my time. (just kidding)! I remember buying Guitar Player hoping to find some article about some bass players somewhere. I didn't play guitar and bass wasn't as in your face as it is now. Two articles that stuck out even to this day was a Glenn Cornick interview where he said he used to use LaBella tapewounds and then an interview with Emmet Chapman in the early 70's when he was developing his Chapman Stick. I thought it was a cool concept. Finally bought an NS Stick a few years back and tried it out but it wasn't my cup of tea.

 

[Rob Gray]

I'll chime in for TI flats. I've had them on my Casady few years now based on recommendations here. I've been incredibly happy with them. They are not "thumpy" in the sense of sounding like an acoustic bass. JC basses have a surprising amount of mid-to-high end clarity for a semi-hollow. (When I ran mine with roundwounds and my intonation was off, everyone knew - the fret buzz came through loud and clear.) With the tone wide open, the TIs will give your notes great definition and low end; not unlike Chromes but not as bright and with a lot less tension. They really made the bass come alive for me. It's like a P-bass tone but "airier" (can't think of another way to describe it). With the tone rolled off, you'll get closer to the thump and bump but still with good definition.

If you don't mind used, there's a set of TIs in the Classified section right now. I bought his Chromes and they were great.
For Sale - TI jazz flats & Chromes

And since I'm dorking out here, I found a demo of a JC basses with TI flats:

Thanks that's a helpful video

 

[1stnamebassist]

I met Emmet in 1974 at a music shop in Cincinnati (near UC). He was demo'ing (showing off ) his new invention!

Was he a nice guy?

 

[FlyingPigSound]

I've just bought an Epiphone Jack Cassidy bass and I'm wondering which would be the best flatwound strings to bring out the woody, mellow qualities of the semi-hollow bass - almost a double bass sound. Strings I'm considering:
Pyramid Golds
Tomastik Infelds
Rotosound 88 Tru Bass black tapewounds
Thanks in advance.

I love TI Jazz Flats on my JackBass

 

[relayer66]

When I had a JC, I had TIs on it and I thought they sounded and felt great.

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

I've played my Jack Casady bass for 20 years. It's a wonderful instrument despite it's low price. The Thomastik-Infeld 34 inch (Long) scale Jazz flats are marvelous, and they have the lowest tension. The Pyramid Gold flats (Long scale) are also excellent, and they have a bit more tension. Both will give you the "woody", almost upright bass tones after they are broken in for at least a month. They have high costs, initially, but they last many years. They are both very "musical" strings, appreciated by professional players.

 

[GIBrat51]

While they aren't "Flats" in the usual sense of the word, Roto 88 tapes are certainly "woody" sounding. On my old MIK Rogue VB-100, anyway. '"Woody and loud" sums it up nicely. But, if you want real flatwounds? Then yeah, the TIs or the Pyramids will do you proud...

 

[highway1]

I found (and bought) a 10 year old Jack Casady in PERFECT condition with a new set of Diadaro chrome flat wounds mounted. I think I'm in love!

 

[iiipopes]

I'm not that familiar with his work, I like some of his Jefferson Airplane stuff. I just love the look of the bass and just want it to sound really warm and almost ''thumpy"

Yes.

 

[Michael Vee]

I'm about to be a first-time Jack owner, and enjoyed reading through this older thread. Excellent string choice ideas. I'll keep it bookmarked, as well as the main owner's thread, as a resource.

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

You might want to also consider LaBella Low Tension Flats as another candidate for your Jack Casady Signature bass.

 

[GIBrat51]

View attachment 3586717 While they aren't "Flats" in the usual sense of the word, Roto 88 tapes are certainly "woody" sounding. On my old MIK Rogue VB-100, anyway. '"Woody and loud" sums it up nicely. But, if you want real flatwounds? Then yeah, the TIs or the Pyramids will do you proud...

Well...
When I posted this, I didn't own a JC Bass, 'cause Epiphone didn't make them in lefty. They finally did, in 2022 - and I bought one. I put a set of La Bella 760GS Gold Flats on it, since I'd had them for years but never put them on the bass I'd bought them for. Plus, they looked pretty cool on the gold JC bass (lefties only get one color...). They sounded good on it, but... Gold Flats are the grabbiest strings I've ever used. Not "sticky"; I had them so clean, they were practically sterile. My fingers simply wouldn't slide on them - at all. Which is very common with all things brass - which is what the outer wrap is. I tried everything I could think of - short of chicken grease or bacon fat - but... they did get a little better, but not much. They were on that bass for... well, until about 6 months ago. I rotate basses up from the basement to the living room, every month; play them a lot; then replace them with others for their month in the living room. The JC Bass wasn't in the living room more than a day, when I just said the Hell with this crap, and took it down to the work bench to change the strings. I had a lot of flats to choose from, but... I chose a set of Rotosound RS77LDs. Don't know why, really; other than they were there, and I'd had them on 3 or 4 other basses - and liked them. Turns out, I really like them on the Jack Casady, too. I was a little worried about the high tension on a hollow-body set-neck bass, but... the set up hasn't changed a bit. The tone? Well... yeah, they are thumpy, but not nearly as Old School Thumpy as a set of La Bella DTFs would be. Plenty of low-mids, and mids, and even a hint of highs. They broke in very quickly, and they work great with a pick, too - which is how I play most of the time, anyway. So... happy ending, I suppose. But, I still think those Roto TruBass 88 Tapes would be a good choice, too...

 

[noyou]

i like ti jazz flats, la bella white nylon gold tapewound, & rotosound funk master roundwounds on casady as well as any other bass. I no longer have casady but that may change soon hmmmm????

 

[Mighty Thumb]

TI Flats on my Pelham Blue JCB. Such a good sound.

 

[El Tookay]

I've also owned a few Casady's, and my personal fave strings for them are Dunlop flats. GHS flats are 'the sound of dark chocolate', very sonically rich, but are a bit light tension-wise, TI's are too light, Ernie Ball Group III feel good, but are a bit bright. Haven't tried the Olinto's on a JC yet, but sure sounded good on a friends '58 Precision.
The ultimate / now unobtainium flats are the original formula Sadowsky Black Label flats, the perfect flats for tone, tension and feel..sure wish Sadowsky would bring those back…