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Bright Flats for P Bass

gimmeagig

gimmeagig

Feb 25, 2004
2,891
1,197
Coeur D'Alene,Idaho
#1
I am putting together a P Bass from parts. It is going to have a high mass bridge and EMG pickups w/a rosewood neck. I have not used flats in the 35 years i have been a bass player, but there is so much talk about P basses w/ flats.
I listened to some youtube clips and most of the flats are way too dark for me. D'Addario chromes sound good to me but They don't offer a 105 -45 set only 105 to 50 and the next level down is 95 - 45.
The chromes are supposed to feel extra tight.Probably not what i want.
What are some other flats that i could check out that are bright sounding? I saw a clip with Rotosound flats they sounded pretty good. is anybody here using those?
 
#3
gimmeagig said:
The chromes are supposed to feel extra tight.Probably not what i want.
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Thuddy Waters said:
Actually, Chromes come in more gauges than what you have listed. I recommend the 45-65-80-100 set. They sound great on my P Bass. Check out this link:

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If you don't like anything too tense, 40-60-80-100 would be a better choice for the Chromes as the 45G and 65D in the "regular light gauge" are quite a bit tighter than the other two (80 & 100).

Or, even better, you can get a custom balanced set, 40-55-75-95 from here: Invalid Link Removed
 
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#4
Thuddy Waters said:
Actually, Chromes come in more gauges than what you have listed. I recommend the 45-65-80-100 set. They sound great on my P Bass. Check out this link:

Invalid Link Removed
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Yes that set might work. I'm not sure about the 100 E string though. I use a two stage Hipshot De tuner and I drop down to a low C quite often. I have a 35" scale bass with 105 DR Hi Beam rounds and it can just barely do the low C if I stay light on my attack. So a 100 E string on a 34" bass might not work. The next set up has a 70 D string and a 50 G string. That's too heavy for me.
 
#6
1stnamebassist said:
Ernie Ball Cobalt flats. Got a lot of zing at first, but it fades some after a couple months.
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They make a set 105 - 45.Perfect! What is the wrap made of, Cobalt? I don't even know anything about that material.What does it look like, how does it feel? I read they are flat's that sound like rounds. That's what I'm looking for.. On my Jazz basses I soak my DR HiBeams in denatured alcohol to bring them back to life. Would that work with the cobalt flats as well?
 
#7
They are brighter and the tension doesn't seem as high as chromes. They are sticky to start but they smooth out after a bit. Some guys clean them up with alcohol right away. I guess it may be residue that makes them sticky. I had issues early on as have others with strings breaking even during installation. Seems it is mostly the D string and sometimes the A. Ernie Balls customer service was great and has taken care of everyone with issues. They seem to have corrected the problem as I have two good sets, and ones on my Pbass. And yes they are stainless with extra cobalt added. They look like any other flat I've seen. They are very bright and punchy and zingy at first, but the zingy fades quite a bit after a couple months and your left with a bright punchy string. My Pbass has an EMG Geezer Butler pickup and it sounds incredible!
 
#8
gimmeagig said:
I listened to some youtube clips and most of the flats are way too dark for me. D'Addario chromes sound good to me but They don't offer a 105 -45 set only 105 to 50 and the next level down is 95 - 45.
The chromes are supposed to feel extra tight.Probably not what i want.
What are some other flats that i could check out that are bright sounding?
Click to expand...

gimmeagig said:
read they are flat's that sound like rounds. That's what I'm looking for
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Other than "but there is so much talk about P basses w/ flats." (essentially a very-vocal minority), why are you wanting to play flats?
 
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#9
Marko 1 said:
Other than "but there is so much talk about P basses w/ flats." (essentially a very-vocal minority), why are you wanting to play flats?
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I want to use this PJ bass that I'm putting together in my Latin Jazz/salsa band. I have several J Basses with rounds. I'm thinking i might be able to get a little more punch on the tumbaos with a PJ and flats. But I don't want them too dark because I also slap and I need a little bit of Zing on top, and I want to work on the Jamerson stuff a bit, and I like Pino...enough reasons?
 
#14
A couple of guys here seem to be annoyed with the fact that I brought up something that has been talked about on TB, but had I not done that I would not know about Cobalts , so to the people who offered some helpful info, thank you very much, I appreciate the help. I did not know Cobalt flats existed. I will order a set of them,they might be just what I was looking for.
 
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#15
Just installed a set of cobalt flats on my am std pbass a couple of hours ago. Loving it so far. Im liking the tension of the cobalts compared to the chromes i previously had on the p. I find the chromes a bit too stiff. Both sets are .45-100

I would agree that if you want a bright sounding flatwound string that isnt too tight tension wise, the cobalt flats is the way to go
 
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#16
Another set to look at is the GHS Brite Flats or the Precision Flats. The Brite are close to Chromes and the Precision a little less top end.
One more thing to throw in the mix would be the La Bella White Gold or White Copper Tapes. Definitely more mids & highs than black tapes and a lot of flats. The White tapes are brighter than the blacks, White Copper brighter than the White, White Gold brighter than the White Copper. I had to take a set of the White Copper off one of mine because they were too bright for what I wanted.
 
#17
I just saw this clip on youtube for halfrounds.Those strings sound really good to me. I think I might start there. But eventually I think I'll try out the Cobalts as well.I have been playing roundwounds exclusively and know that DR Hi beams are perfect for me and my various Marcus Miller type J Basses. But P Basses and flats are new to me and I suppose I'll have to experiment a bit.I just want to avoid the flats that sound really dark. Some guys even roll of all the treble on top of that. That doesn't appeal to me.
 
#19
gimmeagig said:
I just saw this clip on youtube for halfrounds.Those strings sound really good to me. I think I might start there. But eventually I think I'll try out the Cobalts as well.I have been playing roundwounds exclusively and know that DR Hi beams are perfect for me and my various Marcus Miller type J Basses. But P Basses and flats are new to me and I suppose I'll have to experiment a bit.I just want to avoid the flats that sound really dark. Some guys even roll of all the treble on top of that. That doesn't appeal to me.
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Where do you buy strings? If you haven't tried basstringsonline.com, I suggest you give them a shot. Jason is a member of talkbass, and talkbass members get a discount. He has great prices anyway. Just thought I would throw that out there. Good luck on your string quest!
 
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#20
1stnamebassist said:
Where do you buy strings? If you haven't tried basstringsonline.com, I suggest you give them a shot. Jason is a member of talkbass, and talkbass members get a discount. He has great prices anyway. Just thought I would throw that out there. Good luck on your string quest!
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I just bought the set of Halfrounds from Music123 on e-bay.Was the cheapest I could find 23.75 incl. shipping. I've bought strings from bassstingsonline a bunch of times but I have never received a discount. I'll ask about it next time I order some DRs.
 

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