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D'Addario Chromes User Group- Chromeys Speak Out!

#121
ZenG said:
ECB81's on my Ibby Sr500..........buttersmooth when playing....and mine seem to be getting sweeter sounding the longer they stay on the bass.......deep, mellow , old school sound.

use fingers and also a pick.

If nothing else they are a little on the stiff side though. Might go lighter gauge at some point.
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I'm have a set of D'addario ProSteels on my SR305 and was curious if flats would sound ok on it. I've never really liked this bass to begin with and wasn't sure I wanted to invest in a 5 string set of Chromes but you've got me thinking now it might be just what this thing needs.
 
#122
ZenG - 48

@Jamvan: I haven't tried a five string set of Chromes. Every few years I try to make the switch to fives but quickly realize that I belong on a four stringer. Not that I have any issues with the switch but it just doesn't feel "right" to me. I have some nasty back issues so I try to keep my basses as light as I can.

My last fiver lasted almost a year before I traded it away. I'm sure I'll eventually find a fiver that does it for me, but not yet. Closest I got was this last time with a Ibanez BTB405QM. The bass felt great and sounded awesome but it just isn't "me". I play P-basses now and the Chromes just make them perfect (for me).

I will definitely be using Chromes when I decide to try a five string again.
 
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#123
That's exactly my problem @Rip Topaz, I'm a born 'n' raised 4 stringer and I bought the SR305 as a trial run at playing a 5 string. It's never done right by me and I've never been certain if it's the number of strings, the flat neck, or the active pickups as it's about 180° away from what I normally play; 4 strings, baseball neck, passive pickups. Buying a $35 set of Chromes was going to be my final investment to see if I could squeak some sounds out of it I actually like. If not, It's heading to the classifieds/Craigslist to sell it off.
 
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#125
Jamvan said:
I'm have a set of D'addario ProSteels on my SR305 and was curious if flats would sound ok on it. I've never really liked this bass to begin with and wasn't sure I wanted to invest in a 5 string set of Chromes but you've got me thinking now it might be just what this thing needs.
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I have Chromes on 3 of my five stringers. I have zero experience with Ibanez basses but I can tell you the Chromes work extremely well on my Stingray 5 and Skyline 5501 (both active). You'll only ever really know if you try them on your bass regardless of what others say. I wouldn't expect Chromes to make you into a 5 string guy though if you're not. I also have them on my PJ with active EMG's, they sound great on there too. Luckily I've never had to decide to be either a 4 or 5 string player.
 
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#126
If I invest in the Chromes and put them on, @tkonbass, my hope is it will finally click for me. I don't think it's the fact it's a 5 stringer that is preventing me from liking this bass. The fact that it's the combination of sound, 5 strings, active electronics, and a flat, wide neck, IS what is preventing me from liking this bass. As the sound of it just isn't doing it for me more than the ergonomics, the easiest, cheapest way for me to change that part of the equation is by changing the strings.

Hopefully new strings will bring it together and I won't need to sell it off as selling it will be a pain in my rear.
 
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#131
Skullie said:
For me, Chromes can cop any sound I need. This tune was recorded with a brand new set of of Chromes on a 2013 maple necked American Standard Precision with an SD Quarter Pounder. I used an MXR M-80 into a CAE boost into a GK 800 head, then into the board. Not too much EQ'ing was done
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Man, love the song! Cool bass tone too. This is why I always laugh when I see people bashing flats as "old guy" strings. They have no idea what you can really get out of them. Especially Chromes. I've played everything from metal to punk to R&B to country with them and always find the tone I want.
 
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#132
Jamvan said:
If I invest in the Chromes and put them on, @tkonbass, my hope is it will finally click for me. I don't think it's the fact it's a 5 stringer that is preventing me from liking this bass. The fact that it's the combination of sound, 5 strings, active electronics, and a flat, wide neck, IS what is preventing me from liking this bass. As the sound of it just isn't doing it for me more than the ergonomics, the easiest, cheapest way for me to change that part of the equation is by changing the strings.

Hopefully new strings will bring it together and I won't need to sell it off as selling it will be a pain in my rear.
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@Jamvan , It really sounds as though there is enough about that bass you don't like to just move it and try something else but maybe look at it this way, if the Chromes don't change your mind about the bass you can pull them and put them on a four string you like and sell the B string. At least 30% of the cost of the set is in the B. You reduce your "investment" risk and still have some great strings for a bass you don't have such mixed(?) feelings about.
 
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#136
Shardik said:
I am not a slap player, but I think they even can do slap'n pop just great with a little EQ tweaking. :)
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Yes, they can. It's not going to give a Marcus Miller tone, but it does give a tone that I couldn't get with the Marcus Miller Jazz/SS rounds (or a Stingray) that I used to use a lot for slapping. I slap the Chromes on my Mustang bass and it gives a pretty classic slapped P-bass sound, but slightly brighter than a typical P-bass. The two songs I do that on now are Lowdown (Boz Skaggs) and Brickhouse (Commodores). And the Chromes actually give a closer sound to the original than the rounds/j-bass combo. And for a song like Patrice Rushen's Forget Me Nots... well that's the sound. I'm not sure what kind of strings were used originally on that P-bass on the recording, but the Chromes get real close on my Mustang.
 
#137
I find it funny that of all the different brands of flats, it's always Chromes that are at the top of the list when talking about slapping flatwound strings.

Seriously. It's like slap doesn't exist on other flats. It's cool in a way because slap seems overdone in many ways, but when discussing Chromes, the conversation inevitably leads to slap techniques.

I realize that other flats may not work well for slap because of their lack of treble response. I've tried a few different brands of flats and yeah, most don't sound too great when slapped.

Interesting also is that a lot of the discussion of playing slap on Chromes almost always includes P-basses. Of course the slap tone you get with a P is totally different than say, a Jazz, but slapping has such a different character on a P-bass, which is accented even more when using flats.

It's a cool thing to me since I play P's pretty much exclusively. The tone you get when slapping on a P with flats is so totally recognizeable. Nothing else sounds quite like it.

Slapping on CHROMES is definitely an aquired taste. When playing without the band, it's a very different tone than most of us are used to hearing, but slap those Chromes in a band situation and they sit so perfectly in the mix that the extra treble bite really isn't missed.

Long and drawn out post, I admit.

But slapping on Chromes on a P-bass is one of my very favorite bass tones. Even the popped notes punch through the mix in a great way.

Dang, now I gotta go funk out for a few. :)
 
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