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Did I kill my E string, or is it just a flatwound thing?

Diesel Kilgore

Diesel Kilgore

Jun 30, 2012
1,196
352
Modesto, CA
#1
Is your E string quieter then the ADG?

I installed my first set of flats (GHS Precisions) the other day while my bass was still sick (dead P pickup). And have been playing soley on the J. After installing a new pickup today, and now playing soley on the P I notice that the E is alot quieter sounding than the rest.

The reason I ask if I killed my E string is because when I first installed these strings I didn't even think about the tension of flats being higher. And so when I first got them taught with the tuners, I had them so tight before tuning them in that they were all a note plus more higher than standard. I don't know how bad that is for flats. But I felt bad for doing that. :scowl:

I think i'm hearing things, idk, I have a 30 watt amp on the floor and when I stand next to it and just pluck each string open it sounds fine. But when I go sit down, about 6 feet away from amp, my E sounds quiet. Maybe the P took the zing out of the E? Maybe the rest aren't broken in yet? But I play ADG more then E by far. What the H are these flats doing to me. I love them but they're driving me nuts.

Am I in flatwound adjustment period or is something wrong? :hiding:
 
#5
My experience with GHS Precision flats was more like 2+2, that is: the E and A strings had a quieter and softer sound, and the top two strings were much brighter. (As it happens I much preferred the softer sound of the lower strings, but that's just me.)

It may just be that these strings are prone to a bit more variance in their construction than is normal.
 
#7
radiowavesurfer said:
My experience with GHS Precision flats was more like 2+2, that is: the E and A strings had a quieter and softer sound, and the top two strings were much brighter. (As it happens I much preferred the softer sound of the lower strings, but that's just me.)

It may just be that these strings are prone to a bit more variance in their construction than is normal.
Click to expand...

This is my exact experience as well. I have only had one set, and I bought them used, but the E+A were way more mellow than the D+G. I thought I had been sold a mixed set at first.

I hope that is not always the case, because the E+A were perfect for that dark flats tone.
 
#9
Diesel Kilgore said:
I think i'm hearing things, idk, I have a 30 watt amp on the floor and when I stand next to it and just pluck each string open it sounds fine. But when I go sit down, about 6 feet away from amp, my E sounds quiet.
Click to expand...

A 30 watt practice amp is not going to reproduce an open low E at any significant volume.

With roundwounds, you have more overtones to help compensate acoustically for the amp's lack of low bass.
 
#10
Diesel Kilgore said:
Is your E string quieter then the ADG?

I installed my first set of flats (GHS Precisions) the other day while my bass was still sick (dead P pickup). And have been playing soley on the J. After installing a new pickup today, and now playing soley on the P I notice that the E is alot quieter sounding than the rest.

The reason I ask if I killed my E string is because when I first installed these strings I didn't even think about the tension of flats being higher. And so when I first got them taught with the tuners, I had them so tight before tuning them in that they were all a note plus more higher than standard. I don't know how bad that is for flats. But I felt bad for doing that. :scowl:

I think i'm hearing things, idk, I have a 30 watt amp on the floor and when I stand next to it and just pluck each string open it sounds fine. But when I go sit down, about 6 feet away from amp, my E sounds quiet. Maybe the P took the zing out of the E? Maybe the rest aren't broken in yet? But I play ADG more then E by far. What the H are these flats doing to me. I love them but they're driving me nuts.

Am I in flatwound adjustment period or is something wrong? :hiding:
Click to expand...

Funkmeister79 said:
When I installed the 45-95 set of GHS precision flats on my P-bass last summer, that E string was dead on arrival.

When I know I'm going to be hanging out on that E string, I usually pluck closer to the bridge, and that helps.
Click to expand...

I've had some similar issues with GHS precision flatwounds. My A-string came out of the package so dead that I had to take it off right away. I had to reinstall the old Chromes (which I kept for back up). This is the reason why I stopped using GHS. At the moment I'm using Ernie Ball flatwounds, which are very similar to d'Addarios.
 
#12
Same thing happened to a set of LaBella I put on my Precision...dead E. Wasn't so much dead as it seemed unbalanced, both tension and tone-wise. It eventually evened out to a matching output with the rest of the strings but still seemed unnecessarily higher in tension then the rest of the set. To echo a previous poster, TI's are probably the most balanced flats I've ever played, tension, volume and tone-wise.
 
#15
Diesel Kilgore said:
I installed my first set of flats (GHS Precisions) the other day while my bass was still sick (dead P pickup). And have been playing soley on the J. After installing a new pickup today, and now playing soley on the P I notice that the E is alot quieter sounding than the rest.
Click to expand...

You just installed a new pickup. Have you tried adjusting the pickup height? Try raising the E side of the pup a bit and see if that helps.
 
#16
Bassist4Eris said:
You just installed a new pickup. Have you tried adjusting the pickup height? Try raising the E side of the pup a bit and see if that helps.
Click to expand...

I did that. They are intonated with the strings just like they should be. After playing some more and trying some different things its starting to sound better. Working with the amp EQ also helped. I love the sound and tone but not the balance. Hoping the others match the E.
 

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