Yes. I have four Jazz basses and three have flats on (TIs and Labellas). Two are fretless.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Does anyone use flats on a Jazz bass?
- Thread starter TheGreatSealof
- Start date
Yes. I have four Jazz basses and three have flats on (TIs and Labellas). Two are fretless.
Yes, TI flats. Nothing better for a Jazz bass. IMO, no other flat sounds that good on a Jazz bass. You need a little grit/grind in the tone. I've tried pretty much every flat on a Jazz. Some for 5 minutes, some for a week,
Listen to almost any classic reggae album and you will hear flats on a Fender Jazz.
My preference is Pyramid Gold flats for my Jazz.
My preference is Pyramid Gold flats for my Jazz.
I believe the answer depends on your personal taste and sound you want to achieve with the bass. And some instruments simply play better with flats instead of rounds. TI flats are mentioned throughout this thread. I've been playing them for several years on a Precision bass. Love 'em after trying many types of strings. Last year I added a Jazz bass and did the obvious thing: replaced the stock Fender rounds with TI flats.
After playing the flats on the Jazz for a while, the sound and feel just wasn't working for me. Sounded very good and all that [Jazz] but I thought: Why do I want my Jazz bass to sound like my Precision bass? So with open mind, I tried a slew of strings. The ones that immediately pulled me in were TI Jazz Rounds. That one came out of left field! They were even more flexible than the flats and worked especially well with a pick. And, let the Jazz growl and all its characteristics shine.
So the answer to OP's question is yes! Or maybe, no! Kind of depends.....!
After playing the flats on the Jazz for a while, the sound and feel just wasn't working for me. Sounded very good and all that [Jazz] but I thought: Why do I want my Jazz bass to sound like my Precision bass? So with open mind, I tried a slew of strings. The ones that immediately pulled me in were TI Jazz Rounds. That one came out of left field! They were even more flexible than the flats and worked especially well with a pick. And, let the Jazz growl and all its characteristics shine.
So the answer to OP's question is yes! Or maybe, no! Kind of depends.....!
I love TI JRs. I started using them in the mid '00s after reading an interview with the US distributor somewhere online.
I’ve been playing jazz basses since 1995. Last night was the first I’ve ever put flats on a fretted jazz bass, in this case it’s a set of LaBella Low Tension Flats. I use flats on my precisions, and on all my other non-jazz basses — I’ve always felt “Rounds for Jazzes” — and I’ve had great results sound-wise.
Well, all I can say after putting these LTFs on my jazz bass is : wow. The bass feels like “home”, a luxurious musical instrument that just sounds RIGHT. These strings accentuate the best qualities of this particular bass, like the perfect sonic dress for an already beautiful woman. Those are the only words I can use to describe the sound and how I feel playing these.
To anyone who hasn’t tried flats on his or her jazz style bass. I wholeheartedly recommend you try it!
Well, all I can say after putting these LTFs on my jazz bass is : wow. The bass feels like “home”, a luxurious musical instrument that just sounds RIGHT. These strings accentuate the best qualities of this particular bass, like the perfect sonic dress for an already beautiful woman. Those are the only words I can use to describe the sound and how I feel playing these.
To anyone who hasn’t tried flats on his or her jazz style bass. I wholeheartedly recommend you try it!
After 45 years of playing I just tried my first flatwounds this past fall. What an epiphany. I always avoided because it’s so often said flats sound dull and lifeless like dead roundwounds. So so wrong. Even the heavy 1954 LaBella’s have a pronounced high end brightness. But unlike rounds this brightness is clean and clear and articulate, it’s the real piano- or bell-like tone. Rounds just have more noise and muddle in the high frequencies. To me anyway.
I just put some TI flats on my Lull M4V which is a (super?) jazz. They've only been on for a week and one gig. They sound amazing as I would have expected. So smooth and articulate with the pickups blended evenly or even just a fraction to one side or the other. I find ash/maple jazz basses to be to bright for a round wound so the TI's are a the perfect compliment for this bass.
To answer OP question
I do
---‐----‐---‐
I do have a bass string identifier question.
I'm looking to ID my flats
Silks are dark blue
String ball colors:
E-red
A-white
D- blue
G-brass
With the low E at 2.4 mm which is 95 or 96ish.
I thought they were chromes but the string ball colors don't match on any images I've been able to study.
Is there any kind of a matrix or chart that has all these identifiers listed?
I've been to several links that used to exist but they are no longer available.
If anyone can help I would be most grateful.
Thanks//geo
I do---‐----‐---‐
I do have a bass string identifier question.
I'm looking to ID my flats
Silks are dark blue
String ball colors:
E-red
A-white
D- blue
G-brass
With the low E at 2.4 mm which is 95 or 96ish.
I thought they were chromes but the string ball colors don't match on any images I've been able to study.
Is there any kind of a matrix or chart that has all these identifiers listed?
I've been to several links that used to exist but they are no longer available.
If anyone can help I would be most grateful.
Thanks//geo
Those ball end colors are the new La Bella color scheme that they started doing a few years ago.
Dark blue silk could mean either the 1954 Originals (0760M, 52-110) or the DTF 760M (49-109).
What doesn't make sense is the E being only .095. ??? DTF 760FX (39-96) would have avocado green silk.
The digital micrometer accuracy readout was 2.4 mil and is about as close as I could get.
Thank you!
They do not and since the sun is out I put the bass in the sunlight and the silks aren't really that dark of a blue but they're not sky blue either.
La Bella Deep Talkin' Bass Flatwound Strings 0760M (.52, .73, .95, .110)
On the Labella page they were not recommended for string throughs. The JB is a string through and they appear to be holding up so we'll see. I do like the medium. I don't think I've ever had a set of Medium flats. Maybe when I was in high school the Vox cougar had mediums on it they were tape, I bought it that way.
Thanks for the help I appreciate it! The mystery appears to be solved.
Discovered flats when I purchased my ‘73 jazz. Suddenly I was Family Man, my favorite bass tone of them all.
I had my jazz for a while before I put of set of flats on. Started with La Bella DTF, and they were a little too mellow. Now I’ve got a well broken in set of Chromes on it and I wouldn’t change it for anything. Took a while to break them in, but it’s been 3 years with the same strings and they sound better and better over time.
