Fattest sounding G string (flatwound or roundwound)

[foal30]

I LOVE G-Strings!!

I love mine so much I sometimes put them on backwards and call them a T Bar

 

[Prodigus Filius]

Hmmm... I went to a heavy gauge flats set (Fender 9050M: 105-90-70-55) to get thicker D and G tones and it has worked out well, all strings sound nice and fat except for the G...

The 050 G is more tension. More tension means a tighter sound as the antidodes of the fundamental and it's overtones don't excurse as far as they do with a lighter gauge, or a shorter scale. The sound may be clearer but not fatter. A shorter scale sounds beefier at same gauge and pitch because the fundamental antinode really whips about in particular

 

[Yahboy]

Ti JF344 .043 G string has fuller sound than most .040-.050 flatwound bass string i been use. Especially on P bass !

 

[DCCat]

Ti JF344 .043 G string has fuller sound than most .040-.050 flatwound bass string i been use. Especially on P bass !

Completely concur with this. I've used a lot of lighter gauge flats and the TI's have the sweetest G. Not fat, exactly, but less thin than the others ... fuller is a good way to put it. I've even used the TI G with other sets because thin G's bug me. Naturally, the TI G is best when broken in.

 

[Phaidrus]

The 050 G is more tension. More tension means a tighter sound as the antidodes of the fundamental and it's overtones don't excurse as far as they do with a lighter gauge, or a shorter scale. The sound may be clearer but not fatter. A shorter scale sounds beefier at same gauge and pitch because the fundamental antinode really whips about in particular

Interesting, thanks for the physics analysis. In my case, it's a 0.55 G but with thinner core, so perhaps it behaves like a typical 0.50. Still lots of tension. Tuning down would presumably help but then I'd have to relearn the fretboard...

 

[Yahboy]

Completely concur with this. I've used a lot of lighter gauge flats and the TI's have the sweetest G. Not fat, exactly, but less thin than the others ... fuller is a good way to put it. I've even used the TI G with other sets because thin G's bug me. Naturally, the TI G is best when broken in.

I describe fuller instead fat that you mention.

 

[CTW68]

GHS Balanced Nickles have the fullest G string I've heard.

 

[sunbeast]

Yes, exactly. I've always found stringsets thin sounding as regards to the G. This bothers me more with flats, where the expectations for a full, fat sound - with a lot of body to the tone - are higher that with rounds.

For example, there's no way to make the higher D and D# (the octaves) in the bassline below sound as fat and close to the other notes (in terms of how much body they have) with any of the stringsets I've ever used. Granted, this example is most probably played on a keyboard, where you can manipulate the tone as you wish, but still... With my bass(es), the D, F, A and then the D#, F#, A# on the A and D strings sound pretty close to the recording but the D and D# on the G string sound horribly thin.

I love Massive Attack, and this song is one of my favorites- a perfect example of the power of simplicity! FWIW, from my understanding the whole drum + bass part of this song was filtered and pitched samples of this killer James Brown track:

Hard to say who played on the original track or the bass/strings used, but sounds like flatwounds with the tone control near or completely off, played with the meat of the thumb and quite possibly with some sort of foam muting. I personally play this song without using the G string at all, at the 10th fret of the E string up to the D string which gives a much fatter tone across all the notes than playing it across the A through G strings, and that's how this live performance was played as well (again hard to know how the original was played): search Youtube for "Massive Attack Better Things Live Jools Holland" as embedding isn't working for this video

If I want tones like that ultimately its about finding ways to attenuate or avoid the added harmonics common to the G string- I'd argue its not that the G string lacks fat, but that the fat from the G string tends to be overpowered by excess harmonics. When I want fatter notes on a G I often employ palm-muting and plucking either with the fat of my thumb or index finger or using a mechanical foam mute (though I rarely use one these days as I've been working on palm-mute techniques to be able to bounce back and forth at will). I have had good luck in the past using a very light foam material put under just the G or just the D and G (particularly on a P-bass where the split pickup thins out both strings relative to the E and A). G strings in almost all cases I've experienced in flatwound sets have harmonics that stand out from the rest of the strings until the string is well worn in, so trying to deaden them mechanically using muting and physically by playing them a lot is really the name of the game IMO. Some guys do it with actual vaseline or lotion rubbed into the strings from stories I've heard though I've never tried that. I can't recall whether it was GHS Precision flats or DR Legends, but I do recall one of those having a surprisingly balanced G to my ears when I tried them over a decade ago- as I recall I found both of the sets too dull as a whole for my tastes at the time though.

 

[Phaidrus]

I love Massive Attack, and this song is one of my favorites- a perfect example of the power of simplicity! FWIW, the whole drum + bass part of this song was a filtered sample of this killer James Brown track:

Hard to say who played on the original track or the bass/strings used, but sounds like flatwounds with the tone control near or completely off, played with the meat of the thumb and quite possibly with some sort of foam muting. I personally play this song without using the G string at all, at the 10th fret of the E string up to the D string which gives a much fatter tone across all the notes than playing it across the A through G strings, and that's how this live performance was played as well (again hard to know how the original was played): search Youtube for "Massive Attack Better Things Live Jools Holland" as embedding isn't working for this video

If I want tones like that ultimately its about finding ways to attenuate or avoid the added harmonics common to the G string- I'd argue its not that the G string lacks fat, but that the fat from the G string tends to be overpowered by excess harmonics. When I want fatter notes on a G I often employ palm-muting and plucking either with the fat of my thumb or index finger or using a mechanical foam mute (though I rarely use one these days as I've been working on palm-mute techniques to be able to bounce back and forth at will). I have had good luck in the past using a very light foam material put under just the G or just the D and G (particularly on a P-bass where the split pickup thins out both strings relative to the E and A). G strings in almost all cases I've experienced in flatwound sets have harmonics that stand out from the rest of the strings until the string is well worn in, so trying to deaden them mechanically using muting and physically by playing them a lot is really the name of the game IMO. Some guys do it with actual vaseline or lotion rubbed into the strings from stories I've heard though I've never tried that. I can't recall whether it was GHS Precision flats or DR Legends, but I do recall one of those having a surprisingly balanced G to my ears when I tried them over a decade ago- as I recall I found both of the sets too dull as a whole for my tastes at the time though.

Hey, thanks! Thats very interesting information and suggestions. I was aware that the guitar reef was sampled from some James Brown track but didn't know about the bassline. So, could it in fact be Bootsy?

The Live Jools Holland version is cool, with tabla (I think) and Ben Watt on guitar! And surely playing it on the E 10th fret is the way to go, as also shown in the vid. It should be noted that in the JB track the bassline only consists of the Dm reef repeated all over while in the Massive Attack track there's a D#m transposition of it that works like a bridge, adds drama, and then resolves back to the Dm chorus. Genius simplicity. Well, with Tracey Thorn's vocals almost any track would be great.

I like your theory of the G string not lacking fat but rather having too much on top of it, masking the fundamental. It's 9050M flats on my Pbass and E, A and D have gotten nice and fat after a year of use but the G not yet. It's been played a lot less than the other three, of course, so I suppose it is to be expected. Perhaps I should do an hour of arpegio runs up and down the G every day for a couple of months to break it in.

 

[GIBrat51]

So what's the fattest sounding G string, flatwound or roundwound, you've ever played?

And, does gauge matter?

Hmm... Off the top of my head; the G string from the set of Roto TruBass88M's on my MIK Roogue VB-100 violin bass. It's a 65 gauge string, but a lot of that is the tape. Anyhow; on that violin bass? Yeah, it's pretty fat - and woody; just what I want from a violin bass...
But, you said flat wound or round wound, so... Again, off the top of my head?
- Flat wound; The G string of the GHS M3050 Precision Flats on my '78 Fender P-Bass (with a foam mute in the bridge cover)...
- Round wound; The 50 gauge G string from the set of #3035 short scale GHS Bass Boomers, that were on my '82 headless Kramer "The Duke" when I bought it... If rounds didn't hurt my fingers so much, I wouldn't have replaced them with a set of DR Legends when they died...

 

[Phaidrus]

Hmm... Off the top of my head; the G string from the set of Roto TruBass88M's on my MIK Roogue VB-100 violin bass. It's a 65 gauge string, but a lot of that is the tape. Anyhow; on that violin bass? Yeah, it's pretty fat - and woody; just what I want from a violin bass...
But, you said flat wound or round wound, so... Again, off the top of my head?
- Flat wound; The G string of the GHS M3050 Precision Flats on my '78 Fender P-Bass (with a foam mute in the bridge cover)...
- Round wound; The 50 gauge G string from the set of #3035 short scale GHS Bass Boomers, that were on my '82 headless Kramer "The Duke" when I bought it... If rounds didn't hurt my fingers so much, I wouldn't have replaced them with a set of DR Legends when they died...

Is the violin bass short scale? That would also explain the fatness, I suppose. I've never tried any GHS strings, but I am aware people like them and , in particular, that the Precision Flats are known for their full tone, which is what I'm looking for. But I've made a "commitment" to stay with the 9050M on my flats Pbass and not replace them for a couple of years or so, to see if they get there. So I'm missing out on other possible candidates. But I could give Boomers a go on my rounds Pbass, as soon as I decide to replace the 7150s currently on it.

 

[GIBrat51]

Is the violin bass short scale? That would also explain the fatness, I suppose. I've never tried any GHS strings, but I am aware people like them and , in particular, that the Precision Flats are known for their full tone, which is what I'm looking for. But I've made a "commitment" to stay with the 9050M on my flats Pbass and not replace them for a couple of years or so, to see if they get there. So I'm missing out on other possible candidates. But I could give Boomers a go on my rounds Pbass, as soon as I decide to replace the 7150s currently on it.

Yes, it's a short scale bass - although it needs "medium" scale strings, due to the distance between the trapeze tailpiece and the bridge. Does that affect the tone? Maybe; maybe not. The Kramer Duke is a short scale bass, too, but the Boomers were the short scale 50-107 set. In general, yes; short scale strings are all about the fundamental tone. Which I suppose gives them the edge if all you want is a fat tone...
I also had the hex core, 45-105 Boomers on my '13 Gibson T-Bird, for several years. IMO, the Boomers are the darkest sounding rounds available - for normal, 4 string EADG tuning. Which is why they're pretty much THE rounds for a T-Bird. I never had them on my '78 P-Bass; it's worn flats since the day I bought it, in the summer of 1988. But... yeah, I think they'd be a good choice for a P-Bass...

 

[dougjwray]

I LOVE G-Strings!!

 

[Phaidrus]

Yes, it's a short scale bass - although it needs "medium" scale strings, due to the distance between the trapeze tailpiece and the bridge. Does that affect the tone? Maybe; maybe not. The Kramer Duke is a short scale bass, too, but the Boomers were the short scale 50-107 set. In general, yes; shot scale strings are all about the fundamental tone. Which I suppose gives them the edge if all you want is a fat tone...
I also had the hex core, 45-105 Boomers on my '13 Gibson T-Bird, for several years. IMO, the Boomers are the darkest sounding rounds available - for normal, 4 string EADG tuning. Which is why they're pretty much THE rounds for a T-Bird. I never had them on my '78 P-Bass; it's worn flats since the day I bought it, in the summer of 1988. But... yeah, I think they'd be a good choice for a P-Bass...

Now you've got me tempted with them Boomers.

 

[Prodigus Filius]

Try a little experiment. Tune the G string down till it sounds fatter. Take note of the pitch. Work out the new tension ( there are various methods for doing so.) Now try a G string that matches that tension. This approach is only applicable in 'oranges vs oranges' ie strings of similar construction.
E.g you have a nickel round wound G string that sounds thin. The tension is 43lbf. You tune it down to F and the sound is more to your liking. The new tension is now 34lbf. Matching a G string with that tension results in an
040.
Or tune the 045 G string down to F and capo the second fret. See how it sounds. Equivalent of a the 045 being on a 30" scale bass

 

[Phaidrus]

Try a little experiment. Tune the G string down till it sounds fatter. Take note of the pitch. Work out the new tension ( there are various methods for doing so.) Now try a G string that matches that tension. This approach is only applicable in 'oranges vs oranges' ie strings of similar construction.
E.g you have a nickel round wound G string that sounds thin. The tension is 43lbf. You tune it down to F and the sound is more to your liking. The new tension is now 34lbf. Matching a G string with that tension results in an
040.
Or tune the 045 G string down to F and capo the second fret. See how it sounds. Equivalent of a the 045 being on a 30" scale bass

Thanks. I should perhaps also experiment with downtuning, like Eb or D. But the I would have to relearn the fretboard…