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Flats and various basses

R

RitterSport

Apr 20, 2020
453
426
#1
I have three basses (only three? How can I even post here??):

P-Bass clone made by Bass Centre
Yamaha 734a PJ
G&L L2000

The P-Bass has flats and, honestly, I like playing with flats better -- I don't like string noise, and too much sliding makes me say "ow". The G&L is my gigging bass.

My question: Is it silly to put flats on the Yamaha and/or G&L? They have bridge pick-ups, so maybe not having those round-wound highs makes those bridge pickups useless (or, less useful, at least). On the other hand, I don't like things to be too zingy, so I rarely change my strings, almost never.

My flats on the P-Bass are pretty stiff and thick -- I'd probably get something a little more supple for the others, if it makes sense to switch.
 
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#8
RitterSport said:
I have three basses (only three? How can I even post here??):

P-Bass clone made by Bass Centre
Yamaha 734a PJ
G&L L2000

The P-Bass has flats and, honestly, I like playing with flats better -- I don't like string noise, and too much sliding makes me say "ow". The G&L is my gigging bass.

My question: Is it silly to put flats on the Yamaha and/or G&L? They have bridge pick-ups, so maybe not having those round-wound highs makes those bridge pickups useless (or, less useful, at least). On the other hand, I don't like things to be too zingy, so I rarely change my strings, almost never.

My flats on the P-Bass are pretty stiff and thick -- I'd probably get something a little more supple for the others, if it makes sense to switch.
Click to expand...
My buddy who own the US G&L L2500 are happy with EB Cobalt flat .

String noise /fretting noise with Cobalt flat ? Yes, but less when compare to roundwound bass string .

I have cobalt flat on my both Squier Matt freeman P and Charvel Pro MOd PJ . Slightly notable fretting noise on Charvel which she has stainless steel frets.
 
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#9
I'm a real fan of flatwounds with bridge pickup on my Newport. Caveat: it's a mini humbucker that sounds a bit meatier, and I'm using Rotosound RS77s which are brighter.
For a lower tension set of flats similar to rounds (and requiring less tweaking), I'd recommend GHS Precision 45-95, La Bella 760FL/FX, Thomastik Jazz, EB Group III/IV, and Rotosound SM77 in increasing brightness. Some nylon tapewounds can also get the smooth feel and slightly thumping tone, with the La Bella white tapes closest to regular rounds and Rotosound RS88 closest to regular flats (not Rotosound RS77).
 
#11
It takes a while to find the flats that are most suitable for any bass, especially since you basically have to put them on and play them for months to get them settled.

I've played a ton and found my go-to strings.

LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats: These are stiffer than most and they thump lower than most. Also, they are among the smoothest strings there are, there's next to no gap between the windings (I guess that's what makes them so stiff).

Optima Flats: I want to call them the perfect middle-of-the-road set. I bought a set as an afterthought when I bought a set of their 24k gold strings for a bass that had a gold-theme going. I put them on and instantly fell for them. Middle tension, middle thumpiness middle clarity, organic, wooden sound.

TI Flats: Those low tension things take a while to get used to (I set my action a little higher with these). What makes them special is their musical, singing midrange. They are expensive to purchase - but when you've had them on for 3 years or so, you should break even when comparing to rounds.

Fender Flats: I put them on a bass to try out - heavy gauge for D standard tuning. They are quite cheap, so I thought I'd give them a shot, but I liked them so much I put them on another bass, too. They are also quite middle of the road, but compared to the optima stings, they have more of a darker metallic sound instead of organic&wooden.

Chromes: These are among the brighter strings. I have a set that has been played frequently for two years and while the initial brilliance faded, they're still a fair bit brighter than most others at that age. I like them a lot on a P bass.
 
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#14
Silly?

Every one of these sports TI flats. They bring out the best in each.
IMG_0747.jpg
 
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#15
If you want less string noise and manageable tension, you should look at Dunlop Flats, LaBella Low Tension Flats or Ernie Ball Smoothie Pino Palladino Signature Flats (my new favorites in the lighter gauge). All three are highly polished and feel extremely smooth.
 
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#16
Sounds like you already pulled the trigger on LTFs, but if you get second thoughts I'd really suggest giving GHS Pressure wounds a try. You get the best of both worlds, very smooth feeling but more dynamics than flats. They work really well on Jazz basses, and last almost as long as flats, with slightly less tension.
 
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#17
BassicJazzy said:
Sounds like you already pulled the trigger on LTFs, but if you get second thoughts I'd really suggest giving GHS Pressure wounds a try. You get the best of both worlds, very smooth feeling but more dynamics than flats. They work really well on Jazz basses, and last almost as long as flats, with slightly less tension.
Click to expand...
Ooh, maybe I'll put those on the Yamaha. The Yamaha pickups are much quieter than the other two -- would that be a problem?

ETA: Are they only in 5 string packages? That's all SW has, I think.
 
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#18
RitterSport said:
Ooh, maybe I'll put those on the Yamaha. The Yamaha pickups are much quieter than the other two -- would that be a problem?
Click to expand...
GHS Pressurewounds are what I use on two of my J's. L7200 (40-96) in EADG and M7200 (44-106) in DGCF.

Alloy 52 (nickel-iron) used on them is higher in output due to its highly magnetic properties, so they should compensate for the quieter pickups on the Yamaha. I've used them on my Yamaha TRBX505 and worked quite well on that bass.

There are a few sets available...

www.ghsstrings.com

Products - PRESSUREWOUND™ - GHS Strings

Since 1964, GHS Strings has been expertly winding high-quality electric guitar strings in the heart of southwestern Michigan. As a leading manufacturer, we blend tradition with innovation to produce a wide variety of strings for electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitars, classical guitars...
www.ghsstrings.com www.ghsstrings.com

EDIT: The PWs are smoother in feel than most roundwound with reduced finger noise, but DO NOT expect flatwound-like smoothness or "no finger noise" like flats/tapes.
 
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#19
I'm mainly a rounds guy for gigging purposes, but I've tried flats, half-rounds/groundwounds, tapes, etc. on various basses to see which combinations work the best. Sometimes the best combinations aren't what you would expect. For example, in my opinion, my Zon VB-4 sounds much better with flats compared to rounds, even though it is about as far from a classic P bass as it gets (tiny body, composite neck and fingerboard, soapbar pickups with active preamp, 24 frets, figured walnut top, etc.). I do also usually keep flats on my P though.
 
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