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Flats Help Please

#23
I use DR Rounds Medium Light with plenty of wide dynamics coming out of an active fretless. I love DR strings on all my guitars. I have tried many other brands. They punch hard when you hit them hard, but plenty of low end, too. In my experience, the thicker the string, the thicker the sound. Happy hunting for the perfect strings!
 
#25
JimmyM said:
I use strings in gauges 40-55-70-95. I defy anyone to tell the difference between them and a 45-100 set of the same strings.
Click to expand...

I'll take a stab at this. The tension on the D string is a bit higher than the rest of the set if they are D'addarios.

Can't tell on a recording though

A custom 45-60-80-105 set of chromes is pretty well balanced, but slightly more expensive due to buying singles. Might try a 110 with the next set
 
#30
jessicabass said:
How much of a difference in feel is going from say 40 to 45 or 100 to 105?
is it a drastic change?
Because i don like the d and g to be thin, but i always thought the e would feel better at 100 instead of 105
Click to expand...
I used a .105 set of Chromes tuned down to C, and it was still pretty tight. I'd never try that guage for standard tuning. I'm using a .100 set tuned to standard now and it's pretty tense. Might go down to .95 as Jimmy suggested next string change.
 
#32
I don't think the OP wants that nasal sound like an upright. He said "thump and punch". You won't get punch with TI Jazz flats or DR flats. Thump and punch is a more modern sounding flat like Sadowsky Black Label or even Fender 9050. And being the Sadowsky fanboy that I am, I give them another vote.

Also, there will only be a slight difference in sound between light and standard gauge, where the lighter gauge will be cleaner and punchier, while heavier gauge starts losing the tone and gets a bit more thump.
 
#33
You've gotta try a set of Chromes, at least once. Not too expensive, but amazing strings. Bright at first but they will mellow out the more you play them, but will retain a good deal of punch. I have a P/J with an Ampeg rig, and those strings are pretty much perfect for any sound I'm going for. If I want that aggressive round-wound sound, I just need to turn up my bridge pickup.
 
#34
u84six said:
I don't think the OP wants that nasal sound like an upright. He said "thump and punch". You won't get punch with TI Jazz flats or DR flats. Thump and punch is a more modern sounding flat like Sadowsky Black Label or even Fender 9050. And being the Sadowsky fanboy that I am, I give them another vote.

Also, there will only be a slight difference in sound between light and standard gauge, where the lighter gauge will be cleaner and punchier, while heavier gauge starts losing the tone and gets a bit more thump.
Click to expand...
Actually SHE said " thump and punch" ;)
Thank you
Being that im up in canada for awhile with my brother, and its so time consuming to order from the states and more expensive. A small local shop has fender and ghs.
I loved the sound of the video of the ghs but what you said makes me want to get the fender as well. I have 3 basses so i will put them on two of them and keep the one with rounds just in case.
I used to have so much equipment but marriage and kids happened and i havent played for quite some time and sold if off to help get the house.
I have to say the adventure of getting new gear and getting my brother to get back in it as well has made this fun.
Thank you tbers
 
#35
NightTripper said:
You've gotta try a set of Chromes, at least once. Not too expensive, but amazing strings. Bright at first but they will mellow out the more you play them, but will retain a good deal of punch. I have a P/J with an Ampeg rig, and those strings are pretty much perfect for any sound I'm going for. If I want that aggressive round-wound sound, I just need to turn up my bridge pickup.
Click to expand...

+1 Chromes are my vote and only get better with age.
 
#36
LHbassist's comments are spot on in my experience. I've tried most all flats, and given them many months or years of work, on numerous basses, and those are the same conclusions I've reached. I think if you want a valid assesment of strings, its important to get conclusions that are based upon years of use in many different situations, not just the "ah ha!" conclusions that one might get after just having changed strings over to a different brand or type, since the latter can often be based at least partly on the "honeymooon" or thrill of simply hearing a different (not better) sound. You also need to hear strings in different live situations. In my experience, string "like" can be very fickle, so you gotta give your assessments a good amount of time, to assure you are out of the "wow, this is different, I like it" phase before you draw meaningful conclusions.
 

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