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Flats on a P

jdbutz

jdbutz

Feb 10, 2007
222
1
Indianola, Iowa
#1
I will be getting a brand new Fender MIM Standard P this weekend. I was wondering if anyone has flats strung on their P. I've got flats (Chromes) on my Washburn XB500, which I absolutely love the sound and playability. This is my first P and I was thinking about putting Chromes on it as well. If anyone got some experiences they could share, I'd appreciate it. BTW- I play in a 50s-80s cover band, and like to play some newer rock, nothing too heavy.
 
#2
One word. Jamerson.

But aside from him, I had some La Bella flats on my fretless P. Wonderful old school sound, and a touch of mwah thanks to a lack of speed bumps. :smug: Roll off the tone, and you'll get that classic thump, roll it on, and you'll find a nice amount of treble/grind to that same thump.
 
#3
I have flats on my 1956 P-Bass - just great for that classic "throb". also, playing it with a pick cuts through the mix so well for rock stuff (although I use my fingers most of the time for the Jamerson type burble)

CIMG0219.jpg

CIMG0222.jpg

DSC00004-1.jpg
 
#7
Actually, I am changing the La Bella 1954 set on my P-Bass (that's th classic "Jamerson" set) for a set of 50-105 D'Addario Chromes so that I can avoid that "silk wrap over the nut" thing that happens on the La- Bellas - you can't get the 1954 set with an extra long scale E you see - the through body stringing of that style of bass means the wrap is over the nut as in the pic.

The 60's style P-bass with the strings loaded trough the brisge is fine, and the sound and playability of them on my 1956 is okay, but it just looks awful!!

So - am I doing teh right thing with these D'Addario Chromes? Don't tell me they have silk wrap too at the machineheads, or I am back where I started! Aaaaagh!!! hahahahaha. If they do have silk wrap there, then I guess it's a case of having to use Ernie Ball flatwounds, huh? Or how about DR's - their roundwounds have no wrap after the nut - I guess the flats will be the same?

Any feedback would be appreciated guys!
 
#8
why is it so important that they aint got anny wrapping? Fender flats dont have wrapping, and they sound pretty good.

Personally i prefer Rotosounds.. a few words:
Phil Lynott, Steve Harris, Sting and Roger Waters... so you have a few rockers in difference to Jamerson :p thoose 4 plays rotosound BTW..
 
#9
Rotosound flats arent really "flats" though huh? They have that silly "ground down surface feel on the strings - plus they sound more like like roundwounds (just without teh wear and tear to the frets). I bought 3 setf of Rotosound flats for some of my basses, and only 1 set was opened - they most definitely weren't what I was looking for.

Never thought about the Fender strings. The reason I want no silk wrap on the end at the headstock is to avoid that awful overlap on the nut as you can see in my pic below!!
 
#12
Flats on the P are sweet sounding.
I currently use a set of D'Addarios on my Fretted P and LaBellas on my Fretless. Wanted to try the Black Beauties, but my local GC couldn't find a set. I ordered a set of Sadowsky Flats (40-60-80-100-125) from BigCity in CT, for my Dimension. Can't wait.
 
#14
jdbutz said:
I will be getting a brand new Fender MIM Standard P this weekend. I was wondering if anyone has flats strung on their P.
Click to expand...

Man, you must not have hung out on too many Fender-related boards. Flats are THE strings for P-basses. Even hard-cores who play rounds on just about everything else usually like the sound of flats on a P.

And the older the flats they are, the better. New flats don't sound right. Old flats (at least a year old) are better than new ones, and they improve with age.

Once you put flats on a P, the stars align in the firmament. All Things are Right With The World. And don't ever change them, unless a string breaks. (I have a P with 30-year old flats on it, and it sounds wonderful.)
 
#15
kevin_lindsay said:
Actually, I am changing the La Bella 1954 set on my P-Bass (that's th classic "Jamerson" set) for a set of 50-105 D'Addario Chromes so that I can avoid that "silk wrap over the nut" thing that happens on the La- Bellas -
Click to expand...

Kevin. Check out the GHS Precision Flats. They come in long scale plus. Should fit so you don't have that problem. They also come in 45-105 or 55-105 gauge for a super thick sound.
 
#16
Im gonna join in. Never had a set of flats, thinking about getting them for my P. Right now I have some DR lowriders on and they are my favorite strings so far (all Ive tried besides them are slinkys and the stock strings, which I hated both). The sound Im going for is Mike Watts, but mellower, what brand of flats would you recommend?

Also this is my only bass, so having at least a semi diverse sound would be nice.

Edit: A warm mid punch is really what Im looking for. That and having a more muted poping sound (I dont slap btw) because with these strings poping makes a really harsh brittle sound.
 
#19
kevin_lindsay said:
Actually, I am changing the La Bella 1954 set on my P-Bass (that's th classic "Jamerson" set) for a set of 50-105 D'Addario Chromes so that I can avoid that "silk wrap over the nut" thing that happens on the La- Bellas - you can't get the 1954 set with an extra long scale E you see - the through body stringing of that style of bass means the wrap is over the nut as in the pic.

The 60's style P-bass with the strings loaded trough the brisge is fine, and the sound and playability of them on my 1956 is okay, but it just looks awful!!

So - am I doing teh right thing with these D'Addario Chromes? Don't tell me they have silk wrap too at the machineheads, or I am back where I started! Aaaaagh!!! hahahahaha. If they do have silk wrap there, then I guess it's a case of having to use Ernie Ball flatwounds, huh? Or how about DR's - their roundwounds have no wrap after the nut - I guess the flats will be the same?

Any feedback would be appreciated guys!
Click to expand...

Well, I like the Chromes on my Ric, but they are bright, loose and modern sounding (45-100's). I have another bass (L-1000) with Sadowsky's (50-105's) and they are much warmer/thumpier. More of a vintage sound. Take into account that the Ric is a thin maple bodied, single coil bass and the G&L is a thick hunk of mahogany with a humbucker...but still, I was surprized by the brightness of the Chromes after getting used to the Sadowsky's (which I believe are made by LaBella to Rogers specs). Let us know what you chose and what you think about them!
 
#20
Rotosounds RS77 set is the way to go.

I've tried the LaBella Jamerson set - not to my feel/liking. The Rotos are real flats despite what people will say.

It depends on what kind of sounds you like. I play everything from jazz to Rush on my P with RS77s and it's great.
 

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