I’ve got a Fender American Standard 2014 Precision bass with rosewood fingerboard and alder body. It’s got the stock Custom Shop 60 pickup it came with. I find it has a mild mid scoop. What are some flats I could put in there that could add some mids back to the voicing? Not looking for classic Motown dark thump mids, looking for more modern.
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Flats with a tiny bit of mid bump?
- Thread starter lastminute
- Start date
I have long evangelized about the glory of Roto 77's.
They're a slightly lighter gauge than the Fender flats I've used, which gives them a subtle nudge toward a brighter sound. They ride the razor-edge ride between ease of playing, good lows, and still managing to maintain some of the brightness one usually associates with rounds. I tried a set on my Jazz, and liked them so much, I put them on my Kingman acoustic as well. They're fantastic in both places, and remain my go-to strings overall.
I'm not even a fanatical "Roto guy" because The Who, etc. They're just a good set of strings.
^ This. Rotosound Jazz Bass 77 is the classic midrangy flatwound tone. Also available in 40-100 (set SM77) and 50-110 (sets RS77LE and SH77).
Alternatively, Fender flats (the 45-100 gauge, 9050L set would be my personal preference) may also work very well, and be more forgiving than the Rotos in terms of tension and stiffness.
Mind you, they should be judged only after a month or two of steady playing: they sound unpleasantly clanky right out of the box.
Or, for even less tension and more flexibility, the Thomastik-Infeld JF344 set is a well-regarded option.
Speaking of tension,
Alternatively, Fender flats (the 45-100 gauge, 9050L set would be my personal preference) may also work very well, and be more forgiving than the Rotos in terms of tension and stiffness.
Mind you, they should be judged only after a month or two of steady playing: they sound unpleasantly clanky right out of the box.
Or, for even less tension and more flexibility, the Thomastik-Infeld JF344 set is a well-regarded option.
Speaking of tension,
any preference? Do you tend toward heavy, middle, low tension?
Look into the Thomastik-Infeld JF344, Fender 9050L, Rotosound SM77 (low to middle).
Basically, those very three that I mentioned,
https://www.talkbass.com/posts/28626914/
but then avoided recommending
https://www.talkbass.com/posts/28628744/
for the other bass you recently sought string advice on, once you clarified you did not want to lean into its already mid-forward character.
I have exactly the same bass you have and it's wearing the Ernie Ball Group IV (40-95) stainless steel flats and love them. A nice midrange clarity without being too bright.
Thomastik Infeld flats. Only flats I have played that have the midrange I like. Very versatile. They are expensive but will last forever.
Chromes and the Fender flats are pretty good as well, but they get to the dull thumpy thing a little too quick for my liking.
Chromes and the Fender flats are pretty good as well, but they get to the dull thumpy thing a little too quick for my liking.
TI jazz flats, or use your EQ knobs. If your EQ is lacking, look for something like the Empress ParaEQ, the new version.
To me Dunlops are more middle tension.
I find Rotos to be on the pretty stiff and higher tension end of the scale
I find Rotos to be on the pretty stiff and higher tension end of the scale
TI accordion accessories?
Is that still working?
(Joke reference for others: someone was reselling TI flats on Amazon as accordion accessories for much cheaper)
Mids: Fender 9050
Open, vocal mids: Thomastik JF344
Punchy mids to hi-mids: Rotosound 77
Open, vocal mids: Thomastik JF344
Punchy mids to hi-mids: Rotosound 77
+1.
I have long evangelized about the glory of Roto 77's.
They're a slightly lighter gauge than the Fender flats I've used, which gives them a subtle nudge toward a brighter sound. They ride the razor-edge ride between ease of playing, good lows, and still managing to maintain some of the brightness one usually associates with rounds. I tried a set on my Jazz, and liked them so much, I put them on my Kingman acoustic as well. They're fantastic in both places, and remain my go-to strings overall.
I'm not even a fanatical "Roto guy" because The Who, etc. They're just a good set of strings.
I tried these after Dunlop flats & they were a totally different sound, that I couldn't pinpoint. After reading @lastminute post, I think this is exactly what he is looking for. They weren't my flavour, so I've gone back to the Dunlops on my Jazz.
Tiny bit of MID bump for Fender CS62P pup.
Both EB Cobalt flat and Group flat has upper MID bump rather than MID bump, Cobalt sound open and crunch, Group sound dry.
9050 has right amount of MID , but she also present along with Low MID , the Low MID will cause the CS62P pup has bigger sound on both EA string but not much on DG string.
Actually CS62P sound better match with roundwound bass string.
Do you consider pickup swap with Dimarzio ??
Both EB Cobalt flat and Group flat has upper MID bump rather than MID bump, Cobalt sound open and crunch, Group sound dry.
9050 has right amount of MID , but she also present along with Low MID , the Low MID will cause the CS62P pup has bigger sound on both EA string but not much on DG string.
Actually CS62P sound better match with roundwound bass string.
Do you consider pickup swap with Dimarzio ??
Group 3 here, my first set of these, and they’re settling in.
Midrangy flats, that means Labella LTF to me
Labella Deep-Talking Gold Flats have a beautiful midrange bump. They play kind of like LaBella low-tension flats, but feel even nicer. If they came in 36” scale I’d never use another flat set.
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