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Flatwounds for my backup Fender Player Jazz
- Thread starter BlackWolf
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- flatwounds jazz bass solved
Daddario Chromes are a good starter string. Very bright new but will sometimes end up totaly dead which when amplified creates huge punch and mid range tho I have one set which refuse to loose there zingyness.
That's a rabbit hole man.....I'd recommend trying some Fender 9050's. They are cheap, readily available and have a nice pillowy soft sound that is not to thuddy once they are broken in.
Fender 9050L (45-60-80-100) are my favorite flatwound for my Fender Jazz. While some flats can suck the Jazz bass character out of a Jazz bass, these Fenders seem to enhance it with their nice grindy mids. They feel close to a typical hex-core roundwound 45-65-85-105 in terms of stiffness/flexibility.
And, as already mentioned, they're very affordable.
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And, as already mentioned, they're very affordable.
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Modern juicy tone ~ EB 2814 . The earlier batch has groundwound like string surface, but the ribbon gap get wind closer on the current production. Still, not glassy smooth but pretty close to Ti flat string surface. This thing is lasting too, i have a 13 months EB2814 on my current jazz bass, growl and crunchy , plus the E string still sound healthy clear and hold the sustain well.
Woody Old school J vibe ? highly recommend La bella LTF4A or aged Ti flat.
Woody Old school J vibe ? highly recommend La bella LTF4A or aged Ti flat.
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First of all, thanks a lot to everyone for the answers and suggestions.
Flatwound strings are usually mad of stainless steel, right? Are they too harsh on the fingers like stainless steel roundwouns?
I know these are not flatwound, but I still have a set of Pressurewounds (ML7200) which felt a bit sticky at first so I swapped them.
Is 45-100 the lightest set available? For the first time, I wouldn't mind a 40-95 set to be honest.
Flatwound strings are usually mad of stainless steel, right? Are they too harsh on the fingers like stainless steel roundwouns?
I know these are not flatwound, but I still have a set of Pressurewounds (ML7200) which felt a bit sticky at first so I swapped them.
I have had Chromes EBC84 40-100 on several jazz basses. They have been my favorite flatwound for years and I really like a jazz with flats. I find the balance and the tension similar enough when I switch to a bass with rounds. I run 45-105 Superbrights or Roto 66. I do use TI Flats on my fretless jazz basses, but that, by design, is a very different sound. In practice, I am switching between basses with these string combos almost daily and am very happy with my strings.
+1 or, if you have more money to spend and want to loose even a lesser amount of highs/high-mids, you can try the superb TI JF344 (43-100).
I second the Fender 9050L. Used Chromes for a few years and always heard Fenders are the same strings but rebranded. Not true. Chromes are clanky when new and thuddy/plinky when old, with a certain hollowness in the mids. Fenders have growly, complex midrange that complements a jazz bass nicely. They are also much better balanced string to string, both tonally and in feel.
Fender 9050’s are a great starting point and not too expensive.
I’d recommend La Bella 760FL. Super smooth, and just the right amount give in them (for me, at least) when digging in with the right hand or adding vibrato with the left. I use these on a P bass. I also have Fender 7050L on my Casady bass and TI flats on a jazz bass - both also good options for you. The Fender are a bit less smooth and the TI are much more spongy than the La Bella.
A couple of days ago I put a new set of Rotosounds 77 40-100 on my Player Jazz. At first I didn't like them, but I found one setting in which they sound nice and usable. I'll definitely use them for some time.
I have a set of Fenders 9050 on my Ibanez ATK and like them. Those were my first flats and at first I was suprised, that they had the initial zing of roundwounds. Now they sonund definitely like flats, more than Rotos 77.
I have a set of Fenders 9050 on my Ibanez ATK and like them. Those were my first flats and at first I was suprised, that they had the initial zing of roundwounds. Now they sonund definitely like flats, more than Rotos 77.
Wait awhile, eventually every flat on the market will be enthusiastically recommended.
It's trial and error. Nobody has your ears, your fingers, your rig and your musical taste except you. All we can tell you is what works for us.
Personally I didn't like the Fender flats or the Chromes. I do like and use TI flats and GHS Precision Flats, and I recently discovered Dunlop flats, which I like a lot. That said, what sounds great on one bass may not sound great on another.
It's an expensive process if you go down this rabbit hole, but you can usually sell your reject sets in the TB Classifieds, especially if you just try them for a day or two and then replace them.
It's trial and error. Nobody has your ears, your fingers, your rig and your musical taste except you. All we can tell you is what works for us.
Personally I didn't like the Fender flats or the Chromes. I do like and use TI flats and GHS Precision Flats, and I recently discovered Dunlop flats, which I like a lot. That said, what sounds great on one bass may not sound great on another.
It's an expensive process if you go down this rabbit hole, but you can usually sell your reject sets in the TB Classifieds, especially if you just try them for a day or two and then replace them.
I've been trying Ernie Ball 2806 group 3 flatwound .45, which proved dull, hard to be made expressive, and with an obtrusive steel feel both to touch and sound.
Then I tried Thomastik-Infield Jazz Flat Wound Set JF344, which are great and I am happy every time I play them. They are .043 - .100, very easy to play, and somehow even very sensitive to right hand techniques. I have them for about a year on my P and they play the same all the time. I believe what others say is true: 'Put them on and forget.'
Then I tried Thomastik-Infield Jazz Flat Wound Set JF344, which are great and I am happy every time I play them. They are .043 - .100, very easy to play, and somehow even very sensitive to right hand techniques. I have them for about a year on my P and they play the same all the time. I believe what others say is true: 'Put them on and forget.'
A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, I walked into E.U.Wurlitzers on Mass Ave and Newbury Street, and said “My Rotosounds are digging trenches in my fretless neck, what do you suggest?” The man handed me a set of GHS Precision Flats, 45-105. I’ve tried others but they’re all I’ll use now. Once you find a set you like, buy two more sets. One for the next bass you buy, and one to put on your current bass when you leave it to your grandchildren.
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Is 45-100 the lightest set available? For the first time, I wouldn't mind a 40-95 set to be honest.
Yes, 45-60-80-100 is the light set of Fender 9050 flats. Not as stiff and tense as the D'A Chromes 45-65-80-100, though.
No, flats are much smoother in surface feel because of the flat ribbon wire used for the outer cover. Nothing like SS rounds. One thing about flats, D'A Chromes and Fender 9050s in particular, is they can feel sticky when new because of the residue of the polishing compound left on them from the factory. I would suggest you clean them with an isopropyl alcohol wipe BEFORE INSTALLATION to get rid of the stickiness.
GHS Pressurewounds are what's on all three of my basses right now, including my Jazz. They eventually eliminated the need for flats for me. I've been using them regularly for the last seven years and haven't found them sticky at all. I use the 40-96 set for EADG and the 44-106 set for DGCF.
