Flatwounds for my backup Fender Player Jazz

[michael_t]

I also vote for D'Addario Light Gauge Chromes, 45-100 (ECB 81). I started using them several years ago and never looked back. Your fingers will love them.

My fingers hated the stiffness of the 45G and the 65D in that set. Switched to ECB84 (40-60-80-100) for better balance, but hated the twangy 40G.

Fender 9050L is what made my fingers and my ears happier.

 

[Hounddog409]

Fender is a great entry level flatwound string. Daddario as well although go for the 40-95 gauge for better tension than the 40-100 set that you see regularly stocked at your local Music Store.

Entry level?

 

[mambo4]

you can try the superb TI JF344 (43-100).

+1 to TI Jazz. All I ever use for flats on a P or J.
Might be Bad for heavy pluckers though.
They are definitely "turn up and pluck lightly" strings. IMHO.
Expensive but I have yet to throw out a set.

 

[michael_t]

Entry level?

Fender 9050s = Good middle-of-the-road, all-purpose and affordable flats for someone just entering into the world of flats for the first time.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

If you don't want stiff strings you definitely avoid D'Addario Chomes and Rotosound 77s. Probably GHS Precision Flats too unless you go for a lighter gauge set.

I love LaBella DTF 760FL and I've always perceived them as less stiff than the ones I've listed above but I see people complaing about their stiffness too. The same goes for Pyramid Golds (but I vastly prefer the short scale sets, the E-string can be a bit dark and muddy with long scale Golds on some basses).

For flexible flats the obvious choice would be Thomastik Jazz flats but they can be very hit or miss. Personally I love them but a lot of people find them too floppy and the tone is VERY different from old school flats. The mid focused tone can get a bit too much on some P-basses but I love them on J-basses.

My personal favourite flats for a Jazz Bass are Optima Chromes. They're not as stiff as Chromes or Rotos but I wouldn't call them flexible. Tonewise they're definitely old school but not as thumpy as GHS, LaBella, Pyramid.

 

[el murdoque]

The smoothest strings I ever played were the LaBella Deep Talkin Flats. That is, smooth under my fingertips.
The smoothest strings I ever played were the Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats. That is, smooth to my ears.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Chromes on a P, EB Cobalt Flats on a J.

 

[MIMike]

If you don't want stiff strings you definitely avoid D'Addario Chomes and Rotosound 77s. Probably GHS Precision Flats too unless you go for a lighter gauge set.

I agree with SFS 100% on the Roto 77’s (especially) and the Chromes. I probably made the mistake of not going with a lighter gauge set, but I put the Rotos on my Jazz and took them off in short order. Way too stiff and not the “flats” sound or feel I was looking for. I put Chromes on next and they were much better, but still fairly stiff. The bass still has the Chromes on it, but I have a set of LaBella DTFs that I will be putting on it shortly…unless I try these Fender’s that are being described as exactly what I’m looking for in a flat for a Jazz.

 

[Swipter]

First of all, thanks a lot to everyone for the answers and suggestions.

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.

The Fender 9050l are not stiff. I wouldn't go less than that. They play like butter.

 

[BlackWolf]

I’m overwhelmed by the support, thanks a lot everyone!

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.

Thanks for the tip, I didn’t think about this solution so I appreciate it.

After reading your message I decided to give Pressurewounds a second chance, to be honest I was wrong because they are not sticky as I said before, sorry for that. Definitely not bad at all, I'll give them some time and see whether to swap them for the Fender 9050L or not.

Thanks again for the answers, I wish everyone a good day/evening depending on where you live.

 

[markusd]

Pyramid Gold and never look back.

it has been a while since you posted this...
Do you have a sound file or video for an example of a Jazz Bass with Pyramid golds?

 

[Selim]

After reading your message I decided to give Pressurewounds a second chance, to be honest I was wrong because they are not sticky as I said before, sorry for that. Definitely not bad at all, I'll give them some time and see whether to swap them for the Fender 9050L or not.

Thanks again for the answers, I wish everyone a good day/evening depending on where you live.

After a month or two of regular play, you may find yourself not missing flats as much (or in your case, less desire to try flats).

Not that Pressurewounds sound or behave particularly like flats — I don’t think they do. But they can cover a lot of territory, including filling flat territory.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

I really really enjoy ghs precision flats on jazz basses. That vintage thump with not as much mud as labellas