Flatwounds for the Epiphone Jack Casady

Well, I have 2 Casadys - one set up with Dean Markley Blue Steels ML - these are what Jack prefers (in fact he put them on & set up this bass himself)

The other has the TI Jazz Flats, which I think are ideal!

I tried D'Addario Chromes, Pyramid Gold & laBella Deep Talkin'tapewounds, all of which I like on other basses, but the Casady with the TIs is unbeatable, IMHO.

(BTW,Make sure the varitone is set to "50")

 

fingerstyle only.

the Markleys are rounds.

 

At the risk of stating the obvious, be sure to try different hand positions when plucking stings (bridge, over pickups, over fretboard, etc.). TI Flats respond nicer (more variety) than the Elixir strings I was using in this regard. TI Flats actually have pretty-good "high-end response" for flats, BTW.

As for other strings, a recent post suggested that SIT makes a flatwound with more punch/high-end. The same post said SIT makes regular flatwounds, so I guess SIT makes more than 1 kind of flatwound. I like juststrings.com, BTW, for both buying strings, and to see what is offered by various manufacturers. D'Addario "Chromes" also have more high-end, but they're really "ground-wounds", not true flat-wounds.

 

Depending on how picky you are regarding action on your neck (specifically the truss-rod adjustment), you may care to note the "tension" in the flat-wounds you put on. Some flat-wounds are said to have very high tension, which can damage a neck not designed for flat-wounds, or at least require a truss-rod adjustment.

For reference, TI Jazz Flats (which you seem to have now) have very low tension (less than most round-wounds, even!).

 

I just spotted this thread.

Peter, within three days of getting my Jackbass, I put on a set of Rotosound 77 flats.

These strings compliment the Casady bass so well, because they cater to its acoustic-type vibe, and are pretty bright for a flat string. They were never boomey IMHO, and while they'll never equal the sustain of a roundwound, they weren't too dissimilar if you dug in a bit.

I think of them as one of the brighter flatwound strings you can buy before moving into some of the darker sounding roundwounds. Some say they have high tension, and maybe they do, but, they never did anything to my bass, and I liked the way they felt.

One string I DO NOT recommend are the LaBella 1954 James Jamerson set, at least not for a Jackbass. I put a set on just experimenting; I could feel the extra tension as soon as I touched the strings - TOO MUCH! They also sounded thuddy to me, and didn't have nearly as much treble as the Rotos. They might work on a P-bass, but, not on a Casady. I had them on about 3 days, then bought another set of 77s.

After the 77s, I tried D'Addario slowounds, which I liked, until I tried a set of Dean Markley Blue Steels. I love these strings.

If I decide to go back to flats, it'll most likely be the Roto 77s. I didn't like the Fender flats that came on my MIM jazz either; too dull sounding.

I haven't tried any other flats, so I can't comment on them, but, I think you'll at least like the Rotos, if not love 'em.

Let us know if you try them. Good Luck.

Mike

 

This is yet another thread where Mike makes a winning suggetion on strings for the JC bass... I tried the Blue Steels on his recommendation and haven't looked back since! Thanks Mike!

-robert

 

Peter, glad I could be of help. Those are my favorite flats so far; I wouldn't recommend anything I really didn't like. They compliment the Jackbass' sound perfectly, don't they?

Robert, I'm glad you liked the Blue Steels, but, I must give credit where credit is due. If it wasn't for Boogiebass first telling me about them, and that these are the strings Jack uses on his Casady, a lot fewer of us would know about "The Blues."

So, three cheers for Boogiebass. Because of him, I have Blues on three of my five basses!

In the end, what's the real purpose of this site, other than to Talkbass and exchange info.

VIVA TALKBASS!!!

Mike