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flatwounds with better cut @ midrange than Thomastik for 70s raw soul?

W

wooolf

Guest
Oct 17, 2011
10
0
Estonia, Tallinn
#1
So I feel I´m a little short cutting-wise through the band on midrange and upper end with current setup - Fender jazz bass 4 string with Thomastik-infeld jazz flats.

They feel great, light tension and silky smooth, sound also great most of the time, but when playing 70s soul music fast and pointy bass lines like, for example, Kocky "Remone" or Sonya Spence "Let Love flow On" and things in that nature - they are sounding a bit too soft and smooth and warm instead of cutting through a little sharper/edgier and maybe even a bit thinner or singier on mid and upper range (low range is great, exactly what I need)...

Do you have any ideas guys, how to upgrade the cuttiness - without losing some of this warmness Thomastik has and without going to sound metallic?

Thought about trying La Bellas gold flats, what do you guys think or suggest?
 
#2
you need roundwounds. TI jazz flats are the most non-flat like sounding. they have heavy mids and treble, most flats have heavy bass/mids and very light treble. if you want mids/high mids and treble you need rounds.

to keep it warm and not metallic and clanky try nickel roundwounds. they will have more tame highs.
 
#4
I went from TIs to Cobalt flats and I’m very, very happy. The lightest Cobalts are as slinky as TIs, and have a lot more attack and really bridge a gap between rounds and flats. They aren’t clanky or crazy bright sounding strings either, which is nice.

The downside is they feel like sandpaper for several weeks until they’re good and played. It’s awful.

* Also, I still have a lot of love for TIs. They are wonderful strings.
 
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#6
Flat wound strings are often regarded as thumpy low tone. But, they do have a lot of dynamics that are not given credit for. They can produce a variety of tone when attacked in various positions with varying degrees of attack. They even slap well. When adjustments to the bass and/or amp are made, flats can be very dynamic. Thus, it all depends on the style and tone you seek. Not all flats work well on any given bass. Some flats will not only feel different, but sound very different also. And, adjustments to attack and amps will be needed for the preferred sound.
 
#10
If the TIJF's are not middy enough for you, no other flats will do it for you. Certainly not the La Bella Gold Flats.

GHS Pressurewounds, as suggested above, would be a good choice. So are the GHS Balanced Nickels (pure nickel on round core), which are warmer and sweeter than the Pressurewounds but with excellent focus and definition.

Incidentally, I will be trying out the GHS Brite Flats (nickel-iron groundwound) on my Fender Jazz next month for something flatwound-ish but with a bit of an edge and bite. Maybe I should try playing some 70s raw soul with them. ;)
 
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#13
I’ll be the contarian here and say that while I agree that TI flats are soft sounding, very sweet...and have lots of mids, they dont have the spike of upper mids that (gasp!) Labella 760FL’s have. Yeah the Labs are thick and funky, but they also stick out in the mix,at the right points. So I will say that they are fantastic at providing the best foundation possible, while also poking out just enough for those runs. Early 70’s music was born and raised with P basses, Jazz basses and flatwounds. Try the 760FL and your audience will love it.
 
#16
michael_t said:
How exactly are KS Compressors better than GHS Pressurewounds, considering they're both made by GHS with fairly minor spec differences
Click to expand...

You sure about that? Here did you find that information? I've tried the GHS PWs twice and found them duller with an almost griity/sticky feel and not great for slap/snap. To me Smiths sound more alive and feel better under my fingers - maybe it's the fairly minor spec difference...
 
#17
Ampig said:
You sure about that? Here did you find that information? I've tried the GHS PWs twice and found them duller with an almost griity/sticky feel and not great for slap/snap. To me Smiths sound more alive and feel better under my fingers - maybe it's the fairly minor spec difference...
Click to expand...

Not trying to be argumentative about your claim that the Compressors are better than the Pressurewounds in your experience; I'm just trying to find out if there are things about the KS that I'm not aware of that actually make them better. That's all... ;)
 

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