I get the tone I like with basic strings....EB Slinky nickel rounds.
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I get the tone I like with basic strings....EB Slinky nickel rounds.
I have them on my Toby and even with the squeaks I kinda like them, but they might be too similar to the rounds I have now on my K. I'm done with the modern sproingyness so prevalent today and want more meaty thud, what tones do you go for?
Somewhere between tone like Faith No More - What A Day, Iron Maiden - Innocent Exile and INXS - Original Sin. Can find them all on Youtube. I call it "modern, punchy and slightly overdriven without harsh treble"
I have Chromes on mine and they're the strings that finally made me really satisfied with my L-2500. The bass is made to be pretty aggressive and meaty sounding, no secret there, and I think it does sound best with some trebly bite to it. But I also found that setting it to where I think the tone sounds best also gave me an awful lot of string noise I didn't want from it. So I decided to try a brighter sounding flat to see if I could find that nirvana state of having enough brightness but without the harshness and string noise and I think I found it. I unfortunately only got to play it with the Chromes in a band setting a couple of times before we fizzled out, but it sounded fantastic, even when we had our occasional third guitar player (we played southern rock, so lots of Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and Outlaws).
I find that the flats help me keep the treble level up where I think the bass sounds best but without pushing it overboard. Then I can adjust the bass to fit the song/setting. FWIW, my favorite switch setting is bridge/serial/passive, which is one of its deeper and least aggressive settings, so that may also help explain why I like the treble up higher (3/4 to full) and usually keep the bass around 1/2. But I found what I think works well on the bass and I've been pretty happy with it since putting the Chromes on it.
If you want even less brightness, you can go the other direction and try something like Labella Deep Talkin' Flats. I haven't put them on my L-2500 yet, but I would like to give them a try sometime.
I've got DR Sunbeams on my '89 L2k and DR Fatbeams on my '00 L2k. Had some Fender 9050 flats on the '00 for a while, and they sounded great, but I moved them onto my LB-100. Wouldn't hesitate to do 9050s or Chromes on a L2k again.
What gauge chromes did you go with?
I ask because I have used both the heavy and the light, found I like the light better. More articulate
D'Adarrio calls them their Regular Lights: Invalid Link Removed.
Nickel Lo Riders have been my favorite strings for a while and have sounded *great* on every bass I tried them on, including on my L-2500 before I put the Chromes on it. But after having Chromes on my Precision V for several years and loving them, and now loving them on my L-2500 for the past year+, they may be giving Lo Riders some competition. My #1 bass is my Stingray and I'm thinking about trying Chromes on that one the next time I replace the strings.
Nickel Lo Riders have been my favorite strings for a while and have sounded *great* on every bass I tried them on, including on my L-2500 before I put the Chromes on it. But after having Chromes on my Precision V for several years and loving them, and now loving them on my L-2500 for the past year+, they may be giving Lo Riders some competition. My #1 bass is my Stingray and I'm thinking about trying Chromes on that one the next time I replace the strings.
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You're welcome! I've used it on a bunch of different sessions, but I don't have published clips of everything and don't generally feel comfortable posting clients' un-released material.
Here's another demo I did with a Phil Jones D400/C4. It's just noodling. Again, I *THINK* it was the bridge pickup in parallel, with rounds (I think Cobalts). That tends to be my go-to sound for that bass. I've since moved on to Trickfish BH1k and SM110/112 cabs, which are crisper up top, but you can hear the girth of the PJB.
Oh, I almost completely forgot about this, somehow! A performance for the New Mexico Jazz Workshop with my trio. Can't remember the strings, but definitely bridge/Parallel. It's so HUGE that it's kind of all that I need with that bass.
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Re: Strings for my L2500
EB Slinky's, Cobalts, or D'Addario NYXL for rounds, TI Jazz Flats for flats.
EB Slinky's, Cobalts, or D'Addario NYXL for rounds, TI Jazz Flats for flats.
I really didn't like the stock D'adarrio strings my L2K came with so I switched over to GHS Pressurewounds and have been very happy with them. They start out as bright as any other round wound but mellow out very well. Basically as advertised, the meatiness of flats while retaining some of that round wound top end. If you ever want to try a middle ground, I'd recommend them for sure.
those and what da 'geek listed are on my wish list, and some LaBella tapes, but I could buy another bass for the cost of such adventures... Slinky flats may be available locally, that might be a good starting point.
All this talk about G&L's is making wanna get mine out again. I know it's sacralige but ever since I picked up my Warwick SS2 I haven't touched any of my other basses. I still have mucho love for my L2500's.
At least you're cheating on them with something worthy
First of all, try DR PURE BLUES. Clear, crisp mids and highs. Thunderous lows. Lovely sound overall. Flats are great for thump, if that's what you want. If not, ditch the flats because IMO, no matter how versatile the flats, it won't ever sound like a roundwound/core. Try it!
I'll give them a shot, thanx, if they don't suit the K they'll work on something... hopefully. every one of my basses are in need of string perfection, my K might be the hardest to get right, $500 should suss it all out!
I wish Leo could chime in here!
I'm not Leo, but I'll chime in anyway.
I've noticed a few of your posts regarding your experience with the Tookay.
It's unfortunate that you're not getting the tone out of it that you want.
You shouldn't have to 0-out all the controls to get one "decent" tone.
Others have mentioned strings, but no one has asked about set-up/pickup height.
As has been stated numerous times, the MFDs are pretty hot. If you have them set at a similar height as you would on a P-bass, the tone is going to be pretty wooly. Have you tried lowering the pickups at all? I've read some posts of other having a similar experience as yours, then lowering the pickups quite a bit and opening up the tone of the bass for them. If you haven't tried this yet, give it a go and see if this changes your mind on the Tookay. If you have, then the stock MFDs may not be for you, and there's nothing wrong with that.
