I can’t address the Cobalt comparison, but PW’s do not have a smooth surface. ...smoother than the average round wound, for sure, but still closer to a round than a flat.
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My apologies, I meant smoother than a round wound. I understand there's not much comparison for feel vs flatwounds.
I guess I'm curious if the cobalts are about as harmonically complex as a non round wound can be or if PW have more.
Currently running the cobalt flats on my Bongo for heavier music. To me, they sound like a punchy, serviceably bright round wound, with a surface more akin to a ground wound than a flat. The B is noticeably gapped and looks more like a quarter round. I have PW on my Cutlass right now, and although the character is different, is put the amount of highs from each in the same general category.
“Harmonically rich”? Yeah, they arent one-dimensional at all IMO.
Quick story: I originally put the cobalts on my NS Omni. Loved the tone, but bowing didnt work with the winding gaps. Moved over to my Bongo and really dig them there. A bit of brand synergy im sure. Liked them so much I tried the Group Flats on the Omni and never looked back. The Groups dont get alot of talk around here, but if you like smoothness, they will have plenty of brightness and complexity for a lot of folks needs.
Quick story: I originally put the cobalts on my NS Omni. Loved the tone, but bowing didnt work with the winding gaps. Moved over to my Bongo and really dig them there. A bit of brand synergy im sure. Liked them so much I tried the Group Flats on the Omni and never looked back. The Groups dont get alot of talk around here, but if you like smoothness, they will have plenty of brightness and complexity for a lot of folks needs.
Came here to rant a little about Brite Flats. They sound good (maybe even great), but they are rough and sticky as heck. Sliding around on a fretless is really scratchy, much more so than roundwounds.
I've already wiped them down with alcohol. How much should I expect them to smooth out over time, by getting gummed up with finger oils and whatnot? Has anyone tried using steel wool to smooth them, or maybe even waxing them?
I've already wiped them down with alcohol. How much should I expect them to smooth out over time, by getting gummed up with finger oils and whatnot? Has anyone tried using steel wool to smooth them, or maybe even waxing them?
Here's a thread where people are discussing how to deal with half-rounds and their stickiness:
I'm getting tired of it...
You could have ended your review with a poetic flourish by rotating the first and last strings of the brite flats 90 degrees counterclockwise, so they would have spelled out the word “poop” in the picture.
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Those Brite Flats are long gone, so I had to do my "poetic flourish" with Sadowsky Blue Label SS Rounds, which happen to have the same dark blue silk.
Just following up on my post from last July...
Someone wisely said, "The only constant thing in life is change." I think it's talking about me constantly changing my mind about my string choices.
I tried the Brite Flats on my P-bass last summer, only to take them off after only 3 wks because I thought their tonal character was a little too "flatwound" for what I needed at the time. So, I ended up putting the Pressurewounds back on it for the "roundwound" tone I thought I needed.
Just recently, I happened to come across with a live recording of a church service where I played my P-bass with the Brite Flats, and was very pleasantly surprised at how good my bass actually sounded in the mix. Full-bodied low-mid punch with enough clarity in the mids to hold a strong presence in the mix. A classic P-bass tone as I like it!
Meanwhile, I've been working on learning bass lines off of a bunch of classic tunes from the 70's, on which the predominant sound is the P-bass with flats. And the Round Core Boomers that are on my P-bass right now aren't providing the same vibe.
Well... there is only one thing to do... Order another set of BFs to put on my P! Hopefully they'll be here by mid-May.
The PWs will remain my go-to for my main bass (Yamaha) and my J-bass.
So, in my case, instead of "BF vs. PW" (title of this thread), it will be "BF & PW", which I will call my "Nickel-Iron Duo".
Day two with the new BFs...
Going from the Round Core Boomers 40-95 to these BFs, the setup took all but 10 mins as all I had to do was to adjust the intonation on E and G. That's it! A thorough alcohol wipe-down before installation took care of 80% of the initial stickiness associated with half-rounds. Now it's just a matter of playing them in.
What I like about these half-rounds is they don't have the quirkiness of some flats, where they start out tonally unbalanced when new (as in the "dead E syndrome") and take weeks, even months, to even out; instead, they're ready for action right out of the gate nicely balanced both in tone and feel. I'm sure they will mellow out somewhat as they break in, but I expect all four strings to age at the same rate.
As much as I love the Pressurewounds on my Yamaha and on my Jazz, I've never been 100% convinced they're the right thing for my P bass. The inherent character of the bass not quite matching the tonal character of the string, almost like a "personality conflict", if that makes any sense...
These BFs, on the other hand, seem to enhance the P's character with a full-bodied low-mid punch with smoother (than PWs) mids, giving it a slightly retro flavor. And this is a good thing in my book as my musical tastes are deeply rooted in the music from the 70's.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'll be able to test them in a love band setting till sometime in June. So, that's all for now...
Going from the Round Core Boomers 40-95 to these BFs, the setup took all but 10 mins as all I had to do was to adjust the intonation on E and G. That's it! A thorough alcohol wipe-down before installation took care of 80% of the initial stickiness associated with half-rounds. Now it's just a matter of playing them in.
What I like about these half-rounds is they don't have the quirkiness of some flats, where they start out tonally unbalanced when new (as in the "dead E syndrome") and take weeks, even months, to even out; instead, they're ready for action right out of the gate nicely balanced both in tone and feel. I'm sure they will mellow out somewhat as they break in, but I expect all four strings to age at the same rate.
As much as I love the Pressurewounds on my Yamaha and on my Jazz, I've never been 100% convinced they're the right thing for my P bass. The inherent character of the bass not quite matching the tonal character of the string, almost like a "personality conflict", if that makes any sense...
These BFs, on the other hand, seem to enhance the P's character with a full-bodied low-mid punch with smoother (than PWs) mids, giving it a slightly retro flavor. And this is a good thing in my book as my musical tastes are deeply rooted in the music from the 70's.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'll be able to test them in a love band setting till sometime in June. So, that's all for now...
I have a guess, but for those who have used both (@michael_t perhaps?), how is the flexibility between the light set of Pressurewounds and the light set of Brite Flats?
I would say the BFs are slightly stiffer in feel than the PWs.
Of course, the definition of my "slightly" could be slightly different from your "slightly".
Of course, the definition of my "slightly" could be slightly different from your "slightly".
I pulled out my P bass with BFs this morning after having spent the last week playing my Yamaha with PWs. And you know something... There is a fairly noticeable difference in stiffness between the light BFs and the light PWs after all. I would say it's more than just "slightly".
Just an update...
I was supposed to be able put the Brite Flats on my P bass to the test in a live band setting this weekend for the first time since I installed them 7 weeks ago. Unfortunately, that won't happen due to the sudden and unexpected turn of events last night. I replaced them with a brand new set of Pressurewounds!
Why? As I was preparing for the weekend, I was rudely greeted by the same unpleasant sticky feel that had turn me off to these half-rounds in the first place. The ugly monster was back with a vengeance! No point in continuing with them.
So, back to my tried-and-true I go...
I've never really been bothered by... or maybe even never really noticed... the infamous stickiness. Still enjoying Brite Flats on my fretless Jazz Bass, with no plans to change to different strings there.
