Ghs: BRITE FLATS vs PRESSUREWOUNDS

[michael_t]

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.

I have to admit I might have overreacted a bit when I decided to give up on the BFs just like that two nights ago. But it's just part of my extremely fussy nature about a lot of things in general. I'm often bothered by the tiniest little details most people simply overlook or wouldn't even notice.

 

[TomB]

I have to admit I might have overreacted a bit when I decided to give up on the BFs just like that two nights ago. But it's just part of my extremely fussy nature about a lot of things in general. I'm often bothered by the tiniest little details most people simply overlook or wouldn't even notice.

…which very often works to our collective benefit!

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Pressurewounds are without a doubt the smoothest 'RW type' ive tried and i have tried at least many dozens of rounds on other basses.

But, here's the clincher, the bass is a 65 Epiphone Newport short scale with lone 'mudbucker' at the neck....going from flats to PW on this bass is night and day, very nice piano tone that is very well balanced....tension is stiff enough i got the action super low, no crazy 'string flop' or 'excessive clank' unless i want some clank and brightness.

I also use a foam mute which i have carefully cut down to just barely touch the strings and at that point i am almost in flat territory, win win!

I also use my index plucking finger with the fleshy part but also the fingernail grown out just enough to grab the string...its awesome how versatile these PW are.

As for smoothness, i am used to GHS Precision flats and Fender 9050 flats on other basses and of course the PW are a bit 'rough' by comparison but i have quickly adjusted to 'the feel' of a string that has more versatility on this particular bass (lone neck mudbucker)...the Newport is after all a slab Honduras mahogany body and Brazilian RW board and it seems brighter than Gibson EB0's i have played over the years....tons of sustain even with a slight foam mute......whatever perceived 'roughness' going from flats to PW is negligible...i quickly adjusted...now flats feel almost 'too smooth' lol, something i never thought would occur.

I am a PW believer and i now see why my bud who collects basses for 45+ years has them on all of his basses....doesnt mean i may not try something else! Not even remotely sure what i would try next! Maybe Brite flats lol!

 

[trothwell]

I just installed the curious "medium-light" set of Brite Flats, with a higher overall tension than the "medium" set. I was wanting something a little thicker on the G and D strings, but I thought the 108 E string on the medium set was just too much.

On the whole, the set doesn't feel odd, like I thought it might. The extra-thick G doesn't seem off at all. I do perceive that it takes more pressure on the fretting hand to press the strings down, but some of that may be alleviated with a setup adjustment.

 

[michael_t]

I just installed the curious "medium-light" set of Brite Flats, with a higher overall tension than the "medium" set. I was wanting something a little thicker on the G and D strings, but I thought the 108 E string on the medium set was just too much.

ML vs. M... The actual difference in tension figures between the two sets is not quite as drastic as I had suspected.

Brite Flats ML3075:

G 052 - 52.8 lbs.
D 065 - 47.9
A 084 - 49.5
E 103 - 42.0 (Total 192.2)

Brite Flats M3075:

G 049 - 42.8 lbs.
D 062 - 44.0
A 084 - 49.5
E 108 - 44.8 (Total 181.1)

 

[trothwell]

ML vs. M... The actual difference in tension figures between the two sets is not quite as drastic as I had suspected.

Brite Flats ML3075:

G 052 - 52.8 lbs.
D 065 - 47.9
A 084 - 49.5
E 103 - 42.0 (Total 192.2)

Brite Flats M3075:

G 049 - 42.8 lbs.
D 062 - 44.0
A 084 - 49.5
E 108 - 44.8 (Total 181.1)

No, not a big difference, but I think it's unusual (unique, even?) that the "medium light" set has more tension than the "medium" set. And the ML set appears, especially between the G and E strings, unbalanced, but I don't notice it feeling strange.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

I have medium scale brite flats on a SWB-1 and couldn’t be happier. I can get a 60s flatwound sound or turn up the tone for more ‘crunch’. Tension feels great; not floppy but certainly not too tight on this setup. FWIW.

How's the longevity of the Brite Flats... as far as how long they keep a fresh tone/sound? Thanks!

 

[Jazz77m]

How's the longevity of the Brite Flats... as far as how long they keep a fresh tone/sound? Thanks!

Sorry for the very late reply. I can't answer your question properly, had some issues and had to sell the bass. I believe you can find at least a few posts by Jon Moody of GHS about the Brite Flats and others. Cheers.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Sorry for the very late reply. I can't answer your question properly, had some issues and had to sell the bass. I believe you can find at least a few posts by Jon Moody of GHS about the Brite Flats and others. Cheers.

No problem. I'm really liking the EB Cobalt Flats. Slapped some on my Fender J and they sound awesome!
I also have them on 2 of my other basses. Very pleased.

 

[onda'bass]

A long time DR hater, but hi-beams and lo riders were the targets. Fast forward a few years, I am looking for something different and thought I'd revisit DR strings. It was between sunbeams & Pure Blues, I went PB and man they fell and sound nice, much different than my usual XL's. The jury is still out as my history told me, they go dead fast & most have broken on me. I never break strings. I will try sunbeams next but....so far so good

 

[Deleted member 271037]

How's the longevity of the Brite Flats... as far as how long they keep a fresh tone/sound? Thanks!

They don't. They go completely dead (and not in a good way) quite fast and they're also very stiff and unresponsive IMO. Some people like them but I think they're in a very small minority. Brite Flats may have some historic interest as the original stock strings on Stingrays but I honestly can't think of any long scale strings I like less.

I'm not a huge fan of the Pressurewounds either to be honest. They're too stiff for my personal taste. I like a more supple feel with more "bounce". They're also a bit too clacky in the upper mids for my taste, especially with mid forward basses like P-basses. But in this case I think it's ME that's in the minority. Lots of people seem to love GHS Pressurewounds. At least here on talkbass. In real life I have yet to meet a single bass player that uses them (and I work at a guitar workshop so I meet quite a few...). But I'm in Europe so I suspect a lack of availability may explain this. Apparently GHS Pressurewounds got into trouble with some EU regulations regarding high nickel content or something like that. Which seems kinda strange as it doesn't seem to affect the pure nickel Balanced Nickels???

Luckily GHS have a great selection of very different types of strings for every player's taste/playing style. I love their Balanced Nickels and also like the Precision Flats whenever I need THAT kind of vibe. I also like rocking at set of good old Boomers from time to time. But GHS Brite Flats... no way, they're horrible IMO.

 

[roller]

Resurrecting an old thread...

Anyone know what color silks GHS Brite Flats had when they were sold in the black packaging with the yellow GHS logo (see below)?

When I bought an old, used Fender P-Bass years ago, the seller included a set of these in the original packaging and envelope. I never opened them until today and found black-ish color strings with red/dark orange silks (also see below).

I see the current Brite Flats have blue silks.

Thanks for any info!

 

[donk]

those are tapewound , not brite flats brite flats were grey / light blue silks if I recall

 

[michael_t]

Anyone know what color silks GHS Brite Flats had when they were sold in the black packaging with the yellow GHS logo (see below)?

When I bought an old, used Fender P-Bass years ago, the seller included a set of these in the original packaging and envelope. I never opened them until today and found black-ish color strings with red/dark orange silks (also see below).

I see the current Brite Flats have blue silks.

Thanks for any info!

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The black strings with the red silk you found in that package are NOT the Brite Flats. Obviously, the content of the package had been swapped at some point. They look like the GHS Tapewounds, which do come with red silk.

As far as I know, the Brite Flats have always had blue silk on them.

 

[michael_t]

those are tapewound , not brite flats brite flats were grey / light blue silks if I recall

The Brite Flats "medium scale" and "short scale" sets USED TO come with light blue silk, while the "long scale" set came with dark blue silk.

Now they all come with dark blue silk.

 

[roller]

Thanks so much for the quick reply. You've been quite helpful lately and I appreciate it.

Btw, the GHS Balanced Nickels I recently picked up are KILLER. I didn't expect to enjoy them as much as I am!

The black strings with the red silk you found in that package are NOT the Brite Flats. Obviously, the content of the package had been swapped at some point. They look like the GHS Tapewounds, which do come with red silk.

As far as I know, the Brite Flats have always had blue silk on them.

 

[Jon Moody]

Anyone know what color silks GHS Brite Flats had when they were sold in the black packaging with the yellow GHS logo (see below)?

We've been using that packaging up until a handful of years ago, when I moved it over to the current design.

I did do a bit of digging, and I saw that the silk color was changed to Dark Blue around 1990, but there's no info in regard to what the silk was changed from. There might be someone around here that remembers, but I'm not confident.

 

[roller]

Thanks so much, Jon!

Regardless of the silks, it doesn't sound like the Brite Flats should be black/dark in color. I agree with michael_t -- someone who previously owned the Precision I purchased must have placed some other used string in the Brite Flats packaging that was left in the case.

Btw, Jon -- nice work to you and your teammates on the Balanced Nickels. They're my new favorite string!

We've been using that packaging up until a handful of years ago, when I moved it over to the current design.

I did do a bit of digging, and I saw that the silk color was changed to Dark Blue around 1990, but there's no info in regard to what the silk was changed from. There might be someone around here that remembers, but I'm not confident.

 

[Jon Moody]

Regardless of the silks, it doesn't sound like the Brite Flats should be black/dark in color. I agree with michael_t -- someone who previously owned the Precision I purchased must have placed some other used string in the Brite Flats packaging that was left in the case.

Oh absolutely. When I would change strings, I used to put the used set in the packaging of the newer set and then turn the label inside out so I could write what it was, date they were swapped, etc.. So no surprise on this discovery at all.

Btw, Jon -- nice work to you and your teammates on the Balanced Nickels. They're my new favorite string!

Thanks, I appreciate that!

 

[michael_t]

I just wanted to awaken this thread from its peaceful slumber so I can share what happened last night...

My Jazz bass has been wearing the PW 40-96 for the last 8 mths, but now that I have two Yamaha 5'ers all dressed nicely with GHS Pressurewounds/Ken Smith Compressors, I decided I wanted something a little different in tonal flavor for my J. It just so happened I had a brand new set of Brite Flats (45-98) in my personal stash, so I decided to give them another shot. It's worth noting this is my fourth time trying them after the last three trials (one on J and two on P) didn't work out too well.

What really surprised and even shocked me was how they FELT under my fingers. Almost as smooth as ordinary flatwound, there was only a hint of the stickiness associated with these "half-rounds/groundwound" I've complained so much about in the past, including in my earlier posts in this thread. This is not what I had expected. What happened? No idea! I'm absolutely stunned how good these feel now and how great they SOUND on this bass! A different flavor from the PW, mind you, but still just as scrumptious. I think I'll stick with them for a while now.

Wow, talk about a pleasant surprise and a complete change in perspective!