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Ghs: BRITE FLATS vs PRESSUREWOUNDS

#161
Day 9 with the new Brite Flats on my P-bass, and I'm very happy with the way they're working out so far.

Here's something I've posted in another thread last night...

When I tried the BFs on my J-bass for the second time last year, after they got played in a little, they kind of reminded me of the Fender 9050 flats, except the mids on the BFs are a bit smoother with less "grind".

As these new ones on the P-bass are starting to get nicely played in, I'm reminded of the old Black Label Sadowsky flats I once tried on this same bass. They were probably the best flats I tried the way they sat in the band mix with a rich midrange character for added clarity and articulation.

The senior sound tech at my church happens to be a hobbyist bass player himself, so he's quite particular about how the bass sounds in a band mix. And when I was playing the Fender 9050s on my J and the Black Sads on my P at two different times, he commented on their tones with the same description - "full, punchy and clear". Curiously enough, no such comments from him when I was using either La Bella flats or GHS Precision Flats on my P.

I'll have a chance to put these BFs to the test in a live band setting this weekend. Let's see what he'll have to say about them...
 
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#162
michael_t said:
Day 9 with the new Brite Flats on my P-bass, and I'm very happy with the way they're working out so far.

Here's something I've posted in another thread last night...

When I tried the BFs on my J-bass for the second time last year, after they got played in a little, they kind of reminded me of the Fender 9050 flats, except the mids on the BFs are a bit smoother with less "grind".

As these new ones on the P-bass are starting to get nicely played in, I'm reminded of the old Black Label Sadowsky flats I once tried on this same bass. They were probably the best flats I tried the way they sat in the band mix with a rich midrange character for added clarity and articulation.

The senior sound tech at my church happens to be a hobbyist bass player himself, so he's quite particular about how the bass sounds in a band mix. And when I was playing the Fender 9050s on my J and the Black Sads on my P at two different times, he commented on their tones with the same description - "full, punchy and clear". Curiously enough, no such comments from him when I was using either La Bella flats or GHS Precision Flats on my P.

I'll have a chance to put these BFs to the test in a live band setting this weekend. Let's see what he'll have to say about them...
Click to expand...
Cool! BTW, I took the Slick-Round (same as BF) B-string back off my P5 and put the Labella back on to rejoin its brethren. It just sounds right! But I might try BF’s on my other 5 some day. How’s the BF B-string? ...any experience?
 
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#165
michael_t said:
No experience with the BF low B as I've only tried the light 4-string set (45-98). If I were ever to try them on a 5-string, I would use the same 4-string set with the 129B instead of the factory 5-string set (49-62-84-108-129), which are a bit too heavy for me.
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Thx for the info. You have 129 in there twice. Is there another gauge available?
 
#168
TomB said:
I’m not sure I could tell 129 from 130, but I can sure tell 38 from 36.5. Thx!
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They use two numbers, 129 and 130, mainly for inventory tracking purposes to distinguish between the two winding lengths. It's safe to assume they're actually the same string with two different lengths.

They used to do that with the old Progressives as well. 125/126 & 130/131 for low B's. Not four different gauges, but two gauges of two different winding lengths (36.5"/38") for each size.
 
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#169
michael_t said:
Day 9 with the new Brite Flats on my P-bass, and I'm very happy with the way they're working out so far.

Here's something I've posted in another thread last night...

When I tried the BFs on my J-bass for the second time last year, after they got played in a little, they kind of reminded me of the Fender 9050 flats, except the mids on the BFs are a bit smoother with less "grind".

As these new ones on the P-bass are starting to get nicely played in, I'm reminded of the old Black Label Sadowsky flats I once tried on this same bass. They were probably the best flats I tried the way they sat in the band mix with a rich midrange character for added clarity and articulation.

The senior sound tech at my church happens to be a hobbyist bass player himself, so he's quite particular about how the bass sounds in a band mix. And when I was playing the Fender 9050s on my J and the Black Sads on my P at two different times, he commented on their tones with the same description - "full, punchy and clear". Curiously enough, no such comments from him when I was using either La Bella flats or GHS Precision Flats on my P.

I'll have a chance to put these BFs to the test in a live band setting this weekend. Let's see what he'll have to say about them...
Click to expand...
Really looking forward to hearing how that goes @michael_t.
I like the look of the BF lights on the GHS tension chart as the numbers show they are a very well balanced set (totally get it's only a guide, though a very accurate guide ime).
The BF have popped up on my radar for years and it's still a surprise to me that I haven't yet tried them. I think I might be ready for them.
I only play a P bass these days and mostly only record at home fwiw..
Keep us posted!
 
#170
miles'tone said:
I like the look of the BF lights on the GHS tension chart as the numbers show they are a very well balanced set (totally get it's only a guide, though a very accurate guide ime).
Click to expand...

The numbers don't lie; they're not only nicely balanced in tension across all four strings, but balanced in tone as well, unlike some of the "real" flats that start out sounding unbalanced and take months to even out.

After two weeks of playing them in, I finally get to put them to the test with a live band tomorrow, and then again on Tuesday. So we'll see how that goes...
 
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#171
michael_t said:
The senior sound tech at my church happens to be a hobbyist bass player himself, so he's quite particular about how the bass sounds in a band mix. And when I was playing the Fender 9050s on my J and the Black Sads on my P at two different times, he commented on their tones with the same description - "full, punchy and clear". Curiously enough, no such comments from him when I was using either La Bella flats or GHS Precision Flats on my P.

I'll have a chance to put these BFs to the test in a live band setting this weekend. Let's see what he'll have to say about them...
Click to expand...

Two outings with the Brite Flats on my P...

I did get a comment out of my sound tech I was talking about, who thought my bass sounded "nice and full with some nice punch and clarity". He told me he did have to boost the hi-mid a tiny bit at around 1100 Hz for added clarity, but otherwise it sounded "stellar" (his word) and sat in the mix very well overall. I've known this guy for 12 yrs now and I trust his keen ears as a sound tech.
 
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#172
michael_t said:
After two weeks of playing them in, I finally get to put them to the test with a live band tomorrow, and then again on Tuesday. So we'll see how that goes...
Click to expand...

Here's my final assessment (so soon?) on the Brite Flats... (I realize I should stick with them a bit longer for a proper long-term evaluation, but I'm too itchy to get on with my next "experiment".)

These are "HALF-rounds" only in the way they're constructed; in terms of their actual tonal character, they're more like 80% flatwound and 20" roundwound. Great for those who are looking for a smooth and mellow tone with a full-bodied punch (like a flatwound) but still with some of the roundwound clarity, definition and sustain. Highly recommended in that regard.

As for me personally, however, I have concluded they're leaning a bit too far toward "flatwound" in their character for my practical application.

I do have another outing this coming weekend, but this time I'll be back on my J-bass with the Pressurewounds in DGCF.
 
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#173
michael_t said:
Here's my final assessment (so soon?) on the Brite Flats... (I realize I should stick with them a bit longer for a proper long-term evaluation, but I'm too itchy to get on with my next "experiment".)

These are "HALF-rounds" only in the way they're constructed; in terms of their actual tonal character, they're more like 80% flatwound and 20" roundwound. Great for those who are looking for a smooth and mellow tone with a full-bodied punch (like a flatwound) but still with some of the roundwound clarity, definition and sustain. Highly recommended in that regard.

As for me personally, however, I have concluded they're leaning a bit too far toward "flatwound" in their character for my practical application.

I do have another outing this coming weekend, but this time I'll be back on my J-bass with the Pressurewounds in DGCF.
Click to expand...
Thanks very much Michael. The way you describe them is what I'm personally looking for these days. Ok it's time! Cheers!
 
#174
michael_t said:
As for me personally, however, I have concluded they're leaning a bit too far toward "flatwound" in their character for my practical application.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to add...

To clarify what I said, I'm NOT taking these BFs off for the reason I don't like them necessarily; they're very nice strings that actually do what they're designed to do. The only reason why I'm giving up on them (for now) is I currently don't have enough basses in my arsenal to afford a "flatwound bass" at this point, knowing it would only be used once in a blue moon for those "special occasions".

If I were to ever own enough basses to be able to designate one of them as my "flatwound bass" (a P, of course), I'd be more than happy to use the Brite Flats as the "flatwound" string of my choice. They do have all the qualities I want in a flat (smooth and mellow with full-bodied punch and definition) but without the thump and thud of more traditional flats.

Cheers! :thumbsup:;)
 
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#175
michael_t said:
Just wanted to add...

To clarify what I said, I'm NOT taking these BFs off for the reason I don't like them necessarily; they're very nice strings that actually do what they're designed to do. The only reason why I'm giving up on them (for now) is I currently don't have enough basses in my arsenal to afford a "flatwound bass" at this point, knowing it would only be used once in a blue moon for those "special occasions".

If I were to ever own enough basses to be able to designate one of them as my "flatwound bass" (a P, of course), I'd be more than happy to use the Brite Flats as the "flatwound" string of my choice. They do have all the qualities I want in a flat (smooth and mellow with full-bodied punch and definition) but without the thump and thud of more traditional flats.

Cheers! :thumbsup:;)
Click to expand...

Makes sense to me! There's maybe 8-10 string sets that I have tried that I really like for one reason or another, but I do not have that many basses. Can't use them all at once!
 
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#176
trothwell said:
Makes sense to me! There's maybe 8-10 string sets that I have tried that I really like for one reason or another, but I do not have that many basses. Can't use them all at once!
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So many good strings out there that all do a slight variation of the others and it's just enough to keep a set around. There's been very few strings that I found no use for or no redeeming qualities for my personal use. I've become a full on string junkie in the last 4-5 months and don't see any point in rehab. I wanna try em all.
 
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#178
FFFH242 said:
Building a P/J and was kinda leaning towards the BF's. I have PW on one of my J's and Round Core Boomers on my other J. Was wanting a flat with mid range growl. Should I be looking at the Fender 9050 instead of the BF? I do love GHS strings. Maybe stick with PW on the P/J?
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The BFs are closer to Fender 9050s in tonal character than to the PWs. Once the BFs on my J bass were played in, they did remind me of the 9050s.
 
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#179
FFFH242 said:
Building a P/J and was kinda leaning towards the BF's. I have PW on one of my J's and Round Core Boomers on my other J. Was wanting a flat with mid range growl. Should I be looking at the Fender 9050 instead of the BF? I do love GHS strings. Maybe stick with PW on the P/J?
Click to expand...

If you want "growl" the BF's are not what you are looking for. They are very mellow and "polite" strings if that makes sense. Sounds like you should stick with the PW's.
 
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