Freight Train, I agree wholeheartedly. When I got back into playing again, I studied my options, because I had sold all my equipment and needed to start over. The first thing I knew was that I WASN'T buying a Fender bass. Why? Because everybody is led to believe (especially the younger players) that if you're not playing a Fender, then you must not have any talent. I'm not saying Fender isn't a great bass; I used a '74 Precision for 6 years, and a '76 Jazz for a few years, too. There's TONS of choices out there. There's lots to choose from. There's incredibly well built guitars and basses with unbelievably low price tags. I am so sick of this 'what's on the headstock' mentality. I shopped around and bought what I liked. Pickups have been around for 70 years. There's no secret about a pickup. There are only trade-offs. There have been so super-duper pickups that have been invented in 40 years because there's just not anything new to be gained. I enjoy getting on here to read what others say. I have my own opinions, so when I see someone agreeing with me with valid points, I tend to believe my choice may be valid as well.
As far as this roundwound/flatwound thread is concerned; from what I've read (and believe) flats are a better choice for a Beatle bass.
There's definitely a place for flats. I played flats for years. I still remember that sound. Anyone who's played rounds exclusively will tend to believe they are the only choice. The reason most basses come with rounds is that they are cheaper to produce and therefore, to buy in quantity for the manufacturer.
After playing my solid body bass with rounds in our acoustic trio, I can tell you, it doesn't FIT. It's the old 'garbage in = garbage out' theory. What I mean by that is, if you're playing rounds on a solid body, you can fiddle all day with EQ's and sweepable mids and you're still only trying to polish a turd. It doesn't work.
I fill in for rock bands and yeah, my roundwounds are nice, but even then, I'd like to try flats.
Flats may be a TB thing, but I'm glad my hunch was correct. Rounds aren't mandatory.
I was a technician for 15 years at a local music store. There are huge differences in speakers, to be sure. I used to have a customer that said he could tell the difference between preamp tubes in his Twin Reverb. Very funny.
Bottom line is, you have to get out there and try the stuff. The music store is NOT a gig.
It used to be a 2-15 cabinet was the ticket for the average bar gig. Then 4-10 cabinets came along and everybody switched to them (with tweeters????). I think 15's are making a comeback, too.
Thanks for all your comments.
As far as this roundwound/flatwound thread is concerned; from what I've read (and believe) flats are a better choice for a Beatle bass.
There's definitely a place for flats. I played flats for years. I still remember that sound. Anyone who's played rounds exclusively will tend to believe they are the only choice. The reason most basses come with rounds is that they are cheaper to produce and therefore, to buy in quantity for the manufacturer.
After playing my solid body bass with rounds in our acoustic trio, I can tell you, it doesn't FIT. It's the old 'garbage in = garbage out' theory. What I mean by that is, if you're playing rounds on a solid body, you can fiddle all day with EQ's and sweepable mids and you're still only trying to polish a turd. It doesn't work.
I fill in for rock bands and yeah, my roundwounds are nice, but even then, I'd like to try flats.
Flats may be a TB thing, but I'm glad my hunch was correct. Rounds aren't mandatory.
I was a technician for 15 years at a local music store. There are huge differences in speakers, to be sure. I used to have a customer that said he could tell the difference between preamp tubes in his Twin Reverb. Very funny.
Bottom line is, you have to get out there and try the stuff. The music store is NOT a gig.
It used to be a 2-15 cabinet was the ticket for the average bar gig. Then 4-10 cabinets came along and everybody switched to them (with tweeters????). I think 15's are making a comeback, too.
Thanks for all your comments.
