How do you deal with flatwound string brightness when new?

[FFTT]

No steel string with vintage frets.

 

[shadven]

Foam mute under the strings.

 

[Iristone]

But they are not conductive so you get buzz. Not great for recording at all.
Unless they have conductive nylon and so I'm wrong?

Not a problem if your bridge is grounded at the tailpiece. It may buzz only if it's grounded at the saddles.

 

[ryco]

Play the s**t out of them for a couple of days

 

[FFTT]

I cut mids and even track neck pickup only to get a smooth fat sound with my jazz bass.

What matters is what the mic captures or doesn’t.

I can track DI, but favor an amp and cab.

 

[jtg]

Mineral oil, usually. Always wanted to try Crisco or chicken grease. Shouldn't be an issue very often.

 

[Freekmagnet]

Change to a brand of strings that sound thumpy out of the pack. I’d recommend LaBellas, but the GHS Precision flats ain’t bad.

 

[Lava]

Just play the heck out of them until they get to where you want them

 

[Thumpin6string]

Flatwounds. brightness?

 

[Geepers]

But [tapewounds] are not conductive so you get buzz.

If you string thru body, yes. If you top load, no, because the metal ball end contacts the metal bridge and all is well

 

[bassdude51]

Have you considered reducing the bass's tone control slightly, until they wear in ?

Exactly! I use Chromes on a couple of my basses and I roll a tad off with the tone control. Chromes are good strings! (TIs are better.)

 

[roccobass]

My TI flats always have a kind of “brightness”, for better choice of words. Not as annoying as Chromes. Not dead thumpy as my La Bella Lo-Tensions were.

I can control the TIs much better than the other strings. They eventually mellow which is ok too.

 

[andare]

Not a problem if your bridge is grounded at the tailpiece. It may buzz only if it's grounded at the saddles.

If the ball ends touch the saddles or bridge, and the cavity is shielded, there should be no buzz, but I'd love to be sure before pulling the trigger. Very expensive strings.

 

[andare]

Nylon wrap around round wound core, so they still sing, without all the unwanted noise.

They are wonderful in the studio.

I'm talking about hum and buzz, electrical interference. The nylon prevents the strings from being grounded unless the ball end touches the bridge. It's a common issue.

 

[2saddleslab]

It's so rare I get to play a new set of Ti's that I just embrace the zing while it lasts.

 

[E2942]

soak'em in cider

 

[FullumMusic]

There are some strings that are kinda offensive when new (D'Addario Chromes for instance).

I'm asking because I actually have a recording session soon and my bass with new Chromes on doesn't sound the way I want it to sound (weird metallic overtones on the low strings, but no string twist, I've been extra careful). They are slowly mellowing out but it's a very gradual process.

Just play the strings a lot and dig in a little bit to get them to break in faster.
Anything foreign substance added to the strings now for short-term tone improvement might have unwanted long-term side effects.

If it's still too bright during the recording session, use some foam, pull back on some of your highs & high-mids on your amp's EQ, or explain to the engineer that the new strings are brighter than you want and ask them to tame the top-end a bit if it works on the mix.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Not a problem if your bridge is grounded at the tailpiece. It may buzz only if it's grounded at the saddles.

Not entirely true. Your body acts as the final shunt to ground. So unless you’re touching the bridge, or knobs or other component that is grounded; EMF will still leak into the signal. Now, a well shielded bass should have minimal to no hum, but with nylon keeping YOU your fingers from being the final shunt? Whatever environmental EMF is there? It’s stays.

Regardless of whether the ball end is in contact with the string, YOU are not IN the circuit.

 

[FFTT]

I'm talking about hum and buzz, electrical interference. The nylon prevents the strings from being grounded unless the ball end touches the bridge. It's a common issue.

I’m afraid that’s a sizable exaggeration.
If your bridge-tailpiece is properly grounded, there’s no issue.

First I ever heard anyone complain about a grounding issue.

Recorded through an original hand built Legacy API console, not an issue then either.
Same bass.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

I’m afraid that’s a sizable exaggeration.
If your bridge-tailpiece is properly grounded, there’s no issue.

First I ever heard anyone complain about a grounding issue.

Recorded through an original hand built Legacy API console, not an issue then either.
Same bass.

Incorrect: not an exaggeration, fact.

Your personal anecdotal experience doesn’t dispel the truth of the matter.
The strings are not connected to YOU. The final stage of the EMF filter.

IF the bass is equipped with EMG pickups or similarly designed systems that reject EMF internally and are shielded themselves: no bridge ground is needed. (Or advised)

Take note:

From here:

Understanding Guitar Grounding And Common Mistakes | Fralin Pickups

Guitar Grounding can be an elusive subject, but it doesn't have to be. Learn from Fralin Pickups the best practices for Guitar Grounding.

www.fralinpickups.com

If you find articles dispelling these articles:
Please provide.
This does NOT mean that one WILL get EMF / EMI interference: what it DOES mean is that if you do have interference: you remove the ability to cancel it by simply touching the strings.

Please feel free to continue to enjoy your positive experiences.

Don’t have to look hard to find others that corroborate my assertions:

Post in thread 'Tapewound strings and single coil hum'

Jan 25, 2019

Still wondering if single coil hum is a factor. Hmmmm.

Did you read my second paragraph?

And the facts be: If your bridge is grounded, your strings will be grounded, doesn't matter whether you are touching them or not. As long as your amp is grounded. (And as long as they are conductive strings, of course, and also that your bridge or tailpiece is also conductive.) If they are tapewound strings, the plastic coating will prevent you from being grounded, and thus acting like the big antenna that you are. There is actually a very good chance that the strings themselves...

• Abner

Post in thread 'Praise for La Bella's Tape Wound Strings'

Apr 9, 2024

I love the black LaBella tape wounds but I had issues when recording. Grounding noise when not touching that strings. Only have that issue when using tape wound strings.

The best solution is to use EMG active pickups. No bridge ground, therefore no hum or noise. Plus, you get great tone and an inherent >-100dB noise floor. That's how I solved this issue.

• iiipopes

Thread 'Do all tapewound strings cause hum?'

Sep 17, 2022

I bought a gibson EB-13 last year and it came with D'addario tapewounds.. I've kept them on because they sounded fine but recently the E sounds dead. so i'm looking to change them. I also noticed that there was a significant hum that goes away when I touch the bridge. Apparently that has to do with the nature of the tapewounds and being unable to properly ground the strings.

Is there a company that makes tapewound strings that don't cause hum?

• PyschRockLover
• Replies: 116
• Forum: Strings [BG]

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