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It shifted with flats...

#23
For the year or 2 that I had both a P and a Jazz, I went with rounds or pressurewounds on the J. I was in a Motownfunk band and occasionally preferred the J with rounds. I no longer have the J, so there's that....

I grew up with rounds since that was mostly all you could get when I was young, but have been a flats guy for decades now. Pyramids (my favorite) on the P and Reverend, and GHS Precision FLats on the Allen Woody short scale.
 
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#24
John Stephen said:
I'm with you. I know lots of folks prefer the brightness and zing of rounds, but I'm a flats guy, both for performing and recording.
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Well, the last polling show rounds are preferred, by a fair amount. BUT, there is that certain timbre you get with flats, and if you have that itch and the music you play requires them, there is no other solution. Enjoy.

SIgned,

A. Rounds Guy.
 
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#26
Bass4ThePublic said:
and they’re never coming off.
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The knife should come off though immediately. Bloody buttocks or worse -- cuts on that leather :D

1773120230357.png
 
#27
I've been playing flats exclusively for almost 30 years. All that hullabaloo about rounds being more versatile, and "everyone" using rounds these days, made me give them a try again on my P a couple of months ago, put on a set of GHS Balanced Nickels - and hated them immediately! They listed for all of two weeks before I removed them again; hated that trebly zing, hated that twangy attack, hated the feel; and no, they don't sound like flats at all with a sponge and the tone turned down, that different attack quality still remains.
With all the various flatwound options, you could slap a different set on each bass, and still have a lot of tonal variety - for a Jazz I'd probably try Thomastiks, or EB Cobalts if you want it almost as bright as with rounds, but a smoother attack.
 
#28
RomanS said:
I've been playing flats exclusively for almost 30 years. All that hullabaloo about rounds being more versatile, and "everyone" using rounds these days, made me give them a try again on my P a couple of months ago, put on a set of GHS Balanced Nickels - and hated them immediately! They listed for all of two weeks before I removed them again; hated that trebly zing, hated that twangy attack, hated the feel; and no, they don't sound like flats at all with a sponge and the tone turned down, that different attack quality still remains.
With all the various flatwound options, you could slap a different set on each bass, and still have a lot of tonal variety - for a Jazz I'd probably try Thomastiks, or EB Cobalts if you want it almost as bright as with rounds, but a smoother attack.
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Cobalts get suggested for Jazz basses a lot
 
#32
Yes,
mellowgerman said:
Heck yes. This is exactly why I roll my eyes every time I see someone suggest to "just roll off the tone knob" on a bass with rounds for a flats sound... just completely misses the mark. The best thing about flats is that fat punch that comes from how the flat outer ribbon winding makes them move. Maybe with super heavy EQ and signal processing you can make rounds get in the flats ball-park, but you're gonna have to do some significant boosting to even get close. Rolling off the tone-knob only cuts treble, might subtly impact the resonant peak, but not in a way that turns a tack hammer into a sledgehammer.

If you understand and appreciate that thwap, you might want to try some GHS Pressurewounds on one of your other basses. They're the only "hybrid" type strings that I've found, that can get close to the "best of both worlds" thing.

As much as I do like flats on a P, my favorite string for my '65 Precision so far has been D'Addario Tapewounds. Typically a tad brighter than flats and a bit more sustain, but they also have their own unique punch that's hard to describe. If the rounds are the tack hammer, flats are the sledgehammer... maybe tapes are the dead-blow hammer? So those might also be worth trying out if you haven't. Much like any other style of string though, all tapes aren't equal either, so lots to explore, but I generally like D'Addarios for the velvety finish, somewhat lower tension, and the gauges are pretty standard, so usually no nut-filing is required.

View attachment 7449478
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Rolling off the tone knob is a sound, and a useful one at that. Its not the same thing as flats though. I agree completely with that
 
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#36
TheArchitect said:
Possibly, I will need to test things. Jazz basses are very different animals. I don't know how I feel about that combo as I have not tried it yet
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I don't find them too different, but yeah, certainly different. My Jazz has been sportin' flats for about 30 years or so. I think you might like them. Maybe find an inexpensive used set here in the TB classifieds to experiment with. FWIW I'm using Fender flats.
 

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