John Paul Jones strings?

[keith1r]

Red silk Rotosounds on Jazz. Flats or rounds?

 

[JMacBass65]

View attachment 2884551 Red silk Rotosounds on Jazz. Flats or rounds?

Look at the shape of the headstock, that's his 51 PBass.

So, with that in mind, those are Rotosound rounds.

 

[SasquatchDude]

Look at the shape of the headstock, that's his 51 PBass.

So, it's that in mind, those are Rotosound rounds.

Heh... I was about to type virtually the same thing before I saw your post.

 

[keith1r]

It’s a ri

Look at the shape of the headstock, that's his 51 PBass.

So, it's that in mind, those are Rotosound rounds.

his 51 Precision has a maple fretboard. That’s rosewood

 

[keith1r]

His precision with red silk Rotosounds roundwounds. Maple fretboard.

 

[keith1r]

View attachment 2884551 Red silk Rotosounds on Jazz. Flats or rounds?

Just wanted to know if those are rounds or flats on his jazz bass

 

[SasquatchDude]

Just wanted to know if those are rounds or flats on his jazz bass

The Jazz would be stock Fender flats.

 

[two fingers]

I play in a Led Zep tribute band, and I use flats on a P bass. Used rounds for a long time, and used a jazz bass and a PJ bass, but I just prefer a good ol' P. Flats to me are a must for that thumpy old school Zep tone. I use La Bella 760FS (45-105) - great strings (and they have black silk lol!). The first Zep tune that absolutely turned me towards flats was How Many More Times. Oh man, that tone.. bliss.

Here's some flats on a P action in my Zep tribute band:

Great tone!

 

[SasquatchDude]

I think it's just a matter of lighting that makes the fingerboard look dark... when the second photo is blown up, you can see the wraps and red silks match the headstock in your first post.

 

[SasquatchDude]

For reference, here's a shot of the Jazz wearing flats (with black silks).

 

[JMacBass65]

It’s a ri

his 51 Precision has a maple fretboard. That’s rosewood

Ummm, no, no it's not. That photo is from 1970/71......no such thing as a reissue at that time.
That's his 51 P, maple board. It's the angle or the pic, the lighting/shadowing that makes it look dark, as @SasquatchDude points out below.

I think it's just a matter of lighting that makes the fingerboard look dark... when the second photo is blown up, you can see the wraps and red silks match the headstock in your first post.



View attachment 2884826

Exactly.

 

[mouthmw]

Great tone!

Thank you brother! I still use the same bass and strings, but my GK NEO 412 is now paired with GK 2001RB which sounds killer (that's Fender Slimline 300 in the video, I now use it for band practices/backup).

 

[HaphAsSard]

That photo is from 1970/71......no such thing as a reissue at that time.

Technically the first iteration of the Telecaster bass was a reissue of the original Precision! (Then again, for the lazy-day hypothesis to hold, one should know if JPJ was ever seen with a Tele bass as opposed to his bona fide 50's P, which I do not.)

I also think the apparent darkness of the board is just a trick o' the light(ing).

 

[keith1r]

The horn is dark

 

[shoulderpet]

He has said different things at different times. In 1977, he said he used Rotosound flats. Later he said he gave up flats in his session days before Zep, because they lacked sustain. I tend to think he did use flats on the first two albums.

I am glad someone has mentioned this, first 2 zep albums imo are without question flatwounds

 

[JMacBass65]

The horn is dark

Dude, What are you talking about? That is not a picture of him with his Jazz bass. That's his precision. All you need to do is look at the shape of the headstock to confirm it.

Are you saying the upper horn is dark, a la a burst jazz? No, it's shadowed like almost everything else in that picture.

Doubt me? This should help. Take a look at the silks on the strings. See how they seeming change from red to black as they go around the tuning pegs? That's a result of the lighting/lack thereof.

So here is the deal - that's a pic of Jones with his P bass. It's well established that he used rounds on it, the end.

If you want to know what he used on his Jazz, regardless of the picture supplied, the answer is flats. This answer may be debated by some, but not me. I have no doubt.

 

[SasquatchDude]

Dude, What are you talking about? That is not a picture of him with his Jazz bass. That's his precision. All you need to do is look at the shape of the headstock to confirm it.

Are you saying the upper horn is dark, a la a burst jazz? No, it's shadowed like almost everything else in that picture.

Doubt me? This should help. Take a look at the silks on the strings. See how they seeming change from red to black as they go around the tuning pegs? That's a result of the lighting/lack thereof.

So here is the deal - that's a pic of Jones with his P bass. It's well established that he used rounds on it, the end.

If you want to know what he used on his Jazz, regardless of the picture supplied, the answer is flats. This answer may be debated by some, but not me. I have no doubt.

For me, one interesting takeaway from this was realizing how the rounds seemingly didn’t get changed based on the indentical frayed silks in all the photos of the P.

Most of us would tend to imagine a fresh set of Roto 66s before every session/show a la Entwistle... but conceivably, we’re hearing the same set of rounds on Zep II through IV, and all the early 70s gigs.

 

[JMacBass65]

Ugh - All this talk of strings on his Jazz has me wanting to try the Labellas I have sitting around on my Jazz. It's sported TI flats since 2010, and I couldn't be happier, but they rob me of the ability to tinker by changing strings. They are so perfect.

But sometimes I just want to mess with stuff, and my Jazz has never seen anything but TIs, Roto flats before that, and Roto rounds before that.

I just might have to do it.

 

[JMacBass65]

Ugh - All this talk of strings on his Jazz has me wanting to try the Labellas I have sitting around on my Jazz. It's sported TI flats since 2010, and I couldn't be happier, but they rob me of the ability to tinker by changing strings. They are so perfect.

But sometimes I just want to mess with stuff, and my Jazz has never seen anything but TIs, Roto flats before that, and Roto rounds before that.

I just might have to do it.

Ugh!!! I think I may have tossed them!! And I NEVER toss anything. Certainly not something like strings, they take up zero space. But, they are not on the shelf with the other strings I have lying around, and I checked my gig bag, etc.

 

[SasquatchDude]

Ugh - All this talk of strings on his Jazz has me wanting to try the Labellas I have sitting around on my Jazz. It's sported TI flats since 2010, and I couldn't be happier, but they rob me of the ability to tinker by changing strings. They are so perfect.

But sometimes I just want to mess with stuff, and my Jazz has never seen anything but TIs, Roto flats before that, and Roto rounds before that.

I just might have to do it.

Which LaBella set? I really enjoyed the 43-104 760FL set for a couple years. Eventually I started looking for something a bit meatier... I find LaBellas to be really scooped and bright, at least as far as classic flats go.

Highly, highly, recommend GHS Precision flats if you get a chance... had the 55-105 set on my Jazz for a over a year now, and it’s like downtown Jonesville. The extra stiffness in the upper strings is really nice when you dig in and rake across power chords.