John Paul Jones strings?

[JMacBass65]

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.

So this is kinda funny. I go on a (cabin) camping trip this weekend with some old friends up in the mountains of VA. One brings his acoustic guitar, and a cheap Squier Jazz bass and a small amp, thinking we might jam.

We never get around to jamming, but second night there, he mentions the action is all screwed up, and wonders if I can have a look at it, reminding me that I had set it up for him a couple of years back and it was OK for a while, but now its unplayable. I vaguely remember this, and pull it out of the gig bag.

And there they were - the LaBellas I was searching for all over my house.......! It all came back to me then. I remember putting them on there, since what he had on there sounded like crap.

So I told him I'd take it home with me and see what I could do with the neck. And that I'd put some other strings on it.

Well - I put them on my 62RI Jazz last night and........I dont think I like them. They sound "louder" and brighter than the TIs when the bass is unplugged, but when plugged in, they simply dont "sing" like the TIs. There is nothing special about what I am hearing. Which is funny, as I liked them on the fretless P they came on. I didn't change to TIs on that bass until about two years in. And while I like the higher tension when using a pick, I don't do that often enough to offset both how they sound and how much harder they seem to make playing, particularly on the left hand. TIs have spoiled me. I'm going to give them a few days, but I'm not sure they will make it to the blues jam Thursday night. They just aren't doing anything to make the tradeoff in playing ease worth it.

 

[JMacBass65]

TIs have spoiled me. I'm going to give them [the LaBellas] a few days, but I'm not sure they will make it to the blues jam Thursday night. They just aren't doing anything [tone wise] to make the tradeoff in playing ease worth it.

Well, I was right, I pulled them off and put my TIs back on the Jazz.

Played with them [LaBellas] a few days, gave it a valiant effort. I'll admit that when using a pick, with the tone knob wide open, I like them better than the TIs. A bit more aggressive, more of a metallic edge to them.

Thing is, I go for that sound say maybe 10% of the time I play. More often than not I'm playing finger style, and with the tone rolled off. When doing that, these strings sorta disappeared while playing along with my iPod through my mixer.

So off they came, and I just spent an hour playing with the TIs back on, and it was such a joy! I am convinced they are made of fairy dust, or unicorn blood, or something, 'cuz they are magic strings!

Somehow they can be heard clear as a bell, even with the tone rolled off and playing finger style up by the neck (al la JPJ). Nice and deep sounding, but not muddy.

 

[shoulderpet]

TIs have spoiled me. I'm going to give them a few days, but I'm not sure they will make it to the blues jam Thursday night. They just aren't doing anything to make the tradeoff in playing ease worth it.

Can totally relate to this, I tried Pyramid gold which are a string that is supposedly low in tension and they felt really stiff in comparison, they lasted a couple days before the TI's went back.
Tonally they didn't compare either, they sounded great practicing at home but in rehearsal they sounded like mush compared to the TI's.
Im not going to say that TI's are the best sounding string ever but they are low tension and flexible, they intonate without issue and they give a good amount of highs and mids to work with and those are the reasons why I always go back to them.

 

[SasquatchDude]

Well, I was right, I pulled them off and put my TIs back on the Jazz.

Played with them [LaBellas] a few days, gave it a valiant effort. I'll admit that when using a pick, with the tone knob wide open, I like them better than the TIs. A bit more aggressive, more of a metallic edge to them.

Thing is, I go for that sound say maybe 10% of the time I play. More often than not I'm playing finger style, and with the tone rolled off. When doing that, these strings sorta disappeared while playing along with my iPod through my mixer.

So off they came, and I just spent an hour playing with the TIs back on, and it was such a joy! I am convinced they are made of fairy dust, or unicorn blood, or something, 'cuz they are magic strings!

Somehow they can be heard clear as a bell, even with the tone rolled off and playing finger style up by the neck (al la JPJ). Nice and deep sounding, but not muddy.

Dang... you’re seriously making me want to put the GHSs on hiatus and try a set of TIs.

 

[shoulderpet]

Dang... you’re seriously making me want to put the GHSs on hiatus and try a set of TIs.

They are very very different tonally from the GHS, much more mids and highs.
For me TI's work well, darker sounding flats sound great when practicing at home but tend to let me down in rehearsal with a full band. I had this issue with Pyramids, sounded great at home but the tone was lacking definition and clarity during rehearsals, I would boost the mids and low mids would just add mud, I would try and boost from 2k upwards and pretty much all it did was add noise, TI's have lows,mids and highs so you can just roll off the frequencies you dont want and boost the ones you do want.

 

[SasquatchDude]

They are very very different tonally from the GHS, much more mids and highs.
For me TI's work well, darker sounding flats sound great when practicing at home but tend to let me down in rehearsal with a full band. I had this issue with Pyramids, sounded great at home but the tone was lacking definition and clarity during rehearsals, I would boost the mids and low mids would just add mud, I would try and boost from 2k upwards and pretty much all it did was add noise, TI's have lows,mids and highs so you can just roll off the frequencies you dont want and boost the ones you do want.

Wow, thanks for the insight... I was wondering if anyone had experience with both brands.

 

[keith1r]

View attachment 2887661 View attachment 2887662
2 shots from 73. Looks like red silk on top and black on bottom

Rotosound flats have red on top and black on bottom

 

[cerrem]

For Zeppelin, The Jamerson set works best on my 71 P-Bass with rosewood board..
I really love the sound of the TI flat wound strings...
Only problem is I cant find them in a gauge I like...
When I play 4-String bass I prefer 110 to 50 ...
I am willing to drop down to 105 gauge...and that is as light as I can go...
Do they make any bigger gauges than the set I bought here in this picture... ???

 

[shoulderpet]

For Zeppelin, The Jamerson set works best on my 71 P-Bass with rosewood board..
I really love the sound of the TI flat wound strings...
Only problem is I cant find them in a gauge I like...
When I play 4-String bass I prefer 110 to 50 ...
I am willing to drop down to 105 gauge...and that is as light as I can go...
Do they make any bigger gauges than the set I bought here in this picture... ???
View attachment 3033321

No, TI's only come in one gauge, the TI sound is very distinctive , you will only get it from TI's , my favourite flatwound

 

[SasquatchDude]

Rotosound flats have red on top and black on bottom

The current sets with the red, white and blue ball ends do... until a couple years ago I remember them being red/red (with gold ball ends) though.

 

[rzero]

I am thinking Roto Flats. Listen to this soundboard from 1975.



Skip Rock and Roll and go to the second song, Sick Again - listen from the solo on (about 6:35 in). That's flats with a pick if you ask me.

Too bad this has Over the Hill deleted due to copyright, as the solo section again reveals a very flats sounding tone (the whole concert does, but I'm looking for when it really jumps out).

I think it's the most obvious to me when he is using a pick - flats and a pick just sound certain way. So Sick Again, The Song Remains the Same, Whole Lotta Love and Black Dog are the ones where it really stands out to me.

There used to be a bass/drums only of Celebration Day from The Song Remains the Same on Youtube - it's gone now but it was another one where he uses a pick, and the flats are plain as day to me.

Old thread, but this set sounds like rounds to me.

 

[rzero]

Old thread, but this set sounds like rounds to me.

Here's a Jazz with rounds, neck pickup soloed, tone all the way down:

1:33

 

[Frovan]

So some archival Zeppelin footage from the Bath Festival 1970 surfaced today! There's some great up close shots of his Jazz (not much of the headstock tho) but he's definitely using flats, and the ball ends have dark/faded blue silk, the same as the 49-109 and 1954 Labellas. The silk is extended over the saddles like many other pics on this thread, so they could also be Fender flats (I'm not sure what color silk those had back then) but Rotosound flats have never had blue silk at either end (excluding the Steve Harris set of course, but those weren't available till the late 00s).

 

[Frovan]

At the 3 minute mark is the close up of his J.

 

[Frovan]

Ahh, the synced video was removed. Here it is without audio.

 

[Frovan]

From looking at the strings they don't look like the heavier gauge Labellas. So I'd say these are the original Fender 850 flats. Everything I've read and pics ive seen point to the 850s having that dark/faded blue silk that extends past the saddles at the bridge. I've been on the hunt to match those strings for a long time and I'm currently using DR Legend flats and they sound like the old 850s to me. I know GHS P flats are in that realm as well.

 

[SasquatchDude]

I've been on the hunt to match those strings for a long time and I'm currently using DR Legend flats and they sound like the old 850s to me. I know GHS P flats are in that realm as well.

Agreed 100%

I'm not old enough to have tried the original formula Fender 850s myself, but DR Legends are the closest I've ever gotten to that tone, with GHS Precisions coming up as a close second. It's notoriously hard to objectively describe timbre, but I'd describe the GHSs as a bit airier or woodier, while the DRs have just a hair more mid-range growl that puts you right in that classic zone.

 

[Frovan]

Agreed 100%

I'm not old enough to have tried the original formula Fender 850s myself, but DR Legends are the closest I've ever gotten to that tone, with GHS Precisions coming up as a close second. It's notoriously hard to objectively describe timbre, but I'd describe the GHSs as a bit airier or woodier, while the DRs have just a hair more mid-range growl that puts you right in that classic zone.

Absolutely! I didn't try DRs for the longest time as I'd read conflicting things, but about 8 or 9 months ago I got a set and put them on my American Original 60s Jazz and boom, there's that tone!

 

[ricardol]

Fender Vintage Mastersound Flatwound 0.54 60's | Reverb
Link Removed

 

[Frovan]

View attachment 4829577
Fender Vintage Mastersound Flatwound 0.54 60's | Reverb
Link Removed

Weren't they blue and then changed to green silk in the 70s? Also, that's a guitar string. The guitar strings didn't have silk at the tuner end.