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Just tried some Chromes for the first time...HOLY CR@P!!!

interstatejoe

interstatejoe

Feb 25, 2010
456
5
Huntington Beach, CA
www.myspace.com
#1
Tried flats for the first time at rehearsal last night and holy crap was I impressed! Strung them up on my korina body/bubinga neck Warmoth jazz loaded with a set of Delano JMVC4 FE/M2s switching between D standard & Drop C tuning, running through a BBE BMax pre, to a QSC RMX850 pushing 830w through a Warwick 411PRO. Had to dial the EQ on the BMax back to flat-ish, added some lows, dialed in some low-mids, turned the tweeter on just a tad and the sound was full, thumpy/punchy lowend with nice mellow highs.

I thought they would be dull sounding compared to rounds, but they sounded great and cut through the mix nicely against a very heavy fisted drummer and 2x LP toting guitards each w/100w tube 1/2 stacks.
 
#9
They are great, and have their own voice. They growl nicely too, and have lots of sustain. However, I did prefer the sound of the Rotosound Jazz 77, probably due to bad taste. :P

The Rotos have a nice bright attack, and much faster decay, like normal flats. They do not sound like roundwounds even when new, they are just bright for flats, although the chromes are as well. The chromes are, IME, a tad darker, but do have much more sustain, and still, the sound has lots of definition.

So yea, the Chromes are great, and very quirky flats.

(I am going to change my Chromes out soon, if somebody wants them, let me know, but they are short scale. The Chromes are about 5 months old, so they have PLENTY of life to them. I just miss the also quirky Jazz 77 Rotosound tone.)
 
#12
It's good to hear that you like them. I thought that I did at first but I grew out of that phase pretty quickly. I started to hate the way that they felt and sounded. The entire experience felt dead, almost. There is one aspect that I miss, though. I love how smooth they were beyond the 12th fret without sounding or feeling dead. I wish that my rounds could retain that super smooth, high end piercing sound. It's like the flats took just enough edge off of the high end to make it smooth and beautiful. Overall, though, the character that I regained by going back to rounds was worth that sacrifice. My basses feel right, now.

At any rate, it is always great to read about people finding the strings that work best for them. D'Addario must be doing something right because it seems that a lot of people that try the Chromes are big fans. It's all about trying all of your options and finding what you like. Congratulations on accomplishing that!
 
#16
I really liked 'em on my old warwicks. I mean really liked em! But I have since discovered TI jazz rounds. Better sound and way easier on the fingers and joints. The coroner are way better than most flats...I say that not having played every flat there is. I'd be curious of the TI jazz flats.
 
#17
I sort of have mixed feelings. At first, I loved them on my jazz. But I found that I needed the sound of rounds on the jazz and so I put the flats on my P. I just cannot find the tone I like when playing by myself or warming up. However, I have to remind myself what it sounds like in the mix. We (my band) were rehearsing a rock song where I thought the P with flats might be a good fit. The room is a little small, about the size of a garage and I wasn't liking the sound, I wasn't getting a tight low end. But then I listened to the recording and thought how good it sounded. But there is a section of the song that is just drums and bass for a bit and my guitarist commented how the bass sounded a bit "mushy". So I'm on the fence still.

Then again, there is the sound of a P bass with flats and a pick that just is perfect on some songs and can't be beat.

So my next string change I think I'm going to try rounds again but I'll miss the P with flats and pick sound on a few songs.

Then I re-read what I wrote and I say what am I thinking, I'll miss them! It's almost like I need two P basses, one with flats and one with rounds.
 
#18
I think Chromes are generally worthy of a "Holy Cr@p" or three. I have some other flats I like better nowadays but I'll always have a soft spot for these guys. The only thing I really don't like about them is the bizarre gauges they're sold in, and the occasional black dust they leave on your fingers.
 
#20
walknbluez said:
Then I re-read what I wrote and I say what am I thinking, I'll miss them! It's almost like I need two P basses, one with flats and one with rounds.
Click to expand...

You do need two Precisions. You need as many basses as you can justify having. ;)

Your story reminded me of an experience that I had that is quite similar to what you described. I used my Zoom H2 to record an unplugged show that we did in the basement of a Chinese restaurant last winter. I played my Squier Classic Vibe Jazz which, at the time, was strung with Chromes. It sounded really great on the stage when paired with the two acoustic guitars. I was very pleased with all of my gear at that point. When I went back and listened to the recordings, it didn't sound quite as good. They sounded more like dead strings in some of the recordings. In other songs, however, they sounded pretty good.

In the mix, Chromes do sound pretty good, in my experience. It was when I played alone that they just weren't doing anything for me. When I first got my SVT-VR, I used my Jazz with Chromes and was severely let down by the tone. It was loose, dead, and almost disgusting. Luckily my brother wasn't in town to hear that. It definitely didn't sound like a $1400 amp at that point. The cab was likely a major factor in the upsetting tone, though. As soon as I restrung it with some D'Addario rounds, I finally got the tone that I imagined from the SVT. It was a huge improvement. And it still sounds great in a mix. ;)
 

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