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Longtime flatwound users who went to the other side

#21
@Luckydog , thanks :) I really like to share my experiences, because when I started playing there weren't many informations... so I'm trying to do what I wanted to read when I started playing, and what I like to read when I search for something new.

unfortunately I've never tried the FL , because here in Italy Labella strings are pricey and hard to find, so, after trying the "other brands" standard gauges like 50-105, 45-100, 40-100, 40-95, the Thomastik and Pyramid "balanced" gaues and so, I just went up to the Jamerson :D

PS: I made a topic with samples of the Jamerson set on my actual bass, a Jazz, and few years ago a comparison topic between TI Jazz and Jamersons on my Precision.
 
#22
Pier I think you look for the same kind of information as I do to help in decisions. Off topic but I used 760FL on a jazz for awhile and it had a very nice vintage but articulate sound. I dont play jazz basses much anymore, but it was very mice.
 
#23
Back when I started out, flats are what you had - so flats were what you used.

Then in the 70s (around '73) I learned about Rotosound Swing Bass strings, bought a set, and liked what I heard.

Did I stop playing flats? Nope.

I'm an American. By which I mean: why settle for just one when you can have both - for twice as much money?

I don't have issues or strong loyalties when it comes to bass gear. I try everything and then continue use what I like. I also match strings to the instrument to get what I think is the best combination. On the ten basses I currently own, I've got ten different string sets. But that's me. YMMV.
 
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#24
40Hz said:
Back when I started out, flats are what you had - so flats were what you used.

Then in the 70s (around '73) I learned about Rotosound Swing Bass strings, bought a set, and liked what I heard.

Did I stop playing flats? Nope.

I'm an American. By which I mean: why settle for just one when you can have both - for twice as much money?

I don't have issues or strong loyalties when it comes to bass gear. I try everything and then continue use what I like. I also match strings to the instrument to get what I think is the best combination. On the ten basses I currently own, I've got ten different string sets. But that's me. YMMV.
Click to expand...
Well said sir!!
 
#25
michael_t said:
I started out with nickel rounds like most people do just for the fact that's what came on new Fender basses from the factory. My first bass was a 2006 MIM P bass purchased in the spring of 2007. Six months later, when it was time for a new set of strings, I decided to try this "flatwound" thing (D'Addario Chromes). I was instantly hooked! I couldn't believe how smooth they felt compared to rounds; I could slide around all over up and down the neck with no finger noise! That P bass was eventually handed over to my son, who ended up playing it for three years for the high school jazz band with the same set of Chromes.

I liked how that P bass sounded with those flats so much I decided to have my brand new 2008 Fender Jazz bass set up with a set of Chromes (ECB84) when I purchased it in the summer of 2009. Those Chromes stayed on that bass for the next four years as I was learning to be a bassist for the first time in my life in my early 50's, just having come out of a 20-year musical hiatus after being a singer/guitarist in my younger days.

I started playing more actively as a church bassist in the summer of 2013 and that's when my "string journey" began. After numerous "experiments" and "test drives" with various makes and types of strings, I finally settled on the GHS Pressurewound ML7200 as my current go-to strings.

As of this July, I will have come a full circle as my P bass (2014 Am Std) will wear a set of nickel rounds (GHS Boomers), while the Pressurewounds will stay on my J bass. Meanwhile, I'm looking to purchase a third bass so I can have at least one bass with flats, but only as a "specialty bass".

One important lesson my 4-yr journey has taught me is what feels good to play on (flats) isn't necessarily what helps me achieve my tonal goals (rounds/pressurewounds). I guess I've matured a little bit as a bassist as I've learned to put my tonal goals first ahead of my "feel good" goals.
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Hey Michael, what ended up being your favorite full-on flatwound on your J bass? I've got quite a selection to choose from. ;) 760FL, 9050CL, Balanced Chromes...
 

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