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Low Tension Flats for Reggae!

#41
I've only played roto blacknylon.. What I learned was high tension bows necks. BnFlats are harder strings then rounds. Don't hit them hard as it dumbs down the note. Left hand moves slower unless doing gliss.. Slide.. Portamento.. I never got tired of playing the strings.. But I heavy handed would been the string easily.. The low tension labella's are the bnflats I want..
 
#42
What about Dunlop Flats? Right now they are my favorite flats. They are definitely low tension, even though not as low as TIs. Sound wise, I find them kind of in the middle of the pack, not as bright as Fenders or Chromes, not as thumpy as GHSs. Not as Mid-Forward as TIs, but still very focused. Probably DR Legends are the closest sounding flat (I also love those), but Dunlops have lower tension.
 
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#43
Mvilmany said:
This exactly. I discovered this strings on a G&L L2000 and promptly bought them and put them on my own L2000.
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Agree! I’ve got the same set on a JB. Short break in, moderate tension, plenty of thump when/if you want it, and nice mids. This is now my goto flat set. I like it better on some basses than the TIs I also use. (Gotta match the string set to the bass IMO.)

Sane price tag too. :thumbsup:
 
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#45
I’ve gone back & forth between TI’s & LaBella LTF’s. I like the sound a bit more with the TI’s but have found the tension of the LTF’s to be more to my right hand’s liking. That most likely means that they’re a bit easier on the bass neck as well compared to more standard tension flats. I only mention that due to my having to replace the neck on my P Bass after the truss rod froze up while using LaBella FL760’s (most likely pilot error).
 
#47
Low tension and midrange you seek? Try Ernie Ball cobalt flats. I’ve only had one set so far, because flats, but i really like them, and I sub in a big 9 piece reggae band from time to time, with excellent results. I used to use daddario chromes, and don’t feel I’ve lost anything by switching to lower tension strings. I’m not a fussy string guy, I shop more for feel, and consistency of tone over time, the latter of which is pretty easy to come by with flats. I feel like any flats will get you close, amp settings will get you the rest of the way. If I had a dedicated reggae bass for one particular band/sound, I might feel a different way and get fussier with string selection. Even still, the EB cobalts are good, even, consistent strings at a decent price, worth trying before spending the big bucks on TI, etc.
 
#48
howlin said:
I’ve gone back & forth between TI’s & LaBella LTF’s. I like the sound a bit more with the TI’s but have found the tension of the LTF’s to be more to my right hand’s liking. That most likely means that they’re a bit easier on the bass neck as well compared to more standard tension flats. I only mention that due to my having to replace the neck on my P Bass after the truss rod froze up while using LaBella FL760’s (most likely pilot error).
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Uh, no, most likely neck manufacturer error, I’ve experienced the same phenomenon on my own USA made instrument and several repairs I’ve taken in over the years. It’s entirely possible you simply couldn’t get that original neck to straighten out to accommodate those strings, which is particularly inexcusable considering they’re a lighter gauge flat. I’ll leave it at that and spare the OP this part of the TalkBass experience :)
 
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#49
Linnin said:
Here's an interesting interview with Aston 'Family Man' Barrett.
Legend: An Interview with Aston “Family Man” Barrett
"My favorite kind of bass is the Fender Jazz. Fender always makes a set of special flatwound strings for me that I picked out from a 5-string set, but I use a 4-string. I said, “build these four for me,” and every year they send me a six-pack of them."
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Fender would do well to market a signature set of 'Family Man' Flats.
 
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#52
Anders Barfod said:
TI flats but tune down to roughly A4 432Hz.
Reggae is chilled and relaxed sounding so a flatter tuning fits this style of music. Listen to 3 little birds with bob marley. Its tuned approx. 30 cents flat.
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There are many possible reasons why that song is flat. I have no problem with what you choose to tune to, this is a PSA for the impressionable folks out there.

There is nothing inherently better about 432 Hz than 440 Hz. That is pseudoscience. It is true, that a song calibrated to a lower frequency, will sound “mellower“ then a song calibrated to a higher frequency, when played back to back, as many YouTube “proof” videos present. Sure, a song recorded at 432 Hz, will sound mellower than a song recorded at 440 Hz... but a song recorded at 420 Hz will sound even mellower than that. It’s all relative. And if you play a song in a key other than E, you’re not taking advantage of the lowest frequencies anyway. Beyond that, people with perfect pitch, who reference their perfect pitch to 440 Hz due to that being the most prevalent modern tuning, can find songs recorded at different calibrations to be somewhat grating. Suffice it to say, there is no “better or worse” calibration point for music in general, and there was no conspiracy to tune to 440Hz to control our minds.

So if you want to tune down in fractions of half steps, go ahead, but realize you could be putting off folks with perfect pitch, and please be do the rest of us non-perfect-pitch folk a favor by making sure the whole band tunes to the same reference :)
 
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#55
Linnin said:
^^^WORD^^^ And even now in Europe the move is on to A=444Hz.
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This is the first I’m hearing of that, and after looking that up, I will stand by my statement- nay; I’ll double down- that magical tuning frequencies are pseudoscience. For the record, I have no problem with alternative tunings or people's preferences, my only objection is seeing opinion relayed as fact, such as reggae needing to be tuned to some particular frequency.
 
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#56
Nickweissmusic said:
opinion relayed as fact, such as reggae needing to be tuned to some particular frequency.
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In fairness, it never happened: he only said it fits the style. As for the 432Hz magic bullet, he also wrote "roughly" and "Bob Marley (...) approx. 30 cents flat", meaning he's not buying into the universe-being-tuned-to-exactly-432 malarkey hook line and sinker.
+1 to everything else in your two posts.
 
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#57
HaphAsSard said:
In fairness, it never happened: he only said it fits the style. As for the 432Hz magic bullet, he also wrote "roughly" and "Bob Marley (...) approx. 30 cents flat", meaning he's not buying into the universe-being-tuned-to-exactly-432 malarkey hook line and sinker.
+1 to everything else in your two posts.
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My objective was not to take the author to task, it was to educate from a factual perspective. The author did reference 432Hz, which as you realize has had pages and pages of malarkey written about it, so my Neil Degrass Tyson pseudoscience alarm went off, perhaps just a coincidence, but still not my main issue.

I paraphrased, here is the exact quote that I most object to: “Reggae is chilled and relaxed sounding so a flatter tuning fits this style of music.” That statement is false. Any tuning the band agrees on fits that style of music; a fractionally flatter calibration has no bearing on the chill or relaxation factor of music, and in fact can be unsettling to a small number of listeners. If tuning were an indication of chill factor, Cannibal Corpse would be a day spa staple ;) . I’ve toured and recorded with Reggae bands; the number one factor in tuning calibration is the keyboard you’re playing with, which may or may not be dead on 440, especially if you’re using an acoustic piano or vintage mechanical instrument.

My only intention is to separate fact from opinion. If a lower tuning feels better to someone, if their voice works better in a certain tuning, etc., that’s fine by me. There’s no magic number. There’s nothing holding me to 440hz other than that’s the default most electronic and fixed tuning instruments (harmonicas, etc.) are referenced to.

If you are interested in “more harmonious” tunings than standard equal temperament, exploring “sweetened tunings” is an interesting subject, which actually has merit, since you’re dealing with intervalic relationships, whose characters absolutely do change based on small frequency adjustments. The Peterson iPhone app has sweetened tunings built in, which basically compensate for the tuning idiosyncrasies and imperfections inherent to instruments. People have already been doing this since at least the dawn of recording, e.g., tuning a guitar slightly differently based on where on the neck most of the playing will be.
 
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#58
Nickweissmusic said:
I paraphrased, here is the exact quote that I most object to: “Reggae is chilled and relaxed sounding so a flatter tuning fits this style of music.” That statement is false.
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Your paraphrase was a strawman: he never said reggae *needs* to be tuned to anything. That statement is not false but just an opinion, expressed in the form that the overwhelming majority of opinions are expressed, i.e. without an explicit declaration that they are as much. Pointing out the above was my objective. Chillax ;)
 
#59
HaphAsSard said:
Your paraphrase was a strawman: he never said reggae *needs* to be tuned to anything. That statement is not false but just an opinion, expressed in the form that the overwhelming majority of opinions are expressed, i.e. without an explicit declaration that they are as much. Pointing out the above was my objective. Chillax ;)
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Oh geez, the Internet logic police are after me. Chillax yourself, lol. Maybe re-read what I wrote in 432Hz if you found it offensive or punitive.
 
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