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more mids please

Slade N

Slade N

May 28, 2005
2,065
3,495
portland, or
#1
ok so I've had a Hamer Cruise 5 w/2tek for a few years now and i play it every now and then and while I think its a great bass (plays great, great tone)...its missing something that keeps me from loving it...its (to my ears) missing something in the lower mid/upper lows that my Warwick thumb has...theyre 2 very different basses I know and I dont expect it to sound the same and wouldnt want even if it was possible...but i do want some more of this area of the tone spectrum as its what my ears listen for to hear myself in the mix when im playing...hope that makes sense

I have played around with different strings yet (currently has prosteels) so i wanted to get some TB input on what to check out
 
#3
#4
cfsporn said:
Rotosound Swingbass 66 SS or Ernie Ball Cobalts. No other string has more mids.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Rotos are very mid- heavy. They aren't as long-lasting as say, DRs, I had my last set go in under 3 months, but that was after I spent Literally several hours of hard playing every single day.

I don't know how long the Hi Beams I have on now will last me, but I know that I vastly prefer the sound of the Rotos, although I wish I could split the difference on feel.

One last thing about the Rotos, they're pretty mid to upper mid-focused, so as far as low mids go, they might mot be what you're looking for if you want a darker sounding string. If brightness is what you want, though, by all means give the Rotos a try. They're pretty rough, but I have perfect hands for bass playing, they callous up really nicely. It's ultimately up to you, but I'd give them a shot.
 
#6
Well since you haven't indicated that the strings must be rounds, i will strongly suggest ti flats. Tons of mids, and they are fat fat fat. Read about em. No other flat to my knowledge has their level of mid emphasis. Fantastic string that works in most situations very well, has a rich rich tonality, and lasts forfricken ever.
 
#11
I have my tone pot down about 1/4 or so. I also have both volumes off about 20% or so. Makes a huge difference. I like that I can also "dime" everything and get a real aggressive tone if I want. The Geddy is a little more versatile than one my think.

I'm actually doing some sessions with an older "crooner" that consists of tunes like Moon River, It's Impossible, etc. with piano, drums and guitar and it sounds very "appropriate" for what we are doing. Not an upright which might be "ideal" but everyone loves my sound so I can't complain.
 
#13
I had that bass for a number of years. Does yours have the factory installed Basslines pickups?

If so, that's your culprit right there. Those Basslines SJB5 pickups are pretty mid-scooped, and sound very little like a traditional Jazz pickups.

Swap those out with a more typical Jazz pickup, and I think you'll find your mids again.
 
#14
Luckydog said:
Well since you haven't indicated that the strings must be rounds, i will strongly suggest ti flats. Tons of mids, and they are fat fat fat. Read about em. No other flat to my knowledge has their level of mid emphasis. Fantastic string that works in most situations very well, has a rich rich tonality, and lasts forfricken ever.
Click to expand...

I'll see that, and raise you NO other string of ANY type has as much going on in the mids. Great string. They do want higher action because they are very flexible and low tension -- some would call them 'floppy' but I wouldn't. Love them.

If you MUST have rounds, I suggest DR SunBeams. A bit shy in the upper treble, but strong in the mids, as nickel strings generally are. Very nice feel as well. Terrific string.
 
#15
Absolutely TI flats if I'm using flats. I've been through just about every other brand of flats I could find because I kept putting off paying that much more for TIs and I wish I'd done it sooner not just because of the money, but their sound, feel and consistency.

I use rounds on two very different kinds of basses, a Warwick 5 and Fender J 5 and I now only use Marcus Miller DR Fatbeams 40-120 for both.

I initially tried them because I became fed up trying so many different roundwound strings chasing that tone and feel I knew existed but wasn't finding. I've modded both basses, which made great inprovements for both and still I'd say the best roundwound strings I had found after all was said and done were maybe overall 70% satisfactory and we pay too much money for bass strings for that to be acceptable.

I wasn't aware MM had signature strings and I had moved away from DR bass strings, but love them on guitars, so when I happened upon them, I figured for ***** and giggles, since I'm a fan of his, I had nothing to lose at that point and gave them a shot. I don't buy instruments and accessories from signature series because it seems more of a marketing ploy at this point, but I will say I got these solely based on the signature artist.

Initially, they were a little rougher on the fingers than expected, but took no time to adjust. The first thing that stood out to me was how I got bright and punchy, all the mids I could ask for and still had the boom that I love, especially with the low B. For me, the best quality in these strings is their physical responsiveness and consistency of tonal quality over time, especially so in that the 120 low B doesn't flop like a wet noodle. It's the cleanest, most responsive low B for picking, fingers and thumping I've played to date but isn't super high tension either.

Aside from changing sets of strings sooner than necessary out of frustration, I tend to push roundwounds on bass and guitar as far and long as I can.

TI Flats just seem to get better with age for me, though I use them specifically for surf music, but I've had my current set on for about a year and a half and they sound so good with that range you're looking for.

I think you'd find what you're looking for with either set because their versatility suits to what style you play so well.

Good luck!
 
#17
Coolhandjjl said:
I have a Hamer Cruise 2-Tek four string with the stock SJB-1 pups. Put chromes on it and never looked back. Another member here I know put in Seymour Duncan SJB-2 Hot Jazz pups and uses DR LoRider steels in the 110 gauge.
Click to expand...

The SJB-1 pickups they put in the four string Cruises are great. Sadly, the five stringers got very mid scooped stacked humbuckers.

Some of the 5-ers came with EMGs, which sounded pretty good. Thankfully pickups are pretty easy to replace.
 
#18
to address several post at once

1. I love flats...have my Hamer 4 crusie also with 2tek strung with flats and I love how tight and focused and round yet clear the tone is...but its very old school/motownish...which is awesome but i dont always want/need that sound... Ive heard lots of great things about the TI Flats but I do want to be able to switch between fingerstyle and slap on the same bass ...can you slap with TI's?...the flats I have are awful for slap

2. yes the P/U's are the stock basslines and yes it does have a modern scoped tone...which I do like at times/certain songs

3. I have been playing with tone roll off and neck P/U roll off to help bring out the mids more....it does well on some songs but not all

4. I have a pack of Low Riders to try out next time I restring ...oddlly Im liking them (the Prosteels) more as they age
 
#19
On my SR5HH, I replaced the factory installed EBMM Slinky with a new set of Lo-Riders SS.
To my ears, no difference, even though the charts show the SS Lo-Riders biased to mids.
The feel is the same as the Slinky. No change there.
The Lo-Riders are nice strings, but did not produce any big change from the Slinky. YMMV.
 

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