New player looking for strings to help with full warm sound

[Lamrith]

New player here. I like and plan to learn lot of Eagles, Earth Wind & Fire, Fleetwood Mac, 70's classic rock and the like. They all tend to have what I consider a full, round, warm bass tone to them, maybe what people refer to as dark? I know T. Schmidt uses Jazz bass for the most part. J McVie has used J and P basses.

GAS has hit a bit and already have 2 basses; 1980 T-40 & 2009 Ibanez SR500.
I am hoping to get one of them to sound similar to the above artists and others of that era. I know I should just get a J, JP or P bass, but I have what I have for now.

The SR500 is pretty modern and aggressive sounding to my ear and should be a great fit for my other taste in hard rock/metal genres. It has a nice hard hitting sound to it as is. It has round wounds that are in good shape and good sound so I want to leave it alone.

The T-40 however is supposed to be the chameleon of basses and it has visibly worn flatwounds that need to be replaced. So I was thinking of changing strings to help it fill the classic rock niche. I am wondering what strings folks would recommend to help take some of the highs out and warm up the sound a bit. I was thinking tape wounds maybe? I have ready they are warmer/darker, last a long time and lighter tension might also help me play longer with my untrained fingers?

 

[4StringDave]

Sounds like flats are the order of the day, going by your description and musical influences and aims.

Edit: BTW, I am a massive fan of both those bassists and their tones

 

[Lamrith]

Sounds like flats are the order of the day, going by your description and musical influences and aims.

Edit: BTW, I am a massive fan of both those bassists and their tones

So stay with flats on the T40? I thought tapewounds were warmer sounding (and easier on the hands) than flats which had me thinking of changing to them.

Yeah. I grew up listening to both, their bass lines just get etched in your soul over time. So intricate and subtle yet driving of the bands melody.

 

[4StringDave]

I think tapes are actually brighter as it's a roundwound underneath. Depends on the strings though.

I changed from rounds to flats on my jazz and the sound I'd been chasing was instantly just there. Fender 9050L.

I'd go flats on the T40, probably. How do you like the sound with the current flats??

 

[Lance Bunyon]

LaBella tapes.

 

[michael_t]

So stay with flats on the T40? I thought tapewounds were warmer sounding (and easier on the hands) than flats which had me thinking of changing to them.

Not all tapewounds are created the same; some are dark and warm while others are brighter and more roundwound-like. You will need to do some research.

The same goes to flats. Some are dark and warm (= old-school) while others are brighter and roundwound-like (= modern). They also come in a range of stiffness/flexibility. Again, do some research.

 

[4StringDave]

Forgot to say - the flats sound quite middy and clunky at home, but really sound glorious with a band. To me, round sound good at home, but I was always fighting the sound live.

Flats just sit in the right place....

 

[ADHD librarian]

So stay with flats on the T40? I thought tapewounds were warmer sounding (and easier on the hands) than flats which had me thinking of changing to them.

I love LaBella 750N. Give them a try (It's only money).
I just tried a set of 760G and meh. Not sure if it is the gold or the lighter strings but I am going back to the black.

Which brings me to the important part of trying new strings, you should save the worn flats you have on it because you might decide that old flats is the perfect sound (I hate the youtube bass videos where they cut off the old strings. I have a bag full of old strings because...
well, because just in case?)

 

[NorthTexasBass]

Try Thomastik flats. They're pricey, but will literally last forever. I have found they are warm but have better midrange than most flats. Depending on your needs they can sit nicely in the mix like LaBellas, but have a little more upper mids to cut through when you need to. Very versatile, and for me are the perfect strings. They do more than just thump.

 

[cataract]

Get some GHS Bass Boomers and play ‘em til they’re dead. Then keep them on your bass til they won’t intonate anymore

 

[OldSchoolFlats]

Not such a simple question. The Eagles bass-player was known for flats "back in the day", but until "The Ox" from "The Who" inventeted Rotosounds, flatwounds were mostly the norm.

You can actually get a nice warm sound from roundwounds with the treble cut, and bass boosted.

Some of that "warmth" though is probably mild distortion, from a tube amp or the speakers though. Bass can sound a bit "sterile" if you don't "crank it" a bit. You can probably get more "warmth" from a tube-amp, but they are expensive.

Finally, everything changes depending on the situation. What sounds good in your bedroom at low volume is completely different from a high-volume band situation with drummers and guitars competing to see who can be the loudest.

 

[Thegreatzambini]

Geez, nothing like a newbie asking for a string that sounds warm to get the flats weirdos out of their cave….

 

[dbsfgyd1]

New player here. I like and plan to learn lot of Eagles, Earth Wind & Fire, Fleetwood Mac, 70's classic rock and the like. They all tend to have what I consider a full, round, warm bass tone to them, maybe what people refer to as dark? I know T. Schmidt uses Jazz bass for the most part. J McVie has used J and P basses.

GAS has hit a bit and already have 2 basses; 1980 T-40 & 2009 Ibanez SR500.
I am hoping to get one of them to sound similar to the above artists and others of that era. I know I should just get a J, JP or P bass, but I have what I have for now.

The SR500 is pretty modern and aggressive sounding to my ear and should be a great fit for my other taste in hard rock/metal genres. It has a nice hard hitting sound to it as is. It has round wounds that are in good shape and good sound so I want to leave it alone.

The T-40 however is supposed to be the chameleon of basses and it has visibly worn flatwounds that need to be replaced. So I was thinking of changing strings to help it fill the classic rock niche. I am wondering what strings folks would recommend to help take some of the highs out and warm up the sound a bit. I was thinking tape wounds maybe? I have ready they are warmer/darker, last a long time and lighter tension might also help me play longer with my untrained fingers?[/QUOTE

+1 for replacing worn out strings. As for replacement strings and new round wound string characteristics, the best cure to dim the brightness is rolling off some treble on your bass and or amp EQ until they mellow out.

Being a long time round user, my experience is “warm” come from your EQ. Having covered classic rock as well as Motown, Stax, and Muscle Shoals for the last 50 years, I never had any bandmate, sound engineer, or producer ever say anything about my use of round wound strings or suggest I should use Flats, even when covering songs originally played on the oldest deadest shopworn flats know to man.

That said, nothing wrong with flats. It’s a matter of preference, and tastes do vary and change from time to time. So by all means explore your options. There is no shortage of choices.

 

[ADHD librarian]

Geez, nothing like a newbie asking for a string that sounds warm to get the flats weirdos out of their cave….

my cave has wi-fi, so I don't even have to leave.

 

[REV]

LaBella Low Tension Flats.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

New player here. I like and plan to learn lot of Eagles, Earth Wind & Fire, Fleetwood Mac, 70's classic rock and the like. They all tend to have what I consider a full, round, warm bass tone to them, maybe what people refer to as dark? I know T. Schmidt uses Jazz bass for the most part. J McVie has used J and P basses.

GAS has hit a bit and already have 2 basses; 1980 T-40 & 2009 Ibanez SR500.
I am hoping to get one of them to sound similar to the above artists and others of that era. I know I should just get a J, JP or P bass, but I have what I have for now.

The SR500 is pretty modern and aggressive sounding to my ear and should be a great fit for my other taste in hard rock/metal genres. It has a nice hard hitting sound to it as is. It has round wounds that are in good shape and good sound so I want to leave it alone.

The T-40 however is supposed to be the chameleon of basses and it has visibly worn flatwounds that need to be replaced. So I was thinking of changing strings to help it fill the classic rock niche. I am wondering what strings folks would recommend to help take some of the highs out and warm up the sound a bit. I was thinking tape wounds maybe? I have ready they are warmer/darker, last a long time and lighter tension might also help me play longer with my untrained fingers?

Put 1 set of D'Addario chromes, or fender flats on it, and never take them off.

Chromes, get a light medium Guage

Fenders, get a light guage.

 

[Fynn]

Changing to new strings will make it sound brighter, because the older strings on it have probably already lost a bit of top end. The strings don't do too much in terms of sound anyways. I would go more for a set of strings that is comfortable to you. Though technically thicker strings would have more low end (I believe the difference is negligible though).
Trying to get to a specific sound with just changing strings is not gonna do it. You'll need to get the proper cab first and foremost. The speaker will make the biggest change in tone, and from there you can do a little EQ'ing.

I don't know how much of a new player you are, are those the first basses you ever played? The only way to find a set of strings that you like is to test a bunch. What I did when I started playing bass was I changed my strings very often (pretty much every 1-2 months) to test out as many as possible. The biggest change I noticed is in how much they tear apart my fingers (or don't). Now I put Dean Markleys on all my basses.
The only flats I ever tried were the Daddario ECB81 Chromes. Those were nice.

 

[GTHintz]

Id start with some nickel strings like sunbeams from dr or pure blues. Maybe sit foundations. Or hey try some pressurewounds like sit silencers or ghs pressurewounds. Lots of ways to get the tone you want here.

 

[mdogs]

Changing to new strings will make it sound brighter, because the older strings on it have probably already lost a bit of top end. The strings don't do too much in terms of sound anyways. I would go more for a set of strings that is comfortable to you. Though technically thicker strings would have more low end (I believe the difference is negligible though).
Trying to get to a specific sound with just changing strings is not gonna do it. You'll need to get the proper cab first and foremost. The speaker will make the biggest change in tone, and from there you can do a little EQ'ing.

I don't know how much of a new player you are, are those the first basses you ever played? The only way to find a set of strings that you like is to test a bunch. What I did when I started playing bass was I changed my strings very often (pretty much every 1-2 months) to test out as many as possible. The biggest change I noticed is in how much they tear apart my fingers (or don't). Now I put Dean Markleys on all my basses.
The only flats I ever tried were the Daddario ECB81 Chromes. Those were nice.

I can’t imagine being so wrong.

 

[ravelax]

Nickel roundwounds, or just go with flats. I have a set of D'Addario Chromes on my Jazz Bass and it nails that vintage tone. They're typically considered a bright, modern sounding flat, but that can be compensated for by rolling off the tone knob or treble on your amp. I have also used LaBellas but that was almost 20 years ago (had a long roundwound period in between). I remember them as very good too.

I'd stay away from stainless steel strings, and coated strings like Elixir (even the nickel ones).

Tapewounds I have only ever tried once, on a bass in a store. I remember them as sounding a little rubbery, but they felt very nice.

As for the basses, you've got it right keeping the Ibanez for the more modern stuff. It's mainly its active electronics that would get in the way of vintage tone, I'd say.