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Praise Report: GHS Precision Flats
- Thread starter Linnin
- Start date
And the thread lives on, thanks to you!
I have to say I'm very happy to have the Precision Flats on my Precision.
Have you, by chance, had TIJF on the same bass? If so, how are they different and what PUP’s are they on top of?And the thread lives on, thanks to you!
I have to say I'm very happy to have the Precision Flats on my Precision.
I have no experience with TIJF. The Precision Flats are on my 2014 Am Std P with the stock CS60 pickups.
I have TI flats on several basses. They are flexible flats (not floppy if set up right) and have a strong mid-presence. The GHS Precision flats are stiffer (but comfy to me) and have more bottom end; they are a very traditional flatwound bass string whereas the TIs are very unique in their feel. Both are very good strings and I recommend trying them out to see what you like. I have been using TI flats for years but only recently discovered GHS flats and have been enjoying them, they remind me of La Bella 760 flats in feel but they have a different voice.
Comparing the TIJF to the GHS Precision Flats (light set) on a Precision bass...
TJIF is even lower tension and more flexible than the light Precision Flats.
The Precision Flats have a deeper low-end tone. The TJIF have less low-end, but a more pronounced and sproingy midrange. When not A/B comparing the two and listening for details, they both offer a good classic 1960s character; the TJIF are probably more "clear and modern", but in the mix it's not as noticeable.
My preference? Wow. I do really like the TI flats, but I had a hard time losing the low-end presence. I wish I could have a mixture of aspects of both. But I think for me, GHS Precision Flats would ... usually ... win. With some flexibility for exact musical context.
You and I both!
I'm likewise as happy to have them on my '95 MIJ '62 RI Jazz. This bass was about the 6th one that this particular set was played on and while they sounded various amounts of good on the others, when I put them on this particular bass it was like how the chocolate and peanut butter came together for Reese's. A pairing meant to be.And the thread lives on, thanks to you!
I have to say I'm very happy to have the Precision Flats on my Precision.
It's a good thing too as I don't want to take them off again because the silks at this point have taken a real pounding and they're well reliced at this point.
They still stay in tune and hold intonation as well as ever even though you can see all kinds of little dents in them that don't line up with the frets on this bass from the prior installs. Just a great product!As Lennin said it way back at the beginning of the thread, thermonuclear attack that's outright addictive. It never gets old. So satisfying. I received these strings from a friend for my 50th b'day and I turn 55 in about 7 or 8 weeks.
Tbh, I just recently decided to satisfy my curiosity and finally bought & installed a set of LaBella 760 FM .49-.109 on my '19 AmPro Precision so it'll be interesting to see how they compare with the GHS over time.
The LaBella's when new were very clear and surprisingly bright. They don't yet have the pure thump of the GHS (that was a surprise!) but are also very very smooth to the touch, like a chrome rope. I was also thinking that the lack of relative thump may be due to the VMod pups which afaik aren't exactly vintage voiced and tbh are a little underwhelming. Incredibly comfortable on the fingers and the tension to me is easier to deal with than it was with my ML7200 Pressurewounds (the stiffest strings I have). Not better or worse so far, just different.
Installing the LaBella's E string was a bit of a PITA though as my Precision has a "modern" bridge which sets the ball of the string closer to the nut then the old school bent bridges. This in turn puts the unsilked portion of the string perilously close to turning onto the tuner post which according to LaBella, will snap if it does. I also wouldn't put these on a Jazz neck. I had to crank up the truss rod ⅚ of a turn as it was to get the correct relief.
It is holding the adjustment without any further issues.So I had to fit a spacer over the E string to the ball end then put a small nut between it and the bridge to act as a washer so the spacer wouldn't gouge the bridge. Good to go but tbh it's a bloody PITA. LaBella should ditch the little plastic dice and throw in a spacer instead as this bridge has become pretty common on modern USA Fenders. Either that or wind on another ¼-⅜ of an inch of silk ffs.
Also for those who might care. Thru-body stringing is a no go for these as well. So compared to the GHS, there are some limitations and maybe a bit of backyard engineering on the installation of the E string to contend with. YMMV of course. Either way, GHS wins in the ease of installation category hands down.
The next set of the GHS that I buy, I want to try the CM or M3050 set. I'd like stiffer E&A strings & they seem to be the better balanced as well.
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Here's a short Bass Whisperer demo of Precision Flats on an LB-100.
I would be interested to hear what people who are used to Precision Flats on Fender Ps make of the resulting sound.
I would be interested to hear what people who are used to Precision Flats on Fender Ps make of the resulting sound.
I was skeptical of the GHS P Flats on my Wilkins Marlin jazz bass. I was used to Dunlops or LaBella.
But after 2-3 months of use they have become my favorite flat.
Not as thuddy as the LaBella and not so round wound sounding as the Dunlops.
Fat bottom but nice definition and warmth. Great strings.
But after 2-3 months of use they have become my favorite flat.
Not as thuddy as the LaBella and not so round wound sounding as the Dunlops.
Fat bottom but nice definition and warmth. Great strings.
The GHS P-Flats descriptions sound more like the DR Legends I have on my Jazz.
I’ve had TIJF on my P-bass for about a year and barring a string breaking, I doubt they’ll ever come off. If that happens, I’ll probably give GHS flats a go.
Based on my experience, a couple of hours of good workout is all it takes for them to be ready for action.
EDIT: Sorry but I was half asleep when I read your post, thinking this was the thread on Pressurewounds. I put Precision Flats 45-95 on my P bass a couple of months ago and they're sounding great! I would say a week or two would do for the initial break-in.
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They'll still mellow some over time but they're perfectly usable straight out of the box. Great strings!
Agreed. We read so many reports of some flats starting out very unbalanced tonally when new and taking months to even out. That's not the case with the Precision Flats, at least not with the 45-95 set I use. In fact, the first time I tried them a few years ago, they were on my P bass for exactly a year and I don't remember their tonal quality being that drastically different between when they were new and when they were a year old.
I recently put a set of 45-105 GHS precision flats on a cheap p bass I converted to fretless. I didn't find them unbalanced at all, but very high-mid focussed at first; but after playing them for some days that almost nasal quality got less prominent. I really like the way they sound now, and I love the way they feel.
Yes, he did. Then @Jon Moody picked up on it and put it up on the GHS website as part of the description for the Precision Flats.
