Thanks, I know your first post here already (and appreciated it) but thought that you could tell me more about the sustain especially.
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Praise Report: GHS Precision Flats
- Thread starter Linnin
- Start date
It's still plenty good. I can't ascertain any degradation at all. No problem with TNT.
I fully expect these strings to stay like this for many years.
For me they developed allright, @Slowpicker I use some foam under the bridge as well, mostly to tame them when they were 'young', but it stayed. With the tone rolled off it's now my go-to reggae bass. Low and smooth. Not to disrespect the tone full open sound, far from, that sounds GREAT in a mix (mostly even better than tone rolled off: more defintion while retaining the vibe) but I just don't like that sound on it's own that much.
Hope this helps
Hope this helps
Let me just go ahead and toss out what I think are some good tips:
1) I thoroughly wipe down every string with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol before I put them on.
2) Always play with clean dry hands.
3) Dry wipe strings down after every session.
4) Light/damp alcohol wipe down once a week. Especially so for roundwounds.
To help break in flats:
1) I always string through the bridge (top load). Keep your string pull as straight as possible to avoid any seperation of the flat ribbon winding.
2) I do not stretch the strings artificially in an attempt to accelerate break in. Remember avoid any seperation of the winding. I use the machine heads/tuners to mechanically stretch the strings slightly and evenly in a straight line. Run them up a half step sharp and then retune.
3) Play the strings in. Do chromatic single string runs.
4) Do it a lot. At this point I would start using String Fuel instead of alcohol. You may like GHS FastFret better.
5) Do it some more.
6) Keep doing it.
7) As you play the strings in be sure to tweak your set up as you go.
8) Play; Jam, & Enjoy
9) Grow old doing it.
1) I thoroughly wipe down every string with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol before I put them on.
2) Always play with clean dry hands.
3) Dry wipe strings down after every session.
4) Light/damp alcohol wipe down once a week. Especially so for roundwounds.
To help break in flats:
1) I always string through the bridge (top load). Keep your string pull as straight as possible to avoid any seperation of the flat ribbon winding.
2) I do not stretch the strings artificially in an attempt to accelerate break in. Remember avoid any seperation of the winding. I use the machine heads/tuners to mechanically stretch the strings slightly and evenly in a straight line. Run them up a half step sharp and then retune.
3) Play the strings in. Do chromatic single string runs.
4) Do it a lot. At this point I would start using String Fuel instead of alcohol. You may like GHS FastFret better.
5) Do it some more.
6) Keep doing it.
7) As you play the strings in be sure to tweak your set up as you go.
8) Play; Jam, & Enjoy
9) Grow old doing it.
Speaking of the tone knob....with these strings I have the tone on my P all the way open and it's perfect. With Chromes I found that I needed to dial it back to about half to get a sound that I was happy with.
One thing I've discovered with treble cut tone controls is to shut them down totally, and then slowly crack them open. You'll find a point (about 1/4 to 1/3 open) where the highs just leap out at you. Stop right there and fine tune your tone. That's the address for a tremendous amount of juicy bass meat. Serious rump roast.
I used to run my Precision wide open strung with Rotosounds. OMG what the hell was I thinking?!
Yes, I was young once.
I used to run my Precision wide open strung with Rotosounds. OMG what the hell was I thinking?!
Yes, I was young once.
Ok I'm back in. I got another G&L LB-100 and I threw on some Precisions. Once again the E is a little darker and thumpier than the rest of the strings, but it works on this bass compared to others I tried them on. I'll hang in there and let them balance out. They really do feel and sound wonderful on this bass.
Glad to see this thread back on the front page. Where it belongs.
How is everyone finding the G balance? I'm finding that my E is balancing better after just a few weeks with the A & D, but now the G sounds thin. I've been raising that side of the picking (P bass) to compensate. I'm assuming I still have to hang in there and wait for it to balance out too. I don't really want to go for a heavier G. I used to play the 55 and I didn't like the tension and it was a bit too dead.
I'm finding it OK now. Still a little bright comparatively, but certainly not thin by any means. My '76 Precision has a 7.25" neck radius, and that's a lot of curve, so my split p'ups exhibit the typical 'hump' in the middle for the A & D strings while being considerably lower for the E & G. Evenness of string-to-string volume is very good.
Release some tension and clean it up with some alcohol. Then tune up and down from Gb to G# four or five times to get a bit of even straight line stretch and re-tune to G. Just play a bunch of boring chromatic runs up and down the G string. I kid you not, but I did this for months!
I have no experience with GHS Precision Flats as such, but from what I've been reading, it is quite common for a set of flats to have a brighter G compared to the rest. My Fender Jazz wore a set of D'A Chromes (40-60-80-100) for four years. The E, A and D had mellowed nicely, but even after four years, the G still sounded annoyingly "pingy" or "twangy".
I'm thinking of trying a set with a slightly heavier G next time, maybe 45-60-80-100 to see if that makes any difference.
What are the gauges for the rest? 45-65-85-105?
(Sorry if I missed your earlier posts where this question might have been answered already.)
Here's what I'm thinking...
If the 45 sounds "brighter" or "thinner" when combined with 65-85-105, would it sound better-balanced tonally with 60-80-100?
By the way, it's rather unfortunate GHS doesn't even offer a 50 G to try with your set.
Yeah I wish they made a 50, but oh well.
I suppose I could try a lighter gauge set but in general I'm not really a fan. I'm probably just going to keep playing them and wait for it to balance out and hopefully the "thinness" I hear is really just a balance issue for now.
