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Praise Report: GHS Precision Flats

#1,622
I have them on three basses currently and all sound really nice. I think only one bass I've tried them on didn't sound all that good--a '55 Pbass--that I thought would really be a great fit, but was not at all. However, I've had trouble finding a set I really like on it. Thus far TI Jazz rounds seem the best.
 
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#1,623
My M3050s have now been on my P/J for three years.
I bought a spare set of CM3050s, because I thought that balanced tension might be nice to try. But since I've never broken a string in 20 years, and the existing set sounds so good, I can't see me using them any time soon!
With the tone halfway off, the sound is just perfect - no additional EQ required. I only wish I'd discovered these strings sooner!
 
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#1,625
Pbassmanca said:
Man, flats on a P are the ORIGINAL sound of gospel bass......:smug:
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When I think back over 50 years, it’s also true that GHS flats were among a small handful of string brands that made that sound what it is. That remains true today. It’s been a truly great string from a truly great company since the earliest days of electric bass!
 
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#1,629
just some fodder here...
Comparing my 2 Jack Casady basses an older 1999 Gold top Made in Korea with newish Chromes, ( did have to cut the silk back on the bridge to avoid silk on metal), with my newer 20th Anniv made in China with GHS flats.
The newer 20th anniv sounded much louder , clearer and alive. Had to take it 1 step furthur and removed
the chromes and put some older GHS flats on the Gold top, and now they both sound the same.
So, unless my test was flawed by removing the silk or the chromes werent designed for that type of bridge , the GHS strings just sound so much better than the chomes and will not go that route any longer.
JC
 
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#1,630
JohnnyBottom said:
So, unless my test was flawed by removing the silk or the chromes werent designed for that type of bridge , the GHS strings just sound so much better than the chomes ...
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If the GHS P Flats sound better than the Chromes, then that means your test was NOT flawed. ;):D

I personally do like the idea that GHS flats don't have silk at the ball end.
 
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#1,632
All right ladies and gentlemen, I'm here in my living room just about to string up a brand new set of "Battle Creek thump cables" on my Yamaha BB424x in preparation for tonight's Funk Soul gig at the legendary Oshawa Music Hall, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. I'll be checking back in to let y'all know my impressions of the sound and feel of these strings!
20190301_132705.jpg
 
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#1,634
fermata said:
I love it! @Jon Moody, it might be time to rebrand the ol' Precision Flats...
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Ok, so first impressions: Wow! These are some very nice flatwound bass strings! Extremely smooth to the touch and strung top load and tuned to pitch they give a nice clear, punchy, audible tone with a good thump to the fundamental through the bass when played unamplified. The feeling of stiffness is actually less than anticipated and yet present enough to make for very comfortable and quick string rakes, 16th notes, and ghost notes with the plucking hand. The strings unamplified seem to have a decently balanced sound frequency wise straight out of the pack, with a clean sounding midrange and practically zero extraneous treble noise, which is very encouraging. The heavier gauges ( .090 - .70 - .055) on the A, D and G strings lends a nice bassy thump to the notes and while they do have a bit more top end than the E string (.105) out of the pack, the unamplified sound is much more intially balanced in terms of volume, and frequency range than I was expecting. One of the things that is immediately noticeable is that there is more liveliness to the E&A strings then on say a fresh set of La Bella deep talkin Flats, of which I am also a fan. I have to say however, that straight out of the pack the GHS Precision's are much more lively and inspiring than the labella's when played acoustically , and that I really am shocked at how loud and clear they sound on a non Amplified bass guitar for a flatwound string. Based on reports in this thread and others, I believe that the strings will soon nicely balance out with enough hours of playing time. Overall I am really impressed with these Precision Flats so far, and I'm going to give my Yamaha BB424x a little set up this afternoon just to tweak things, and I will look forward to playing the bass tonight at a gig fully amplified on stage and through a PA system to see how they do! It's gonna real greasy tonight Ya'll.......:smug:
 
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#1,635
My experience jives with what you're describing. When I first put on the GHS flats, I was very pleased with the sound and thought it would be just fine if they remained like that indefinitely. But around six months in, they get even better, hard though it may to imagine in the first days of enjoying a fresh set! And good luck with the gig tonight!
 
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#1,636
fermata said:
My experience jives with what you're describing. When I first put on the GHS flats, I was very pleased with the sound and thought it would be just fine if they remained like that indefinitely. But around six months in, they get even better, hard though it may to imagine in the first days of enjoying a fresh set! And good luck with the gig tonight!
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fermata said:
My experience jives with what you're describing. When I first put on the GHS flats, I was very pleased with the sound and thought it would be just fine if they remained like that indefinitely. But around six months in, they get even better, hard though it may to imagine in the first days of enjoying a fresh set! And good luck with the gig tonight!
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Thanks! Oh my God....I'm in flatwound heaven right now. About to play first set. Such smooth treble. Much thumpy bark. WOW!
 
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#1,638
Well, I have to say, that the GHS Precision flats are the smoothest, sweetest, most perfect sounding flat wound strings I've ever played, and I've tried quite a number of flats. I can't even begin to describe how awesome they sound on my Yamaha BB424X through a Mesa M9 Carbine and Mesa Powerhouse 4ohm 600 watt 210. I strung them up Friday before my funk-soul gig and gave the bass a little setup and man, when I plugged in, it was old school, flatwound heaven from the first note! I dimed the tone and volume knobs and that was it baby, just clear, cutting, perfect, thick, lush, thumpy P bass tone with great mids all night long! And let me tell you about how they have zero extraneous clanky treble going on, just a smooth, sweet top end that barks and bites when asked, (but only with express written permission.... ) I used the regular set (.105 .090 .070 .055) and I had to carefully file out all of the nut slots a bit on the BB424X to get them to fit, but I'm sure that the .105 .085 .065 .045 are equally as good, as well as the lighter gauge set. Folks, I'm telling you right now ; if you're looking for a classic flatwound string for those old school tones, with a great tonal balance across the spectrum, that feel great to play and don't cost an arm or a leg, look no further than GHS Precision flats. My flatwound search is over! :thumbsup:
 
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#1,639
Have been trying out flats for the first time in over 25 yrs of playing and I'm in LOVE!!! Bought a new player series jazz a while back and had my luthier set it up and install GHS Precision flats (45-105). My first impression was how great the flats feel to play although appeared to be much stiffer than rounds. I was expecting a "break in" period based on feedback read here at talkbass, but I'm just enjoying these (and the new bass) so much, I find my practice time has increased three-fold and they just continue to get better. I mainly play rock, blues and some funky stuff and these strings are perfect for all. I can it em hard for rock, slap em silly for funk or melt away everyones stress with that hypnotic mellow walking thump for the blues. Big bonus is, they gonna last and last and last!
 
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#1,640
Pbassmanca said:
Well, I have to say, that the GHS Precision flats are the smoothest, sweetest, most perfect sounding flat wound strings I've ever played, and I've tried quite a number of flats...

Folks, I'm telling you right now ; if you're looking for a classic flatwound string for those old school tones, with a great tonal balance across the spectrum, that feel great to play and don't cost an arm or a leg, look no further than GHS Precision flats. My flatwound search is over! :thumbsup:
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bhendrix said:
Have been trying out flats for the first time in over 25 yrs of playing and I'm in LOVE!!!

...I'm just enjoying these (and the new bass) so much, I find my practice time has increased three-fold and they just continue to get better.
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Thank you both for these enthusiastic comments about the P Flats.

I pulled out my P bass a couple of days ago for the first time in a couple of months, and I do have to agree with you, they feel and sound so good I just want to keep on playing and playing...

I just have to find ways to give them more play time. ;)
 
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