Question about usage of flat wound strings

[DavidEdenAria]

Any guitar and guitarist, paired with any bass and bassist, can make their combo of instruments work, if they listen to each other, and are willing to change their sounds and how they play to complement what the other one is doing. But yes, changing instruments is sometimes a good tweak - sometimes a P will work better, sometimes a J will work better. It's also possible that a (looks around to see if anyone is watching) non Fender bass might be just the ticket at times.

I have personally played blues (In Chicago blues clubs) with a metal necked Kramer with rounds. Yes, heresy to some, but it's not always the instrument that makes the tone.

Yea...ive seen a variety of veteran Chicago blues bands use different bass rigs...its kind of like assuming a guy walks in with an Eddie Van Halen FrankenStrat with a Floyd Rose and the guy is gonna shred all night...one of the better blues guitarists i know uses such a guitar... he doesnt shred either but uses that Floyd to good effect...makes it fit the music and the mix.

 

[pbass2]

I get what he's saying. If the jazz in question has a "scooped" sound, it can allow some (many) guitar sounds to sit in that dip in the midrange quite nicely. One of the few instances where I actually prefer a j to a p is in a rock power trio for this very reason.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

The guitarists' general description sounds accurate to me. A guitar sound with a lot of low mids may muddy up with a P bass, but this depends also on the P-bass pickup, its electronics, string type, and tone knob position.

If this is a prelude to working with a guitarist that will not compromise on tone or frequency space, I'd take it as a yellow flag. Especially if I didn't own a jazz bass already, which I don't.

A professional guitarist will make the necessary adjustments without controversy or drama, and still get "their sound". As will a bassist. But merely stating a preference is ok with me. It is interesting though how that shoe is never on the other foot. How many bassists tell their guitarists not to play humbuckers, because you prefer a single coil tone from the other musician? That pretty much never happens.

As long as its a conversation between adults, it shouldn't be the prelude to a problem.

Guitarist plays P-90s...problem solved bwwaaa!! As i stated earlier a J bass on the bridge pickup is pretty distinct from a P bass sound but you CAN make them very similar...i think neck preference is a big thing with some bassists and a P and J usually vary a lot in neck shape.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I get what he's saying. If the jazz in question has a "scooped" sound, it can allow some (many) guitar sounds to sit in that dip in the midrange quite nicely. One of the few instances where I actually prefer a j to a p is in a rock power trio for this very reason.

I think the OP should get a Jazz Bass and use just the neck pickup...............Ttat should teach his guitarist friend a thing or two about basses.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

I get what he's saying. If the jazz in question has a "scooped" sound, it can allow some (many) guitar sounds to sit in that dip in the midrange quite nicely. One of the few instances where I actually prefer a j to a p is in a rock power trio for this very reason.

And thats a result of Fenders preference to always wire multi pickups in parallel (same with speakers)....wire a J bass in series, different sound.

 

[grinx]

play zingy flats a la Fender 9050s

 

[skaine]

I need also some advices here by the way

Need advice for Fender American Pro Precision Bass, help.

 

[pbass2]

And thats a result of Fenders preference to always wire multi pickups in parallel (same with speakers)....wire a J bass in series, different sound.

Which is why I put Model J's in my jazz! I can still do scooped, but I retain more beef

 

[Wfrance3]

Sounds like a turf war to me. Tell your 6 string buddy to work his own side of the street!

 

[Mastermold]

A P bass' sound is more felt than heard in my opinion, a Jazz bass is the opposite; it's more heard than felt.

Well I'll disagree on this. The low-mid space the P occupies is precisely (oh a pun) why it is heard in the mix.

But I agree with your point that a J can be dialed in to sound very P-like. I use both Ps and Js all the time, among several other basses.

 

[Gorn]

Stuff like this always reminds me of Lee Sklar's producer switch.

 

[BruceWhite]

P bass pups tend to have a thicker tone as they capture a wider frequency spectrum of each string. J basses rely on two separate pups to achieve the same result. Jazz basses have more tonal variations but can also be EQ’d to closely resemble a precision bass. It is very difficult to make a precision sound like a Jazz. I use both.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

play zingy flats a la Fender 9050s

Man, maybe my fav string on several basses....cheap and last a long time....although i have LaBella flats on my MIM J bass i am going 9050's on the MIM P bass.

 

[BruceWhite]

My go to flats are D’Addario Chromes. I’ve tried most and find these the liveliest and they last for a decent time. Haven’t tried Tomastic yet though, $$.

 

[Erik Asma]

Hmmm. I have these wonderful things on my amp for that.
Tone knobs.

And a boot to kick my guitarist if he puts to much low in his sound.
Sounds nice when tuning up. But he will disappear when my low kicks in when the actual song starts.

He likes those engl amps which have that nice thump down there.
But without a snarly Peavy bandit or something next to it he drowns out.

Me bass, me sit low. Go up.

 

[bassrique]

Hands and eq. Is this a trio?

 

[JRA]

Any guitar and guitarist, paired with any bass and bassist, can make their combo of instruments work, if they listen to each other, and are willing to change their sounds and how they play to complement what the other one is doing

 

[gmarcus]

I have a Jazz and a P both with flats (Chromes). The P bass has 2 sounds (for me): tone all the way on and tone all the way off. Its a chunky tone and sounds amazing with a pick (tone all the way on) and buttery smooth with the tone rolled off finger style.

The Jazz is much more scooped and has more deep bass and more edge to the attack. The jazz works great for reggae....deep bass with a bit of definition. That is with both pickups up full. The jazz also has a world of tones when you vary the level of each pickup. I find the neck pickup soloed is closest to a P bass, but still not quite there. The jazz is also much more sensitive to where you pluck the string. For me its my number one bass because it is more expressive. I play with flats because I like the tone and the smooth feel of the strings. Its defined and deep but not zingy.

 

[Minimalist]

There are so many factors that play into the tone you have. First and foremost is the bassist. Where and how you plug the strings is THE biggest factor in tone. Second is EQ and then the instrument.

It is also interesting that the guitar player apparently never thought about changing his tone. Speaks volumes about him/her.

 

[LaklandLaksNADA]

The last person I would take input from is a guitar player.

Few truer things have ever been posted on talkbass.