Ready for a workout - which one?

[hvymetallurgist]

I could also get a cheap, worn MIJ P bass with a presumably fat all-maple neck, but I'm not sure if I could stand the bottom-adjusted truss rod. For my preferred action and the humidity around here, I often need to adjust the truss rod every now and then.

FWIW - the chonky neck on the Vintera lead to a ridiculously stable situation in my experience. I'm convinced it wouldn't have moved even if I took the strings off and completely removed tension lol. In the case of this neck the bottom truss adjustment is a nothingburger

 

[96tbird]

Jack is winning the poll. Cool. Hey I wanted to see if Jack's are really hollow, or solid block, so I stuck my iPhone in the F slot.... Jack is a true hollow. i post these pics WHENEVER THE OPPORTUNITY ARISES, and sometimes non-sequiter.

Jack will feedback, so keep youir hand on the strings.

Looking at the tail block (bridge block), you can see the pickup route in the face reinforcing strip.

 

[Iristone]

+1 on the Dunlop flats. I tried them on a Sire P bass, they were amazing! Problem is I won't spend what they are now asking for them now days, more than what i paid for some of my basses! Back to the OP question, how about Embassy or a Guild Starfire?

The Embassy is definitely also an option, I can attest to its fat neck but I'm not entirely sold on the new blackguard look. Also I already own a Thunderbird with 760 Probuckers as my main roundwound bass! For regular (non-phat flatwound "workout") playing I actually like the relatively slim Thunderbird neck a lot.

Flatwound prices in China:
Most affordable are Alice and Höfner Contemporary, ¥100 or about $15. Both also come in relatively light gauges and sound like "halfway between round and flat" strings.
A bit higher is a local brand called Earthworm, ¥150 or about $22.5. They make very nice flatwounds but horrible roundwounds.
At ¥270 or about $40 is SIT Power Flats, GHS P Flats, and Rotosound RS77LD. Strangely the RS77LE costs almost double, and the dealer doesn't readily carry short-or medium-scale Rotos.
At about ¥360 or $55 is La Bella 760, Fender 9050, EB Cobalt and the like. Special La Bellas such as the Olinto or LTF cost a bit more.
Top of the line? Thomastik at ¥670 or $100. Fortunately I'm not particularly a fan of that tone (heresy, blasphemy, etc.)...

 

[Stylee Mousse]

My JC has been very stable. It is my only flats bass and has DR Legends.

Very nice sounding bass, very vintage sounding, P-like. Neck is not particularly fat tho

 

[lowfreqgeek]

My JC has been very stable. It is my only flats bass and has DR Legends.

Very nice sounding bass, very vintage sounding, P-like. Neck is not particularly fat tho

I really like the JC neck, but wouldn't compare it to a "baseball bat".

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Iristone, I currently use Fender flats and i have one bass with Chromes. I have been eyeing up the Alice flats and might give them a try. I have ground wounds on a Yamaha BB4 and i really want to like them but i haven't bonded yet.

 

[Iristone]

I think I like the top end of CV50 and the mid-low end of CV60. The CV60 would be the best for the tone I described in the OP. I wonder if the regular P pickup in parallel would be slightly closer to a 51P sound? If so I could mod it and switch between the tight 60P punch and the looser 51P vibe before I manage to buy 2 P basses

 

[Iristone]

Iristone, I currently use Fender flats and i have one bass with Chromes. I have been eyeing up the Alice flats and might give them a try. I have ground wounds on a Yamaha BB4 and i really want to like them but i haven't bonded yet.

I also prefer proper flats to groundwound or pressurewound. I'd recommend the A629 for a half-round tone, or also check out La Bella white tapes

 

[Iristone]

Eventually I'll get both P basses, and likely use heavy GHS P flats on the CV50 and some heavy La Bella (Olinto or 0760M) on the CV60. Until then I'm thinking of getting the CV60 and play it with P flats?
I believe that the CV50 and GHS are more "thumpy", while the CV60 and La Bella are more "punchy" in the mids. Maybe the CV60 with GHS will get me a happy medium before I get both a thump and a punch machine?

 

[Iristone]

Hmm, I'm thinking twice about using the heaviest flats on it. After about half a year of less practising, my left hand probably isn't strong enough to play heavy flats without injury or buzzing-low action! I'll likely work my way up from lighter Alice flats, La Bella 760FL, or Rotosound SM77. Maybe they'll give a more mid and high-end attack, too.

 

[Iristone]

As for achieving "deep, heavy thump with fingers, and a bit of twangy bite with a pick", you may want to also take a look at GHS Precision Flats and/or Dunlop flats. I currently have the Dunlops on my one P bass and they sound great but they are stiff, and I might be changing them out back to rounds or Pressurewounds just for playability sake. The GHS P Flats are the flats that finally changed my mind from "hating" flats as a rule. They're available in a few different gauges so you're not stuck with bridge cables as your only option (i.e. Rotosound).

Thank you for this suggestion! I'm thinking that the GHS would be nice for the "thump" part, while the Rotosound is perfect for the "bite" part. A thick-core but overall lighter La Bella set (760FL?) could have split the difference, the Rotosound flats have really thick and stiff cores even for their lighter short-scale strings (which also sound great).

 

[DJ Bebop]

Squier cv60s CIC are fantastic. Great neck all the way up and the first fret feels perfect to my hand.

My 50s is cool but just doesn’t have the smooth playing feel the 60s does. It’s chunky. It has a primitive feel to it.

My Casady wears Chromes flats, has done for about ten years. Normal seasonal truss tweaks keeps it playing perfectly. It’s what I call a slim neck back to front. Not one issue with flats. Love it for the feel and the tones it does. Chromes brightness are the ticket with a JC. I tried LaBella DTF but wanted a little more high end which Chromes delivers. Very cool bass.

Worried about the high tension of flats? You’re overthinking that. That’s why the steel truss rod was introduced. I put whatever strings I want on any bass and don’t even think about it. These days I’m more worried about round wounds chewing up the boards of my most loved basses than tension, but not very worried at all, really.

I agree on truss rods.
I've got an SX or Essex P bass. It's similar to the Squier basses in construction. Mine has been wearing La Bella 1954 flats, 52-110 for years now and hasn't had an issue. I don't think it is any better constructed than the Squiers, could have been built in the same factory at one time…

PS the bass is a full-size 34” P, the cat is just big

 

[NKBassman]

Thank you for this suggestion! I'm thinking that the GHS would be nice for the "thump" part, while the Rotosound is perfect for the "bite" part. A thick-core but overall lighter La Bella set (760FL?) could have split the difference, the Rotosound flats have really thick and stiff cores even for their lighter short-scale strings (which also sound great).

The GHS Precision Flats do play very nicely with a pick, too.

 

[NKBassman]

I agree on truss rods.
I've got an SX or Essex P bass. It's similar to the Squier basses in construction. Mine has been wearing La Bella 1954 flats, 52-110 for years now and hasn't had an issue. I don't think it is any better constructed than the Squiers, could have been built in the same factory at one time…

View attachment 7519295

PS the bass is a full-size 34” P, the cat is just big

Looks just like my parents old cat

 

[DJ Bebop]

Looks just like my parents old cat

He’s a Siberian, kinda a big boy but not as big as my neighbor’s Maine Coon Both those guys run the block