Round wounds vs. flats on a "J"

[tothemax]

I have a "P" with flats with a foam damper (under the bridge) and love the tone I get from this guitar. It's pretty much my number 1 and "go to" for band work. I also have a nice "J" with round wounds on it, that's what came on it when I purchased a few years ago. I broke it out yesterday to practice with and while I love the feel and playability really didn't like the tones I was getting. I had an old under bridge size piece of medium firm foam and that improved it significantly, but there was a bit of "thud" sound from the higher strings. My thoughts are to trim the foam down until there is a consistent tone across the strings (and keep the round wounds on the "J").

I do have another SS "Frankenbass" with flats, so it seems a good practice to keep one bass with round wounds. My preference is more of a Motown thumpy tone, so replacing the strings on the "J" for a brighter sound does not make much sense, not to mention being spoiled by the quiet fretting with flats. The "J" was trade in from a decent store and had been setup before it went on display, so the strings are probably good quality.

Any thoughts...

 

[Barton Lee]

I have flats on my two Fender Jazz at the moment, an '88 MIJ 62 reissue and a '25 Ultra II. Six months ago, both had rounds on them. Only in recent years (old age?) have I used flats on a J (the '88, which I bought new in 1990). For years, it was only Roto Swing 66 and the fret wear proves it. DR Legend flats on the old MIJ have a nice warmth while Fender 9050L on the Ultra II have a bit of growl and more treble content. I decided it wasn't worth keeping them strung with rounds just to follow the "accepted practice". I reserve the right to change my mind in six months too.

 

[michael_t]

This is why I own three Jazz basses, one of which is strung with Fender 9050L flats and the other two with GHS Pressurewounds (one for EADG, one for DGCF). I also own two P basses, one with rounds and one with flats. But my J's get more play time than my P's.

 

[tothemax]

I ordered a set of GHS Precision Flats for my "P" and the shipment came with (2) .065 strings and no .085 (45 - 105 set), apparently the vendor received a whole shipment like that and refunded the price. Just ordered a single .085 string, maybe I'll try those on the "J" since I have them. It's a 2004 USA Standard "J" that I just happened upon a few days after a customer traded it in. Love the look and feel of the "P" (BSB with a maple neck), but the "J" neck is so sweet... (Rosewood). It would be nice to have them basically interchangeable...

Thanks!

 

[michael_t]

It's a 2004 USA Standard "J" that I just happened upon a few days after a customer traded it in.

Is that the one with S-1 switch? Flats would sound great with the pickups in series!

 

[tothemax]

Nope, just the regular volume and tone controls

 

[BGroovy]

I love a Jazz with flats. I also love a jazz with Pressurewounds if I want a less bright sound somewhere in between flats and rounds.

 

[el murdoque]

For my own playing sound, I prefer flats and I put them on everything. I have basses in P, J and Ric configurations - and a few packs of rounds lying in the cupboard should I really find myself in need of that sound, but it's been more than five years since I last played roundwounds in a band.

 

[bwildt]

I love a Jazz with flats.

^^^This.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

For me I personally prefer flats on a J. VERY versatile sounds you can get.

 

[sonic boogaloo]

i've got thomastiks on my jazz.

best strings ever.

such a great tone.

 

[Jefenator]

I had a set of Pyramid Gold flats that seemed too dull on a couple of different P-basses. I just about gave up on them, until I tried them on the J.
It's glorious: exceptional "thump" with fingers and as much "bite" with a pick as I could ever want. I think I'm going to keep them on there for another decade or three.
My J had been great with rounds, too. But I have a good active 5-string for when that sound is required. (And the low B range usually goes hand in hand with that.)
YMMV

 

[Gervais Cote]

I have a jazz bass with some Dimarzio Utra J pickups, Fender flat wound strings and a parallel/series switch almost always set on series position.

In the mix, that bass is a monster.

 

[Mastermold]

My Jazz basses have both, one with flats and one with rounds. This one has the flats, LaBella 760FLs, set’s been on there since 2008.

 

[rockear]

Is that the one with S-1 switch? Flats would sound great with the pickups in series!

Can confirm that. This '04 American Series with the S1 has worn a bunch of strings, including 9050s, LaBella '54s, and various rounds, but it really comes most alive with a set of Chromes. I love the S1 switch on this bass and rarely disable it.

 

[Cleezmo]

If you like the "foam and thump" tone, then IMO you shouldn't bother with trying to modify how rounds sound and just put flats on your Jazz. I love the tone of rounds on a Jazz (that is the quintessential slap tone IMO), but if you aren't into the grind and zing, then just slap some flats on it and be done with it.

I do have an old Peavey Dyna-Bass - which was basically Peavey's early '90s version of an active jazz bass - and I have flats on it and run it in passive mode, and it sounds great.

 

[djmay]

I have TI Jazz Flats on all my basses; fretless 6, fretted 6, fretless 5 and fretted 5.

 

[micguy]

We all have preferences that are not “logical”. While I like the sounds some folks get from flats, the few times I tried them, I couldn’t get them off fast enough. To me, nickel plated steel rounds are the dullest strings I can deal with. I have one bass with those, the rest have stainless rounds.

Don’t worry if your approach sounds logical, or if it follows common wisdom. Try everything, go with what works for you.

 

[Bodeeni]

I had flats on my J the last few years and it did not get used much. I like them but I felt it got lost in the mix too much. I just went back to rounds, it sounds killer, and we will see how I use it.

 

[ra0ulduke]

It's good that this question is finally being discussed.