The Cobalt flats. I still use them my SX P, and they work well for that one. But the CV 60's P just needed something darker sounding. It sounded way too bright/clanky with the Cobalts on there. I actually had to put just a little relief in the truss rod last night to complete the set up. But just barely a little. The Squier plays great now. The GHS's have good sustain too so far, not just a dull thud. They ring out pretty good for a traditional sounding flat. I think once they are broke in they will be even better. This bass likes these strings!So I have a set of the 45-95’s that were gifted to me three years ago for my birthday and they’ve been in constant use ever since. The first two years mostly on a VM Jazz 70’s after brief runs on a Stingray and a VM Jazz 60’s but more recently on a CV60’s Precision and now a Player Jazz.
Imo they have fantastic feel. Wonderfully smooth almost from the beginning with a pretty quick break in period with no weird sonic artifacts while getting there.
As stated further below, on this light set the E & A strings are just a bit looser/floppier in feel than the D & G strings. Tonally however, they’re very well balanced. The E doesn’t feel out of sorts compared to the others. This leads to them working very well on my Jazzes in particular. I want to get the next heavier set for my P bass though because for some reason I tend to play a P more aggressively than a J. I also want to start using a pick a la Bobby Vega/Carole Kaye.
Tonally, they made the lo-mids on my P pop out in a most delicious sort of way and as this set is now on my Jazz I want to put another set on this one.
I then put them on my Players Jazz and OMG, feel & tone to die for! Smooth but thumpy with a darkish clarity to them. I wasn’t planning on this but sometimes things have a way of working out in a awesome but unexpected way. I think the long headswapping travels for these strings are over.
Not I! They’re the smoothest string I’ve ever played but fwiw I’m a relative noob to flats. I love the way they feel.
I’ve had this set pictured on 5 different basses, 2 of them twice, and while the silks have admittedly by now taken a bit of a beating but they’re still holding tune and sounding great. Zero issue with the E string going around the tuner post either.
This is off the Player Jazz where they currently reside.
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I’ll have to do this when I get my next set for my P bass. I have the light set and they’re great but to me, the E & A are just a bit looser in feel than the D & G which to me are about perfect.
Your experience is the same as mine when I had them on my CV60’s P. They just made the lo-mids pop out. I actually had to loosen the truss rod on mine just a touch.
When you say the Cobalts, did you mean the flats or the rounds?
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Some love for GHS Precision Flats Light (45-95)
- Thread starter Funkluva
- Start date
After having the GHS light flats on for a few days of playing, I've noticed that the E string is starting to open up some more from it's original thumpiness into a rich, deep, punchy tone which sounds more balanced with the rest of the strings. Especially when they are played with a pick. Which is what I use about 90% of the time. And this is just through my little 30wt home practice amp. They are beginning to break in some now. I'm looking forward to see how they sound when cranked through my stage amp.
I have a set on an Eastwood Classic 4 (short scale) and I love them. Wanted the same kind of feel on my Fender Jazz, but tension is higher on 34" scale strings vs 30", so I custom ordered a set...45-55-70-90. Should be arriving in about two weeks. Total tension is 146.7 lbs vs 163.2 lbs for standard light 45-95 set. Still way higher than the 122.2 lbs for short scale set, but I'm hoping that they give me what I'm looking for. Will post my experience with them once I've had a few weeks playtime...
I have the light gauge P Flats on all my basses at the moment, with three exceptions - P bass has the medium gauge, Semihollow has the regular gauge and the 5 string jazz has the 5 string set. For different reasons those sets fit these basses better.
Basses I have the 45-95 on:
As an aside - they sound phenomenal on my Stingray bass. I mean, they sound good everywhere but my Ray is my favorite.
Every so often I stray to rounds (Boomers, Hi Beams or XLs - I like these sets too) but keep coming back to the P Flats. I just love them.
Basses I have the 45-95 on:
- Jazz 4
- Fretless 4
- Beatle bass
- Bronco
- Stingray
As an aside - they sound phenomenal on my Stingray bass. I mean, they sound good everywhere but my Ray is my favorite.
Every so often I stray to rounds (Boomers, Hi Beams or XLs - I like these sets too) but keep coming back to the P Flats. I just love them.
What bass do you have them on?
GHS P Flats 45-95 is the best-balanced set of flats I've ever tried on my Fender P. I'm talking tonal balance. The G sounded fine to me.
How is the G different from the rest? Brighter or darker? Louder or quieter? Are we talking about a brand new set?
In my quest to find the perfect strings (for me), I have tried many. I didn't discover flats until recently though, starting with the fat LaBella Original with the 110 E. Wanting more growl - and less tension to be honest - I went back to round wound for a bit. I popped into Chicago Music exchange and asked Marc for some good flats, and he gave me the light set of ghs precision flats. I never would have considered light gauge on my own, but man am I glad I got these. Warm, defined and SO SMOOTH! I couldn't put the bass down! Something about how they grind the wrap makes them super smooth and not shiny, polished, which can feel sticky to me. Anyway, I got another set for my Jazz, then figured I have to see what the TI hype was just to sleep better at night. Put them on the Jazz, and they sound great, but the feel of the GHS wins hands down for me. I guess just because I'm nuts, does anyone know of another string that is smoother to play on?
Probably a subjective thing, but... to my fingers? The Galli Jazz Flats that are on my EBMM 4HH Stingray Special are just a little smoother that the GHS Precisions that I have on my long and short scale P-Basses. Smooth as the GHS's are? The Galli's are smooth and slick as wet ice... But, they don't sound the same as the GHS P-Flats; a tad more low-mids and mids, which IMO suits the active HH better. If the Galli's rate a 10 for smoothness? I'd rate the P-Flats as a 9.5. In any case, though; there's absolutely no way I'm going to give up the GHS's perfect-on-a-P Bass tone for a miniscule increase in smoothness...
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It's an old thread but I just put back on my P-Bass, an old set of GHS Precision 95-45 that I had totally forgotten about. Wow! What a tone.
It's funny because over time I really grew to dislike flats (I owned almost every flat money can buy from TIs to Chromes, LaBellas, Rotos, Ernie Balls and whatnot). The reason I came back to rounds was that I missed the punch and only liked flats when played with a pick or muted.
This GHS set is different yet, it has such an old-achool, full, crusty, funky, punchy tone. It acrually reminds me of Bernard Edwards tone (yes I know he used a Stingray with the GHS Pressurwound strings it came with). I immediately recorded through my fancy Summit Audio tube preamp. Best recorded tone I have achieved in 30 years. The sound of my bass jumps out of the speaker like a punch from Mike Tyson.
It is also funny how light gauge rounds sound so small and tacky but it is totally different for flatwound strings. I really prefer lighter gauge flat.
It's funny because over time I really grew to dislike flats (I owned almost every flat money can buy from TIs to Chromes, LaBellas, Rotos, Ernie Balls and whatnot). The reason I came back to rounds was that I missed the punch and only liked flats when played with a pick or muted.
This GHS set is different yet, it has such an old-achool, full, crusty, funky, punchy tone. It acrually reminds me of Bernard Edwards tone (yes I know he used a Stingray with the GHS Pressurwound strings it came with). I immediately recorded through my fancy Summit Audio tube preamp. Best recorded tone I have achieved in 30 years. The sound of my bass jumps out of the speaker like a punch from Mike Tyson.
It is also funny how light gauge rounds sound so small and tacky but it is totally different for flatwound strings. I really prefer lighter gauge flat.
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after years trying different flats, I've finally found the courage to try a set of GHS Precision 
I've never tried them because of all the reviews I red online, talking about the tone being too "thumpy", the unbalance in tension and sound between the four strings, the "dead" E string and all those things.
so in the years I roamed in the Flatland trying La Bella, Fender, D'Addario, Pyramid, Rotosound and others, but never went to the GHS.
I love their Boomers, they are my favourite nickel-plated, so I found strange the fact that in my head the GHS P-flats weren't going to be good.
probably I was thinking that they were going to be too much of a "one trick pony", limiting the use of a bass, but now I have too much basses for one bassist, so there's no risk
I went for the 45-95 set for three reasons:
1) I thought that they were going to be too stiff
2) I red that the light set was a bit more balanced and defined on the lower strings
3) Amazon only had them fast shipped
yesterday I took my Stingray, which was strung with a set of Fender 9050L, and put on the GHS 3025.
while mounting them, the first thought was "wow, they are so smooth and velvety!", and acoustically they sound immediately "woody" and thumpy.
the Fender have a "glassy" surface, and the sound (acoustically) is bright and metallic, with more sustain, while the GHS feel like "velvet" and have that woody and mid-thumpy tone.
also, the GHS feel less stiff and more flexible, and in the overall feeling they reminded me of the Pyramid Gold (surface, tension).
after checking the setup (notice that I didn't have to touch the truss rod nor the action, coming from 45-60-80-100 Fender), I put the bass in the amp and started playing some lines, and considering the bass, which is a 3-EQ Stingray with maple fretboard, they sounded so woody and thumpy, but like playing with the tone rolled off a bit.
at first it was strange, but after a while they just opened up a bit; I then tried to record on a song, and that's when I was astonished:
they took away the excessive brightness of the Stingray, but still maintaining it's middy and nervous character with some spark, but also the lower notes became more focused and full sounding.
what I've never come to love about the Stingray is the fact that, while you can hear it clearly in any mix, it always sounds like if it's "outside" the song, I don't know if I can express this feeling well.
with these GHS the added "softness" on the lower spectrum helps "warming" everything without losing definition.
I jumped in the 70's disco realm, and in a minute my pants got boot-cut
However, right now I'm not too happy about the tension, because on two other basses I'm using the Fender 55-105, so this GHS set feels a bit floppy on the plucking hand, but finding a 3050 set it's so hard in Europe...
I wanted to try them on the P-bass, but I don't know if I'll like the light set right now, and I don't want to change the setup too much. I'll see if I get used to them on the Stingray, and then lighten the P-bass
so, to recap:
- velvet feeling, like a nickel flatwound and not a stainless steel.
- nice tension
- woody and thumpy tone strong on the fundamental, with less sustain but a percussive attack ("less" sustain, which means that they don't ring much, but every note has enough sustain and would need foam to achieve the motown vibe)
now I'm curious about the Brite Flats, but I wanted the M set, which is impossible to find in Europe... it's a strange period for GHS here
I've never tried them because of all the reviews I red online, talking about the tone being too "thumpy", the unbalance in tension and sound between the four strings, the "dead" E string and all those things.
so in the years I roamed in the Flatland trying La Bella, Fender, D'Addario, Pyramid, Rotosound and others, but never went to the GHS.
I love their Boomers, they are my favourite nickel-plated, so I found strange the fact that in my head the GHS P-flats weren't going to be good.
probably I was thinking that they were going to be too much of a "one trick pony", limiting the use of a bass, but now I have too much basses for one bassist, so there's no risk
I went for the 45-95 set for three reasons:
1) I thought that they were going to be too stiff
2) I red that the light set was a bit more balanced and defined on the lower strings
3) Amazon only had them fast shipped
yesterday I took my Stingray, which was strung with a set of Fender 9050L, and put on the GHS 3025.
while mounting them, the first thought was "wow, they are so smooth and velvety!", and acoustically they sound immediately "woody" and thumpy.
the Fender have a "glassy" surface, and the sound (acoustically) is bright and metallic, with more sustain, while the GHS feel like "velvet" and have that woody and mid-thumpy tone.
also, the GHS feel less stiff and more flexible, and in the overall feeling they reminded me of the Pyramid Gold (surface, tension).
after checking the setup (notice that I didn't have to touch the truss rod nor the action, coming from 45-60-80-100 Fender), I put the bass in the amp and started playing some lines, and considering the bass, which is a 3-EQ Stingray with maple fretboard, they sounded so woody and thumpy, but like playing with the tone rolled off a bit.
at first it was strange, but after a while they just opened up a bit; I then tried to record on a song, and that's when I was astonished:
they took away the excessive brightness of the Stingray, but still maintaining it's middy and nervous character with some spark, but also the lower notes became more focused and full sounding.
what I've never come to love about the Stingray is the fact that, while you can hear it clearly in any mix, it always sounds like if it's "outside" the song, I don't know if I can express this feeling well.
with these GHS the added "softness" on the lower spectrum helps "warming" everything without losing definition.
I jumped in the 70's disco realm, and in a minute my pants got boot-cut
However, right now I'm not too happy about the tension, because on two other basses I'm using the Fender 55-105, so this GHS set feels a bit floppy on the plucking hand, but finding a 3050 set it's so hard in Europe...
I wanted to try them on the P-bass, but I don't know if I'll like the light set right now, and I don't want to change the setup too much. I'll see if I get used to them on the Stingray, and then lighten the P-bass
so, to recap:
- velvet feeling, like a nickel flatwound and not a stainless steel.
- nice tension
- woody and thumpy tone strong on the fundamental, with less sustain but a percussive attack ("less" sustain, which means that they don't ring much, but every note has enough sustain and would need foam to achieve the motown vibe)
now I'm curious about the Brite Flats, but I wanted the M set, which is impossible to find in Europe... it's a strange period for GHS here
after years trying different flats, I've finally found the courage to try a set of GHS Precision
I've never tried them because of all the reviews I red online, talking about the tone being too "thumpy", the unbalance in tension and sound between the four strings, the "dead" E string and all those things.
so in the years I roamed in the Flatland trying La Bella, Fender, D'Addario, Pyramid, Rotosound and others, but never went to the GHS.
I love their Boomers, they are my favourite nickel-plated, so I found strange the fact that in my head the GHS P-flats weren't going to be good.
probably I was thinking that they were going to be too much of a "one trick pony", limiting the use of a bass, but now I have too much basses for one bassist, so there's no risk
I went for the 45-95 set for three reasons:
1) I thought that they were going to be too stiff
2) I red that the light set was a bit more balanced and defined on the lower strings
3) Amazon only had them fast shipped
yesterday I took my Stingray, which was strung with a set of Fender 9050L, and put on the GHS 3025.
while mounting them, the first thought was "wow, they are so smooth and velvety!", and acoustically they sound immediately "woody" and thumpy.
the Fender have a "glassy" surface, and the sound (acoustically) is bright and metallic, with more sustain, while the GHS feel like "velvet" and have that woody and mid-thumpy tone.
also, the GHS feel less stiff and more flexible, and in the overall feeling they reminded me of the Pyramid Gold (surface, tension).
after checking the setup (notice that I didn't have to touch the truss rod nor the action, coming from 45-60-80-100 Fender), I put the bass in the amp and started playing some lines, and considering the bass, which is a 3-EQ Stingray with maple fretboard, they sounded so woody and thumpy, but like playing with the tone rolled off a bit.
at first it was strange, but after a while they just opened up a bit; I then tried to record on a song, and that's when I was astonished:
they took away the excessive brightness of the Stingray, but still maintaining it's middy and nervous character with some spark, but also the lower notes became more focused and full sounding.
what I've never come to love about the Stingray is the fact that, while you can hear it clearly in any mix, it always sounds like if it's "outside" the song, I don't know if I can express this feeling well.
with these GHS the added "softness" on the lower spectrum helps "warming" everything without losing definition.
I jumped in the 70's disco realm, and in a minute my pants got boot-cut
However, right now I'm not too happy about the tension, because on two other basses I'm using the Fender 55-105, so this GHS set feels a bit floppy on the plucking hand, but finding a 3050 set it's so hard in Europe...
I wanted to try them on the P-bass, but I don't know if I'll like the light set right now, and I don't want to change the setup too much. I'll see if I get used to them on the Stingray, and then lighten the P-bass
so, to recap:
- velvet feeling, like a nickel flatwound and not a stainless steel.
- nice tension
- woody and thumpy tone strong on the fundamental, with less sustain but a percussive attack ("less" sustain, which means that they don't ring much, but every note has enough sustain and would need foam to achieve the motown vibe)
now I'm curious about the Brite Flats, but I wanted the M set, which is impossible to find in Europe... it's a strange period for GHS here
The P Flats are my go to string... they're the best Flats out there, and i tried them all. Deep and percussive and the tension is perfect for me ( 45-105), i play them on a vintage p and j, they're perfect for the vintage vibe.
Look on Amazon, there shouldn't be a problem to find. Good luck
Are you talking about the M3050 (45-65-85-105) or CM3050 (45-60-80-105)?
I found the 55-105 set on lordofthestrings.com, which is a north european shop with good prices and fast shipment. they should arrive these days.
I went for them because I'm liking the Fender 9050M set (55-105) and I'd like to try the same gauge on my Classic 50's P.
however, the two sets of 45-95 I'm using on the Stingray and the Reissue 51 Japan feel great, and I think that, if the sound isn't that much different, I'll switch to the light set even on the 50's.
the good thing about bass strings is that they are easy to remove and reinstall when needed. I'm a string geek and I keep various used set for when I want to retry them, which is wonderful with flats because you won't need "brand new string" to sound good
I keep some roundwounds only to check the tension/feeling if I want to retry them after a while, before buying a new set.
Well...now i don't know haha! I've had them for so long I can't remember. I believe they're the M3050...
I know you've liked these strings for a while now (on P bass) and it sounds to me from other's comments that the light gauge is the "goldilocks" gauge. I like what I'm hearing here from the descriptions enough that I'd like to try them. But the only concern I have is whether this light a gauge (esp a .95 E) can produce enough girth and depth to hold down some bass-heavy music - like reggae, which is one of the main styles I would be using them for. I know: that's why we have EQ, but even so.. I want most of the sound from the bass and strings.
This would be on a jazz bass.
I did use these strings once, 5-6 years ago when I borrowed a friend's 5 string for a gig. Those were "regular" medium gauge.. I liked the chocolate tone and front end percussiveness, but I remember they seemed a little "clunky" sounding to me, esp. compared to more articulate Dunlop flats I was using at the time... but again, that was on a borrowed bass...
I have tried and used all manner of La Bella DTFs, LB low tension, Dunlop, DR and I welcome any and all comparisons of the GHS light gauge to any of these as well as comments comparing medium to light gauge P flats!
Thanks
You quoted my post from 6 yrs ago!
I haven't used the Precision Flats in a few years now, although I do have a brand new set in my stash just in case I get the itch. One thing I'm not sure about is how the light set would be on a Jazz. The 95E is punchy and focused (at least on a P bass), but it may not provide the "girth and depth to hold down bass-heavy music" on a J.
Meanwhile, I've had a chance to try the SIT Power Flats 45-105 in the last few months and was favorably impressed. I have a feeling you might like them for what you're looking for. In terms of tonal character, they would probably sit somewhere between the GHS and the Dunlop.
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