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Something Between GHS P Flats and Roto 77 Flats?

Grinderman

Grinderman

Inactive
Dec 21, 2013
6,376
11,346
Eagle Rock, Los Angeles CA
#1
(kind of thinking out loud about flats, and open to suggestions)

I've got two P basses and I feel like I'm ready to try some other strings on one of them.

One P wears GHS P flats and the other P wears Roto 77 flats. I like both a lot but the GHS P flats are so thumpy now they're really good but for just that one thing to the extreme. They do that one thing extremely well; not so versatile.

What I'm thinking is that I'd like to try some other flats that fit somewhere between GHS P flats and Roto 77 flats. IOW, flats that are about as stiff but a little brighter or more modern sounding than GHS P flats but still with a nice touch of thump.

I have Fender 9050M flats on my Jazz already. I've already tried them on a Nash PB I used to have but the combination did excite me.

I like the sound of Dunlop flats a lot but not the other problems that have come with them when I used them in the past; also too expensive, IMO. Chromes and Ernie Cobalts are also off my list for this situation for various reasons.


One possibility I'm considering is LaBella 760FM flats or perhaps Olinto.

I'm aware of Ernie Group I or II flats but I don't know their stiffness, tension, tone/sound, character/feel, etc.
 
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#3
Grinderman said:
I'm aware of Ernie Group I or II flats but I don't know their stiffness, tension, tone/sound, character/feel, etc.
Click to expand...

Ernie Ball Stainless Steel Flats are similar to the Fender 9050 in terms of overall stiffness/flexibility. I have the Group IV (40-95) on my P bass and find them "comfy but not floppy".

They have a nice midrange clarity although they're smoother than the Fender. I would put them right in between the GHS and the Roto.
 
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#4
michael_t said:
Ernie Ball Stainless Steel Flats are similar to the Fender 9050 in terms of overall stiffness/flexibility. I have the Group IV (40-95) on my P bass and find them "comfy but not floppy".

They have a nice midrange clarity although they're smoother than the Fender. I would put them right in between the GHS and the Roto.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

I'm listening to this demo comparison as I write this. I think I'll try out Group I or II.
 
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#8
michael_t said:
Ernie Ball Stainless Steel Flats are similar to the Fender 9050 in terms of overall stiffness/flexibility. I have the Group IV (40-95) on my P bass and find them "comfy but not floppy".

They have a nice midrange clarity although they're smoother than the Fender. I would put them right in between the GHS and the Roto.
Click to expand...
Meant to add this quote to my previous post :rage:
 
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#9
Grinderman said:
I need to get my headphones on.

Click to expand...

Grinderman said:
Click to expand...

Age (degree of use) is a parameter of supreme importance, and these (very well-performed as well as conceived, musical) videos confirm it.

In the first one, as revealed by the description, the La Bella set is old and the other two new.
(Side note: I preferred the La Bellas in the pick samples, by a long margin: a lot more characterful.)

As for the second one,
I did not know or expect Pyramid Gold flats to sound bright or more modern than Chromes.
Click to expand...
Description opens right with
"Replaced the 17yo D'Addario Chromes with some brand new (like 2 minutes before I recorded the video) Pyramid Chromes."
Well, yeah. They'll do that...


As for recommendations, I second the EB "Group" flat one, and concur the Olintos may be worth investigating as well.
I'll also throw in the Galli Jazz Flat JF4505 (currently inexpensive, at 30 bucks, from Strings By Mail).

(What else? Perhaps Sadowsky, or Optima.)
 
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#10
HaphAsSard said:
Age (degree of use) is a parameter of supreme importance, and these (very well-performed as well as conceived, musical) videos confirm it.

In the first one, as revealed by the description, the La Bella set is old and the other two new.
(Side note: I preferred the La Bellas in the pick samples, by a long margin: a lot more characterful.)

As for the second one,

Description opens right with
"Replaced the 17yo D'Addario Chromes with some brand new (like 2 minutes before I recorded the video) Pyramid Chromes."
Well, yeah. They'll do that...


As for recommendations, I second the EB "Group" flat one, and concur the Olintos may be worth investigating as well.
I'll also throw in the Galli Jazz Flat JF4505 (currently inexpensive, at 30 bucks, from Strings By Mail).

(What else? Perhaps Sadowsky, or Optima.)
Click to expand...

I did notice that disclosure about the old LaBella set but I skipped the beginning of the second video thus I missed the note about the Chromes.

I would like to hear the Pyramid Gold flats after six months and a year of break-in, though I still think they sound quite bright when they're fresh. I'm not sure even the Roto 77, Fender, and Dunlop flats I've used were quite that bright when they were new.
 
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#11
I’m 99 percent a flats player, and always have been, for 35+ years. The GHS Precision Flats and Rotosound 77s are actually my two main sets. I find both sets to be incredibly versatile, and not too far apart from each other tonally. They easily overlap in tone, once you apply some very basic e.q. adjustments. The main difference is feel. If you’re looking to split the difference between these two sets tone-wise, then I would work on your ability to control your tone, rather than looking for something you can buy.
 
#12
Grinderman said:
I still think they sound quite bright when they're fresh. I'm not sure even the Roto 77, Fender, and Dunlop flats I've used were quite that bright when they were new.
Click to expand...
Based on my own YouTube viewing as well as hands-on experience (Pyramid and Fender on the same platform), I suspect that, on one given individual bass ( = pickup and signal chain being equal), at least the 77 and the 9050 would sound at least a little brighter than the Golds - provided they're all equally brand-new, that is.
But I may well be proven wrong.
 
#14
Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwound 40-95 , their a blend of Iron and Cobalt attracts the magnets in your pickups more than any other alloy available . I've put them on fretted and fretless JB and PB and I think they sound and feel great , worth trying out .
 
#15
jimmydean said:
Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwound 40-95 , their a blend of Iron and Cobalt attracts the magnets in your pickups more than any other alloy available . I've put them on fretted and fretless JB and PB and I think they sound and feel great , worth trying out .
Click to expand...

The only thing about the Cobalt Flats is they're even brighter and more roundwound-like than the Roto 77 Flats. That's not what @Grinderman is looking for.
 
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#17
Grinderman said:
I would like to hear the Pyramid Gold flats after six months and a year of break-in,
Click to expand...

I'll check if I have some samples, but I can tell you that I use them on two Hofner and I've used them in long scale on an Epiphone Jack Casady.
they are not bright in therms of high frequencies and "metallic" sound, but they are the most mid-bumper I've ever had, so that they sit in the perfect spot in the mix.

here's the Casady! I found the samples:

here with the Rotosound BS66 brand new: Dropbox - Epiphone JC - Mix Riff - Rotosound BS66.wav - Simplify your life

here with the Pyramid Gold with some hours: Dropbox - Epiphone JC - Mix Riff - Pyramid Gold.wav - Simplify your life
 
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#18
Grinderman said:
I've got two P basses and I feel like I'm ready to try some other strings on one of them.

One P wears GHS P flats and the other P wears Roto 77 flats. I like both a lot but the GHS P flats are so thumpy now they're really good but for just that one thing to the extreme. They do that one thing extremely well; not so versatile.
Click to expand...


2F/2F said:
I’m 99 percent a flats player, and always have been, for 35+ years. The GHS Precision Flats and Rotosound 77s are actually my two main sets. I find both sets to be incredibly versatile, and not too far apart from each other tonally. They easily overlap in tone, once you apply some very basic e.q. adjustments. The main difference is feel. If you’re looking to split the difference between these two sets tone-wise, then I would work on your ability to control your tone, rather than looking for something you can buy.
Click to expand...

Okay. Thank you.
 
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#19
michael_t said:
The only thing about the Cobalt Flats is they're even brighter and more roundwound-like than the Roto 77 Flats. That's not what @Grinderman is looking for.
Click to expand...

That's correct.

The set of GHS M3050 P flats I have become about as extremely dead and thumpy as can be. If we were to visualize this on a spectrum they're way over at the absolute end on one side of that spectrum.

An E.Q. adjustment won't magically transform what these strings are in terms of characteristics of how they respond and sound on my bass in my hands.

That's not to say I'm surprised, or I don't think they're great strings. I might put those on my Jazz for a taste of that combo.
 
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