Warm And Smooth Sounding Flats

[michael_t]

Do you think it's a good idea to replace the 45 G and 65 D of the 760FS set on my bass with the 49 and 69 from a 760FM set?

Bigger gauges (of the same string) don't necessarily guarantee fatter tone. If I were in your position, I would try the GHS Precision Flats 45G and 65D to see how they match up with the La Bella 85A and 105E. One thing I know for sure is GHS P Flats are warmer than the La Bella DTF without the metallic edge.

How hard would it be for you to find GHS P Flats in singles where you are?

 

[Phaidrus]

Bigger gauges (of the same string) don't necessarily guarantee fatter tone. If I were in your position, I would try the GHS Precision Flats 45G and 65D to see how they match up with the La Bella 85A and 105E. One thing I know for sure is GHS P Flats are warmer than the La Bella DTF without the metallic edge.

How hard would it be for you to find GHS P Flats in singles where you are?

It shouldn't be that hard to find GHS singles, one way or the other. But then why not try a whole GHS set, either the 45-105 or rather the 55-105?

 

[Grinderman]

I want the same and have the same question!

Have LaBella 760FS on a Pbass and D and G sound way too thin and trebly compared to the marvelously fat sounding E and A.

I'm considering:

1) Replacing the 45 G and 65 D with the 49 and 69 from a 760FM set. This could perhaps improve things to a point but means buying a whole expensive set just for two strings.

2) Trying the Fender 9050M (55-70-90-105) set. But I'm scared of the massive tension.

I recently made string changes on my two P basses and one Jazz.

On the '58 type P with fat soft V 1-pc neck I now have 55-105 GHS Precision flats.

On the other P with rosewood board I have LaBella DTF 760M 52-110 strings. (these are so-called '54 "original")

On the Jazz I have 55-105 Fender 9050M flats.

The string tension hasn't been a problem with any of these; only properly applied truss rod adjustments were in order.

I'm quite happy with all three of these complementary combinations of strings to basses; tone and stiffness. I really do like the stiff strings. I see people say their fingers get sore or tired or they're afraid that's what may happen. I don't have that issue at all. The stiffness feels right to me. Everything feels more precise and where it should be. I actually feel like I'm working less and I can play softer or harder; the dynamics are better.

The GHS and Fender strings were great immediately.

The LaBella strings took a couple weeks to settle in tonally speaking but they are starting to sound great. That metallic edge that michael_t described above has mellow and balanced out to the extent that they now sound right. At first they sounded huge but also odd in a way that's hard to describe.

 

[Phaidrus]

I recently made string changes on my two P basses and one Jazz.

On the '58 type P with fat soft V 1-pc neck I now have 55-105 GHS Precision flats.

On the other P with rosewood board I have LaBella DTF 760M 52-110 strings. (these are so-called '54 "original")

On the Jazz I have 55-105 Fender 9050M flats.

The string tension hasn't been a problem with any of these; only properly applied truss rod adjustments were in order.

I'm quite happy with all three of these complementary combinations of strings to basses; tone and stiffness.

The GHS and Fender strings were great immediately. The LaBella strings took a couple weeks to settle in tonally speaking but they are starting to sound great.

Fat and heavy all the way! Do you notice marked differences in terms of tone and in terms of tension between these three sets?

Also, how much did you have to adjust the truss rod(s)?

 

[Grinderman]

Fat and heavy all the way! Do you notice marked differences in terms of tone and in terms of tension between these three sets?

The tone of each type of strings, which I purposely selected for each bass, based on my intuition about which combinations would best complement, sound quite different from each other which is exactly what I wanted. I don't need or want two of the same.

I don't have hard comparative information regarding string tension between these different string sets, in terms of pounds of pull.

As far string stiffness or flexibility, as far as how they feel, they rank them in this order, from stiffest to most flexible: LaBella 760M (52-110) > GHS 3050 (55-105) > Fender 9050M (55-105)

 

[Grinderman]

GHS 3050 Precision flats on my '58 type bass sound thumpy, warm and woody--plenty of mids. Theres a lot of character here. Good for a sort of primitive raw or nasty growly woody thumping sound that would suit surf rock, early country, rockabilly, early rock-n-roll to punk rock; stripped down, straight forward music of whatever genre.

(1-pc swamp ash body, quarter sawn 1-pc maple neck; fat and wide soft V, Klein Epic '58 pickups, 1.0uf cap)

LaBella 760M DTF strings on my other P are starting to sound more like that familiar classic '60s sound; deep without sounding boomy, thanks to the hint of metallic that cuts through and adds definition. More refined sounding. Less intrusive. Holds down the bottom; drives the bus. Works for soul, R&B, rock, or whatever.

(1-pc alder body, slab rosewood board, Fender CS '62 pickups, 1.0uf cap)

Fender 9050M on my Jazz bass have wide tonal range depending on how I mix the pickups and tone controls; from bright and growly to deep and warm to variation between; mid-scooped or not mid-scooped. It does all the Jazz bass things

(1-pc ultra light pine body from MJT, skinny round-lam rosewood neck (Fender AO '60s), Fralin split coil Jazz pickups, 0.5uf cap)

 

[Phaidrus]

GHS 3050 Precision flats on my '58 type bass sound thumpy, warm and woody--plenty of mids. Theres a lot of character here. Good for a sort of primitive raw or nasty growly woody thumping sound that would suit surf rock, early country, rockabilly, early rock-n-roll to punk rock; stripped down, straight forward music of whatever genre.

(1-pc swamp ash body, quarter sawn 1-pc maple neck; fat and wide soft V, Klein Epic '58 pickups, 1.0uf cap)

LaBella 760M DTF strings on my other P are starting to sound more like that familiar classic '60s sound; deep without sounding boomy, thanks to the hint of metallic that cuts through and adds definition. More refined sounding. Less intrusive. Holds down the bottom; drives the bus. Works for soul, R&B, rock, or whatever.

(1-pc alder body, slab rosewood board, Fender CS '62 pickups, 1.0uf cap)

Fender 9050M on my Jazz bass have wide tonal range depending on how I mix the pickups and tone controls; from bright and growly to deep and warm to variation between; mid-scooped or not mid-scooped. It does all the Jazz bass things

(1-pc ultra light pine body from MJT, skinny round-lam rosewood neck (Fender AO '60s), Fralin split coil Jazz pickups, 0.5uf cap)

Very interesting, thank you for the detailed report!

 

[Luckydog]

GHS 3050 Precision flats on my '58 type bass sound thumpy, warm and woody--plenty of mids. Theres a lot of character here. Good for a sort of primitive raw or nasty growly woody thumping sound that would suit surf rock, early country, rockabilly, early rock-n-roll to punk rock; stripped down, straight forward music of whatever genre.

(1-pc swamp ash body, quarter sawn 1-pc maple neck; fat and wide soft V, Klein Epic '58 pickups, 1.0uf cap)

LaBella 760M DTF strings on my other P are starting to sound more like that familiar classic '60s sound; deep without sounding boomy, thanks to the hint of metallic that cuts through and adds definition. More refined sounding. Less intrusive. Holds down the bottom; drives the bus. Works for soul, R&B, rock, or whatever.

(1-pc alder body, slab rosewood board, Fender CS '62 pickups, 1.0uf cap)

Fender 9050M on my Jazz bass have wide tonal range depending on how I mix the pickups and tone controls; from bright and growly to deep and warm to variation between; mid-scooped or not mid-scooped. It does all the Jazz bass things

(1-pc ultra light pine body from MJT, skinny round-lam rosewood neck (Fender AO '60s), Fralin split coil Jazz pickups, 0.5uf cap)

Excellent detailed descriptions!

 

[insomehonkytonk]

GHS3050 55-105 have 229lbs of tension. Isn't that massive? Does your Pbass cope well with it?

Feels great, it takes a very low action. Has held up fine, no trouble. It’s the real deal.