Calling on bass players - need a recommendation for flat wounds.

peccary said:
I don't think I realized how polarizing Chromes were until this thread. I used them for a long time and kind of thought that they were good middle of the road flats because they can get very bright but mellow out and sound more traditional when you roll the tone off.

I tried the heavy gauge La Bella Jamerson flats (the bridge cables) for a few months. I couldn't get a really good idea of them because they did wonky things to my bass - they kind of made the entire bass resonate and ring out. I liked the feel but I'm not even sure I fully broke them in before having to change them out.

I've been thinking of trying GHS Precision Flats as I've read some good things about them. Anyone here have experience with them?
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GHS are supposedly thr closest you can get to the original Fenders that shipped with the basses back in the day. Never tried them though.

I'd love to try the Jamersons but the 95 A string probably requires widening tbe the nut slot and my truss rod seems maxed out right now with 50-100 Fender flats, don't think the neck can take that crazy tension.
The 49-109 would be ideal for me but as I said my truss rod seems maxed out already.

How can I tell if that's the issue or if the nut just needs lube?
 
andare said:
GHS are supposedly thr closest you can get to the original Fenders that shipped with the basses back in the day. Never tried them though.

I'd love to try the Jamersons but the 95 A string probably requires widening tbe the nut slot and my truss rod seems maxed out right now with 50-100 Fender flats, don't think the neck can take that crazy tension.
The 49-109 would be ideal for me but as I said my truss rod seems maxed out already.

How can I tell if that's the issue or if the nut just needs lube?
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The tension on the Jamerson strings was something else. It moved the dead spot on my bass up like three frets and caused strings to ring out in ways that required me to do much more right hand muting than I usually do.

I had a tech install the strings along with a full setup and I believe he had to file out the nut a smidge. As far as how to tell if it's your nut or truss rod - there are much better guitar tech out there than me, so I'd wait for one of them to chime in 😂
 
I used a set of standard Fender flats for years (they were all I could get locally for a while). They held up pretty good. I still have them…but after about 15 years on the bass, I decided to swap them out for some Rotosounds (traded homemade lasagne for a Big Mac). I still have the Fenders, and I’m sure they’d strung up fine…
 
You know, I just realized I put this post in the wrong forum. Should probably be in the Breakroom hahahah.

Well, thanks everyone for your input. I watched a bunch of Youtube video's of bass string demos and the funny thing is, the ones I liked the best are round wound strings. :p

I particularly liked the sound of the Rotosound 55's 66's. I'm not sure what came on my Squier but probably D'Addario's since they are colored ball-ends. I bought a set of Ernie Ball Slinky's which are sitting here. Just based on the fact that I like nickel wound guitar strings.

Thinking about grabbing a set of the Roto 55's 66's and work on my chops instead of obsessing over gear (like that's ever going to happen hahahah)
 
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La Bella is my happy place as far as bang for the buck. I have rotos on my fretless 5 and they've been there for at least 15 years, la bella on my pbass (over 10 yrs) and on my recent bassVI purchase. I've used chromes too and they're fine. Never gone with anything fancier. Would replace with sames if broken. I'd maybe consider something new for the fretless but all of these sets sound fantastic to me.

Going to put some thick tomastik flats on my tele for funsies. I want to redo the nut anyway so I'm going to file the existing one to accommodate the fatties for a little while before making a fresh one.
 
I got a set of 5-string Chromes (I think they're Chromes), but I don't have any 5-string basses, so I was thinking of changing my Warwick to a BEAD, or try bumping the 5 set over for EADG — it's just a cheap bass, so I don't mind wrecking the nut for the experiment and upgrading to a better nut when I find bumped Chromes are simply too floppy. Hmmm BEAD is looking better by the minute...

What say you, fellow low-enders?
 
Feral Feline said:
I got a set of 5-string Chromes (I think they're Chromes), but I don't have any 5-string basses, so I was thinking of changing my Warwick to a BEAD, or try bumping the 5 set over for EADG — it's just a cheap bass, so I don't mind wrecking the nut for the experiment and upgrading to a better nut when I find bumped Chromes are simply too floppy. Hmmm BEAD is looking better by the minute...

What say you, fellow low-enders?
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I have heard BEAD suggested as a great way to go lower on a 4, so go for it. I'd love to hear about your findings.
 
I'm such a sub pedal nerd now that I no longer have use for a b string. I thought it crucial when I comissioned my 5er (holy cow 25 years ago). Sounds kind of fun on an "extra" bass though so I'm not going to officially discourage it.
 
Even though @MichaelW's mind is made up for now, I wanted to mention the brand Pyramid because I hadn't seen it discussed for anyone else passing through.

My only experience with them is with their Bass VI set (which is very reasonably priced), that if it had a heavier low E I'd think were perfect. I have LaBella flats on my Bass VI now but would prefer similar gauges from Pyramid any day. The LaBellas are a little flatter and the Pyramids have more mids. The Pyramids I played aren't bright exactly, but they're more dynamic than the LBs.
 
finebyfine said:
Even though @MichaelW's mind is made up for now, I wanted to mention the brand Pyramid because I hadn't seen it discussed for anyone else passing through.

My only experience with them is with their Bass VI set (which is very reasonably priced), that if it had a heavier low E I'd think were perfect. I have LaBella flats on my Bass VI now but would prefer similar gauges from Pyramid any day. The LaBellas are a little flatter and the Pyramids have more mids. The Pyramids I played aren't bright exactly, but they're more dynamic than the LBs.
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My mind is never made up, I'm fickle as heck, or haven't you noticed? Hahahah
 
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MichaelW said:
You know, I just realized I put this post in the wrong forum. Should probably be in the Breakroom hahahah.

Well, thanks everyone for your input. I watched a bunch of Youtube video's of bass string demos and the funny thing is, the ones I liked the best are round wound strings. :p

I particularly liked the sound of the Rotosound 55's 66's. I'm not sure what came on my Squier but probably D'Addario's since they are colored ball-ends. I bought a set of Ernie Ball Slinky's which are sitting here. Just based on the fact that I like nickel wound guitar strings.

Thinking about grabbing a set of the Roto 55's 66's and work on my chops instead of obsessing over gear (like that's ever going to happen hahahah)
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I returned the Ernie Ball Slinky's (gotta love Amazon) and ordered the Rotosound 66's. Gonna give them a shake on the Jazz bass and see where we go from there. I think the simplest answer is that I need at least another bass.....hahah
 
MichaelW said:
I returned the Ernie Ball Slinky's (gotta love Amazon) and ordered the Rotosound 66's. Gonna give them a shake on the Jazz bass and see where we go from there. I think the simplest answer is that I need at least another bass.....hahah
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Hi Michael: Roundwounds work better for me on my Squier. In days of yore (before the last ice age), I had a ‘proper’ Fender Jazz with Rotosound Swing bass strings, lots of top end but nice feel IMHO. I was trying to get the sound of Richard Sinclair (Caravan, Hatfield and the North, etc.) Flatwounds don’t work for me, sound too dark and plummy (?) but each to his own, of course. Watching your string and bass journey with great interest 😊
 
I put the set of Rotosound Swing Bass 66's on my jazz bass. LOVE THEM! It's the sound I was hearing in my head.

Except.....they're too new hahaha. I need to go eat some fried chicken then play......
 
MichaelW said:
I put the set of Rotosound Swing Bass 66's on my jazz bass. LOVE THEM! It's the sound I was hearing in my head.

Except.....they're too new hahaha. I need to go eat some fried chicken then play......
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Eucerin cream kills strings, apparently. From a thread on talkbass.
 
andare said:
Eucerin cream kills strings, apparently. From a thread on talkbass.
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Kills them in a "good" way or in a bad way?

I remember reading a Guitar Player Magazine interview with Stephen Stills from back in the 70's. He said he rubs bbq sauce on his bass strings to get them "good and funky...." heh.
 
Feral Feline said:
I got a set of 5-string Chromes (I think they're Chromes), but I don't have any 5-string basses, so I was thinking of changing my Warwick to a BEAD, or try bumping the 5 set over for EADG — it's just a cheap bass, so I don't mind wrecking the nut for the experiment and upgrading to a better nut when I find bumped Chromes are simply too floppy. Hmmm BEAD is looking better by the minute...

What say you, fellow low-enders?
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BEAD!
 
vigilante398 said:
I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but I transitioned from flatwounds to tapewound, and I love them even more. Same smooth feel as flatwounds but with a slightly brighter tone, kind of in between flat and round for tone.

LaBella white copper are my favorites, I have them on both of my basses.
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Obligatory "do tapewounds make your bass hum because your fingers don't touch the metal string anymore?" - if the bass is shielded there shouldn;t be any issues I think
 
MichaelW said:
Kills them in a "good" way or in a bad way?

I remember reading a Guitar Player Magazine interview with Stephen Stills from back in the 70's. He said he rubs bbq sauce on his bass strings to get them "good and funky...." heh.
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In a good way, it should just take the edge off. Sean Hurley uses vaseline on new flats:

www.instagram.com

Sean Hurley on Instagram: "PSA regarding the “Vaseline Treatment” I do on a new set of Flat Wounds. After I string the bass, I coat the strings to take the zing off. Some folks like that zing but I prefer the sound of a broken in flat. Here’s a side

2,062 likes, 132 comments - seanehurley on July 12, 2021: "PSA regarding the “Vaseline Treatment” I do on a new set of Flat Wounds. After I string the bass, I coat the strings to take the zing off. Some folks like that zing but I prefer the sound of a broken in flat. Here’s a side by side...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
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