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I notice it even more with Chromes, which can be really bright for the first week or so, and then settle down and eventually get a really pleasing flat thump which seems to remain more consistent than others.
They do seem quite bright at the moment.
What do you normally use?
I used Thomastik's before but they go really dull and you have to get on with the slightly rubber band quality to really appreciate them. Chromes are a higher tension and seem to offer a bit more fight back. I find Thomastiks just too floppy for pick work - fine for fingers but all over the shop with a pick.
Have tried La Bella Low Tension flats as well - better than the Thomastiks but still pretty floppy - they seem a bit less consistent over brightness as well, but are def worth a try.
I hear good things about the Fender flats too but not tried them yet.
Of course, the great thing about bass strings is you can try a few sets without having to wait for the old set to wear out. You could get another set of flats and whip the DR's off - if you don't like the new ones then whip them off again and put the DR's back on. I've got some sets that have been on and off basses probably a dozen times. The silk wraps get a bit 'fuzzy' but otherwise they will be fine for any number of swaps. Flats should theoretically last quite a few years.
My main concern was that I was under the impression that the truss rod was fully tightened (mistaken as it happens) so I didn't want strings which would cause a big increase in tension.
I was advised against Rotosound flats, and when I've played basses with Thomastik flats the tension has been too low for my liking, although I almost exclusively play finger style. I can't imagine playing them with a pick!
I friend of mine uses La Bellas, but also recommended DRs, and what swung it was that I can get DRs at trade price (!).
I might look into the Fenders in the future.
Anyhow, on further inspection the truss rod is working fine and the bass now plays really well with the DRs which seem to be slightly higher tension than the very old rounds that were on the instrument.
I've tried a few different types as I wanted to see what was out there, but I usually come back to Chromes as best for me. I'll have to try the DRs at some point
Been there. Done this.
My Squier Silver Series P Bass had very little fret wire left when I acquired it. (Hello, H7!) In an attempt to extend their remaining life, I switched from roundwound to flatwound strings. Voilà. Instant thud à la James Jamerson, early John McVie, Roger Waters, Tommy Shannon et al. Those strings have been on that bass ever since.
Probably denying their heritage, and c'mon, no bass players actually play with those crummy flat wound efforts anymore, do they?
It's a bass players right of passage to swap strings over and over again. Here's a pic of the door in my man-cave...
That's just the round wound collection (well, part of it) - there's a similar one for flat wounds as well
There's always been flats on my 64 P - I reckon since new, as the frets have pretty much no wear at all, and I know for a fact it was gigged nightly at one point in it's life. Neck and body wear certainly points to it. The rollover on the board edges smacks of years and years of action. It is interesting to see the various stages of 'thump' as flats get older. I can see a point in the future where I decide the dullness is just too much and put a new set on, but I now find if I put new chromes on a bass I end up fishing the packet out of the bin when first played to make sure it definitely said "flat wound" on the packet..
I've several gigs in the next few weeks so I'll report back.
The DRs are a nice tension.
That's not as vague as it sounds
I sometimes swap out different ages of the same string, and the tension doesn't differ over time/use, so no need for a tweak.
However, if it's a completely different type of string then I do tend to give the truss a tweak. I usually string up and leave it overnight, re-tune, measure relief, give the truss a tweak, and then leave again to settle. Sounds like a faff but I can't really do a fair comparison if the setup is off.
Most flats I try are pretty much the same tension tbh tho - it's only the Thomastiks and the La Bella Low Tensions that really seem to be any different.
i imagine the average p-bass bridge pickup to be the worst option for exaggerating that.
i'm interested in the idea of flats that don't go rubberband boingy tho (re future violin bass), because i play pick not finger style. just not sure how much resilience ('fight back' as you call it) you can put back in before things get squeaky. la bella's etc not cheap to experiment with.
keep us posted on your experiences (& enjoy your 45min each way evening sessions).
I think a Jazz bridge pickup would have more effect than a P bass pickup which is very much a “middle” pickup and doesn’t seem to accentuate the squeak at all. Course, it depends on your tone pot..
Thing is with flats, the sound you are after with a violin bass is driven by that whole 60s rubber band thing - and in many ways the Thomastiks would be ideal for it - roll the tone off and enjoy boingy thud 60s heaven.
Having said that, flats don’t work like rounds - more tension doesn’t have to mean more squeak..
You know what? You should consider tape wounds...
I borrowed a bass once that felt like it had rusty ships cables on it - it was awful, but the owner made it sound awesome..
i love to wrestle with my bass and get feedback during playing. which strings are they?
re tapewounds, the very first 'not toy' bass i had (a Univox bass like Kurt Cobain's early era Univox guitar) came to me with tapewounds & i never replaced them because i liked them so much.
easy on soft beginner's hands, zero squeaking & scraping, v forgiving re rattle & fuzzy-fretted notes (beginner's style). admittedly they seemed quite rubbery compared to normals, but i felt the benefits outweighed that.
i also remember being madly self-conscious of them (ashamed i suppose) because literally no one else i knew had them. they seemed very 1970s & old fashioned (this was early 1990s) & as it was a cheaply bought bass (though a decent little player) i thought the plasticky strings were a dead giveaway gear-pauper marker for me. crushing teenage poverty anxiety!
but i don't really care now, so maybe i will revisit them. i'm thinking of starting with regular wounds & then working towards the fancy stuff if i can't get what i want from them with experimentation.
do report back. i'm def curious to know how they wear in. & hope session tonight went well..