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Should I make the jump to flatwounds?


Ben Jamin
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I've been playing with flats on my Sue Ryder P-bass for a good while now and we all know that combination works! :D

However, my main gigging bass is my G&L 2500, for flexibility, extra notes and those awesome MFD pick-ups. I've always put roundwounds (just standard D'addario nickels) on out of habit and it sounds great.

But after rehearsing with the P recently with Chromes on I really noticed how well flats sit in a mix with the more solid fundamental and what feels like less inharmonic overtones, and of course the lack of finger-noise and the buttery feel makes playing feel effortless - coming back to the G&L the strings felt pretty sharp!

Essentially I'm just worried if I make the switch I'll miss the zingy edge and harmonic character of roundwounds that sounds great when I'm just playing the bass by itself and weighing that up with what I think will be a more consistent, better 'in-the-mix' sound with the flats.

I'd really appreciate any thoughts from those who've used both types? :) :)

Thanks!
Ben

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[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1483288551' post='3205945']
Is this active?

IMO flats are good on passive basses but waste the range and breadth of tones you can get out of a pre amp.
[/quote]
[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1483349913' post='3206326']
This.
[/quote]

The G&L's a weird one because it's an active bass with a switch for passive/active/active with high-boost - but the pre-amp is all passive (treble cut and bass cut, series and parallel) so everything works the same in passive mode. So no active pre-amp.

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[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1483289689' post='3205959']
Go a for a set of EB Cobalts, best of both worlds.
[/quote]

These ones? https://www.ernieball.com/guitar-strings/bass-strings/slinky-flatwound-electric-bass-strings#P02812

They look pretty good! :)

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[quote name='Ben Jamin' timestamp='1483351160' post='3206342']


These ones? https://www.ernieball.com/guitar-strings/bass-strings/slinky-flatwound-electric-bass-strings#P02812

They look pretty good! :)
[/quote]The very same. Quite expensive but worth every penny IMO. There is a whole thread on them somewhere.

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I've used roundwounds, flats and harf-rounds on my G&L's and Stingrays and have now abandoned the rounds completley.

I mention both basses because both are really good at cutting though in the mix and therefore retain some of that "zing" quality. Having said that you will need to be willing adjust your EQ settings to dial it back in. Also I can get half rounds to sound like roundwounds but flats will always sound like flats IMHO

It is also worth noting that flats can vary a great deal. Fenders start fairly bight but then darken a bit with time, the Ernie Balls that I have on my L1505 are quite dark sounding and give a great dubby sound.
If you want to retain the ultimate zing go for half-rounds. Chromes or Rotosounds flats that are at the brighter end of the scale and very consistent over time.

Have fun!

Edited by Pinball
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[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1483288551' post='3205945']
Is this active?

IMO flats are good on passive basses but waste the range and breadth of tones you can get out of a pre amp.
[/quote]
[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1483349913' post='3206326']
This.
[/quote]

I guess if you don't really don't like flats generally, or don't like a particular set of flats, then an active or passive bass can make little or no improvement.

However, I can't see that whether the pre-amp is in the bass (or in a floor box, or in a rack, or merely in the amplifier) can make any significant difference.

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[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1483352179' post='3206356'] The very same. Quite expensive but worth every penny IMO. There is a whole thread on them somewhere. [/quote] [quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1483353045' post='3206368'] I've used roundwounds, flats and harf-rounds on my G&L's and Stingrays and have now abandoned the rounds completley. I mention both basses because both are really good at cutting though in the mix and therefore retain some of that "zing" quality. Having said that you will need to be willing adjust your EQ settings to dial it back in. Also I can get half rounds to sound like roundwounds but flats will always sound like flats IMHO It is also worth noting that flats can vary a great deal. Fenders start fairly bight but then darken a bit with time, the Ernie Balls that I have on my L1505 are quite dark sounding and give a great dubby sound. If you want to retain the ultimate zing go for half-rounds. Chromes or Rotosounds flats that are at the brighter end of the scale and very consistent over time. Have fun! [/quote] [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1483354871' post='3206398'] When I had a G&L 2500, I used Thomastik Jazz Flats and found them to be excellent. [/quote]

Thanks for the knowledge guys! :) The Thomastiks sound great but I think I'm leaning towards the Slinky Flatwounds on the G&L for the extra top-end for those gospel-groove times. Thomastiks on the P-bass though, mmm... B)

This guy's got me pretty convinced.
[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI2CgGaKKqI"]https://www.youtube....h?v=HI2CgGaKKqI[/url]

Warm and solid but with a good bit of zing. The compression helps but I have that too!

Edited by Ben Jamin
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I had Chromes on my Sterling but felt that it was missing something so went back to nickel wounds. The Precision I had a couple of years ago with active PJ EMGs sounded incredible with the same strings. They've also been really good on every bass I've used them on over the years such as an Epiphone Thunderbird with EMG HZ pickups and a Yamaha BB1025.

I dont think you'll know if you like them until you try them. I don't find Youtube videos incredibly helpful as you are limited to the speakers you are listening to the video through, the bass they are using, the recording equipment they used and so on.

Edited by Delberthot
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I made the jump to flats a while back with Fender Flats. Found them surprisingly good.

Currently trying EB Slinky Cobalt Flats at the moment to see if they cut the mix a bit more, again currently pleasantly surprised. Just need to see how they are at rehearsal.

Edited by antnee
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[quote name='Ben Jamin' timestamp='1483351137' post='3206341']



The G&L's a weird one because it's an active bass with a switch for passive/active/active with high-boost - but the pre-amp is all passive (treble cut and bass cut, series and parallel) so everything works the same in passive mode. So no active pre-amp.
[/quote]if it is not active it is not a Preamp

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[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1484296783' post='3214377']
if it is not active it is not a Preamp
[/quote]

They're an unusual case, the G&L basses, as they have passive treble and bass cut controls and then a bypassable active stage after that.
[url="http://www.glguitars.com/schematics/ASATbass_L-2000_L2500_version1.pdf"]http://www.glguitars...00_version1.pdf[/url]

Edited by Beer of the Bass
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