Flats on a Jazz?

[bigthumb]

I'm looking to put flats on my Jazz bass but unsure what to get. Now, I recently fitted a Pbass with Labella Deep Talkin flats which I'm more than happy with but I'd like something a little brighter for the Jazz bass but maintaining the same high tension or thereabouts. 45-105 Gauge ideally, or as close to as possible. 

Thanks!

 

Edited February 2, 2021 by bigthumb

[Maude]

D'Addario Chrome's? 

Out of the 'bright' flats they are about the stiffest I think. Ernie Ball Colbalts are brighter but lower tension.

I've personally settled on D'Addario half rounds as my go to string for that brighter sound but still retaining a high tension, smooth feel. Maybe worth consideration. 

[chris_b]

I put GHS flatwound strings on my Jazz bass as an experiment. IMO they made it sound too close to my Precision. I don't want two basses sounding the same so I put D'Addario NYXL's on the Jazz and it came to life.

[BlueMoon]

If you can handle the tension and the price, TI flats are surprisingly bright and last forever.

[acidbass]

I liked the Rotosound Monels on my Jazz but the tension is very high, even more so than a lot of rounds I previously tried on the same bass.

I have settled now on my flatwound of choice which is the La Bella 760FS - have these on a P and J and they just sound proper!

[lownote]

Dunlop flats.  Less floppy than the Dads but not stiff.  Perfect for me and quite a few others. Quality strings, well smooth and lovely tone.

[Dan Dare]

Another vote for Chromes. I tried Cobalts (which I have on my 5 and like), but they're too bright for my tastes on a Jazz. One thing that is worth doing is to wipe down a new set with meths or similar. They have some sort of coating on them (presumably to prevent rusting in the packet) which makes them feel odd under the fingers.

[Stub Mandrel]

23 hours ago, bigthumb said:

I'm looking to put flats on my Jazz bass but unsure what to get. Now, I recently fitted a Pbass with Labella Deep Talkin flats which I'm more than happy with but I'd like something a little brighter for the Jazz bass but maintaining the same high tension or thereabouts. 45-105 Gauge ideally, or as close to as possible. 

Thanks!

 

[jay bass]

Try Maruszcyk F4 flats    45/65/85/105

they are lower tension than the la bellas but higher tension than the thomastiks

they sit somwhere in the middle.

but do sound brighter than la bellas or thomastiks available from bass direct £22 a set

well worth a punt.

[bigthumb]

20 hours ago, BlueMoon said:

If you can handle the tension and the price, TI flats are surprisingly bright and last forever.

I tried them once on a Precision and they weren't for me. 

[NancyJohnson]

I tried some Fender flats on my P - I had a nothing type of gig with a band I depped for in 2019, so figured it might be a nice enough opportunity to experiment.  I was running through my Tech21 dUg...happy to report they were OK, suprisingly less ponky than I thought they'd be.  That said, I went back to rounds as soon as the dep was over.

Edited February 3, 2021 by NancyJohnson

[lee650]

I must admit as I'm getting older,The temptation to put flats on all my basses is high 😂

My P is currently wearing TI's which I love, but yes they have a very mid/high range to them, I plan to replace them with Labella which have a deep/warm tonewithout much high end

Not too long ago,I had a Yamaha BB with EB Cobalt flats they 're fantastic and have a broken in nickel roundwound tone with a nice supple tension. I'm currently considering removing the Badass/East pre from my jazz,and returning it to passive, I'll probably get some cobalt flats for it too.

D'addario chromes have a very bright but clanky high mid tone,which is great for Rawk.

[Marc S]

It took me a while to convert to Flats - I think part of my conversion came from playing upright, where flats or flatwound type surface strings are more "the norm" (I know there are many more types of DB string, inc Guts etc)

I tried a few different Flats on bass guitar years back, and was put off by their high tension. Then I tried TI's.... and found them too "floppy"
Then I tried the TI's on one particular bass (an early CV Precision) and they just worked straight away, and I've grown to like them - on certain basses.

Someone said on another thread, that "the bass finds the right strings for it". Maybe there's something in that? Or at least it seems that way when the bass is in your hands?

I tried TI's on my Fretless Jazz, and they didn't suit that either - I wanted something higher (but not too high) tension. As soon as I put medium tension strings on a Jazz, I was hooked, and that's my preference now. Something about the tone and the feel - you still get that Jazz "honk" but there's plenty of "thump" in there too.

I've got way too many basses - so I keep a couple with rounds on - just to have the option, and I think I'll keep it that way. But I don't think I'll put Flats on a Jazz again - last time I compared a Jazz with Rounds and another with flats, the rounds seemed to produce a hint of a sort of "grating" - perhaps that was just my ageing ears  

For anyone looking for an inexpensive set of flats - try these. They're not bad at all, and are medium-ish tension. With that seller on eBay, you can put an offer on the strings too....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adagio-FLATWOUND-Bass-Guitar-Strings-Set-45-100-RRP-29-99-Fretless-And-Jazz/332636490116?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4d72ae0984:g:I9gAAOSwmVdbeoyp&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkCrLl8erj3ATP5raQxjc%2F%2BzIq2e1X%2FA%2FWMjoPnIw93BPQFri%2FJZ9%2F2%2FZEVMKQJxNEfDyYP5uza9V%2Ff50%2Fd5HJ3H%2BawyEkiry7PULuwQ6VYoWWhAuonxBhhhi8w4TDfStOOmQyRh1yAi2Nq38br8dCfzWGC31AxfnN2TaDCyWiszMwU74Sq95Ka%2B6XGi%2BEwlfsEftWJIgTAZQ9h3MPHSlqh9e9PV54XXLYAg9Bgt7nxFYqprCgWwr06vSIR0u1asH%2B4sSyHBajjdO2OWihea0mXgJUuVbnkjxjbdoCmLuZWNPfqNkATA4EWAP44lNfmErgEhE2R8slsqMoCW9TazlxrHvHPxzgOI2gXvCPMe%2BuhGWMmaUaU%2Bz0BP7L9hoDyJgbWuJ%2BnLVZ%2BlrfkkYV6qrEYpIUnKEdna5CxKNw64tVycGwRU%2Fdhb04623aYxLBp1VXjPRTrWrg8FIqSp4qKX9phIwxx4pfYWEAc1J91w24GSG4mwaodYIX8vBQLJocgzT%2Bkf2VCKiyPVhTgB3alXfR8q8XXW9G4uA%2BZHiC6ger0fgyVygi%2BHKaw3%2Fq1cWAl1njTRQ00PgIynNtguvMgzpiYbNb%2Bo1NeNSv6%2BZVXGWGNfIqMxVfT%2BrVN0o%2BxKRbph7UCwuRlyLrptBU%2Fr3pJllEAKAI0Q7ECiyfsgFx%2BiTuHHlrREjdTtSsCjLPtRgelIeu6qXQWCLD1SJ8XrtBfT%2Bc%2Fg9a5UYnv8F9m1hBFThfLCApH8LoixCeZVy%2F7doYXSr%2Ftd3QLkyi2HD%2BmFXvkmb0rLscgzDJ1WA%2FflyvowvCxIg%3D|cksum%3A3326364901163b4e03e0ff1042be946f193b422c38fe|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

Edited February 9, 2021 by Marc S

[Guest WilliamV]

I put a set of RotoSound Jazz Bass RS 77LE 50 - 110 flatwounds on a NASH Flamethrower (sort of) clone Jazz Bass and I get a good range of deep to bright with them.

[bigthumb]

In the end I opted for the Dunlops - good choice. So after about an hours worth of playing I loved the tension and tone, a little brighter than expected and a quick EQ adjustment on the amp smoothed things out. I've always had a love hate thing going on with Jazz basses. I've owned a good few over the years but never tried flats on them before, wish I had. 

[Grahambythesea]

On 03/02/2021 at 01:11, jay bass said:

Try Maruszcyk F4 flats    45/65/85/105

Do they have silks at the ball end? The packet picture looks like they don’t.

[Reggaebass]

On 09/02/2021 at 09:43, Marc S said:

For anyone looking for an inexpensive set of flats - try these. They're not bad at all, and are medium-ish tension. With that seller on eBay, you can put an offer on the strings too....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adagio-FLATWOUND-Bass-Guitar-Strings-Set-45-100-RRP-29-99-Fretless-And-Jazz/332636490116?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4d72ae0984:g:I9gAAOSwmVdbeoyp&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkCrLl8erj3ATP5raQxjc%2F%2BzIq2e1X%2FA%2FWMjoPnIw93BPQFri%2FJZ9%2F2%2FZEVMKQJxNEfDyYP5uza9V%2Ff50%2Fd5HJ3H%2BawyEkiry7PULuwQ6VYoWWhAuonxBhhhi8w4TDfStOOmQyRh1yAi2Nq38br8dCfzWGC31AxfnN2TaDCyWiszMwU74Sq95Ka%2B6XGi%2BEwlfsEftWJIgTAZQ9h3MPHSlqh9e9PV54XXLYAg9Bgt7nxFYqprCgWwr06vSIR0u1asH%2B4sSyHBajjdO2OWihea0mXgJUuVbnkjxjbdoCmLuZWNPfqNkATA4EWAP44lNfmErgEhE2R8slsqMoCW9TazlxrHvHPxzgOI2gXvCPMe%2BuhGWMmaUaU%2Bz0BP7L9hoDyJgbWuJ%2BnLVZ%2BlrfkkYV6qrEYpIUnKEdna5CxKNw64tVycGwRU%2Fdhb04623aYxLBp1VXjPRTrWrg8FIqSp4qKX9phIwxx4pfYWEAc1J91w24GSG4mwaodYIX8vBQLJocgzT%2Bkf2VCKiyPVhTgB3alXfR8q8XXW9G4uA%2BZHiC6ger0fgyVygi%2BHKaw3%2Fq1cWAl1njTRQ00PgIynNtguvMgzpiYbNb%2Bo1NeNSv6%2BZVXGWGNfIqMxVfT%2BrVN0o%2BxKRbph7UCwuRlyLrptBU%2Fr3pJllEAKAI0Q7ECiyfsgFx%2BiTuHHlrREjdTtSsCjLPtRgelIeu6qXQWCLD1SJ8XrtBfT%2Bc%2Fg9a5UYnv8F9m1hBFThfLCApH8LoixCeZVy%2F7doYXSr%2Ftd3QLkyi2HD%2BmFXvkmb0rLscgzDJ1WA%2FflyvowvCxIg%3D|cksum%3A3326364901163b4e03e0ff1042be946f193b422c38fe|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

I’ve had a set of those on one of my jazzes for about 7 years, they are a great flat, if you want brightness they are not for you but they are by no means dull, I got mine for £10 if I remember rightly 

[Marc S]

5 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

I’ve had a set of those on one of my jazzes for about 7 years, they are a great flat, if you want brightness they are not for you but they are by no means dull, I got mine for £10 if I remember rightly 

Yes, they're definitely not the brightest flat. But I put them on my fretless, and they just worked - they felt like just the right tension, and not too "dull" but nice & deep sounding.

I also have them on my Roadworn Jazz, and they sound pretty good on that too. I briefly put some rounds back on that bass, and gave it a whirl - but I put those flats back on the bass.... And I definitely prefer the flats. 

Edit: I got my most recent set for about £11 or £11.50, if I remember... A really good price for brand new flats imho 

Edited February 22, 2021 by Marc S

[Reggaebass]

4 minutes ago, Marc S said:

and they just worked - they felt like just the right tension, and not too "dull" but nice & deep sounding.

You described them better than me Marc, and for the money you can’t go wrong 🙂

[jay bass]

7 hours ago, Grahambythesea said:

Do they have silks at the ball end? The packet picture looks like they don’t.

Hi yes black silks both ends, nice strings .