Bass Centre Basses & Strings - Opinions?

[How1]

I'm in the market for some new strings after one of my flatwounds crapped out. I'm also having a bit of a nightmare recording with my Dimarzio Model PJ + Flats - I can't seem to find a sound I'm happy with at the lower end. So I'm thinking of getting a set of roundwounds for the Dimarzio's, then possibly buying one of their P-basses in the near future for a dedicated flats setup with a more vintage pickup etc. Their basses - at least to me look really good for the money. Does anyone use their strings and/or basses?

[TheGreek]

If you're after a more vintage sound have you considered tapewounds??

 

 

[Pow_22]

I love their flats but my one big bugbare with them is their over long E string. Been like that for years and causes the body of the string to wrap round the tuning post. Still sound great but it cant be good for the string?

 

i was told a while back that the Elites are made by GHS which may explain the above as i had the same “issue” with the E on the GHS Precision flats

Edited April 1, 2023 by Pow_22

[How1]

13 hours ago, TheGreek said:

If you're after a more vintage sound have you considered tapewounds??

 

 

No, tbh never. Not for any particular reason they’ve just not been in my radar. He’s not selling it to me when he says they’re ‘floppy’ 😁

[How1]

3 hours ago, Pow_22 said:

I love their flats but my one big bugbare with them is their over long E string. Been like that for years and causes the body of the string to wrap round the tuning post. Still sound great but it cant be good for the string?

 

i was told a while back that the Elites are made by GHS which may explain the above as i had the same “issue” with the E on the GHS Precision flats

That looks like just the kind of thing that would p*#s me off after a while! Other than that though, what’s the tension like? 

[Pow_22]

Id say medium/high. Nowhere near roto’s but not floppy noodles like TI’s. May have a used set knocking round if you want to give them a wirl

[How1]

16 hours ago, Pow_22 said:

Id say medium/high. Nowhere near roto’s but not floppy noodles like TI’s. May have a used set knocking round if you want to give them a wirl

That would be really good, thanks.

[Soledad]

Can't comment on the basses as I have no hands-on experience, but I hear good things. There's a fair choice around the price range though.
But concerning flats, I spent years using rounds (D'Addario) without giving it much thought, but then tried some flats looking for more weight at the lower end. What I really wanted was that elusive 'punch' we all speak of.

My absolute favourite (after spending hundreds on various brands of flats, which is quite easy when they cost around £30 - £50 a set) - Ernie Ball Cobalt flats. Beware as they do cobalt rounds too ( very good!) and it's easy to order the wrong ones.

They come in various tensions/gauges and I settled on 45-105. They deliver the elusive punch of flats BUT with the option of dialled-in high mids/top end crunch or snap. Also the mids are more controllable, I mean you can add a bit of higher mids say - it's like the whole frequency range is there, just use your bass and head EQ to profile the sound. NOTE they are not rounds and will not deliver the full brightness, but the grunt in the critical lower frequencies is absolutely worth it. What they do (I think all flats do generally) is deliver real power with focus.

There are as many opinions about flats as there are choices, so just my own experience.

As for the E on the Elites wrapping round the post - considering most Bass Centre basses are Ps and Js, this is surely stupid.

[How1]

23 hours ago, Soledad said:

Can't comment on the basses as I have no hands-on experience, but I hear good things. There's a fair choice around the price range though.
But concerning flats, I spent years using rounds (D'Addario) without giving it much thought, but then tried some flats looking for more weight at the lower end. What I really wanted was that elusive 'punch' we all speak of.

My absolute favourite (after spending hundreds on various brands of flats, which is quite easy when they cost around £30 - £50 a set) - Ernie Ball Cobalt flats. Beware as they do cobalt rounds too ( very good!) and it's easy to order the wrong ones.

They come in various tensions/gauges and I settled on 45-105. They deliver the elusive punch of flats BUT with the option of dialled-in high mids/top end crunch or snap. Also the mids are more controllable, I mean you can add a bit of higher mids say - it's like the whole frequency range is there, just use your bass and head EQ to profile the sound. NOTE they are not rounds and will not deliver the full brightness, but the grunt in the critical lower frequencies is absolutely worth it. What they do (I think all flats do generally) is deliver real power with focus.

There are as many opinions about flats as there are choices, so just my own experience.

As for the E on the Elites wrapping round the post - considering most Bass Centre basses are Ps and Js, this is surely stupid.

I recently heard the Ernie Balls mentioned in a review, I might give them another look. I wasn’t unhappy with the Fenders particularly; I’m just not convinced that flats suit that bass/pickups. I would like a bit more tension though so I can play higher up the neck but keep things a bit ‘tighter’.

 

Good point about the Bass Centre thing. They even do a Jamerson inspired Precision that comes as stock with flatwounds…surely they don’t ship those with the E string set up like that??

[Pow_22]

[How1]

29 minutes ago, Pow_22 said:

Oh. Maybe they do 😂

Edited April 3, 2023 by How1