EssentialTension

Oh dear here we go again. Anyway, I'll say it, Fender Precision with flatwound strings. It's all you need.

I think you'll find that if it isn't packed properly then the insurance won't cover it - it will be in the small print of the contract.

I did one last October. Asked to stand in at about 8.40pm and on stage at 9.00pm. I vaguely knew some of the songs but it was very nerve-racking and there were plenty of mistakes but we got through and the band got booked back.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1233651' date='May 16 2011, 09:19 PM']Just about to chuck a new set of La Bella flats on my Sterling but I've a niggling feeling that I've heard that there is something about the mass of the big heavy flats and the power/magnet construction of the Sterling pup that makes it a bad mix; anyone have any experience? I accept that tone is subjective so I'm not on about flats v rounds or one brand v another, it's a simple case of is there a reason why they shouldn't work together and does anyone run a Sterling with big flats on it? [/quote] I know nothing about Sterlings but I can't see that problem. If the magnet was so powerful that it prevented the string from vibrating then lower the pickup. Anyway, you could try La Bella 760FL (light guage) or even 760FX (extra light).

[quote name='Eight' post='1233512' date='May 16 2011, 07:44 PM']I suppose it depends on what you run through it - but I was quite impressed at the time. Haven't used it for ages since I prefer to do things the hard way for practice/training.[/quote] You might be correct that it depends what you run through it - I was probably expecting too much.

[quote name='Eight' post='1233144' date='May 16 2011, 03:22 PM']Lol. Kinda. Digital Music Mentor actually works surprisingly well. [url="http://www.sienzo.com/"]http://www.sienzo.com/[/url][/quote] I had a copy of Digital Music Mentor a couple of years ago. I thought it was fairly useless.

Yeah no problem doing BEAD. The tension is as likely to be less as more. Your problem if any is the nut slots being big enough.

Try this website: [url="http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/"]http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/[/url] But also Basschatter Happy Jack will be along soon to sort you out.

I'd be very surprised if I could tell the difference in a blind test but I still prefer rosewood because for me it's looks better when I'm not blind.

[quote name='Clarky' post='1231328' date='May 14 2011, 08:05 PM']So I only have to wait 31 years for them to soften up and become matte - thats alright then![/quote] It looks like there may be a market for reliced strings.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1231192' date='May 14 2011, 06:15 PM']IME it doesn't matter what people say about strings the only way you can find out what suits you is to try them on your bass for yourself. Even a load of positive recommendations from others doesn't mean that you are going to like the sound or feel. As I've said before on similar threads DR strings get a lot of love here so I went out and bought several different sets to see what all the fuss was about. None of them suited me or the basses I put them on. To me they sounded dull and both the E and low B felt sloppy.[/quote] I agree. There's no substitute for trying them out on the bass and playing the material.

[quote name='Hector' post='1231058' date='May 14 2011, 03:57 PM']Hi all. Changed the strings on my jazz bass recently to a lighter gauge than I usually have, as an experiment. I quite like them, but they're a bit too thin for the slots in the nut. Can this affect my tone? I feel like they buzz a bit, but that could be just cause the strings are bright and new (I'm used to playing old super-dead strings). If it is a problem, is there a simple fix, like padding the nut with some material? H[/quote] Is the buzz really in the nut slot? If you are fretting a note then the nut slot doesn't really come into it. If you've changed to lighter guage strings you may need to tweak the truss rod a little to get the action right and avoid buzzing. Maybe adjust the bridge saddles too.

[quote name='muttley' post='1231110' date='May 14 2011, 05:11 PM']It would be useful if players wrote a few words describing their experience with each brand/model of string. A list of strings used is about as much use as a price list without the prices![/quote] There's lots of threads with that information already. Including one that is live at the moment. What might have been more effective is if the OP had said what it was he was interested in sound or feel wise rather than just asking 'what strings do you use?'

There have been a couple of threads about these; probably about a year ago. Here's one: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=82988&hl=telecaster+custom"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...lecaster+custom[/url]

[quote]This is the only version of this in the country[/quote] I don't think so.

[quote name='FayeAutumn' post='1230492' date='May 13 2011, 10:02 PM']I wondered about that myself. I've got an acoustic bass but don't like the feel of the bronze strings (which seem to go bad very easily) and I've been thinking about re-stringing it with the same strings as my electric at some point. But wasn't sure if it was considered 'not the done thing' or not.[/quote] Lots of people use 'electric' strings on acoustics. It's fine.

[quote name='icastle' post='1230350' date='May 13 2011, 07:49 PM']To wear or to play? [/quote] Play these:

I've got TI Jazz Flats on mine - lovely.

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1230229' date='May 13 2011, 05:59 PM']IIRC tension is to do with core gauge rather than total string gauge. As a rule of thumb a thicker string will generally have a thicker core, but it's not foolproof, strings can have thinner cores and thicker windings. [/quote] Tension is dependent on pitch, string length, and mass per unit length of the string.

I can see this is going to be a long list of all the string makes.

At the moment La Bella Black Nylons - 760N

Briefcase here:

[quote name='redstriper' post='1230027' date='May 13 2011, 03:12 PM']I believe Pino uses TIs on his Precision and they come as standard on his Fender signature bass. I think he plays in The Who now - and they're a 'rock' band afaik. I could be wrong about this though.............[/quote] You could be dead right Steve ... ... and when I saw the Who with Pino his tone was (IMHO) much preferable to Entwistle's tone.

[quote name='PauBass' post='1229929' date='May 13 2011, 02:02 PM']I'm bringing this thread back up as I have now been using flats for a few weeks, and I'm sooo happy, I'm really liking the sound and feel I went with a set of D'Addario Chromes ECB81, which are 45-65-80-100, on my Jazz bass and they are exactly what I was looking for but , perhaps a bit too much tension (...this is me just being picky now). Now I want flats on my P bass too and I'd love to try different strings this time. I'm quite positive I'm going to go for for TI JF344, 43-56-70-100, but after reading in various posts about the lower string tension I'm not sure....Has anyone tried both sets, Chromes 45-100 and TIs 43-100, and can give me some advice, please? Are La Bellas comparable in tension to TIs or Chromes? Finally, which ones, TI or La Bella, or more suited for rock? Thanks![/quote] For tension, La Bella Deep Talkin' are more like Chromes than TIs. The TIs are much lower tension and so are more senstitive to how hard or soft you play them. A lot of people here, me included, like TIs a lot but some people find the low tension difficult to get used to. The TIs have a more middy sound (IMO) and are very good at cutting through the mix. The La Bellas have a fairly typical old school '60s sound, expecially on a P bass. I'd say for rock (whatever that is, it's a very wide genre) La Bellas would be fine but that's not to say that TIs can't do rock as well. There's no substitute for trying them - unfortunately.

[quote name='Robert Manning' post='1223898' date='May 8 2011, 08:58 AM']Just a shout out for anyone who may know. im not a gibson expert at all! but does anyone know where i can find official original gibo pickups for it? or good after market ones! Cheers![/quote] It's worth asking in the Gibson forum at [url="http://bassoutpost.com/index.php"]The Last Bass Outpost[/url] where there are many Gibson bass aficionados.