Bassic_Science Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 (edited) My fellow low end enthusiasts, I call upon your collective wisdom to help me with my dilemma regarding strings. I've been playing my lovely Squier VM 70's Jazz since 2005 which has undergone a lot of modifications to the point where only the body and neck are still original - the electronics, tuners, bridge all being replaced over time to make the beast into what it is today. Now, enough about the bass itself and onto the real issue. Strings. Yes, strings. Another one of those threads. My issue is that I've got hands that sweat like a deluge when I play and they kill roundwounds fast. Like ridiculously fast. As in I once put on a new set of Ernie Ball Slinky's, and they were dead after 2 hours of a band practice fast. So began my search for decent roundwounds that I could get good amount of life from. I've tried every brand I could get my hands on, from Rotosound, Ernie Balls, D'Addario, GHS, all the way to Dunlops. You name it, I've probably played the coated, non-coated, stainless steel, and nickel version of it. Ended up settling on D'Addario Nickels for a good while since they were the best bang for buck at the time. After my stint in the gigging scene of my youth, I discovered flatwounds, specifically TI Jazz Flats, and that changed the game. I had a string that could last a good long while and sounded better with time. But then the email came in, you know the one. The one titled: We need a bass player! And soon, before you know it, you're knee deep in it, and trying to find new excuses to tell your partner to justify buying gear that you may need (but in reality you really don't!). I soon realised that my TI flats were not up to snuff for the sound we needed. The band plays a lot of rock covers from Jefferson Airplane, the Who, Oasis, Steriophonics, Foo Fighters, the Pixies, (really a lot of '90s, to early '00s with the occasional '60s, '70s, '80s song thrown in the mix). They were ok for a time but they just lacked that edge you get from roundwounds. So I went back to my tried and true roundwounds of D'Addario Nickels (0.45 - 0.65 - 0.85 - 0.105). And then the string killing hand sweat came back and has effectively killed them in a reasonable amount of time. So after showing my partner the cost of a new set of strings and explaining the issue in painstaking detail till her eyes glazed over, she asked the question after regaining consciousness of why not find a brighter flatwound that will last you a while? So here I am, seeking your wisdom on some brighter flats. I've tried chromes, found them a bit stiff and definitely a higher tension that my nickels and TI flats. I hear everyone lately ranting about the new Ernie Ball Cobalts. But what about Rotosound Jazz Bass 77s? How are the tension on these two sets? What do they sound like a bit more settled in (in other words, after a few months of play, maybe even a year onward)? Is there another more modern sounding flat I am unaware of that is worth a look? Help me Basschat, you're not my only hope but hopefully you'll give it a try! PS. Apologies about this long winded story which probably could have been summed up in less than 3 sentences. But if you made it this far, then good on you! Edited May 24, 2019 by Bassic_Science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 TIs are in the category of brighter flatwounds, however if I’m not mistaken @lee650 knows EB Cobalts pretty well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 On 16/05/2019 at 21:08, ped said: Here are my Cobalt flats in lightest gauge. Love them. Is this the sort of sound you’re looking for? Quote from a similar thread. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassic_Science Posted May 24, 2019 Author Share Posted May 24, 2019 4 minutes ago, CameronJ said: Quote from a similar thread. Thanks for sharing this! Saw this post earlier and was listening to it. I like what I hear so far, but I'd be a bit more curious to know about the tension of the strings, especially the 0.45-0.100 set or 0.45-0.105 set. Are they pretty flexible like the TI's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 I liked the TI flats I had before but prefer the cobalts. The 40-95 set I have are more flexible and nicer to play than the TIs which I believe had a .043 G string. Whereabouts are you, anywhere near York you can have a try. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassic_Science Posted May 24, 2019 Author Share Posted May 24, 2019 13 minutes ago, ped said: I liked the TI flats I had before but prefer the cobalts. The 40-95 set I have are more flexible and nicer to play than the TIs which I believe had a .043 G string. Whereabouts are you, anywhere near York you can have a try. Thanks for the offer, but unfortunately I'm near the border of Cambridgeshire and Essex. The TI's are 0.043-0.053-0.070-0.100. Honestly love the TI flats but just missing that little bit of extra bite that I'm hearing more in the EB cobalts. If the string tension is not too bad on the 40-95 set, might worth the jump to just try them out. Just my preference has always been slightly thicker strings but I got used to TI flats so whose to say that 40-95 won't grow on me. And as for Rotosounds, was doing a bit more research to see if I can find actual values for the string tension (the answer is no so far, same with EB cobalts). But what everyone seems to say is Rotosounds, nice to play, but high tension, bit more old school sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee650 Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 2 hours ago, CameronJ said: TIs are in the category of brighter flatwounds, however if I’m not mistaken @lee650 knows EB Cobalts pretty well? Aha!! Mr Science and i are very recently acquainted 😁 ive been using the cobalt flats on my Yamaha BB 424 for nearly three months now and I'm a big fan! They are very bright for a flat and seem to have a more musical sweet treble than Chromes which have a lot of high mids clank. They instantly reminded me of a slightly worn in set of nickel rounds!!! They also have a fairly low tension (mine are 105-45) and are the first flats I've been able to get a convincing slap tone! They do have a nice growl in the mids, the bottom end however isn't the same as standard flats but mine have worn in and warmed up,still with a lot of clarity. I was very close to buying the Dunlop flats on camerons recommendation but I took a chance and was very pleased 😁 I'm very tempted to put a set on my old jazz too but it loves high beams too much 😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 From what I’ve heard in @ped‘s demo, I think the Cobalts are brighter than the Dunlop’s. Reckon you made the right decision Lee! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Think my tone control was on 75% ish but normally on that bass I have it at about 50%. I like the sound of bright flats with the tone down as opposed to dull flats with the tone on full, if that makes sense! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Elixirs? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Given that you’ve tried all kinds of rounds and killed them quickly I’d look at the Cobalt Flats as suggested. If they don’t have enough top end I’d then look at the Thomann own brand rounds, as they are very reasonably priced. If killing strings regularly, may as well make it as cost effective as possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee650 Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 4 hours ago, ped said: Think my tone control was on 75% ish but normally on that bass I have it at about 50%. I like the sound of bright flats with the tone down as opposed to dull flats with the tone on full, if that makes sense! That's exactly what I do with the cobalts!! Easier to dull down bright strings than try a bring a bit of life to really dull strings! I have the same philosophy with my DR high beam rounds! 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 I may need to try light gauge Cobalts at some point...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassic_Science Posted May 24, 2019 Author Share Posted May 24, 2019 5 hours ago, lee650 said: Aha!! Mr Science and i are very recently acquainted 😁 ive been using the cobalt flats on my Yamaha BB 424 for nearly three months now and I'm a big fan! They are very bright for a flat and seem to have a more musical sweet treble than Chromes which have a lot of high mids clank. They instantly reminded me of a slightly worn in set of nickel rounds!!! They also have a fairly low tension (mine are 105-45) and are the first flats I've been able to get a convincing slap tone! They do have a nice growl in the mids, the bottom end however isn't the same as standard flats but mine have worn in and warmed up,still with a lot of clarity. I was very close to buying the Dunlop flats on camerons recommendation but I took a chance and was very pleased 😁 I'm very tempted to put a set on my old jazz too but it loves high beams too much 😂 Ah ha! We meet again! Thanks for the nice write up on the Cobalts. @lee650, @ped and @CameronJ, cheers for the help. So far it seems that Cobalts might be a good solution to my dilemma. @pete.young never tried Elixirs before funny enough. Don't know how I missed those. Will try to find some sample recordings. @Lozz196 Thomman have their own branded strings? Are there any recordings with them? I'd be really curious to know what they sound like since I never had access to them when I was a budding young bassist in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Thomann have their own branded everything And to be fair, a lot of it seems to be of pretty decent quality! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 I only use Cobalts on my P; my other basses have Elixirs of the same gauge (though I think the E string is 0.100). I can record something if you like, but think nice warm nickel rounds with a great ‘zing’ and top end. A set lasts me over a year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassic_Science Posted May 24, 2019 Author Share Posted May 24, 2019 Think I'm going to need another bass to find all these strings a home but that's a battle for another day! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 11:30 on a Friday night and we’re all online talking about strings. Awesome 🤘☺️ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 3 minutes ago, Bassic_Science said: Think I'm going to need another bass to find all these strings a home but that's a battle for another day! A nice problem to have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Just now, ped said: 11:30 on a Friday night and we’re all online talking about strings. Awesome 🤘☺️ Haha! I’m currently in Zürich so it’s actually 12.30 on a Friday night 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 1 minute ago, CameronJ said: Haha! I’m currently in Zürich so it’s actually 12.30 on a Friday night You should be out scouring the streets for interesting foreign strings 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee650 Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 2 minutes ago, ped said: 11:30 on a Friday night and we’re all online talking about strings. Awesome 🤘☺️ Lol!! I'm enjoying a bottle of Pino Grigio and eating pizza!! Perfect night 😂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Just now, lee650 said: Lol!! I'm enjoying a bottle of Pino Grigio and eating pizza!! Perfect night 😂 I’ve just eaten a whole bag of Minstrels and I still fancy some toast but surely it’s too late now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee650 Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Just now, ped said: I’ve just eaten a whole bag of Minstrels and I still fancy some toast but surely it’s too late now Nah! Don't forget to put cheese and a bit of Worcester sauce on!! (On toast not strings 😂) just about to watch The final episode of Gotham!! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Ooft. Worcester sauce and mature cheddar on your Cobalts. That’ll get your tone nice and funky. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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