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Precision and flats


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On 26/10/2019 at 17:19, Soledad said:

We need user feedback on those Adagios and Olympias

I've got a set of Adagio flats, cut to fit a Precision. Compared to D'Addario Chrome XL or Fender flats that I have used in the past, they don't sound or feel as nice. A good cheap way to try flats before investing in better strings. If someone wants these Adagios for the cost of the postage, please PM me

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7 minutes ago, ped said:

Are the Low Tension Labellas lower tension than the 760fx? Because the FX have a 0.039 G and the LTF have a 0.043 which I’d have thought would be higher

Not sure tbh. I was going to go for the 760fx but assumed (perhaps wrongly) that the LTF's would be lower tension. Here's a pic showing the tension on these if you have the same info on the 760fx's to compare?

strings.jpg

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2 minutes ago, Deedee said:

Not sure tbh. I was going to go for the 760fx but assumed (perhaps wrongly) that the LTF's would be lower tension. Here's a pic showing the tension on these if you have the same info on the 760fx's to compare?

strings.jpg

Thanks - I don’t have that info unfortunately... 

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On 30/10/2019 at 12:24, dmccombe7 said:

Always been a big fan of Gary Thain and never really gave that a thought. Coming from a more Jazz influenced background he might well have used them for recording but rounds for live work.

I'd be curious to find out what Gary used tho.

I read JPJ moved to Elixir strings because they were easier on his fingers and lasted longer. Maybe it was a sponsorship thing and he was just selling the product in an interview ?

Dave

JPJ was asked specifically about his old Jazz sound in Zeppelin, well before Elixirs even existed. The interviewer assumed he used flats on it and he said he never had as he didn’t like them for the reasons stated. How true that is I have no idea, but that’s what he said.

Read a load of Gary Thain internet stuff yesterday and it was flats all the way, as I thought. In fact I’ve just remembered that an old friend of mine knew someone who knew Gary back in the day and he told me years ago that the guy said Gary used flats. 

Interestingly, both JPJ and Thain also used Acoustic rigs back in the day. 

As many will be aware, I’m not a fan of the “modern” Jazz sound, but the Thain/JPJ/Kravitz sound I love. 

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3 hours ago, Linus27 said:

I've got Rotosound 77 flats, 40 - 100 and I find the tension too much for me. I like strings to have a lower tension closer to round. Can anyone recommend something with a lower tension to the Rotosounds?

I'd say it's TI Jazz flats for you.

Frank.

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8 hours ago, Linus27 said:

I've got Rotosound 77 flats, 40 - 100 and I find the tension too much for me. I like strings to have a lower tension closer to round. Can anyone recommend something with a lower tension to the Rotosounds?

I've just bought my first set in 30+ yrs to try them again. I've gone for the LaBella Low Tension strings but i've not fitted them as yet. These were recommended as a possible replacement for rounds somewhere on this thread.

Waiting for existing strings to wear out as they aren't that old.

Dave

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9 hours ago, 4000 said:

JPJ was asked specifically about his old Jazz sound in Zeppelin, well before Elixirs even existed. The interviewer assumed he used flats on it and he said he never had as he didn’t like them for the reasons stated. How true that is I have no idea, but that’s what he said.

Read a load of Gary Thain internet stuff yesterday and it was flats all the way, as I thought. In fact I’ve just remembered that an old friend of mine knew someone who knew Gary back in the day and he told me years ago that the guy said Gary used flats. 

Interestingly, both JPJ and Thain also used Acoustic rigs back in the day. 

As many will be aware, I’m not a fan of the “modern” Jazz sound, but the Thain/JPJ/Kravitz sound I love. 

I should have mentioned the JPJ thing was well after Zep. Great to find out about Gary Thain using flats. The Acoustic rigs were quite popular back then. Did Jaco not use them as well. Don't really know much about the Acoustic rigs. Are they valve or SS. ?

Something i noted with Trevor Bolder in some of his last tours with Uriah Heep he was using 2off Peavey Mk4's into TE cabs. Those were great amps with twin channels and graphic providing a fantastic choice of sounds from one amp.

Dave

Edited by dmccombe7
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10 hours ago, 4000 said:

 

Read a load of Gary Thain internet stuff yesterday and it was flats all the way, as I thought. In fact I’ve just remembered that an old friend of mine knew someone who knew Gary back in the day and he told me years ago that the guy said Gary used flats. 

 

Did you find out what gauge of flats GT used. Just curious.

Dave

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1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

I should have mentioned the JPJ thing was well after Zep. Great to find out about Gary Thain using flats. The Acoustic rigs were quite popular back then. Did Jaco not use them as well. Don't really know much about the Acoustic rigs. Are they valve or SS. ?

Something i noted with Trevor Bolder in some of his last tours with Uriah Heep he was using 2off Peavey Mk4's into TE cabs. Those were great amps with twin channels and graphic providing a fantastic choice of sounds from one amp.

Dave

Yeah, Jaco used them too. 

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The nice thing about a P with flats is that it almost feels like a different instrument - for a while I tried to get flats that sounded more like rounds until I realised that the beauty was in how different it sounded to anything else. If I want modern or zingy I'll use summat else. I've been almost exclusively playing my P/flats for a few weeks now but just busted out the Smith or some zing and it's an incredibly feeling to go from one to the other - I'm sure it makes you appreciate both even more!

 

IMG_2844.jpeg

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2 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

I'm not sure if these have been mentioned already, but GHS Precision Flats are beautiful. I believe Lakland used to rebadge them as their own, which is how I got into them.

Similar to La Bella FLs, but with (IMO) a little more in the mids. Musik Produktiv do them for about £38 posted.

I love 'em.

@wateroftyne I've only ever tried GHS Precision flats on my p-bass. How do they compare with others, in particular the tension and TI jazz flats?

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31 minutes ago, Lardy said:

I've only ever tried GHS Precision flats on my p-bass. How do they compare with others, in particular the tension and TI jazz flats?

I put GHS Precision Flats (a re-badged Lakland set, bought from Happy Jack and the first set of flats I'd used since about 1970) on my P bass and saw an instant step change improvement in tone. I was getting a great sound with DR Lo-Rider rounds before that, but I definitely preferred the sound of the flats.

When I moved to a set of TI's I didn't notice any difference in the playing but the sound improved again. I play on the top of the strings and don't "dig in", so this tension "thing" doesn't affect or bother me.

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Have you noticed that you can always spot someone using flats, even before they play a note, by the way the light reflects off the smooth string surface. Too geeky? I'll get my coat

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6 hours ago, chris_b said:

When I moved to a set of TI' I didn't notice any difference in the playing but the sound improved again. I play on the top of the strings and don't "dig in", so this tension "thing" doesn't affect or bother me.

I don't have a P but have experimented with flats - I felt like I needed to be a champion arm wrestler with some (mentioned earlier in this thread). TI flats, EB Group 3s and EB Cobalt all have roughly the same tension (similar to 100-40 rounds) that I can work with. These are my basses with flats. Regarding Acoustic, they were used by loads of people in the 70s - early 80s - they are SS, very loud, and keep a clean sound at high volume (I had a 370 - 3 or maybe 400 watts and very similar in amp size to an Ashdown ABM or Trace Elliott). A revelation against Marshall guitar stacks!!

I'm not surprised JPJ didn't use flats - they are very much a 60s throw back when nothing else was available and in the 70s few musicians in modern music used them - even less in the 80s when a bright sound was required.

That said they sound different (although you can get close with rounds and technique). As Stingrays shipped with GHS flats up to early 78 I was keen to try them on my Classic Stingray and the TIs are still there after about 4 yrs - the Fretless has EB Cobalt flats (partially for maintenance of board reasons). That said I like the sound with them. 

You can call me a 70s (or/and 80s or 90s) throwback if you want but definitely not a 60s throwback 😁😁😂

image.thumb.jpeg.bbf4843b398403db1dcb2afe9a07cded.jpeg

 

 

Edited by drTStingray
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4 hours ago, drTStingray said:

I'm not surprised JPJ didn't use flats - they are very much a 60s throw back when nothing else was available and in the 70s few musicians in modern music used them - even less in the 80s when a bright sound was required.

JPJ has said different things about this at different times , has said in some interviews that he used flats and then in other interviews that he used rounds , i think he used flats, the tone on good times bad times sounds so much like flats, the tone, the thump

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