Using flatwounds on bass

[Kev77]

I can supply Thomastik strings too, but I'm not sure about the whole cage fight thing.

verily - thomastiks are the schizz, end of

[Bg]

[Terexgeek]

That operator is pretty damn good. I 'd give the slew gear/brake 5 minutes though.

[TmcB]

Righteo, just put a set of D'Addario Chromes on my Pedulla after having had a set on my P-Bass for a couple of weeks. I'm very impressed with the big tone and feel of the Chromes.

I have to tip my hat to Rog for getting me into flatwounds.

The interesting thing is that flatwounds are often seen as the exclusive domain of funk and blues players, and that roundwounds are required to sound any good playing rock, metal etc. In short, Flats=dead, dark and flubby, rounds=zingy, bright, and great tone. Now whilst it's true that by yourself a set of round wounds can get a great bass tone, the player can find themselves continuous turning up the vol or minds in a bid to cut through the mix. The reason is that all that nice, bright harmonic content gets submerged and melded with the sea of guitar/key/vocal midrange whilst the big notes at the bottom are a little shy. It's a case of my bass encroaching on guitar frequencies.

What I've encountered is a bit of a seismic shift in my thinking as a bass player; Why should I be trying to compete with the guitar when I have whole lower frequency zone all to myself? If my job is to lock in with the drummer and provide the groove/foundation of the band, why am I concentrating on getting my high frequencies to cut through the guitar?

Turns out I'd missed the boat on flats. Flats don't do the zingy thing but because of that coupled with a shorter sustain, the fundamental note is emphasized, along with the lower mids, so with a band the bass sounds big, solid, and punchy as hell. I play rock, almost metal and these chromes have been a revelation for me. I'm suddenly punchy, and the bass sounds massive but without being boomy. The chromes HAVE got zing in them but it doesn't get in the way of the other instruments, nor does it go away after 2 weeks like rounds. What they're got is growly midrange and big bass, which sounds just excellent supporting the band. I also love the solid punch when locking in with the drummer.

It's the difference between getting a sound that works great by itself, and a sound that makes the band sound better. Quite different sonic territory. I got my chromes from guitarstuff and it was awesome service as usual.

[foal30]

like Tony gets no grief but Kev and I do
that'll fucking keep

today, no hint of a lie, I learned The Henderson is actually a motorcycle.
I heard this fact on RADIO HAURAKI

[foal30]

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