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Post subject: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 3:56 pm
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6opeVfsRlc

^ have these pickups in a jazz (all passive, no preamp like in the vid), normal fender alder body with frets (these are the deep pair) . . .

i tried a set of sunbeams that i hate, and i have labella 760FL that are on there now . . . not really a FAN of them, but like them much better than the suns. i am thinking about giving chromes a try, or just heading back to stainless with a set of labella steels . . .

does anyone have suggestions on this? inb4 TI flats . . . since i am experimenting, i'd like to get something a little more mainstream or cheaper that i could possibly find used, or trade for online until i find something that i REALLY like and could commit to . . .

i guess i should include the types of music that i like to play: slap/funk, rock/metal, other technical stuff like jaco or bach if i am learning a cool song, but i don't play in a band and am not really comitted to ONE major style of music . . . i just want my jazz bass to sound amazing as a jazz bass should . . . also, i have a cheap p-bass with rounds on it, so it sounds "normal" if i decide to end up with another set of flats . . .

thanks for looking! :D


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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 4:24 pm
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Been using Rotosound RS66 sets for over 3 decades. (LC or LD depending on the gauge I need.) IMO nothing else comes even close. I've been playing bass longer than most people on this board have been alive, and I keep coming back to those RS66s. You'll need to be patient for a couple of weeks while their brightness eases off, though.

Currently, I have an LC set on my Charvel/Jackson PJ, and an LD set on my Ric 4001.

Can't say enough good things about them.

If you don't fancy roundwounds, though, then "Never mind," as they say...

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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 4:54 pm
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craig.p wrote:
Been using Rotosound RS66 sets for over 3 decades. (LC or LD depending on the gauge I need.) IMO nothing else comes even close. I've been playing bass longer than most people on this board have been alive, and I keep coming back to those RS66s. You'll need to be patient for a couple of weeks while their brightness eases off, though.

Currently, I have an LC set on my Charvel/Jackson PJ, and an LD set on my Ric 4001.

Can't say enough good things about them.

If you don't fancy roundwounds, though, then "Never mind," as they say...

are they harsh on frets at all? :P


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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 7:27 pm
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If you are shooting for a Jaco tone, here's your sign, It comes in a quote from the August 1984 Guitar Player magazine interview with Jaco Pastorius. ""I just used standard Rotosound strings - the round-wound Swing Bass set." There you have it.

For funk Rotosound now makes the FUNKMASTER set. They are ultra-ultra light gauge Swingbass 66 strings. 30 50 70 90. That's a tiny gauge. The catch is that since the gauge is so small, especially the "G" string, that you need a lot of bridge saddle travel to get them to intonate properly. I'd only try them on a bass with a long saddle travel bridge like a Leo Quan for example.

I personally prefer a more traditional light fresh flats for funk/fusion. Specifically the GHS 3025 stainless set. The trouble with this 45 60 75 95 set is they sound fresh for a brief time and replacing them every few weeks gets pricey. However after 3 weeks they make a good all around string, just not as bright as brassy and somewhat less good for funk/fusion. Their strong points are good string to string balance and they intonate with a stock bridge on most instruments. They sound very Jazz Bass like, even on a P-Bass.

If all you want is funk/fusion/Jaco stuff you'd be better off with the Rotosound Swing Bass rounds. Probably the 40 60 80 100 set is the one to try first. That set should intonate fine on a stock bridge.

I use the Thomastik-Infeld JF344 Jazz Flats on one instrument. I think the Jazz Flats would be so far from your target that it is one of the worst possible string set choices. The Jazz Flats are a terrible funk/fusion type string choice for me. They do many things well but funk/fusion aren't those things.


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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 8:52 pm
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Quote:
However after 3 weeks they make a good all around string, just not as bright as brassy and somewhat less good for funk/fusion.
I think this is kinda what I am looking for . . . a string that gets better over time, that I don't have to dump a bunch of money into for it to sound good :P

I'll check out the GHS, would the chromes be good for this as well? They seem to be popular/cheap . . .


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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 11:42 pm
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highwayy wrote:
Quote:
However after 3 weeks they make a good all around string, just not as bright as brassy and somewhat less good for funk/fusion.
I think this is kinda what I am looking for . . . a string that gets better over time, that I don't have to dump a bunch of money into for it to sound good :P

I'll check out the GHS, would the chromes be good for this as well? They seem to be popular/cheap . . .


I wouldn't say the GHS 3025 gets "better over time" but the bright edge that makes them a good enough funk string lasts a few weeks. After that they lose some brightness and become better for other things making them more of an all around flat than just a bright funk/fusion flat. I wouldn't say they get better, but they do get mellower which makes them less suitable for Fusion stuff but better for other things.

I have no recent long term experience with the D'Addario Chromes, but on instruments I've demo'ed or set up with them for others the Chromes seemed to me to be a more traditional mellow sounding flat when new than the GHS 3025. I must point out that none of the other GHS Precision Flats have the same Funk/Fusion zing when new that the 3025 set has, so don't expect any other GHS flatwound set to be as zingy.

I use the GHS 3025 and the gigantic GHS 3050 Regulars (not the 3050M) plus I use Thomastik-Infeld JF344 Jazz Flats. I only use one roundwound at present, the TI EB344 Power Bass set.

Of the three flats and one round set I've settled down comfortably with, I consider the Power Bass set the most versatile string of the lot. If I could have only one instrument it would be one with the TI EB344 Power Bass set on it.

I think the best thing to do is to find a set that works well for you on one instrument and after that use only that string set on that instrument. If you change them one string at a time you can avoid having to do a whole bunch of adjustments. I've done some changes with no adjustments at all and it is a real joy. I think it is harder on you and harder on an instrument to switch to different types of strings frequently. Find a set that works well for you on one particular instrument and stick to it on that instrument indefinitely.

The Chromes are D'Addario's #1 selling bass flat, so they have lots of fans. I prefer GHS merely because I'm familiar with them. The GHS 3050M and 3050 Regular sets are not all that different from Chromes. Chromes are a perfectly good string set, I just use something else.


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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 8:32 am
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highwayy wrote:
are they harsh on frets at all? :P
I have no idea whether they're more or less harsh than other roundwounds.

Ric frets are known for their toughness, despite their thinness. That said, though, I've had 66s on it since the day I bought it (sometime in the late 1970s), and though the frets do show evidence of roundwound use, and are slightly scooped under each string, the instrument exhibits no behavior at all that would suggest it needs a re-fret.

The Charvel/Jackson, same deal. Bought in the late 1980s. The frets do show evidence of roundwound use, but the instrument plays fine and its intonation is still perfect, just like the Ric.

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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 12:55 pm
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Quote:
I think the best thing to do is to find a set that works well for you on one instrument and after that use only that string set on that instrument. If you change them one string at a time you can avoid having to do a whole bunch of adjustments. I've done some changes with no adjustments at all and it is a real joy. I think it is harder on you and harder on an instrument to switch to different types of strings frequently. Find a set that works well for you on one particular instrument and stick to it on that instrument indefinitely.

this is my plan! the tough part is finding a set of strings that i like :P

craig.p wrote:
highwayy wrote:
are they harsh on frets at all? :P
I have no idea whether they're more or less harsh than other roundwounds.

Ric frets are known for their toughness, despite their thinness. That said, though, I've had 66s on it since the day I bought it (sometime in the late 1970s), and though the frets do show evidence of roundwound use, and are slightly scooped under each string, the instrument exhibits no behavior at all that would suggest it needs a re-fret.

The Charvel/Jackson, same deal. Bought in the late 1980s. The frets do show evidence of roundwound use, but the instrument plays fine and its intonation is still perfect, just like the Ric.

ok cool! i'll try to check these out!


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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:38 pm
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craig.p wrote:
Been using Rotosound RS66 sets for over 3 decades. (LC or LD depending on the gauge I need.) IMO nothing else comes even close. I've been playing bass longer than most people on this board have been alive, and I keep coming back to those RS66s. You'll need to be patient for a couple of weeks while their brightness eases off, though.

Currently, I have an LC set on my Charvel/Jackson PJ, and an LD set on my Ric 4001.

Can't say enough good things about them.

If you don't fancy roundwounds, though, then "Never mind," as they say...



OMG another ROTOSOUND MAN !!! OH YEH TELL IT LIKE IT IS BROTHER !!!! Most of these guys just love flatwound and nylon strings. Can you believe that? I don't know when or where they went astray. I kind of feel sorry for them. Watch out -- this reply may just git under their skin but who cares? Excuse me I have to go smoke some ROTOSOUNDS.


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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:19 am
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All I can say is, "Amen, Brother!"

To the OP: Back in the '70s I was a member of the local Bass Guitar A Week club, rotating Precisions and Jazzes in and out of stock, looking for the perfect one. I'll bet I "fixed" more than a handful of neck-related and tone-related problems just by taking off those steel-girder flatwounds and replacing them with a 66 set.

Got a neck you can't get the bow out of, or whose truss rod is maxed out? Slap on a set of 66LCs, which are 40/60/75/95, re-intonate, problem solved, and that neck will be good to go for the remainder of the instrument's life. I even had a set of 66LCs "fix" the neck twist in a '70s JB -- not all of it, but enough to make the instrument 100% serviceable and capable of making me money on stage.

Where a 66 set really shines in in string evenness. You drop your JB pickups low enough to mitigate the effects of the tight neck radius, i.e. to minimize the extra volume from the G and E, (sorry Fender, but you know it's true -- you should have been shipping these instruments with adjustable pole pieces from day one or at least doing something with magnet heights) and you just might be amazed at how UNeven your bass sounded with whatever you had on before, but you didn't realize it at the time. BTW, yeah, I did try dropping the pickups first, and yeah, it did help some, but the 66 set took things the rest of the way.

Second attribute but almost as close is harmonic content. After they break in and the brightness is gone, they sit in the mix really well, and this is especially true in bands with a relatively small member count. Just the right combination of fundamentals, low mids, and high mids that will help you fill in the slot you're responsible for.

God bless the folks who use flats and tapes, truly. Maybe you guys are more flexible than I am, or better players in general. I salute you all. Me, I've never understood the attraction.

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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:20 pm
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Rounds offer the biggest variety of sounds - you can do bright sounds for slapping or more aggressive stuff, or you can dial down the treble on your amp or tone knob and do darker, thumpier kinds of stuff. I have often heard D'Addario Chromes referred to as really bright for a flatwound string, so they might be a good compromise. Personally, I like having some of both! Right now out of 7 basses, 4 have rounds and 3 have flats. Best of both worlds!

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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:48 pm
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DR Sunbeams sound great, and have less tension than many rounds because they are round core. Very nice sounding though...I also like DR Low Riders, but they have more hi-mid/high bite.

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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 9:13 pm
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Raginrog wrote:
DR Sunbeams sound great, and have less tension than many rounds because they are round core. Very nice sounding though...I also like DR Low Riders, but they have more hi-mid/high bite.

had suns on there for about an hour before i removed them . . . couldnt stand the sound :P

i think i am leaning towards labella steels . . .


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Post subject: Re: String Recs for Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 7:12 pm
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highwayy wrote:
Raginrog wrote:
DR Sunbeams sound great, and have less tension than many rounds because they are round core. Very nice sounding though...I also like DR Low Riders, but they have more hi-mid/high bite.

had suns on there for about an hour before i removed them . . . couldnt stand the sound :P

i think i am leaning towards labella steels . . .


They aren't for everyone...they lack any zing, but they sound good on my basses with my amps. I actually prefer Lowriders, but the steel strings really dig into the frets because I do a lot of bends.

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`12 Ric 4003 Fireglo


MB cmd 102p & 410hr
MB LM Tube 800

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