Pbass flats and rounds.

[Doug Bright]

Please indulge some rambling...
So I decided that I "needed" a pbass with flats and one with rounds.
The flat wound P is a fender american original 60s with a nice rosewood board wearing a set of TI Jazz Flats. Love it. Sounds great for everything except slap.
The round wound P is a mid 80s Japan Fender with a maple board with Elixir coated nickel strings. I don't love this sound as much. The bass is a beautiful CAR that looks like new, but it's just too bright.
It seems redundant to put flats on both, but I suppose I could try a different type of flats on the Japan bass.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[andare]

EB Cobalt flats seem to be the go-to flats for a bright tone that gets you in rounds territory. Or maybe GHS Brite Flats?

 

[MObasshead]

Try some pure nickel roundwound strings maybe.

 

[michael_t]

The round wound P is a mid 80s Japan Fender with a maple board with Elixir coated nickel strings. I don't love this sound as much. The bass is a beautiful CAR that looks like new, but it's just too bright.

Try the GHS Round Core Boomers in the light gauge, 40-55-75-95, which have the same overall tension as the TI Jazz Flats (141 lbs. vs. 140.19 lbs.). A nice supple feel like the Jazz Flats and they're not overly zingy or bright. And the red silk would match nicely with the CAR.

 

[PBandJazzBass]

I generally prefer flats on my P Basses as well but the DR Pure Blues sound great on my Fender Mike Dirnt bass.

 

[buldog5151bass]

How about a warmer set of rounds? Nickel Sunbeams or Lo Riders (depending on the tension you prefer). Roll the bass off when you want an even warmer tone.

 

[Phaidrus]

My setup is based on the same idea: one Pbass with flats and one Pbass with rounds. I only own these two basses and wanted to cover the genres I play: reggae-dub and EDM one one hand and funk and some modernish jazz with slapping on the other. So the 2008 AmStd Pbass with PV63 pickup is strung with Dunlop flats (45105) and the 2017 AmProf Pbass with V-Mod pickup is strung with D'Addario Pro Steels (45105). The former has a sweet round tone with short sustain and tension is fortunately not too high. The later has a dry crunchy yet full tone and tension is quite low and comfortable.

 

[dougjwray]

I agree with the DR Nickel Lo Rider suggestion. Another idea might be Dunlop Super Bright Nickels. The two are quite different in feel (the Dunlops are more supple) and different in tone (the Dunlops are the most "gentle" roundwounds I think I've ever tried). They don't have much "heft" but they also have zero annoying clank. The Lo Riders have a firmer bottom end, and if you like the stiffness of flats, they are closer to that.
Anyway, these are just my perceptions.
Good luck!

 

[Tugg]

GHS Balanced Nickels seem to work really well on my Lakland P. w/ Fralins -2%.

 

[ljazz]

I've always been fond of a really worn in set of D'Addario xl's for rounds on a P. The problem lies in getting them to the point of really worn in.

 

[Doug Bright]

So I decided to try the TI jazz flats on the Japanese pbass and rounds on the AO.
LOVE the TIs on the Japanese bass, it might be my favorite now, I love those strings.
Now to find the right strings for the AO pbass.

 

[J-Mags]

I generally prefer flats, but love GHS Boomers on a P-Bass. They've got all the low mids, and not a ton of highs.

 

[Phaidrus]

I've always been fond of a really worn in set of D'Addario xl's for rounds on a P. The problem lies in getting them to the point of really worn in.

How would you describe their tone, when they finally get there?

 

[el murdoque]

LaBella Deep Talkin Flats.

In a way, they are the polar opposite to the TIs

 

[Nighttrain1127]

My thoughts would be either GHS Pressure wounds Tangy not twangy. Nice Lows and Mids with Laid back highs. Or GHS Balanced Nickels they are deeper and smooth with even less highs

 

[_Obra_]

Here is my experiment with flats and wounds on a P bass.

Maybe You found it interesting



Solo from 2:47

 

[Dan_reeves]

Here is my experiment with flats and wounds on a P bass.

Maybe You found it interesting



Solo from 2:47

Cool video thanks for sharing!

 

[Bob E]

Put flats on everything

 

[ljazz]

How would you describe their tone, when they finally get there?

String noise calms down. The low mids start to poke through more as the high mids mellow. There is this "honky" mid range thing with worn rounds on a P that is a bit less pronounced with nickels than with steels (IMO). The DA's are nice because they are cheap, and the stiffness is about perfect for me.

 

[jasper383]

I think you just need to put a set of nickel rounds on there and let them break in fully.

Elixirs are great if you like that sound, but that sound never changes.