String Suggestions for someone who likes Flatwounds but also slaps sometimes (in the same song)

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Sean150

Jul 18, 2018
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#1
It says it all in the title this time. I am finding my string preference leans towards flat wounds but sometimes I need the round wound bite, especially for slap on a few songs (and sometimes in the same song as a flat wound tone). I tried a search hear and on google but did not get any hits so I am looking for suggestions of a string that could fill both roles. Most likely these would be put on a Yamaha BBP34 through a Mesa WD-800.

I have GHS Precision flats on a bass and Chromes on another and neither seem to fit the bill. On order I have GHS Brite Flats and Pressure Wounds and TI Jazz flats but I don’t know if those will work either.

If I’m out of luck and there is no compromise please let me know (Carrots?).

Thanks Sean150
 
#4
TI Jazz Flats. Only flats I use that can get a decent slap feel and tone. I can even slap on my P with these flats so take that, bass police! Yeah, they're pricy but they last a long time.
Anyway, if you wanna be down that's what you should do.
 
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#5
Sean150 said:
If I’m out of luck and there is no compromise please let me know (Carrots?).
Click to expand...

Eh, no... :oops: It's just a matter of taste (as so often obviously). Other than the strings already mentioned, I have heard people coaxing nice FW-slap tones out of DR Legends, Sadowsky (sorry, I never can remember the label), Rotosound Jazz Bass... Some even slap on nylon tapewounds...

I for one indeed at some stage have used groundwounds for slapping, and I still do use compression wounds :thumbsup:
 
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#6
If you are running flats then the slapping is going to sound like a flat, ala Chuck Rainey on Peg. No way around it. I like that tone and find it serviceable for what I am doing. I am using Chromes on both my current #1s. One is a Stingray and the other has a similar neck pickup. I change them when they get too dead. They both can generate a lot of mids and sound good slapping, but it is very subjective. I also am running the TI flats and Tapes. They also all work for me, but sound different. Definitely helps to have a neck pickup, but Chuck got a nice tone with a P. All my strings will get changed when they go too dead.
 
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#7
Sean150 said:
It says it all in the title this time. I am finding my string preference leans towards flat wounds but sometimes I need the round wound bite, especially for slap on a few songs (and sometimes in the same song as a flat wound tone). I tried a search hear and on google but did not get any hits so I am looking for suggestions of a string that could fill both roles. Most likely these would be put on a Yamaha BBP34 through a Mesa WD-800.
Click to expand...

How are you EQ'ing your amp? That's going to play a lot into this as well.


Sean150 said:
I have GHS Precision flats on a bass and Chromes on another and neither seem to fit the bill. On order I have GHS Brite Flats and Pressure Wounds and TI Jazz flats but I don’t know if those will work either.
Click to expand...

Of the ones you have on order:
Brite Flats - Can cop a decent flatwound sound. The slap sounds very 70s thumpy
Pressurewound - Best slap sound of the three, but won't sound like a flat
TI Jazz Flats - Glorious flatwound sound, but won't have the snap/sparkle needed for slap

As someone mentioned, the Ernie Ball Cobalt flats would be a good option to look into. When they first came out, Keith Horne did a really nice demo vid where he got lots of good tones - including slap - out of them.
 
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#8
To cop the earliest slap sounds you could get black nylon tapewouds. As is being discussed here,
Larry Graham’s Tone
Larry Graham used them during the Sly era. Possibly La Bellas, but Fenders tapes certainly existed, and possibly GHS too. (The earliest ever were the Rotosound Tru Bass, but I would guess their very tight G string would be a little uncomfortable for slap 'n' pop.)

Come the mid-Seventies, AFAIK both GHS Brite Flats and D'Addario Half Rounds existed, and it is possible a fair chunk of slapping was made with them. But yeah, I too would look into Ernie Ball Slinky (cobalt) Flatwounds. Alternatively, if the Chromes you tried happened not to be the lightest, ECB80 set (40-60-75-95), I would still give the latter a chance.
 
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#9
Jon Moody said:
How are you EQ'ing your amp? That's going to play a lot into this as well.




Of the ones you have on order:
Brite Flats - Can cop a decent flatwound sound. The slap sounds very 70s thumpy
Pressurewound - Best slap sound of the three, but won't sound like a flat
TI Jazz Flats - Glorious flatwound sound, but won't have the snap/sparkle needed for slap

As someone mentioned, the Ernie Ball Cobalt flats would be a good option to look into. When they first came out, Keith Horne did a really nice demo vid where he got lots of good tones - including slap - out of them.
Click to expand...
I DO like the brite flats (1/2 rounds) they have almost no overtones (ping clink) when slapped.
TI's sound great, middy, responsive -- no plink/overtone ring- percussive but not slappy
Pressure rounds were my huckleberry for years, not a flat sound, a "Dead" round sound, also don't feel like a flat

** @Jon Moody refreshing honesty @ the EB's ! **

I recommended the EB Cobalt flats.
Notably: I dislike EB strings in general. The cobalt formula seems to have a special something, that I cannot quite describe. EB's usually sound "hollow" scooped to me. Cobalt have a strong upper midrange that lends to a clarity and definition. (the cobalt rounds are super bright)

this demo shows what I mean about the mids
From TB's own
@Iv@N
 
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#10
Thanks for all the replies. I will try out the EB Cobalts if the ones I have on order don’t work. I was not a fan on the slinkies that I tried on some other basses.

I’ll try some different eq as well but part of my experience is the overtones that I am looking for in slap just aren’t there on the strings I’ve tried.
 
#16
Sean150 said:
Thanks for all the replies. I will try out the EB Cobalts if the ones I have on order don’t work. I was not a fan on the slinkies that I tried on some other basses.

I’ll try some different eq as well but part of my experience is the overtones that I am looking for in slap just aren’t there on the strings I’ve tried.
Click to expand...
I dislike all other EB strings
Cobalts are truly a different animal, even the Cobalt rounds. Nothing at all like "normal" EB slinky's.
 
#17
I too like the bright sound of Cobalt flats, especially at first, but as they age the brightness goes away some and I personally experienced discoloration after a few months. I love flats and typically use GHS Precisions on my P basses, but I have my jazz basses strung with GHS Pressurewounds. These are brighter than Cobalts but rolling off the highs brings them close to flatwound sound. I think they are the coolest bass strings at the moment and cover a lot of sonic bases.
 
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