Flatwounds

[mathman]

I haven't used a set of flatwound bass strings in 20 years so I thought I would try a set again. But I can't decide if I should put them on the cruise bass or my old 82 Fender Bullet bass.

So which should I put them on?

Also, I think I really want to replace the pups on the Fender. Anybody got something that will fit? ideas?

thanks.

[tomteriffic]

I'd put them on the Bullet, especially if it's a short-scale. As lively as Cruises tend to be, I think you'd be doing it a disservice by putting flatwounds on there.

[JohnnyB]

There's a fair amount of variation in the sounds of various flatwounds, as well as differences in tension which translates into how low you can get the action and how suitable the strings are for faster playing.

For overall tone quality my favorites are the Thomastik-Infeld jazz flats. They have a rich full sound, don't sound particularly rolled off, and the string-to-string uniformity is excellent. Even the open G string has the same tone quality as the others. But they are of very low tension and don't adapt well to playing fast unless you use a pick (IME).

What I use now on one of my fretlesses are GHS tapewounds. They sound every bit as good as the very expensive La Bella tapewounds, but at less than half the price. Also, they have high tension so you get the mellow sound of flats with the fast snapback of high tension.

The DR flats are liked by many but sound like rubber bands to me compared to the TI's.

The D'Addario Chromes with the stainless wrap have more treble and snarl, yet are finely finished and very comfortable.

I recommend you get a set of flats that hold promise for you and put them on the Cruise first. If you like what they do keep'em there, but if you don't, put them on the Bullet and turn it into a thumper.

If you'd like a string for the Cruise that has a broader, fuller sound with less string noise but still has definition, try the GHS PressureWounds or Ken Smith Compressors. They're a great way to round off some of the snarl without losing treble definition. The wrap on these strings is Alloy 52 which is extremely magnetic and boosts your output a little bit.

[zenmindbeginner]

My brother's Cruise bass has Thomastik-Infeld Jazz flats on them. Kind of a natural for a Jazz style bass IMO. They let you crank up the highs and mids for extra growl and detail.

Bright and new roundwound bass strings = yuck!

James Jamerson is king, put flats on all of your basses.

[mathman]

My brother's Cruise bass has Thomastik-Infeld Jazz flats on them. Kind of a natural for a Jazz style bass IMO. They let you crank up the highs and mids for extra growl and detail.

Bright and new roundwound bass strings = yuck!

James Jamerson is king, put flats on all of your basses.

Sometimes I like that ring of new strings but mostly I rarely change strings on my basses. Of course I admit I don't play them NEAR as much as I used to.

@ Johnny, my memories of flats are just of a cool tone. I not into speed with bass. (I'm not capable of speed on guitar but that's not relevant... )

I put them on the Fender a little while ago. Had to do some honeydo's but I hope to stretch'em out and tune'em up and see if what I remember is what I get.

thanks

[JohnnyB]

... My brother's Cruise bass has Thomastik-Infeld Jazz flats on them. Kind of a natural for a Jazz style bass IMO. They let you crank up the highs and mids for extra growl and detail.

Sometimes I like that ring of new strings but mostly I rarely change strings on my basses. Of course I admit I don't play them NEAR as much as I used to.

@ Johnny, my memories of flats are just of a cool tone. I not into speed with bass. (I'm not capable of speed on guitar but that's not relevant... )

I put them on the Fender a little while ago. Had to do some honeydo's but I hope to stretch'em out and tune'em up and see if what I remember is what I get.

I know they're pricey, but the TI Flats are the best-sounding flats and possibly the best sounding bass strings I've ever tried. Right now I have a piano bench full of various bass strings I've tried out. Although I'm using GHS tapewounds for my gigging needs, the TI Flats stand out for tone, string-to-string tonal consistency, and long life.

If you play bass sort of occasionally, a set of TI Flats will probably last you several years, and you'll love the tone, especially if speed is not a big factor. They're great for roots rock, blues, R&B, etc. Great for holding down the bottom end, blending in, full sound, and yet not lost in the mix.

[mathman]

... My brother's Cruise bass has Thomastik-Infeld Jazz flats on them. Kind of a natural for a Jazz style bass IMO. They let you crank up the highs and mids for extra growl and detail.

Sometimes I like that ring of new strings but mostly I rarely change strings on my basses. Of course I admit I don't play them NEAR as much as I used to.

@ Johnny, my memories of flats are just of a cool tone. I not into speed with bass. (I'm not capable of speed on guitar but that's not relevant... )

I put them on the Fender a little while ago. Had to do some honeydo's but I hope to stretch'em out and tune'em up and see if what I remember is what I get.

I know they're pricey, but the TI Flats are the best-sounding flats and possibly the best sounding bass strings I've ever tried. Right now I have a piano bench full of various bass strings I've tried out. Although I'm using GHS tapewounds for my gigging needs, the TI Flats stand out for tone, string-to-string tonal consistency, and long life.

If you play bass sort of occasionally, a set of TI Flats will probably last you several years, and you'll love the tone, especially if speed is not a big factor. They're great for roots rock, blues, R&B, etc. Great for holding down the bottom end, blending in, full sound, and yet not lost in the mix.

Is there a place you order them from on the interwebs? My local mom pop store doesn't have any flats for bass at all and GC only had d'addario's which I got.

I really think I want to switch pups on the old fender.

[JohnnyB]

Is there a place you order them from on the interwebs? My local mom pop store doesn't have any flats for bass at all and GC only had d'addario's which I got.

Voila!

I really think I want to switch pups on the old fender.

Here's a response from someone who did a Bronco pickup swap in this thread:

the stock bronco pick-up is a cheap Squier stratocaster pick-up. Piss poor by guitar standards, let alone for a bass. Any strat replacement pickup will drop right in, but I wanted on with rails so the oddly spaced strings won't have to go over any pole pieces. On a normal bass pick-up the pole pieces are too wide due to the narrower string spaceing on the bronco. I'm a stickler about thing like that. I researched strat replacement pickups to find witch one had the best bass response. The seymour duncan hotrails fit my needs to a tee, it had rails, hot output, and great bass response. It might be too hot , I had to find the right distance from the strings, too close to the strings and it started to clip my preamp, I got the bridge possition one, if I had to do it again I would go with the neck possition one, a little lower output. The pots one the bass were just cheap and old so at $4.50 a piece I'd might as well put in new american ones. same story for the jack, only $2.50 for USA switchcraft mono output jack, I put a new switchcraft jack in every bass I ever had, none finer. You have to reem the pot holes and the jack hole a little to get them in because the cheap ones on there are a little thinner walled. Once you hold the switchcraft jack next to the weak stock one you will immediatly see how wellmade the swichcraft jack is, stands up much better frequent plug ins and outs. I got the new knobs (speedknobs) cause I like them and had the new pots so what the hell right? only $5.00 for the pair. The best price I found for the hot rails was $69.00, way below the retail price. I'm diggin this little bass now, lots of fun to play, I got it for dirt cheap, first year Squier made them so mine has the full size tuners. ....

So it looks like a Duncan Hot Rails neck pickup would drop right in. Or you could pick a Cool Rails or Vintage Rails for lower output. I like rail type pickups in general and they are particularly nice on basses for tracking with the wider excursions of the strings.

[zenmindbeginner]

Again, my brother has a couple of Musicmaster basses. A company in Hawaii called Aero makes fantastic handwound Musicmaster, Mustang and Bronco style replacement pickups. It's a vast improvement over the stock strat pup and better looking than the rails... 4 poles where they should be. Similar to the '51 Precision pickup. Woody, warm and pretty rude and raw with some gain.

[JohnnyB]

Again, my brother has a couple of Musicmaster basses. A company in Hawaii called Aero makes fantastic handwound Musicmaster, Mustang and Bronco style replacement pickups. It's a vast improvement over the stock strat pup and better looking than the rails... 4 poles where they should be. Similar to the '51 Precision pickup. Woody, warm and pretty rude and raw with some gain.

That would be here (scroll about 1/3 of the way down).

[mathman]

The Fender has the split single coil. I'm looking for a drop in replacement.

Those all seem to be the standard size single coil.

Thanks for the ideas, though.

[JohnnyB]

The Fender has the split single coil. I'm looking for a drop in replacement.

Those all seem to be the standard size single coil.

Thanks for the ideas, though.

Woops. I meant to give this link. Then scroll 40% of the way down to the Mustang 4 pickup. You have to use your original covers:

Here's another potential lead, but I don't know if 1) they'll get them back in stock 2) they're any better than what you already have.

And there's always eBay. Check it out. In addition to the Fender replacements, there's also a set now offered by Seymour Duncan.