Flat stings for short scale

[stoney]

Hey all, I want to try some flat wound strings on my Brown Bass which is a short scale. Any recommendations?
 
stoney

[811952]

Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats...

[rami]

I love D'Addario Chromes.  Their regular long scale strings are a little shorter than every other manufacturer's strings, so there's still a little silk left before the tuning post.  I put a set on my short scale '77 Series I.
They're my favorite flats.  I use them on all my fretless Basses with the exception of my 36 scale customs.
 
(Message edited by rami on June 29, 2005)

[dela217]

I am with Rami on the Chromes.  I love the feel of the Thomastics, but the tone of the Chromes is just huge.  I find the Thoms kinda thin.  The Chromes have a ton of bottom end and are stainless, which gives lots of harmonics on a series bass.  Good stuff indeed.
 
BUT.....For some strange reason I find the Chromes do not work on my Custom that Alembic made for me.  When I use the Chromes on that bass I always sound horribly out of tune.  There is some sort of strange harmonic thing going on there.  Even the guitarists that I work with notice it.  So, I use the Thomastics on that bass.

[stoney]

Michael, Rami & John,
Thanks for the input. I've pretty much ruled out the Thomastics due to some local player's opinions also feeling the sound was a bit thin. I'll look into the D'Addario. Any other suggestons?
 
stoney

[tbrannon]

I probably don't have near the experience of the others who have recommended the Chromes, but I like them quite a bit.  
 
I played with the Thomastics for a short while, but wasn't entirely satistfied with them.  I'm playing them on an old Peavey fretless T-20, so that may have something to do with it, but to my ear, the Chromes have a much fuller tone.

[keith_h]

Just curious what gauges folks were using for the Chromes. I am planning on using flats on the fretless I just ordered and want to send a set to Alembic when the time comes for setup.  
 
Keith

[goatfoot]

I'm using the TI Jazz flats on my fretless Brown Bass.  
 
Unfortunately, I can't compare them to anything other than the CX-3's that came with the bass.  I thought the CX-3 were too nasally,  and I much perfer the Thoms.  I don't think the bass sounds thin with the Thoms.  If anything I would like to add more top end without it sounding brittle.  So, I think I'll give the Chromes a try.  But, overall, I like the TI's.
 
Kevin

[rami]

Hey Keith,
 
I use their Soft Guage; .45-.65-.80-.100-(.132) on all my fretless Basses.  For the short scale Series I, regular guage .45 - .105 sounds a little better (to me). The slightly greater mass compensates for lower string tension.

[adriaan]

Does anyone use TI Jazz Flats on a fretted bass? I'm thinking about trying out Chromes on my fretless, but over here they're even more expensive than TIs.
 
Rami, I remember I had an issue with the length of a d'Addario Slowound Long Scale A string on a 34 Epic, as it barely reached the tuner post - is it the same with the Chromes?

[rami]

Hey Adriaan,
 
That's the problem with D'Addario's.  Their Long Scale strings are a little short.  It's not uncommon that the silk barely clears the nut.  I don't know why they do that.  They're great strings, but that's an annoying little problem.

[adriaan]

Rami,
 
Thank you for confirming. Unless the shop has extra long scale ones, I'll double-check the string length against the bass before actually putting them on ...

[valvil]

I use TI flats on both fretted & fretless, & I love 'em.  
 
Valentino

[keith_h]

Rami,
Thanks for the reply. I was leaning to the medium light set but noticed that D'Addarion also had a lighter gauge set. According to some posts the strings are shorter than some other manufacturers.
Do you think they will fit an Orion 4 string?
 
Keith

[rami]

Yeah, they should fit.  No problemo.
 
But you'll see the silk just barely clearing the nut on the E string. The Soft guage (.45-.100) will fit the nut better as well.