GHS Flatwound Strings Overview

[morninggloryseed]

Nice to see others use flatwound strings on a fretted base. I really never see anyone around where I live play that way. I love flatwound, they are exactly what I need for my bass style. And as you mention, they feel good to play/

[TheGHSStrings]

I have had players top load and go through the body. This will sometimes present a problem depending on scale length. It is suggest to top load the strings to counteract this problem.

[xgcbossman]

@TheGHSStrings Thank you. I believe I will give these a try! Great videos too.

[TheGHSStrings]

@xgcbossman Hope you like them!

[greyhall1]

@TheGHSStrings The problem with top loading is that GHS only offer these flats in "Long Plus," which means you have to wrap some of the wound string around the tuning post, which isn't ideal.

I really wish GHS would offer the Precision flats in standard long and medium length - along with the current long plus.

[TheGHSStrings]

@greyhall1 Hey, Thanks for the suggestion. Our Long Scale plus sets fit most bass guitars, but it is true that the extra length can pose a problem. I'll make this suggestion to the factory.

Thanks,

GHS

[xgcbossman]

My bridge allows top load or string through the body. Can GHS flatwounds be strung either way. I know some brands discourage string through(labellas). Also cant find tension specs for these.

[TheGHSStrings]

Flatwounds would definitely give you a more upright sound for an electric bass. You may want to try the Taperwound set!

[xgcbossman]

@TheGHSStrings Great thank you!

[xgcbossman]

@TheGHSStrings If I go with the GHS nylon tapewound on my schecter p bass will I get any humm due to grounding issues?

[TheGHSStrings]

@xgcbossman I would think that any grounding issues would remain the same regardless of strings.

[xgcbossman]

@TheGHSStrings Its a Schecter Diamond P Custom with high mass bridge.

[TAYGUNOV]

P bass + Flats + Pick just makes my heart melt. Like you said, all the punchiness and clarity of a pick without all the high end overtones that those annoying rounds make.

[xgcbossman]

I play a Schecter Pbass and mainly play at church and bluegrass. I'm trying to get closer to an upright sound. Would the flatwounds with maybe some foam be the answer? I don't have room for an upright so i'm stuck with what I got for now.



[Acubed14]

@TheGHSStrings what would be good for some latin sounds

[deathroll914]

can you do pick slides with these?

[Nacho66]

I hate flats. I prefer rounds that are a bit old and roll off the tone.

And, yes - you CAN make a roundwound string do that. It's called a tone knob.

[miguelgarnica123]

would this be good for reggae

[herrdruhl]

prefer the D'Addario Chromes meself....

[MrNorbi14]

What are the thickness of your strings?

[MrAzziz90]

Would these be good for my Tanglewood bass?

[TheGHSStrings]

@MrAzziz90 GHS Flats are good for all types of basses, they give a bit of a smooth and mellower sound. You should give them a try and me know what you think!

[EastCoastJew]

how are these for Grind Death metal?

[TheGHSStrings]

@EastCoastJew These strings might be a little mellow for Grind Death metal, but I would encourage you to try them and let me know what you think!

[syndrome666]

@EastCoastJew Not sure about these in particular, but D'Addario chromes work wonders when set up in a progressive tension. With these I'd say do the same thing, order a custom set of these in .126 for the E, .090 for A, .065 for D, and .045 for G that usually does the trick with getting aggressive tones out of flats, they'll still sound clanky, but you get more mass to the lower strings, which results in a larger volume growl.

[hofnerbass24]

would these be good for my rickenbacker bass?

[TheGHSStrings]

@hofnerbass24 Flatwounds usually work well with Rickenbacker and that classic sound!

[jgk381]

Anyone ever try half & half? 2 flats on E/A for your low end thump, and 2 rounds on D/G for the bright/punchy mids.

Never tried it myself, but would be an interesting experiment.

[TheGHSStrings]

@lokisylym Absolutely!

[moronslave]

Does flats have more sustain or neither string type affect sustain?

[TheGHSStrings]

@moronslave You probably want to try the Presswound series which is a semi-flat wound string. They use a specific material that's more magnetically active and more suited for a bass guitar's magnetic pick-up. All of our strings are made to resonate well through a pick-up but these are specifically designed to give a little more.

[moronslave]

@TheGHSStrings Thanks! I'll try it. I have Fender highway one Jazz bass.

[brett2525]

this sounds fantastic. im changing over to flats! thanks!

[hiphopsucks96]

What flats would u recommend for a Beatles/Paul McCartney type tone? He used a hofner 500/1 and a rickenbacker 4001S and used flats on both

[TheGHSStrings]

@hiphopsucks96 I would try the Precision Flats, they are very percussive and deep without being too bright.

[monadasmoinas]

@hiphopsucks96 - absolutely .

[crazyghetto978818]

5:00 hehehe ;)

[mcswaggerty]

Ben Kenney from Incubus uses these exact strings. His tone is awesome!

[MaxPayneIzRudog]

S.Harris uses flatwound strings..

[Whitemoon379]

I'm sold! Thanx Dave, ur the best!!

[survivalistguy]

Nice video, it's helped me. I play jazz on a Fender Jazz Bass, would flatwounds be good for jazz? I'm assuming they would be great. I prefer heavy strings (they don't feel as "loose" to me as regular strings). Do these flatwounds come in a heavy gauge? Thanks!

[GiantPandas]

What gauge was Dave playing here? Thanks!

[wa1ufo]

Thanks! After many years of bass work, I still learn new stuff. A decent EQ curve can maximize whatever sound you want with flats or rounds. I use the giant Fender triangle picks on my P Bass with Fender Super Bass rounds. It's a brand new bass so will change over to flats in the future.

[Kevtron9000]

I love the idea of this video, but I CAN"T HEAR YOUR BASS!

[fatoujonny2]

which string steve harris use ?

[redrick2030]

@fatoujonny2 Rotosound

[TRJBASS]

@fatoujonny2 Rotosound flatwound 110-55

[VarykGerai]

are these realy flats, doesnt sound like it is, doesnt look like it either

[greyhall1]

I've heard that the GHS flats don't fit a 34" scale P or J bass that has a top-load bridge; that they're too long. Is this true?

[Modes9]

Jaco Pastorius spoke highly of James Jamerson...you can't get a better endorsement than that!

[PhuckHue2]

flawounds too muddy for me,. I only use steel roundwounds

[TRJBASS]

@PhuckHue2 I'll take mud over ping , but to each his own.

[PhuckHue2]

@TRJBASS ping sounds great when slapping!

[TRJBASS]

@PhuckHue2 , that is true.;-]

[RogueRotting360]

@PhuckHue2 I hate slapping. I prefer thudding.

[PhuckHue2]

@RogueRotting360 you hate it because you can't do it. I slap very well and can also play Jamerson and Jaco style

[RogueRotting360]

@RogueRotting360 No, I can. I just prefer that thudding flatwound late 60s sound. Warm, not metallic.

[TheGHSStrings]

Your best bet would be to give the Precision Flatwound set # 3020 .045-.095 or heavier gauge Bright Flats set # 3070 .049-.108 a try. Let me know what you think!

[thecoolestdad]

@TheGHSStrings Sir,was this your reply to my post,asking which flatwounds you would reccommend for my Hofner copy? if so,I wasn't sure since you did not click on the reply next to my comment and it did not have an @the coolestdad here with the reply.If this reply is not directed to me,I ask you kindly,will you give me your reccommendation for for the flatwounds for my Hofner copy bass?I have only been playing the bass for about two years and I don't know much about what strings are best.

[thecoolestdad]

What kind of flatwound strings and the gauge would you reccommend for a Hofner copy?I have a Rogue VB100 and I love it,but I want to put flatwounds on it.Thanks.

[embiamemucho]

great sounding bass!!

[jvmc08]

you need a new bass, it doesn't matter what strings you have on it, it will still sound like shit. Try getting a Warwick, Schecter or a Traben

[panhead55]

ha, what a cool video. i was wondering what kind of strings they used on those old basses. thanks for the info! what year is your bass? im guessing 1968...

[b0ldM3th0d]

How do these strings do with drop tunings?

[lilfili123]

you know when strings are good when you start singing while playing lool

[TheGHSStrings]

You can play any genre of music with Flatwounds but because of the material and winding process they can be a bit mellower than our roundwound strings. If you are looking for something with more volume and pop I would try The Boomers.

[glenmatlock94]

can you play rock, punk, with flatwounds?

[redrick2030]

@glenmatlock94 Yes they sound awesome with a pick, especially on a Fender.

[glenmatlock94]

@redrick2030 kool, well i got a p bass copy and no matter what strings i have on it it sounds fkn loud man. anyway thx for the tip

[glenmatlock94]

@redrick2030 I played with flatwound strings on a ricky copy bass, but i didnt like the feel. Its like if there werent any strings under my fingers maybe its cause im used to playing regular strings like round wound.

[widepass]

@glenmatlock94

No it is prohibited in most states!

[cyfox007]

shoulder-gasm when playing?

[jettbugg]

...NICE P-BASS! How old?

[FunkyFellaDaBassist]

Hey man really nice talking. I see you're an expert in this area :)

Very nice vid, I enjoyed it.

You look and act and talk like Steven Seagal ;)

Anyway, cool vid, peace!

[hofnerbass24]

imagine yourself as paul mccarney, he deffinetly used flatwounds throughout his career, and deffinelty the greatest bassist of all time.

[Bassplaya919]

@hofnerbass24 oh god.......no he wasn't.....lol

[blueman2bass]

@hofnerbass24 JAMES JAMERSON is Definitely the Greatest Bass Player of all time they all learned and copied everything from him period..... JAMERSON laided down the modern template for grooving . (When Paul McCartney started playing the bass he studied bass lines off Motown records Paul is not shy of admitting where he got his grove from . JAMERSON was the first virtuoso on electric bass (Hands down)

[hofnerbass24]

@blueman2bass I agree with you 100% that james jamerson paved the way, and paul mccartney was influenced by him, but to me Paul McCartney took it a step further in his career, and became the better bass player, but it is like comparing apples and oranges-2 different kinds of music- so to each his own.

[TRJBASS]

@hofnerbass24 , I think there were 4 major players that laid the foundation for modern bass; JAMERSON. ,OSBORN, KAYE & McCARTNEY. ;-]

[hofnerbass24]

@TRJBASS I think that is an excellent list and would agree 100%

[lordcorn10]

@hofnerbass24 even paul mcartney wouldn't say hes better than james jamerson. you definitely arent either

[stephan2467]

Those strings are fantastic for old style bass (country, jazz, blues...). They are not expensive too. Excellent presentation (fun, instructive...).

[amnesiac1975]

I'd like to know if they contein nickel. Does anyone know that?

[TheGHSStrings]

@amnesiac1975 The Pressurewound and Brite Flats series is made with Alloy 52 which contains Nickel and Iron. The Precision Flatwounds however, are stainless steel.

[BullHorn7]

@TheGHSStrings Perfect for people who are allergic to nickel (Like ~10% of the world's population :) )

[homeslice1479]

GREAT sound from these strings; it's extremely even and consistent across the neck. I'm a GHS player exclusively and won't go anywhere anytime soon. I play Boomers on my two fretted basses but I think I'll go with Pressurewounds on my upcoming fretless J-bass purchase. Still, it's all preference and these strings are awesome and if I ever own 25+ freakin basses like this guy does (O_o revealed in the Pressurewound video) I'll definitely have these on several of them.

[nachothebassplayer]

if only they made these in a .50 to .110 guage but i might try them anyway. i have rotosounds on my p bass right now they r too bright for flatwounds plus that fuzzy stuff at the end of them makes me mad

[TommyGunnTheBassMan]

@nachothebassplayer

You mean silk wrap? Its supposed to protect your tuners and bridge

[crimsonblad5]

yea my flatwounds sounds great with my hofner (=

[ukbassman7]

@crimsonblad5 they have all ways sounded good on my hofner. i thinks its because of McCartney, as he used them on his violin

[cuz714]

Awesome I use these flatwounds too. I use the M3050's 45-105 gauge.Thank you so much for the lesson. Your P bass sounds incredible and your playing is supurb. I wanted to hear your bass playing on your records where can I pick one up. I wanted to ask what year is your Fender P bass & what kinda pickups are you using the originals? Jes

[mazatleco17]

hehe at the jamming part.

[tedybear335]

Ah ah ah ah ah ah aha ah!!