Pyramid Gold Flatwound 040-100

I bought these strings for a Hofner Ignition Club bass guitar and they fit perfectly - not surprising, given the history and association between Pyramid and Hofner (there's an interesting leaflet included with the strings regarding this).

In short, these flatwound strings instantly evoked the sound of the 60s and 70s. Very thumpy on the E and A strings while retaining clarity on the D and G strings, so well balanced across each string.

I've had issues with short scale flatwound strings in the past in which they've sounded 'dead' or the tension in the lower strings mismatched to higher tension in the higher strings. The Pyramid Gold strings feel even across the strings.

Soloing the neck pickup on the club bass, these strings really stood out with a deep rich tone - very vintage sounding and comfortable under the fingers - some flatwounds can feel a little rough, but not the Pyramid Golds. Soloing the bridge pickup, I gained a more cutting tone, especially when played directly over the pickup, sometimes nuances between pickup selection isn't noticeable with some flatwound strings.

In summary, I would recommend these strings without hesitation - although a small detail, the dark green silk wraps around the ends of the strings look classy too! A nice alternative to LaBellas!

Playing a 500/1 Hofner Beatles Bass a bass player is seeking the original vintage tone those instruments give: deep low-end with some mids resulting in a tone wich makes its way. The original Hofner strings are Pyramids, too. When someone wants to save some money he or she should buy this set of strings. Compared to - for example - LaBella Flatwounds which are way more middle driven the Pyramids are deep bottom end sounding very dry and woody and give the original feeling of the bass tone you seek for this instrument. No highs that should not be there, this is the only real vintage tone you can get for this instrument. The strings feel very comfortable and they are not too strong to pull with the fingers. Yes, you can even play this bass with fingerpicking and it gives you a very unique and great warm bass tone. To have more click-clack use a pic.

After a lot of experimenting - and money wasted - I finally found these strings for my left-handed Gibson SG 30.5 inch short scale bass. Build quality is excellent, like all the Pyramid strings I have used over the years, with a smooth feel, no 'stickiness' and balanced, even tension. I particularly like the green silk ends - makes a change from red or blue! Length is perfect with no 'winding' over the bridge (I have a retro-fitted Hipshot bridge) and no silk on the nut. Tone is clear and even and cuts through the natural 'mudiness' of the SG's 'old skool' humbucker neck pickup give the bass a cleaner, stronger sound than the D'Addarios I had fitted before. I would recommend these strings to anyone wanting flatwounds on an SG bass.

When I bought Pyramid Gold I thought "too much expensive maybe". Nothing could be further from the truth! These strings are worth every single penny. And they would be worth even at twice their price. I use them on my Hofner beatle bass, for recording mostly. Really fantastic sound, perfect for an Hof bass. Nice fundamental, great attack, pretty old school strings. They are one of the most comfortable strings ever played, not loose at all neither too tense. I'm often tempted to put Pyramid Gold on every bass guitar I own, they really can make you smile. Anyway you have to know, before you buy them, if they're the exact type of strings you are looking for. If you want modern sounding flats, you'd better stay away from Golds. If you want that great Macca's sound, you've found the Holy Grail of strings.

When I found out that these strings are often used in the higher end, more expensive Hofner Violin Basses, I didn't hesitate about trying them on my cheapest Hofner Ignition Violin bass. I did some research and found that the flatwound type would give me the deeper Beatles/ Paul McCartney tone that I like. And I wasn't disappointed! Not only that, but better playability and no buzz. Although my model is hollow and Paul's and higher end Hofner's are solid body, the sound on my cheap hofner bass with these strings, is I would say close to 85%, and at a fraction of the price. While with the original strings from factory, the Hofner ignition is about a 50 to 60% close to that tone.
Thomann customer services and its delivery service to the UK using DHL with tracking were excellent and problem free! I was informed in advance about the delivery date, and on the day of delivery was given a 1 hour window for parcel delivery. So from now on I will keep ordering from Thomann from the UK with confidence.