ALL BASS PLAYERS USE FLATS!!!

[Solarmist]

I'll stick with SS rounds and that new string zing. I love zing.

[bass_lord_mutha]

Originally Posted by Solarmist

I'll stick with SS rounds and that new string zing. I love zing.

+1 Love my Fat Beams!

[mdogs]

Fat Beams make my beam fat...

[jasongil1]

I prefer flats, much more comfortable than stilettos.

[Landy67]

If you have commitment issues like me...

[iunno]

Flats are far more thumpy and "bass sounding", but I've only used rounds on my basses. I really want to get a P with a set of flats though, that's my favourite slap\funk tone.

[Kmonk]

I've always used rounds and have only met a couple of people who use flats.

I'm sure that if 99% of bassists used flats, music stores would stock more of them. They are in the business to make money.

[VitalSigns]

[Lackey]

I think.... it was all a fad. Never used them, played them once, disliked them. None of the players I like use them. End of story.

There is a small contingent of flats players but like all minority groups they make a big noise

[bumperbass]

Originally Posted by Lackey

I think.... it was all a fad. Never used them, played them once, disliked them. None of the players I like use them. End of story.

There is a small contingent of flats players but like all minority groups they make a big noise

You're so right. "The vocal minority".
EXCEPT....I use LaBella flats on my clone Beatle bass for a 3 piece acoustic thing. That situation doesn't fit the zing thing with rounds.
So, flats have a place; a very small place.

[Ric5]

Originally Posted by mdogs

Based on the direction of the threads in this forum as of late, you would be able to draw no other conclusion than 99% of the world uses flatwounds instead of the other way around. Someone needs to inform GC that they need to redo their planogram to reflect this market shift...

When I started playing in the 60s basses came with flats. Rounds were hard to find. Then rounds really dominated for many years. Now some players who want that retro sound have gone to flats. I really prefer rounds myself. I try flats every onces in a while. They sound cool at first but after about 10 minutes I get bored and I want rounds. The flat lovers are a vocal minority who are very enthusiastic about their choice.

Most flat players also have a bass strung with rounds, but most roundwound players don't have a bass with flats.

So go get the strings that YOU like.

[PBnJBassist]

Played rounds for 1 and a half years because as a newbie, I had no idea about flats. Discovered TB and played flats for a year. Spent so much money on different flats it was ridiculous and a waste. Went back to rounds and have never been happier. I still use flats on and off, but like Ric5, after a while, I get bored of the sound and swap back.

[AdamR]

whats the best flats for metal ?

[klaus486]

I've found that flats suck when you play the bass by itself BUT sound great in the mix. Either live or on "tape". I prefer them on my fretless Precision bass. That said I use rounds for 99% of the things I do.

[astack]

Originally Posted by AdamR

whats the best flats for metal ?

[kurosawa]

Whoever mentioned marketing hit it dead on. Could you imagine if pickup makers could figure out a way for us to need fresh ones every few weeks? Ermagerd!

I got a set of GHS pressurewounds on a used bass that were actually rusty. Just the same, they seemed to cover more ground than either my favorite flats or rounds. If GHS would only make balanced pressurewounds for a few months, I'd buy a dozen sets and make 'em last.

Anyway, individual likes and dislikes aside, what I like about flats is they make it hard to step on guitars and keys when I have to turn up. Also when it's time to gut the lows for the sake of a lively room, the strings don't shriek like tearing sheet metal. Still sounds like a bass.

I like dead rounds too, not as much as flats for unruly rooms, but being way grippier, for sure they are easier to control for even hammer-ons, pull-offs, and glisses, and in general, rounds seem to be more consistent in volume, feel, and response from string to string.

[James Judson]

One thing I've learned on TB is: The ones that know the least always say it the loudest.

Use only flats.
Use only P basses
Use only fingers
Never use picks
Never use music stands
Never sound like a Piano?

Just a few rules that I break on a regular basis.

I like round wound strings but the Thomastik flats I tried sounded pretty good.

[sizzle]

its TRUE, all player use flatswounds...some wounds are just really round

[shrimpflea]

Rounds are for sissy boys....real men use old dead flats with fingers....the ideal tone should sound like a rotted old log filled with mud.

[KingRazor]

Originally Posted by shrimpflea

Rounds are for sissy boys....real men use old dead flats with fingers....the ideal tone should sound like a rotted old log filled with mud.

So real men use smooth strings instead of rough ones that chew up your fingers? Rounds seem more "manly" to me.