Confessions of a Flatwound convert...

Yeah, this is long...but hear me out and see if some of this doesn't ring true for some of you...it may sound familiar...

This is coming from someone who has been a roundwound string player for 30 years of gigging in mostly rock cover/original bands. Hopefully this might give those who might be thinking of trying flatwounds some insight if you switch over. Since switching over to flats, I have come to find a few things that (as a roundwound player with admitted disdain for flats) are really misconceptions about flats. Every time I've tried flats I really hated my tone when practicing or playing by myself. Too dull. I tried them on gigs on and off over the years, but always with the idea I wasn't going to like them anyway, so I never gave them a fair chance.

For those who might be considering switching to flats but may not dig that 'dull' sound when you first put them on and play by yourself, I can relate. When I first tried them they sounded dull and all I got with mids and highs boosted was a lot of fingerboard ‘clack’. I had conditioned myself to expect that piano like brilliance and sustain with new strings so when I put flats on for the first time they just sound like very old, dull roundwounds but with no sustain at all. I messed around with my EQ trying to obtain that old familiar roundwound sound but just couldn’t find it. The flats look good on the bass and they feel great and I keep trying and trying to like them, but I just ain’t digging them. I keep thinking I just need to give them some time but honestly I can’t even hold out long enough to do that. Like opening the fridge over and over expecting something tasty to suddenly appear in there where there wasn’t anything before, I keep picking my bass up hoping that maybe this time the flatwounds will sound good. I mess around with my amp yet again, but they still won’t sound like rounds. Sound familiar?

Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, John Entwistle…those were the cats I was always trying to emulate. Busting my chops trying to cop their licks and be the best bass player I could be. It was all about ME and MY sound. I had to have that distinct, growly, bright roundwound sound. But honestly in the 30 years of gigging in rock bands, only one band did covers of Rush, Yes or the Who. Over the last few years, it was Wooten, Clarke, and a host of other “lead” bass guitar players that were inspiring my quest to advance my playing. I got hung up on the never ending buzz here on Talkbass about lightweight amps and cabs, active basses and the love for the “monster” players who were really noticed for their own individual style (as if any band they might be in was even relevant). I want to be the best bass player I can be so of course I should keep trying to emulate those slapping, popping, wankfest monsters too, right? Interesting that none of these awesome bass players today play the kind of music I love, which is hard rock. Not metal, and not necessarily the root/eighth note drones…but good driving rock and roll. What was I thinking?

Currently the band I’m playing in (like most others I played in) is all classic, hard rock. Besides the drummer, we have two guitarists and a keyboardist. Surely I need those bright roundwounds in order to stand out among them, right? A funny thing happened to me at a gig a couple months ago. The drummer and I were always talking about the powerful rhythm sections of bands we covered. It got me thinking of my role as a bass player. For years I wanted people to notice me and my bass playing instead of thinking of how we could be this powerful force of what makes rock music what it is.

One gig (while still playing roundwounds) I went out front during soundcheck and really paid attention to how the rhythm section sounded. Normally I would be thinking only about MY sound, but this time I listened to how my sound fit with the drummer. My bass sounded clean, bright and cut through and I could hear my tone very well onstage and through the PA…except when the whole band was playing. It hit me that for all the great roundwound tone I had, it was pretty much gone when the entire band played…and actually the rhythm section sounded weak. Yeah, it was loud, but overall the rhythm section was anemic. And we have kick-ass subwoofers but it wasn’t cutting it. It wasn’t the volume, it was the lack of that synchronistic punch of the drums and bass together.

Since I’ve switched to flatwounds I’ve noticed some things I would have never considered before. Flats are powerful strings. Playing alone, they aren’t anything special. They still seem a bit dull to me playing alone. It’s when I play bass with flats, along with the whole band, that my bass just comes alive. Using a pick with flatwounds when you are locked in with the drummer is just plain POWER. When playing by myself, I’m not getting that bright sound like rounds give me, but within the band context flats have a tone that is so punchy. With rounds I have that sound that sticks out and allows me to slap and solo and say to everyone “look at me” but with Flats the RHYTHM SECTION has that sound that just punches people in the chest and smacks them upside the head. With flats it’s ALL about the power of the low end. I no longer give a crap if anyone notices me. I only care that they are grooving to the whole band.

With roundwounds I feel sonically my bass was getting too messed up with the guitars and keyboards and leaving the drummer sit down in the low end alone. I think roundwounds have too many overtones, sustain too much and lack real definition and attack that a bass should have. Yes they are bright and stand out, but in a gui**** kind of way. And honestly with so many great bass players today pushing the envelope about what bass means, bass is becoming a lower tuned guitar. I’m fine with others doing that, but I no longer want that. Flats give me attack, punch and a tightness I never knew existed. I never gave flats a chance, all because of preconceived notions and how I felt about how MY bass sounded alone instead of how WE sounded as a band. Flats take me out of the guitar realm and place me right back in the low end with the drums…out of gui**** world and back into the rhythm section where I belong. Now there is a LOW END. Now as a rock band WE have POWER.

All because of flats? Maybe not, but it sure has changed my approach to playing bass. I don’t solo and there is nothing subtle about my playing in a rock band. Where rounds gave me the piano tone, flats give me a sledgehammer. Funny how I used rounds to stand out, but I actually ended up getting lost in the mix, whereas flats give me my own space now. That sonic space is down below the guitars, even if I play up higher. There is just no mistaking my bass in the mix now. It’s all there and it’s ALL BASS!

For those who are thinking about switching to flats. Consider why you play bass and what you feel your role is within the context of the band. You certainly don’t have to stand in the background and play root notes just because you play with flats. But you should think about yourself as a musician in a band. And if you play in a rock band, consider what ROCK music is all about and how you fit into it as the bass player in the rhythm section. Flats do not need to be dull. In fact, in many ways bright flats have more ‘snap’ and ‘bite’ than even rounds do (in a different way), especially in a live setting. Rounds sound brighter when playing alone, but more like a guitar in a band setting. With flats the opposite is true. Flats sound duller alone but more distinct in a band setting than rounds do. I feel that it’s all in how flats seem to produce more fundamental of each note without weird overtones. From the lowest note to the highest, with flats the notes smack you in the face instead of singing to you. Perhaps that’s why I’m a flat convert. I realized I didn’t want my bass to sing…I want it to hit you and knock your lazy ass off that barstool.


NOTE: Apologies to roundwound low end gui****s and lazy drunks. No offense intended.

 

Thanks guys. Good to know I'm not alone. I'm a 30 year R'n'R vet and I can't believe how long I've been sucked into this gui**** vortex. I'm not ever going to be a "star" in the music world or recognized on the cover of Bass Player magazine.

But I can give the public something far more important...a good f'ing time after a long week of work.

And I agree, a P-bass strung with flats is the definition of bass in rock'n'roll. However I use a low B a lot and my only P-Bass is a four string. I'm copping a great P-Bass vibe with my 5 string Washburn. It has to have something to do with the flats. Still gotta find/build a great 5 string P-Bass though.

 

Oh, I'm not bashing the bass guitar monsters out there. How can I? They've got gobs of talent and they want their low end guitar to sing...and they make it sing extremely well.

Others can surely outplay me, but no one is going to rock harder and make the girls shake their booty more than me. They're welcome to try though.

 

Being a Flatwound convert, I do believe that would be a killer sounding bass with flats.

 

I agree about the journey and experimenting not being a bad thing. In fact it is a necessity for growth.

It helps puts things in perspective. Had we not been where we were, and musically went in different directions along the way, the appreciation for what we now have would not be as great.

I have no regrets, and at my age, to be digging rock music more than ever, it's all very cool. It's kind of like wishing one could go back in time with all the knowledge one has now. Well, in a way, I am.

 

I liken using flatwounds for straight up rock music to boxing.

I appreciate the fancy moves and speed of a featherweight boxer, but I want my bass to be the heavyweight that consistently sends heavy blows to the gut and finishing with that huge roundhouse to the head. It's all good.

I should add that over the years most of my unsuccessful forays into flatwounds was spent playing through combos or inefficient 210 cabs. I really do feel that to give flatwounds a fair chance in a rock band setting, one needs to be using some efficient cabs and enough power to give those notes some balls.

While it seems that rounds cut through more at lower volumes, when playing rock at higher volumes flats have more punch to them. All of that 'polite' sizzle and shine of rounds is rendered moot. Even when copping Squire or Lee, a lot of that high end stuff just muds up the sound and fits more in with the guitars than the drums. Now, you take Geedy Lee...well he's in a 3 piece band. Less sonic competition and more to fill. But if you play with two guitars I think flatwounds do a better job driving the low end. No need to fill up space that's already overwhelming.

I'm playing in a 5 piece band through two 115 cabs that are more mid-voiced with a PA that really handles the low end. Power to spare. Flats just cut through all the guitar and keyboard BS and the rhythm section is pure power now. I agree...bass and drums is the cake...the rest is just the fluffy sweet stuff on top.

 

Currently I have a 4 string set of TI Jazz Flats on my 5 string Washburn (with an unknown roundwound for the low B). The TI's are over three years old but still very bright.

However, I'm gonna slap a 5 string set of D'Addario Chromes on very soon. I'm still in the very early stages of flatwound selections and the Chromes seem like the best first choice given other's opinions.

I love flats, but I like some clanky brightness to them. I'm not into the Jamerson tone...I want some edge to them.

 

Yup, I still use my Tascam Bass trainer. Invaluable if you are learning lots of new songs. You're welcome!

I agree that you can use less volume and still be deep with flats, than you can with rounds. But to me there is a point where volume is important to get the most out of flats.

 

Yeah, I've had that roundwound with a pick snarl tone...but it seems that when the whole band is playing at the same time I don't typically hear the snarl...I only hear it if I'm playing by myself or just with the drummer.

I even hear the clarity and sparkle of roundwounds on recordings just get lost with the mix of the rest of the band. In parts where the bass plays alone or just the drummer, you can hear it...and then when the whole band kicks in again, it's just not there any longer. Give a recording a listen sometime and you can hear it disappear when the whole band kicks in. Some don't (think Rush)...but even Squire's tone gets lost in the mix on Yes records unless he's soloing (for the most part anyway).

I've just given up trying to get it and instead focus on getting my bass to be more powerful on it's own and flats do that for me.

NOTE: I still do love that roundwound snarl...just don't want to achieve it at the expense of the rhythm section's overall sound...which is exactly what I had been doing for years.