D'Addario Chrome Flats on Acous/Elec = BIG Thumbs Up!

[Quadzilla]

Just thought that I'd let all of you know that I swapped the stock strings that came on my Michael Kelly acoustic/electric bass for some D'Addario Chrome Flats and man what a difference!

The stock strings are a very light gauge round (gold colored). They were very low tension and also VERY noisy in that they produced a lot of finger noise when sliding or just changing chords. They were also very thin sounding and "tinny", almost guitar like. The Chromes are dead silent to sliding and chord changes and are deeper, much more bassy. They also offer a lot more tension and allowed me to flatten the neck more with the truss rod and get the bow out (they stockers would buzz on when I did this) which greatly lowered the action (non adjustable bridge). A much needed improvement. I highly recommend these especially if you have an MK acous/elec with stock strings.

[stretch80]

+++ !

I've got an Epiphone El Capitan fretless acoustic 5, on which Chromes also sound great. A bit of an upright vibe, but high end if you want it. The current set have been on there for a year and still sound great.

Interestingly, I tried Chromes on my Stingray 5 fretted, and didn't like them there. Not the right mix for me somehow.

[43apples]

Thats cool!

By the way, did you compare the Cromes to different flats? I'm interested in trying a pack on my Fretless. How is the feel? As far as i
've been told, they are very shiny and crome plated, no?

Thanks alot,
-Erlend

[Quadzilla]

The chromes are not polished or shiny. They look more like a nickel string visually.

[Winky B.]

Originally Posted by Quadzilla

Just thought that I'd let all of you know that I swapped the stock strings that came on my Michael Kelly acoustic/electric bass for some D'Addario Chrome Flats and man what a difference!

The stock strings are a very light gauge round (gold colored). They were very low tension and also VERY noisy in that they produced a lot of finger noise when sliding or just changing chords. They were also very thin sounding and "tinny", almost guitar like. The Chromes are dead silent to sliding and chord changes and are deeper, much more bassy. They also offer a lot more tension and allowed me to flatten the neck more with the truss rod and get the bow out (they stockers would buzz on when I did this) which greatly lowered the action (non adjustable bridge). A much needed improvement. I highly recommend these especially if you have an MK acous/elec with stock strings.

+ 1 on the D`Addario flats I use them on a older M.K. with 32''
scale and had to shorten them but sounds great with the
ECB81-5`s

[Logans Dad]

With all the praise about them here, I ordered some D'Addario Chromes for my Shecter 5 string to replace the original Elixers that it came with. The coating on the Elixers was starting to peel.

FedEx dropped them off today, so I took a long lunch and put them on and gave them a try.

In the 10 minutes I played on them, I fell in love. They feel amazing, smooth, yet not slippery, and so quiet on the frets. I like a mellow tone anyway, so I think they sound really good too.

I have Fender flats on my older Squier and I can't believe how much better these D'Addarios feel. (I think the Fenders have a lot higher tension.) I hope that feeling stays just like they are now and doesn't change as they break in.

[fatboy250]

Have any of you guys experienced a significant tonal difference using these on a 32" scale? My "A" string is kind of dead compared to the rest of the set (5 string). It just seems to lack the volume and thump of the rest of the strings. Can anyone explain this? Or should I just get another "A" string?

Jason

I just ordered a Dean Performer CE Fretless and I was thinking of trying some LaBella 760FL flatwounds on it, has anyone tried that string on an ABG? I use the same strings on all three of my other basses and really like the sound and feel. To me the Chromes were higher tension and I like lower tension strings but not as low as TI flats.


George