flats

[shattered611]

this is for everyone who uses flatwounds, (with a fretless) which flats do you prefer? why do you prefer them? what kind of fretless bass do you use with these strings?

[Discgraham]

I'm using some Fender flats right now. They are my favorite so far, though I haven't tried the high end stuff. The Fender flats are extremely smooth and have a nice mellow but present tone. I have them strung on my custom P fretless and have been very happy with the results.

The strings are 9050 Stainless Steel Flatwounds

By the way, the nylon tapewounds are also a lot of fun!

[Diowulf]

I don't really have a preferance, but I do have chromes on my Dean Edge 4 fretless right now and it getting me close to my sound...don't have the budget for other strings at the moment

[Luckydog]

my fave flats at the moment are Labella DTB. They are on my 66 Precision. I also like the Chromes, but the Labellas to me have a better E, and slightly more beef or grunt. The Labella E is very distinct which to me is a major factor. The TI's to me lack beef, and are too soft.

[reggaeman]

Originally Posted by Luckydog

my fave flats at the moment are Labella DTB. They are on my 66 Precision. I also like the Chromes, but the Labellas to me have a better E, and slightly more beef or grunt. The Labella E is very distinct which to me is a major factor. The TI's to me lack beef, and are too soft.

I couldn't agree with you more lucky dog. I went from La Bella Flats to TI Jazz Flats to Chromes and I just went back to 49-109 labellas. TI Jazz flats definitley dont have 'beef'... at least for reggae which I play. I like the chromes a lot but the E string is horrible. If I play an open E with chromes it just sounds BLAH.

LaBellas are a bit harder to play with their higher tension... but its well worth it! No pain... no gain!

[Rockin John]

I voted TI but my USA Jazz DLX 5er simply doesn't like low tension strings.

It's really happy with Rotosound (I tend to swap between their 77 jazz and the 88 Black Nylon). I like these strings, too.

I actually took the 88s off about an hour ago and went back to the 77s.

I'm genuinely disappointed Fender don't do a 5 string set in their flats: I'd definitely give them a shot.

John

[DavePlaysBass]

I voted for TI flats because they are the only ones I have tried. But I really dig them on my 61 jazz. I also had a set on a G&L 2500. Sounded good there as well and a descent B string.

My playing opens up when I have a lower tension string so I really do not consider a string selection if the tension goes up considerably. But the TIs take a little relief to breathe.

I have heard a few rave about the Sadowsky and Lakland flats.

Dave