Are flats the bass designer fad must-have of 2011?

hover · #1 07-25-2011, 08:40 AM

So, are they? Sure there have been the mainstays, and sure they have always been around, but I see a resurgence, lately, on this forum, and this site being a good microcosm of bass players at large, I'd say it's either gonna be a short-lived fascination for most, or maybe, hopefully a much wider long lasting acceptance on the whole.

Admittedly, I've a new appreciation of them, and have been using them a lot more on a few basses I own that just sing so much more with them on....but what say you folks????

Handyman · #2 07-25-2011, 08:42 AM

Flats were once all that was available, then they were old fashioned. Now they're just another choice.

hover · #3 07-25-2011, 08:43 AM

yes, agreed. I was just noticing, as a lurker of this forum, that a LOT more threads on flats are popping up lately. Didn't know if they were trending or making a strong comeback.

Bassamatic · #4 07-25-2011, 08:51 AM

NO - Rounds were the trend, and it is coming back around to flats.

stflbn · #5 07-25-2011, 08:51 AM

I like flats for fingerstyle, unfortunately i HATE flats for slap... even TI's or Chromes.

So, where for most things I do I need to go back between both I either have to swap basses between songs, or go with roundwounds and tone them down sometimes.

panda bass · #6 07-25-2011, 08:59 AM

It very well could be, because i was just considering buying a set after reading a few threads about them on here!

FunkMetalBass · #7 07-25-2011, 09:49 AM

I've tried to like them over the years, and I really just can't. I currently have a set on a P-bass so that I can age them in case some future studio work wants them, but I much prefer the sound and feel of rounds with the tone rolled off to flats.

There are a lot of threads, but I think it's a small sample size.

iiipopes · #8 07-25-2011, 09:54 AM

Hey FunkMetalBass -- try a set of Fender Flats 9050CL 45-60-80-105. They have a subdued growl exactly as you describe. They might make you change your mind. I was as you are: rounds with the tone rolled off as necessary for 35+ years. These changed me from a round wound guy.

FunkMetalBass · #9 07-25-2011, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iiipopes

Hey FunkMetalBass -- try a set of Fender Flats 9050CL 45-60-80-105. They have a subdued growl exactly as you describe. They might make you change your mind. I was as you are: rounds with the tone rolled off as necessary for 35+ years. These changed me from a round wound guy.

I actually hate the sound of tone-less rounds too, but if I have to have a dead sound, I'd prefer the tone-less rounds to the flats I've tried (both Chromes and Labella's).

But thank you for the suggestion. Does Fender make a low B for that flat set?

seanm · #10 07-25-2011, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

I actually hate the sound of tone-less rounds too, but if I have to have a dead sound, I'd prefer the tone-less rounds to the flats I've tried (both Chromes and Labella's).

But thank you for the suggestion. Does Fender make a low B for that flat set?

I don't think so. I believe the Fender Flats are 4 string only. And if you don't like Chromes, you probably won't like the new Fenders.

alec · #11 07-25-2011, 10:22 AM

No, Fender make flat 5s. I ordered a set last week.

Jazz Ad · #12 07-25-2011, 10:24 AM

Meh. Just another TB hype. way over 99 % of sold and used strings are rounds.

mccartneyman · #13 07-25-2011, 10:30 AM

Flats sound like a bass. Motown, McCartney, the Wrecking Crew, Stax/Volt, Atlantic -- well ... almost everything in the '60s. A good bass with good flats in the studio is just about perfect. Mind you -- I used Rotosounds for 35 years, then went back to flats (started with them in '65).

hover · #14 07-25-2011, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

Meh. Just another TB hype.

I am inclined to agree. I swear, this place is worse than all the bass-porn-magazines combined in this type of affair.

To expand on that latter comment, tho a bit off topic, what really crazes me out is when a new product is advertised in the mags, and within a day or so of when you know they hit people's mailboxes, someone is always starting a thread "didja try this? Didja try that"??

when 99% of the time, the product hasn't even shipped yet.

Lync · #15 07-25-2011, 10:41 AM

I dig flats, but as a weekend warrior cover band junkie, they are not as versatile as a bass with rounds (IMO). My tone knob becomes my flats.

In a perfect world, perfect band style, flats-only would be sweet though.

teleharmonium · #16 07-25-2011, 10:42 AM

What's the difference what other players' motivations are ?

It's not like there isn't some trend/herd mentality involved in choosing roundwound strings, or any other popular instrument or component.

People make good and bad decisions for good and bad reasons. None of that has any relationship to what is a good decision for you, until the day something becomes too unpopular to stay in production.

Bass players as a group have a strange mixture of conservative and trend motivations. No offense intended, but, as with any human occupation, most bass playing is not so great, so demographic studies of it have little or no value except to people that sell gear for a living.

The less time thinking about what other bassists like, the better. They're not the audience.

DavePlaysBass · #17 07-25-2011, 10:47 AM

I think the improvement in bass amplification combined with a lot of "love" for the old 60's and 70's grooves is a part of it. Back in the 80's, I never heard anybody raving about funk or motown. Maybe it was the crowd I was running with, but today there seems to be a lot more appreciation for the Jamerson, Jemmont, Osbourne type players.

bassbrad · #18 07-25-2011, 10:57 AM

Flats do seem to be making a comeback and not just with bass players, one producer/engineer I work for insists on flats on a P-bass for most recordings. Not my personal choice since I don't really dig the sound or feels of flats, but I like the money from the sessions so I keep a bass set up and ready to go "OLD School".
I started on flats and never really liked them, finding rounds more articulate and dynamic.

makkE · #19 07-25-2011, 10:57 AM

I am happy that TB (and the internet) exsists, otherwise I would have never tried flats.
I had only seen flats once in my life on a fretless bass with the notion "that's what you use on a fretless" - it was in the early 90ies..

What's wrong with being informed of choices ?

Of course, the more threads come up, the more people will try them out. Not a bad thing in my book.

C.Linton · #20 07-25-2011, 11:04 AM

Quite frankly, I couldn't give a toss whether or not flats are a fad or not. I'm not using them because Billy Joe Bob thinks they're cool, I use them because they get the sound I'm going for.