Which flats? I tried Dean MArkley's in Blue pack-not that impressed.

[rodl2005]

Which sort do U reccomend- I'm playin mainly blues,jazz, some old motown & old RnB. After doin a search I find that some reckon the flats take a few MONTHS to sound right???? I started using falts back in the day-then rounds came out & thats what I've used ever since.
Are the Dean Markleys meant to be -as I find- unresponsive & lifeless, or should I let em stay on longer- I've only had 'em a month or so-gigging once or twice a week.
Thanx,
Rod.

[Loel]

Around here where i live,
alot of the blues guys are using
Thomastik Infeld jazz flats,jf 344's,
these require some getting use to
but well worth the effort,there hard
to describe,to me they sound like
mellow rounds,i have two basses
with these on both...

hope this helps some

EB/

[bthiemann80]

Thats weird, Dean Markley advertises their flatwounds to be exceptionally bright for a flatwound. I was going to snag a set of the dean markley flats for my Pbass but now i'm not so sure. Some people on here consider D'addario chromes to be rather bright for flatwounds, you could try those.

[SUNNyday r.]

Almost went with the DM's the other day. Seems to be conflicting info on them. Bright with longer sustain or dead as a brick? And what gauge are the set you use? Tension?

[rodl2005]

The Thomastic flats seem to be favored among many....
The Dean M.'s MAY BE FINE & I'm just NOT used 2 flats-in fact thats a given.... seeing as I haven't used 'em on my elecs since the '70's- But I DID think they were not very exciting! I might put 'em on again- onto my PJ custom- & give 'em a few months try. Thanx for the replies.
Rod.

[OrionManMatt]

It seems like the only flats I hear of are TI jazz flats and ... wait ... no, that's it. Just TI.

[4Mal]

I'm a big fan of flats and for the most part I use ... You guessed it TI Jazz flats.

I also have a set of GHS Brite Flats on a Tribbie L2K I recently acquired. They are higher tension and a little less ringy. They do the motown thing nicely. The tribute seems to have a really stiff neck and doesn't mind the higher tension at all. It's a nice pairing.

In the past I've used the D'Addario Chrome flat and liked it. Higher tension than the TI's, a little more 'steely / ringy' than the very woody TI. I did some dubby stuff on an old L1K strung with Chromes and it turned out huge.

TI's are pretty low tension being guaged .043 through .100. That menas setup work for some basses. I've grown fond of the lower tension though. They play really nicely.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by rodl2005

Which sort do U reccomend- I'm playin mainly blues, jazz, some old motown & old RnB. After doin a search I find that some reckon the flats take a few MONTHS to sound right????

With the music you're playing, I'd go directly to Labella Deep Talkin' flats. I play surf and some of the music you do, and I've come to swear by them. To my ear, they do the best job of creating the sound in the originals you describe. In a couple of cases, the Labellas have vastly improved the sound of a bass when I've installed them.

And they cost a LOT less than TIs.

[OrionManMatt]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

With the music you're playing, I'd go directly to Labella Deep Talkin' flats. I play surf and some of the music you do, and I've come to swear by them. To my ear, they do the best job of creating the sound in the originals you describe. In a couple of cases, the Labellas have vastly improved the sound of a bass when I've installed them.

And they cost a LOT less than TIs.

I totally, totally forgot about these.

[rodl2005]

Thanx again guys--- Will try some Labella Deep talkin flats ASAP. TA,
Rod.

[Kael]

+1 on the chromes. They retain a brightness in addition to the flatwound tone underneath that.

The TI flats neither feel nor sound like a flat. They sound excellent. Just not like a flat. More midrange going on. They are very low tension. Too low for my tastes.

[rodl2005]

the TI flats DO sound interesting tho!!! Pity dang shops here don't carry any except the Dean Markleys (Marklar-who- Marklar!!) will have to see about all 3 of these-TI's, LaBELLA DT flats AND Daddario Chromes!
Thanks.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by rodl2005

Thanx again guys--- Will try some Labella Deep talkin flats ASAP. TA,
Rod.

TI Jazz Flats. You'll never go back to sheep.

[winston]

I bought a 5 string set of the Dean Markley flats a couple years ago. I was also enticed by their advertising as a bright string. They actually turned out to be the deadest-sounding flats I've heard besides LaBellas. Also--the B string broke at the tuner while I was bringing it up to pitch.

That said, I actually like them on 4 string basses. They're smooth and tight and sound great with a pick. I have a lot of experience with TI Flats (love 'em) and I recently put D'Addario Chromes on my fretless--definitely bright and singing as advertised.

[lomo]

D'Addario Chromes work for me. On a 4-string I love GHS Precision flats (very Jamersonian and inexpensive).