Flatwound tension

[nerf]

Hey everybody. Looking into getting a set of flats, and I've seen alot of talk about tension. Seems the Fender 9050 flats have pretty high tension (prob too high for me) while the Thomastik flats have really low tension (I've read where some people have a hard time getting used to it).
How would you good people rank some of the other brands as far as tension? High to low. Guess I'm looking for a medium tension, but don't want to go to a light guage. Heard some good things about Labella Deep talking bass strings, but couldn't find anything about their tension. Tried a bass with Rotosound 77 flats, tension seemed a little high, and they sounded too trebley. I'll be putting them on an '82 Aria pro II TSB 350 lefty (if that makes a difference).

Thanks!

[James Hart]

SIT PowerFlats are medium tension... just a little tighter then the typical round.

[Figjam]

I use D'Addario chromes, they seem normal tension?, maybe a little lower than regular rounds.

[Flatwound]

Originally Posted by Figjam

I use D'Addario chromes, they seem normal tension?, maybe a little lower than regular rounds.

I think they feel pretty close to rounds of the same gauge. Dean Markley flats IME have a pretty soft feel, but are VERY thuddy with a VERY quick decay. And even the light gauge Fender flats are pretty stiff, though not unmanageable.

[Paul A]

Rotosound flats are very high tension, at least that's what I've found.

[michele]

DTB .43-.106 are medium/high tension (although when I ask to La Bella the exact string tension of the set they didn't care to reply ... nice guys !) You'll find these strings very good (the opposite of their customer service)!

[nerf]

Originally Posted by Paul A

Rotosound flats are very high tension, at least that's what I've found.

Yeah, that's what I thought too. Rather have something less tight.
That being said, I made an interesting (or stupid) discovery, depending on your point of view. Been trying to find the right flats for me for a little while now, don't like the rounds on my bass now (too much string noise for me), and started thinking "I don't remember this being an issue when I bought the bass" ('82 Aria, used from a pawn shop two years ago, my first bass). Replaced the strings about 6 months after I got it, just to do it. So I dug out the old original strings that came with it, and wouldn't you know, they are flats. Strung it up and they sound great. Although they look like hell. Tension is good. Only slight prob is that I broke the D string originally about 2 months after I got it (had a few too many, cranking the tuning post on the wrong string), local store gave me a used one, a flat luckily (back then I didn't know the diff), but it's higher tension than the rest. I can live with it. I just wish I knew what kind the are. I'd go get more. Gold colored balls on the bottom end with blue cloth at the top. No cloth at the bottom.

Oh, yeah, thanks everyone for the replies. Helpfull as always. Lurked around here for a while before finally signing up. This is a cool place. I'll still look for more info on med. to low tension strings.

[Flatwound]

Gold colored ball-end with blue silk at the tuner end might be Ernie Ball. I don't remember if they have silk at the ball-end, but last time I tried them, they had blue silk at the tuner end. Also, they come in a multiplicity of gauges (four different sets anway), so they might be worth trying. Gauges

[nerf]

I don't think they're Ernie Balls, the blue on the EB's is a lighter color than on the old strings,(old ones are more of a royal blue) and the EB's have cloth on the ball end as well.
No matter, I put a set of Labella DTB's (.043-.104) stainless on it this weekend. Damn, those strings are smooth. Though they're not broken in yet they sound really good, deeper and fuller than the others. Not as much tension as the roto's.
I like 'em.
(can we get that smilie in a lefty)?

[jenderfazz]

I don't know if it's the gauge, but my friend's Dean Markleys are very tense.

[BassGreaser]

How is the tension of Fender flats compared to Rotosound flats? Are they lower higher?

[nerf]

Originally Posted by BassGreaser

How is the tension of Fender flats compared to Rotosound flats? Are they lower higher?

From what I could tell the Fender 9050M were higher in tension than the Rotosound 77's in similar guage.

[BassGreaser]

WOW......thanks nerf. One more question for anyone that knows. Do D'Addario chromes have silk raps where they rap wound the posts?

[christle]

Originally Posted by BassGreaser

WOW......thanks nerf. One more question for anyone that knows. Do D'Addario chromes have silk raps where they rap wound the posts?

Yes.

[BassGreaser]

what color silk do they have?

[christle]

Originally Posted by BassGreaser

what color silk do they have?

I think they were dark blue. Nice strings, I just thought rounds sounded better on that particular bass. I plan on putting the Chromes on my precision.

Dan

[lawndart]

I just put Chromes on my P-bass. Its got a Basslines 1/4 pound p/u too. I love it! Has a nnice thunk to it!

[BassGreaser]

What are the Ribbon wound Chromes.....half wounds, or fully flat wounds?

[enbee]

i use the higher tension Labellas (60-115) on my rob allen and they're extremely nice. My brother also used to use them on his warwick fortress one. So they're a very versatile string. I also used them at one point on my brian moore.

[Paul A]

I just read in a G****R magazine that the less wraps you put round the tuning posts, the less the string tension.....
Someone explain if this is true