Flatwounds advice needed

[heavyfunkmachin]

I wanted to try Flatwounds again… I tried the fender flats…but those are HIGH tension strings (ridiculously high tension, i feared for the neck's safety!) and not smoth at all… in fact brand new rotosound roundwound were smoother… so the question is…

What flatwounds can you recommend me?

I need them to be SMOOTH to touch and normal tension (my reference strings are rotosound roundwounds 40-60-80-100)… and I would rather not spending too much since im not convinced I’ll keep them... although it's not my main concern...

i've searched but coudnt find a flatwound shootout or anything like that...

Thanks!

[snyderz]

I would search some more, as there are flatwound discussions almost daily. Many here use TI flats because of so called lower tension. I use Lakland Osborns exclusively, and have done so for years, partly because I think they are the smoothest. GHS Precisions are supposedly the same string.

[guroove]

LaBella light gauge flats or Thomastik if like to have some harmonics in your sound; DR flats if you want a more muted sound.

[jasper383]

No flat will be nearly as loose as your Rotos. The least stiff flats, the TI Jazz Flats, are pricey.

I might suggest the La Bella 760FX set, or maybe the lightest set of Chromes, 40-95. Let them break in a while on the bass before you pass judgment.

[johnp352]

+ Chromes, break them in before you decide though, you'll know it when they are "ready". Inexpensive, available almost anywhere, and the best compromise between high tension and slop.

[billoetjen]

If you haven't used Chromes, they're worth a try. They are kind of a compromise between flat & wound sound, and high vs low tension. Great place to start fine-tuning your search.

[JTE]

What kind of bass do you have that you'd worry about the neck from putting on Fender strings?!? That's what the truss rod is for, to compensate. Having said that, I hate Fender flats- tinny sounding, and the high tension isn't conducive to how I play ('though I did like the original 850s back in the '70s and I liked the short-lived "Studio Bass" flats they had for a brief period in the mid '80s). But they won't wreck your neck unless you're incapable of taking care of your bass.

As to finding some smooth ones, I second the recommendation for Lakland Joe Osborn/GHS Precision Flats. Those are the flats I've settled on after going back and forth on flats since 1976. The TI flats are a very very good string, but in no way do they sound like a traditional flatwound string. It's a great sound, not twangy at all, but it's also not got the same fundamental thump I expect from a flat. The LaBella Old Originals have that thump, and then some. But they're indistinct to my ears and sound more like a kick drum than a bass note- there's just not enough definition to the note in those things. BTW, while I had to adjust the truss rod on my P when I put the LaBellas on it, they didn't feel nearly as tight under my hands as the Fender something or other I tried a few years ago.

The Lakland/GHS flats feel about the same under my hands as the rounds I use (DR Sunbeams and HiBeams 45-105), they have a definite note while retaining the fundamental sound of flats (the whole reason I want flats on some of my basses), and they are very very stable strings. My VS '62 Precision has had the same set of Lakland JO Flats on her off and on since 2002, and they've stayed on her since at least 2005. I put a set on the Sting about 2006, and just put a set on one of my fretless basses this last July. Perfect flatwound for me.

John

[Medford Bassman]

I have to say a set of Chromes Light work pretty well on my SX P-bass. Not too high tension and my drummer loves when I play that bass at gigs.

[whitedk57]

To me, TI Jazz Flats feel like regular round-wounds. They are smooth but have less tension than most other flats. I swear by them - they are worth the extra cash because they last for years and not months.

[Arvin]

Another vote for Chromes here. Yeah, they're a little bit brighter than some flats out there, but that's what tone controls are for. Want it swampier? Turn the tone down, do a little more finger muting, etc. Want it a little brighter? Turn the tone up, play with a pick or fingernails, etc.

P/J Bass + Chromes = tonal bliss.

In the last outfit I played in, the rest of the band always wanted me to play the bass strung with Chromes.

[GhettoBrassGuy]

Sadowsky and TI for me...

[flybynight]

Just put a set of T-I Jazz flats on my Alembic Series I, and was floored by the tone I now get. Loads of bottom, great top-end, richness all over the place, even through crappy jam amps. I play blues exclusively.

[adivin]

I love Sadowsky flats.

aj

[johnp352]

who makes Sadowsky flats, and how do they fall tension wise, in an equal gauge set, to Chromes?

[jasper383]

Originally Posted by johnp352

who makes Sadowsky flats, and how do they fall tension wise, in an equal gauge set, to Chromes?

La Bella makes the Sadowsky flats. They are very different from the La Bellas, though.

They feel, to me, less stiff than comparable Chromes.

[johnp352]

thanks..so, they are made by LaBella, which are high (er) tension..but are somewhere between Chromes and Thoms?

[jasper383]

Originally Posted by johnp352

thanks..so, they are made by LaBella, which are high (er) tension..but are somewhere between Chromes and Thoms?

Depends on the gauge. La Bella makes perhaps the stiffest flat set, the Jamerson set, and one of the lowest, the 760FX.

Overall, I would say that La Bellas in a similar gauge have less stiffness than Chromes.

[old-fashioned]

Just experienced Dadario Chromes (40-95) and TI Jazz Flats. I prefer TI's. More musical to my ears...
Both are not stiff, TI's are less stiff.
It really gets time to get used to flats, but after, you dig them in most cases. For me, they help getting deep without sounding boomy... that's important for a bass player I guess.

["Q"]

Originally Posted by old-fashioned

Just experienced Dadario Chromes (40-95) and TI Jazz Flats. I prefer TI's. More musical to my ears...
Both are not stiff, TI's are less stiff.
It really gets time to get used to flats, but after, you dig them in most cases. For me, they help getting deep without sounding boomy... that's important for a bass player I guess.

Maybe this is totally obvious but FWIW stiffness is what gives flats their sound.....unless you're just looking for something that sounds like roundwounds but without the string noise. In that case I'd have to say tapewounds are the only thing that has come close for me; they have really low tension too.

[mtshaw315]

I'm a fan of Chromes... used them in a reggae band on a P/J passive Ibanez and got exactly what I wanted and the tone the rest of the band was into. Also, I use an SVT3 with a 410, so that helped.