Flatwounds/stringthru bodies

JacoLesFlea · #1 10-09-2006, 10:03 AM

I heard that Fwounds are not recommended with string thru bodies...is that true?

nad · #2 10-09-2006, 10:35 AM

I've had flats strung through the body of my Fender P for about a year now, no problems.

JacoLesFlea · #3 10-09-2006, 10:49 AM

ok thanks

avid · #4 10-09-2006, 12:21 PM

LaBella does not recommend using string through on their heavier sets. I have Chromes 45-100 on my MIA Jazz.

Dr. Riddim · #5 10-11-2006, 01:26 AM

Many manufacturers - of both basses and strings - recommend that you not string through the body when you're using flatwound strings. Lakland is one of these. Others apparently aren't so fussy. It's all got to do with the bend the string has to make when it comes out of the body and over the saddle, I figure.

bassman040 · #6 10-11-2006, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Riddim

Many manufacturers - of both basses and strings - recommend that you not string through the body when you're using flatwound strings. Lakland is one of these. Others apparently aren't so fussy. It's all got to do with the bend the string has to make when it comes out of the body and over the saddle, I figure.

yes i think it's got to do with bending the string over the saddle. that's why thru body roundwound strings come tapered to accomodate the bending which i don't think is available for flatwounds.

Dr. Riddim · #7 10-11-2006, 11:31 AM

I agree. The design of a flatwound string doesn't lend itself to bending much at all. You can feel that when you handle them off of the guitar. I guess it's the difference between flat edges and round edges.

6pack Jon · #8 10-11-2006, 02:39 PM

I've have flatwounds on my Fenders and my Lakland. Haven't had a problem yet.

Buck Snelson · #9 11-11-2006, 07:26 PM

I'd like to revive this discussion and hear from those of you who have had problems with stringing flatwound strings through body. What kinds of problems have you had and how long did it take them to show up? I've had TI flatwound jazz strings strung through body on a Fender Jazz for about 9 months. It gets played an average of about 6 hours per week. When I put them on I "didn't know any better", but I've recently been told it is a no-no th run flats through body. So far I can't see any problem with the windings at the point where the strings emerge from the body. I'm a pretty light touch fingerstyle player and I don't play any slap or pops that might put undue strain on a string. Would the problem ever be so severe that the string might break where it emerges from the body?

marc40a · #10 11-11-2006, 07:50 PM

I've had the same set of ML Fender Flats on a string thru P bass for 3+ years.

tZer · #11 11-11-2006, 08:06 PM

I strung my MIA Jazz V with Roto-sound flats recently - while I loved the sound and feel, they were SO tense that my action came up a lot! I was not ready to commit to flats on my Jazz V so I did not go the extra mile and have my instrument set-up to compensate for the extraordinarily tense flats - nor did I try any other brand - but now that I see this thread, I can't help but think that there might have been a good reason flats on string-thru instruments are problematic.

But then again, with the right gauge and the right setup, it could be just fine. I do know that I loved the sound!

tww001 · #12 11-12-2006, 08:49 AM

Could running Chromes 45-100 through body on my MIA fender jazz fretless (the higher tension that's already beened mentioned) be the reason that the strings don't seem to have as much sustain and 'mwah' that everyone talks about? (not to mention the fact, as I said in another post that the silk goes over the nut)

Jumbotron · #13 11-12-2006, 10:34 AM

I haven't had problems stringing through the body with the Carvin flats I use. Strings appear to be in fine shape--no separation of the windings or anything. Plenty of mwah, too. The only real issue is that on the low B, the silk would go over the nut. Why on earth they made that string an inch shorter is beyond me. In any case, I'm going through the bridge with that one.

Arthur U. Poon · #14 11-12-2006, 11:29 AM

I had D'Addario Chromes strung through-body on my MIA P-Bass for almost a year. No problems at all.

I've heard LaBella recommends against it on heavier gauges. I'd now like to put a set of "Jamerson's" on my P-Bass. I guess I'd better email them to find out what they recommend.

Has anyone tried TI flats on a strings-through? If so, how did they work out?

RD · #15 11-12-2006, 11:53 AM

I've had TI jazz flats strung through body for over a year, no problems. Steve "dude" Barr told me that it should be okay with these strings on a Lakland through the body.
RD

Stuggi · #16 11-13-2006, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arthur U. Poon

I had D'Addario Chromes strung through-body on my MIA P-Bass for almost a year. No problems at all.

I've heard LaBella recommends against it on heavier gauges. I'd now like to put a set of "Jamerson's" on my P-Bass. I guess I'd better email them to find out what they recommend.

Has anyone tried TI flats on a strings-through? If so, how did they work out?

Jamerson's?

JacoLesFlea · #17 11-14-2006, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuggi

Jamerson's?

These ones:

http://www.elderly.com/accessories/n...set--0760M.htm

zachbass02 · #18 11-14-2006, 10:06 AM

I've got a set of labella tapewounds strung through the body of my 55-02 f-less.... haven't had any trouble out of them...They've been on there now for the better part of a year. Great tone as they are just starting to get broken in and losing some of their brightness.....I've also got a set of TI Jazz flats on my P strung through body. Those have been on for over a year now with no problems and I play that one pretty hard....

Taurus · #19 11-14-2006, 11:07 AM

Buck, the TI's are reknowned for being a very flexible flatwound string and I think you'll be alright. Some flatwounds have the outer wrap as more of a ribbon that is obviously not going to be as flex. as a roundwound and I could see potential problems with heavy guages of some of the stiffer brands.

62bass · #20 11-15-2006, 04:14 AM

I've had the same set of Thomastic flatwounds on one of my basses, string through for over 2 years. I've had no problems. I've inspected the windings at the saddles and they are fine. The strings still sound fantastic, intonate perfectly and sound better than new.

I can't speak for other brands of flatwounds though. The Thomastics are a cut above the other brands I've used and a bargain at the price.