Help me choose flats for my P-bass

mazdah · #1 05-02-2011, 07:22 AM

So far I've tried:
Thomastik Flats - great, but a little too "woody" sounding. They become very "uprightish" when settled in. I've used them for a year

Chromes - Nice, lively sounding, but a little bit too "cold", and the low end was "soapy" - great hi-mids but not enough low mids and fundamental

LaBella 760FL - my favorite so far, used them for two years, but I'm looking for something with less bottom end and more mids (especially higher mids, low mids are wonderfull).
Just a little more "zing" and high mids than Labellas would be perfect I think. I want warm sound, but not too "bassy"

In my country the choice is limited to:
GHS
Rotosound
old Fender 9050
new Fender 9050

Any recommendations?

strappa · #2 05-02-2011, 07:37 AM

Roto 77

Give them a couple months to break in

jasper383 · #3 05-02-2011, 08:14 AM

The Roto suggestion is a good one, imo. The 45-105 set is excellent.

MarkusBass · #4 05-02-2011, 08:17 AM

GHS Precision Flats get my vote.

Bassamatic · #5 05-02-2011, 08:24 AM

Stick with the LaBellas and just turn down the bass on your amp a little.

jbednarski · #6 05-02-2011, 08:35 AM

Fender 9050CLs. Beats all these others by a mile. Don't let the name fool you. Crisp, articulate but with all the character of the best flats.

mazdah · #7 05-02-2011, 08:38 AM

I'll try to check Roto and GHS.
I'm thinking about sticking with Labellas, so far they are the best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbednarski

Fender 9050CLs. Beats all these others by a mile. Don't let the name fool you. Crisp, articulate but with all the character of the best flats.

Older or the newer ones? They've changed recently.

bassboysam · #8 05-02-2011, 08:45 AM

Sadowsky flats are what you want, they are similar to La Bella but a little brighter in the mids. Also they don't get too woody or dead sounding, they seem to maintain their sustain really well. Kind of a blend between La Bellas and Chromes.

Aussie Player · #9 05-02-2011, 08:56 AM

I bought a P bass recetnly that was fitted with D'Addario half round stainless. They surprised me as I would never have thought to try a half round string and I am very impressed. They are very warm, the sound is thick and the E string has both growl and clarity so if I play a run that includes notes on the E, I still get the grit and growl I like with all the punch I could want.

I plan to leave these on this bass until they go flat just to see how long they last.

2 points, I wipe the strings down after every play and I use Hartke amps so you know where
the tone lays.

Russell Bergum · #10 05-02-2011, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassboysam

Sadowsky flats are what you want, they are similar to La Bella but a little brighter in the mids. Also they don't get too woody or dead sounding, they seem to maintain their sustain really well. Kind of a blend between La Bellas and Chromes.

+1

Good description.

I've tried a lot of different flats, and love the Sadowsky's.

Surly · #11 05-02-2011, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gio S

Stick with the LaBellas and just turn down the bass on your amp a little.

This may be a good suggestion. Although I'm also looking for a new flat to try, so I may get a set of Sadowskys.

JTE · #12 05-02-2011, 02:31 PM

I've used GHS Precision Flats (well, one set is actually the Lakland Joe Osborn set, but they're the same as the GHS except for the gauge of one string- 45/65/85/105 from GHS, 45/65/85/106 from Lakland) for about ten years or more now. Over the 30+ years I've been playing bass I've used these flats:

1. Fender 850, the stock strings of Fender basses until 1982 or so. Same strings Carol Kaye used, BTW. Nice bright sound without being twangy, stiff without being clumsy, a bit tight and a little too bright on the G string. No longer made, and they don't have anything close to them.

2. LaBella Old Original strings (now marketed as the Jamerson set)- big heavy flatwound thump, but precious little definition to the note in them. And they're not a supple as other strings even of similar gauges.

3. LaBella Deep Talkin' Bass- because I only liked the Old Originals for certain things I tried a set of these. Pretty unremarkable, I don't recall exactly what I didn't like about them but I took 'em off after about two months and never considered them again.

Then I went through long period of experimenting with different variations of round strings (D'Addario Half-Rounds and GHS Brite Flats, neither of which are in any way a flatwound string in sonic character) before deciding that a good set of rounds made the most sense to cover the most sonic territory... later I was in a position to justify having at least one bass with flats all the time so I started experimenting again...

4. T/I Jazz Flats- a wonderful sound, but not really what I think of when I want to hear flats. They feel great and they do a much better job of what the modified rounds (D'Addario Half-Rounds and GHS Brite-Flats) purport to do, but not a flatwound sound to me at all. And the difference in tension made it awkward to switch from the T/I strung bass to the roundwound-strung bass.

5. Fender 91580ML flats. Awful, just putrid strings. Flats with quite a bit of tension, not much flexibility, and a horrid bright twang that overpowered the thump. Couldn't even stand them after they'd been on the Sting for a year (albeit I didn't play it much because they sounded so bad). All the bad things about flats with none of the good things.

6. GHS Precision Flats- at last, a flatwound that had the characteristic thump I want from a flatwound (think LaBella Old Originals) only with a distinct and precise NOTE in them. I don't want to sound like an unpitched kick drum, I play bass, not mushy mud. The tension on the 45/65/85/105 set is about the same as the same gauges of the rounds I use (DR Sunbeams or Hi-Beams), and they sound wonderful on both the Sting (single-coil Precision) and the VS '62 Precision. I've got a set on the mongrel fretless and the jury's still out on that one.

John

Luckydog · #13 05-02-2011, 05:15 PM

Mahzda very good descriptions. Ive used those and others and to me your descriptions are right on. Id stick with labellas (my fav). Sadowskys add what you want in upper mids but sadly dont have the hard hit down low that labellas have.

DavePlaysBass · #14 05-02-2011, 09:20 PM

I think you are descibing Sadowsky Flats.

BassBob1 · #15 05-02-2011, 09:32 PM

i like chromes so out of your choices i would choose the new fender set because they are apparently closer to chromes. I like that the chromes break in relatively quick then stay pretty consistent. I wouldn't recommend the rotosounds. They are higher tension and to me just seem to suck the tone out of my bass. They also didn't feel right. The G and D strings are smooth like glass yet the A and especially the E felt rougher then d'addario rounds i used to use.

So out of your choices you should probably try the GHS.

Scutterflux · #16 05-02-2011, 11:27 PM

Based on your description I'd agree with Bob, that GHS might be closest to what you're looking for. They're not too pricey so might be a good start, having said that I havn't tried the fender flats yet, which also aren't to pricey. Good luck.

One Drop · #17 05-03-2011, 01:31 AM

+4 on the Sadowskys. You have described precisely what they are.

No wonder, they are reformulated Labella flats, with a more modern flavour, i.e. a bit brighter and growlier and a bit less thumpy.

JimmyM · #18 05-03-2011, 03:37 AM

"soapy"?

mazdah · #19 05-03-2011, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

"soapy"?

Hmm in Poland we sometimes use this term "rozmydlone" or "mydlane" when we mean "not enough definition/punch". Maybe the word "loose" is would be better instead of "soapy"

Luckydog · #20 05-03-2011, 04:19 AM

Yeah i just kind of figured soapy was foamy or loose, not tight. I love my sadowsky flats, but if you like the hammer like effect (imo) that flats like labellas or (the old) fenders have, i think your best bet is to stay with the labellas. I dont know of ANY other flats that have that same level of kick in the gut lows. To me sadowskys are like a more defined GHS, sort of even across the spectrum, with clarity.