how long can flatwounds last for?

[Flounder102Bass]

i use D,addarios flatwounds on my Fender P bass. i just wanna know whats the most they last up for

[TN WOODMAN]

I put a set of D Addario flats on my 2006 Classic 50s P when I got it and they're still sounding great, actually better. I remember reading an interview with Billy Talbot in the 90s and he said he bought his P new from Manny's in 1964 and still had the same strings on it! As they say your mileage may vary.

[groooooove]

reed mathis used the same set of roundwound strings for 17 years, on tour the whole time with JFJO.

flats are made to last longer. so there you go- however long you want.

[JimmyM]

right. however long you want.

[Jazzdogg]

I've kept flats on some of my basses for more than 20 years.

There's nothing "wrong" with most older strings except that they sometimes don't conform to our sonic expectations. One of the reason rounds are changed more often than flats is that rounds are preferred by those who like a brighter sound; age and accumulated grime diminish zinginess.

[Remus_Redbone]

how long can flatwounds last "for? - ever"

[iiipopes]

I remember about 30 years ago a Guitar Player article (this was before Bass Player was its own publication, and GP had bass columns and articles) about Duck Dunn when he talked about he never changes his strings. Then one broke, and he panicked at the prospect of a replacement to fit in. I think he finally decided on a D'Addario chrome flat. For just one string, not the whole set.

That was then. This is now. Last fall I put on a set of the new Fender 9050CL flats, and they just keep getting better and better. I don't forsee a string change for, well, ....

This is in complete opposition to roundwounds, which I used to change at least the low E string after every weekend gig, and the rest of them every few weeks to few months, depending on the gigging schedule.

Here's the deal: when first strung up, stretched out and seated in, there is basically no metal fatigue in just the vibrational aspect of the string. What happens is that over time finger gunk gets into the windings and the frets start wearing on the strings (we all talk about the strings wearing the frets -- but it goes both ways). For roundwounds, there are more gaps between the windings, and the accumulation of gunk and fretwear kill the strings sooner. For tightly-wound ribbon flats, there is more surface area contacting the fret, and there is less space, if any at all, between the windings for finger gunk to accumulate. So flats last much, much longer. And since the tone is mellow to start with by comparison, the only real time to change them is if they unexpectedly break, or if wear or damage to the windings is actually noticable, which manifests not necessarily visually, but when intonation starts to waver.

So flats last a long, long time with reasonable playing technique and proper care. As a comparison, go talk to some of the guys on the DB side. You will find some guys with TI Spirocores, a flat chrome wound string, that some guys literally haven't changed in over a decade of constant gigging, because the tight wrap doesn't collect gunk, and with no frets on the fingerboard it doesn't wear, being chrome steel.

[BigOldHarry]

that's the one upside to flats for me - they never sound old (because, one can argue, they ALWAYS sound old...). But it would nice to have a set of rounds that worked that way!

[m0ntels]

On a related note, I was just wondering if they never change strings, how/when flats players clean their fretboards or polish frets?

[uncle Bob]

Flatwounds, if made properly will outlast a bass.
James jamerson was probably the very best example of a serious flatwound player.
He used the LaBella Originals on his P bass for ever...Never changed the set.
Today players like Duck Dunn, Chuck Raney and Bob Babbit Still use these sets.
As a suggestion, merely wipe the strings top and underside after playing...Never, I meaan Never put any stuff on a string.
LaBella strings, STILL HANDMADE, STILL THE SAME OLE WAY......

[Jazzdogg]

m0ntels: Loosen strings, clean fingerboard/fretboard. re-tighten strings.

[BigOldHarry]

Originally Posted by m0ntels

On a related note, I was just wondering if they never change strings, how/when flats players clean their fretboards or polish frets?

I'll bet that flats do not wear frets nearly so much as rounds (particularly steel rounds!)

as for cleaning - well, I've seen me some *nasty* fender fretboards in the past...

[odin70]

Depends on what sound you are after. Some like the sound of new, fresh flats..some dont. A set of new rotos 77 sounds great when new. If you like the sound of dead strings, flats will last for years.

[odin70]

Originally Posted by uncle Bob

Flatwounds, if made properly will outlast a bass.
James jamerson was probably the very best example of a serious flatwound player.
He used the LaBella Originals on his P bass for ever...Never changed the set.
Today players like Duck Dunn, Chuck Raney and Bob Babbit Still use these sets.
As a suggestion, merely wipe the strings top and underside after playing...Never, I meaan Never put any stuff on a string.
LaBella strings, STILL HANDMADE, STILL THE SAME OLE WAY......

I belive Dunn and Rainey uses rounds these days..I might be wrong.

[StuFordBass]

Originally Posted by groooooove

reed mathis used the same set of roundwound strings for 17 years, on tour the whole time with JFJO.

flats are made to last longer. so there you go- however long you want.

JFJO is my ****, but i never thought reed mathis had a good clean sound.

[Ric5]

until they break or until you take them off for rounds

[JTE]

Joe Osborn changed the strings on his 1960 Jazz bass sometime shortly after he got in 1960. Still has that same set of LaBella flats on it. Herbie Flowers (electric bassist on Lou Reed's "Take A Walk On The Wild Side", David Bowie's "Space Oddity", and a BUNCH of the early Elton John albums ("Honky Château" is the first studio album that Nigel Olsen and Dee Murray played on every song, and I think they only recorded one song before that), etc. put a set of nylon tape strings on his Jazz bass sometime around 1962 and has never changed them.

The answer to the question is "as long as you like".

John

[odin70]

Is this the set of old flats?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hmVHhH96es

I cant say i dig that sound, but that me.

[Caca de Kick]

I've got a 10 year old set of Ken Smith flats on my custom shop P. And they've always had a consistant nice growly tone.

I recently left the bass for a setup (freebie at GC of all places), and I left a big note in the case "don't change the strings". When I picked up the bass, the guy said '"yup, I saw why".

[57pbass]

I have a set of Roto Sound flatwound strings on my old P Bass. I put the strings on the bass in 1980. They still sound fine and the bass stays in tune.