New Flats Have No Sustain... Is This Common?

[jonwb]

I picked up some new D'Addario 45-100 Chrome Flats on ebay for my '75 Precision. The tone is alright but when recording, I get hardly any sustain out of these. Is this common with flat strings? Should I have gotten something other than "chrome"? This bass usually has great sustain with nickel rounds . Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Jon

[Basshole]

Rounds go "Daaaaaaaaaaaang", and flats go "dunt".

That's what they're supoosed to do. No sustain (compared to rounds). Maybe you might like a half-round better?

[Mark Moss]

I have found that flats don't sustain like rounds do, which is not an issue for me, musically speaking.

[Nighttrain1127]

If you like rounds but with a little less zing try Pressure wounds They are not ground Just wound with higher pressure they have a much smoother feel and Still ring/sustain like a Round wound. More finger and fret/fretboard friendly. The two I have userd are GHS Pressure wound and Rotosound 55's Pressure wounds. Might be worth a try The rotosounds thump a bit more.

[tplyons]

Characteristic of all rounds, not just Chromes.

[Marley's Ghost]

The LaBella FL760 Flats I put on my SB2 have plenty of sustain. Not a much as rounds, but more than I expected.

[darthplagis]

i put flats on my new semi, and was a bit panicy at first as the E decays really fast, then i tried a few beatles lines and i started smiling again.

i forgot how much sustain you loose for the addition of the 'dunt'

[zombywoof5050]

Sustain is overrated.

[seanm]

Originally Posted by Marley's Ghost

The LaBella Deep Talking Flats I put on my SB2 have plenty of sustain. Not a much as rounds, but more than I expected.

Did you string the LaBella through the bridge or through the body? And which LaBella's did you use.

And to answer the question, flats have much less sustain. I had a set of Dean Markley flats that had zero sustain. Muting? Ferget about it! You just plucked the note and it died.

[Marley's Ghost]

Originally Posted by seanm

Did you string the LaBella through the bridge or through the body? And which LaBella's did you use.

And to answer the question, flats have much less sustain. I had a set of Dean Markley flats that had zero sustain. Muting? Ferget about it! You just plucked the note and it died.

The SB2 is strung through the bridge. The strings are FL760.

[seanm]

Originally Posted by Marley's Ghost

The SB2 is strung through the bridge. The strings are FL760.

Thanks. The 760FLs are my current favorite strings.

[moobass]

I love Rotosound flats. They are one of the brightest sets of flats you can get and the sustain is wonderful (your P-Bass begs for rounds, these are the next best thing). To me, if you love the round wounds brightness (nickel) but want the feel and the longevity of a flat, the Rotosounds are the way to go. They are Monel steel and never rust. I've never had a set break ever. I clean them with denatured alcohol (soak them for about 24 hours and wipe them down) every month and it's like having a new set but forever...

I will add that when recording I sometimes (more often than not) use a round wound for a particular song to get "that sound". But for touring I would not even consider anything else. I never have to think about a string breaking on me up on stage (and that's a good thing). These sound sooo close to nickel round wounds that playing live you really can't tell the difference (maybe that's way Steve Harris uses them? I used to think he used round wounds).

BTW: A good bridge can go a long way in the sustain dept. too.