| Roundwounds and Flatwounds My Experience
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I have been for the past several months trying various different sets and brands of flatwound strings on my Fender Precision bass. I have tried Thomastiks, Sadwoskys, Fender and LaBella. The main reason I wanted to get flats was because James Jamerson used them and I wanted his sound. I could never get into the tension of flats. The Thomastiks were too floppy and the others were too tight. I just couldn't find a happy medium. I had a spare set of DR Fat Beams laying around so I decided to just throw them on my P bass and see how they sounded.
I was really impressed with the tone I was getting out of these strings. With the tone knob about 50%, I was getting the same thud and thump that I was getting with any of the flats I had tried. If I boosted the tone knob to about 75% I was getting a warm but grindy tone which I also like. The tension was perfect and the feel of Fat Beams is surprisingly smooth given the fact that they are stainless steel strings (which I already knew since I use them on my other bass).
I guess my point is to be open minded and don't just want to use a string or piece of gear because a player you like uses them. Try things until you find out what works best for you. I like Jamerson's tone but didn't like the playability of flats. After trying Fat Beams I realized I could have the best of both worlds for MY preferences both in terms of tone and playability.
If you've tried flats and are trying to force yourself to like them, consider a warmer sounding roundwound that you are more comfortable playing with. There are lots of options out there so don't be afraid to try different strings until you find what you like. I'm not bashing flats, they just weren't for me. | 
