TalkBass Forums - Steve Harris signature Rotosound flats

I bought some flats for my first bass a few years ago but really had no idea what I was doing one way or the other. It was entry level Washburn with j style pickups and I was only playing through a small Fender Bassman 25.

Was thoroughly unimpressed.

Flash forward 4 years of playing, added an American P bass, and Ampeg SVT rig and holy mother of pearl! I sho' do love my new Steve Harris flats!

They are quite a bit stiffer, higher tension that the D'addario nickels I had on my P, so the action is now much higher than it was. I'll need to lower that ASAP and could possible need a truss rod adjustment too, but I'll hold off on that for a couple weeks.

Maybe it's the higher tension but I just feel more POWER under my fingers now and it's freaking great! I love it! And the lack of string noise from my fingers is love. So smooth.

My guitarist played around and commented that it's twice as hard to play now and feels like an entirely new instrument! And he's right. Maybe not twice as hard to play, but I have really been working my left hand out. That would be the higher tension and action I suspect.

I also feel I have more control over the volume of my bass. Seems that I have more dynamic control over my rig. I can turn my amp up louder but not increase my actual volume until I start to dig in. And when I do dig in, that's pure love coming out of that SVT 410!

Need to find me a 15 to add in under the 410....

Anyway, I love my new flat strings. If you've never tried them, I highly recommend giving them a try. It was a very exciting band rehearsal for me last week. It did feel almost like I had an entirely new bass. Exhilarating!