What flats for rock?

[Falkner]

I'm looking to change the strings on my Squier VMJ from Elixers (Great strings, just not for me) to a set of flats. I have a set of Rotosound Jazz 77's on my other bass and I really like their sound for the styles I play. I was planning on just buying them again for my Jazz, but I thought I'd ask here for some input: What flats would you recommend for rock/heavy metal? I play a lot of Ozzy, Deep Purple, Zeppelin, Dio, etc.

[bthiemann80]

Probably any set of flats will do. I would suggest either Fender, GHS or the Dean Markley flats (if you can find them).

[teej]

On an impulse, I bought a set of GHS Stainless Steel flats (medium gauge) yesterday, just to see what they were like. I've never used GHS before (I always used LaBella in the past), but I'm pleased so far. The E and A has a thick, growly bottom end very similar to Deep Purple's sound. They're only $25 (here, at least) - give them a try... they might be what you're looking for.

[KromaatiKlauun]

Chromes are great for rock

[ikkim12]

steve harris signiture maybe?

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Chromes get my vote

[jayarroz]

someone turned me onto fender flats lately. They are tighter than the chromes and labella's I feel, so i can get a quicker response from them. and they are 25 bucks, so I have kept them lately.

[Falkner]

Originally Posted by teej

On an impulse, I bought a set of GHS Stainless Steel flats (medium gauge) yesterday, just to see what they were like. I've never used GHS before (I always used LaBella in the past), but I'm pleased so far. The E and A has a thick, growly bottom end very similar to Deep Purple's sound. They're only $25 (here, at least) - give them a try... they might be what you're looking for.

Those sound like what I'm looking for. I'll have to see if I can find them around here and give thme a try.

As for Chromes, they were the first set of strings I put on this bass and I didn't care for their tone at all.

[JTE]

Another vote for the GHS Precision Flatwounds. I've used them for a long time as my flat of choice (well, actually the P bass has a set of Lakland Joe Osborn flats, but except for the E string being different by 0.001", they're the same strings). I like them because they have a definite note in them, and the feel under my hands is very similar to the rounds I use. Makes it easy to switch from the flatwound-strung bass to the roundwound-strung ones.

All flats seem to have a break-in period where they feel stiffer than they settle in to, so don't be hasty in deciding whether you like a particular set of flats or not. I'd give them at least a month before deciding to switch.

jte

[Hawaii Islander]

Originally Posted by ikkim12

steve harris signiture maybe?

I have a set of Steve Harris flats on my Fender jazz bass. I really like them for rock music. The heavy gauge holds up very well with drop tuning (DGCF). I would be concerned about how well the Squier neck could handle that extra heavy gauge.

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by KromaatiKlauun

Chromes are great for rock

+1. I am very impressed with these strings.