What are good, all around Flats? This will be my first time trying flats!!!

[Modern Growl]

I never played Flats before and I'm looking to throw some on my Jazz. I'm looking for a good, all around set but I'm not sure which ones are. I was going to get D'addario Chromes, but what would you recomend for a first time Flats player?

I hear TI's are very low tension and they are very expensive, so besides those, what would you recomend?

Are Chromes a good "first time flats" set?

[biff malibu]

i dont want to hi-jack, but i was about to ask the same question. putting flats on my jazz to play different kinds of rock from the cure, to the killers. and be a good well rounded string style wise for whatever may come up. i need to take some midrange out of the jazz.

[Modern Growl]

FWIW: what I'm looking for is a fat, warm, smooth tone that is punchy

I'm not looking for thuddy/thumpy/undefined tone.

[Ole Man Blues]

Chromes is a good 1st choice. They were my 1st Choice and I've used them for a couple years now. I play with our Praise and Worship team at Church and I use them on my Fender P Bass with great results. Smooth with great low end, plenty of punch.

OMB

[markjazzbassist]

+1 on the chromes. i love them.

[XansNiceSweater]

Yeah, hey, how much do those TI's run?

[ElBajista]

Originally Posted by Modern Growl

FWIW: what I'm looking for is a fat, warm, smooth tone that is punchy

I'm not looking for thuddy/thumpy/undefined tone.

By that description, You're looking for TI Jazz flats. Well defined, smooth, and super-punchy!

About the loose-tension thing, I don't know what some people are thinking. TIs might be less tension than typical flats, but in no way are they floppy or difficult to manage. Some people describe them as being like spaghetti noodles, but IME they seem to have more tension than rounds, but less than the flats I've tried (Chromes, Lakland). They're basically, for me, the perfect fingerstyle-tone string, and I highly recommend them!

[ElBajista]

Originally Posted by XansNiceSweater

Yeah, hey, how much do those TI's run?

I bought a used set for $20, but new they usually go for around $40, I believe.

Well worth the price, IMO. You never have to replace them, and they get better with age!

[Nick Ioannucci]

rotosound jazz 77's love those things. theyre on my fretless, they sound good at 3 months old, but i always miss that zing of the brandy new strings. o well.

[bassbully43]

I still sware by SIT silencers....compression wraped and feel flat but sound like a round without string noise and the new string brightness...check them out.

[David Vector]

I really like the TI flats on my Jazz fretless - in combination with the Dimarzio J pickups, it's a pretty dark, warm tone with a solid and focused fundamental that sits very nicely in the mix. My fingers slide over the TI's like butter and they have (to me) a comfortable tension and a smooth, round tone.

Don't go dropping by my website for an example of what they sound like, though - the clip currently playing on the index page is from when I was still going for something akin to Geddy Lee's twangy Wal tone, LOL.

[myhot4]

+1 on the chromes. These are my first set of flats I put on. I did that just last week. I was blown away by the versatility. They were not as thumpy as I thought.

[pat1151]

I agree, Go Chrome!!, great feel great sound, lasts forever!!

[myhot4]

+1 on the chromes. These are my first set of flats I put on. I did that just last week. I was blown away by the versatility. They were not as thumpy as I thought.

[Blues Cat]

Do they make a Chromes tapered set?

[Philbiker]

I used to have LaBella "Deep Talkin' Bass" flats on my Dean Edge 5 and they were really something special. I would recommend avoiding Carvin's branded flats. The set I tried sounded and played OK, but inexplicably just died on me.

[zombywoof5050]

I like the LaBella flats. They make five different gauged sets from the 760FX (lightest) to the Jamerson set (heaviest).

[Modern Growl]

Well, I threw on some D'addario Chromes on my P and think they sound great! - One issue though is the tension. Very hard to play. After lowering my action and tightening my neck relief, it made it a bit better, but still very stiff...

What would you recommend now? - again, I like the sound of the Chromes, but way too stiff!!

[zombywoof5050]

Originally Posted by Modern Growl

Well, I threw on some D'addario Chromes on my P and think they sound great! - One issue though is the tension. Very hard to play. After lowering my action and tightening my neck relief, it made it a bit better, but still very stiff...

What would you recommend now? - again, I like the sound of the Chromes, but way too stiff!!

LaBella 760FL (043-104), lighter and smoother feeling than Chromes but not as floppy as TI's. I like them much better than the Chromes.

People always talk about the high tension of LaBellas, but I think they must be talking about the heavier gauged sets like the 760FM and the Jamerson set. The 760FL set is the second lightest set they make (with the 760FX being the lightest), and I find the tension of the 760FL set be very manageable while not being too floppy. This is coming from a person (me) who was spoiled on the low tension of TI Flats for 4 years before ultimately deciding that the TI Flats were too floppy for me.

Give the LaBella 760FL set a try.

[TheEmptyCell]

I would just get a lighter set of Chromes. I have my fretless 4 string Washburn P strung BEAD and those things sound ace, even when slapping.

I'm kind of loooking to try a set of TI's on my 6er, but they're just so expensive.