What's the best flatwound string, Labella, TI's or GHS?

[MKA]

Some soundclips including La Bella, TI and Sadowsky flats:

http://www.basstasters.com/strings/

Personally I think that TIs are the best flats out there. On the contrary to what some say, TIs also require a break-in period, but after that they are everything you could ever want from a flat, thumpy, punchy, warm, smooth you name it. I have not personally tried the sadowsky flats, but based on the soundclips on basstasters page, they sound like crap compared to TIs (TI clip is quite accurate demonstration of the tone to my ear).

I have tried chromes, ghs precisions, rotos, TIs, LaBellas, Pyramids and Fender flats and the ones with real magic are TI's and LaBellas.

[sigmafloyd]

Here is a sound clip of a demo my band is working on. This is TI Jazz Flats on a Jazz Bass, neck pup only.

http://soundcloud.com/clustermugs/93-1

This is an isolated (out of tune) bass track of the same setup with GHS Precision Flats:

http://soundcloud.com/clustermugs/bass-scratch

[mccartneyman]

I agree that Sadowskys are a good compromise between LaBella and TI. I've tried almost every flat on many basses. Right now I have the Fender flats on a P bass clone and they have less edge than the Sadowskys, which is great for the Motown vibe. Sadowskys have more snap and slightly less tension than LaBellas. Tried Chromes on several basses but found they sounded best on a Lakland JO Jazz with Fralin PUPS. I have LaBellas on my Hofner Icon and like them for that bass. Have them on a Rickenbacker C64 I just bought and would prefer a bit less tension and midrange on that bass. Someone recommended GHS Precison Flats for the Rick, so I may go that way at only $20 per set. I just went back to TIs on my Lakland 55-94 and prefer them over the Sadwoskys now because what I'm playing in mostly old R&R or R&B. They record very well, too. Tension is low, but I don't find it disconcerting -- you may have to raise your action some and adjust your plucking technique, but it's doable. They're expensive, too, but they seem to last forever. I had one set on mt 55-94 for two years before going to Sadowskys for another two years. They do lose some high end, but you can make up for it with amp EQ or, if you have an active bass, with the tone controls.

[C.Linton]

For me , it's GHS Precision flats. Smooth as silk, great tone. Reasonably priced.

[Grateful]

IMHO, LaBellas then GHS for a P bass. Personally I have LaBellas on my P, GHS on my fretless and Chromes on a I didn't like Chromes on my P for whatever reason, but love 'em on a couple of my other dual Humbucker equipped basses.

I hear great things about TI, but I need at least some tension in my strings. Gonna try Sadowsky's next.

[IPA]

TIs for me. The more I play them, the more I can't play anything else. But if you want tension, LaBellas. I liked the sound of LaBellas but the tension was a dealbreaker.

[ics1974]

D'Addario Chromes on my P-Bass and Jazz

[pjmuck]

Originally Posted by Nasnederis

Man I love the next examples of what I want, but I think those are TI's due to the red silk ends (I don't think they are 77's rotosounds), as I said before I like high tension and I'm looking for a similar tone than these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1CUr...ure=plpp_video


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WybWi...ure=plpp_video

Note in both the Youtube examples you've posted the bassist is muting the strings with foam under the strings at the bridge. (And in the 2nd clip, it looks like a combo of foam mute + palm muting). That's also an essential part of tone you are looking for, in addition to rolling off some of the the treble tone.

I am currently using LaBella Jamersons on my '73 P + foam mute, and I've got all the thump I need. I also second the suggestion that you allow flats time to deaden. I have a 12 year old set of Chromes on my J (which were previously on the P), and that too, can rival the P in thump.

[Richard Sabines]

Originally Posted by pjmuck

Note in both the Youtube examples you've posted the bassist is muting the strings with foam under the strings at the bridge. That's also an essential part of tome you are looking for, in addition to rolling off the tone.

Yes, but I've tried the chromes muted with a foam and I don't like them, I like my XL rounds with the foam tough.

I want a more natural thump from the string itself and maybe add some foam here and there

[Root 5]

Everything is relative: If you roll off the tone, use neck pup, your thumb or fingers to pluck - you're going to get a very nice thumpy sound out of any of the flats I can think of - even the traditionally thought of 'brighter' ones = D'Addario Chromes & Roto 77s.

Aceptable ( relative to other flats..) treble, mids, and bass can be had in all of the "Biggies" flatwound strings.

The bottom line is that they're all beautifully made strings. You just have to find a set & a brand that you like and go with it!

[jobo4]

I vote for TI flats. You'll get used to the tension. I played a set for more than 3 years.

[u84six]

Originally Posted by hdracer

I just put a set of Sadowsky Black Label flats on my new P5.
I have used about every kind of flat on the market and these have become my new favorite.

I agree. I've tried them all, and the best balance of tone, thump, tension, and feel, are the Sadowsky Black Labels.

GHS Precision Flats - liked the thump, didn't like the tone or tension
LaBella Jamersons - liked the thump and tone, didn't like the tension (neck bowing)
Chromes - liked the feel, didn't like the tone, not much thump, and didn't like the tension
TIs - love the tone and feel, but the tension can be a bit loose for some basses
Pyramid Gold - love the tone, thump, and feel, but can be tough to find a pack without a bad string
Sadowsky - love the tone, thump, feel, and tension. And they last forever.

[bluesblaster]

TI's are great for fingerstyle playing, a little too loose for pick playing, for that I use Labellas, classic pick+flats tone. I really tried to like chromes but they just dont have the tone and feel I prefer. I will have to try the sadowskys, keep hearing good things about them.

[fretlessguy]

I prefer GHS precisions in .45-.95 myself. For a less traditional flat sound I go with the TI Jazz Flats. The new Fender flats are not bad either, although I preferred the others.

[markorbit]

Gone through various flats over the last couple of years looking for the right set and I've finally settled on LaBella 760FS. The 'Jamerson Original 1954' gauge is just too inflexible to play effortlessly, I found them too one-dimensional. The 760FL are a little too light but the 760FS set nails it. Even acoustically my P bass is thick and warm with a nice square kick on the front of each note (subject to the right fingerstyle technique). I have a set on my Status Graphite necked no-expense spared parts P and a set on the Pino. They sound amazing with the graphite neck, not cold at all but very even, like a good studio P. I really wanted to like the TIs and eventually went through three sets but they thin out too much on the D & G strings and feel a little sharp to me. I don't get the physical vibe I want when I'm playing them. Roto 77s, 88s, Fenders and Chromes all went on at some point but the LaBellas 760FS speak to me the best. I like vintage 70s studio tone.