wHY CAN'T YOU PUT LABELLA FLAT'S ON A tHRU-BODY BRIDGE?

[miles'tone]

I'VE GOT A STRUNG THRU-BODY JAZZ BASS AND WANT TO TRY THESE FLATS OUT AFTER HEARING OF ALL THE HAPPY FOLKS OUT THERE WHO USE THEM.
THING IS LABELLA SAY THEY'RE NOT SUITED TO BEING STRUNG THIS WAY. BUT PLAYERS SAY THEY ARE BOMB-PROOF STRINGS. ANY IDEAS ANY ONE?

[coreyfyfe]

Just taking a shot in the dark here, but their product description for the Deep Talkin' rounds says that they use a thinner than usual core with more wrap, so if this also carries over to the Deep Talkin' flats then the break angle of a string through body bass could be too much stress for them which could either cause the wrap to break or the core itself to break.

[Parabolic Box]

Well, if don't believe the manufacturer about what a string CANNOT do (something very hard to admit), then, by all means, risk it.

[Rvl]

I tried Labella Black wrap in my Turner Ren and the E broke because of string angle

I ordered 2 sets of Status Black wrap and I think those will work ok
I have the Status on my Tacoma and they have much lighter tension and gauge is much lighter than Labella

Thanks

Robert VanLane

[invisaman75]

My guess is the strings may be too short.

[racket]

I have the Jamerson set on my Lakland P. It's strung thru the body... I haven't had any problems in 2 yrs. I dont slap, or play with a pick, which might put more pressure on the strings and cause problems.

R...

[bongomania]

There are loads of stories on here about LaBella flatwounds breaking when strung through body. And yes, there are a few cases like racket's where it works with no problem. But I'm going to guess I've seen three stories of breakage for every one or two stories of success. I've had them break that way myself. It has nothing to do with the length of the strings, and everything to do with the construction method. It also has nothing to do with other brands of flatwound, just the LaBellas.

[miles'tone]

Thanks for the input guys. I've just put a set of Rotosound flats on my jazz just to be safe! They feel and sound great so far. Quite high tension but you just play lighter and turn the amp up. Sweet.

[JTE]

Could be that there's a slight potential for string breakage due to the angle the string makes at the saddle (the break-over angle). And LaBella decided rather than deal with people returning strings as defective (or having to accept liability for injury caused when a string breaks) they put the warning on there. In the litigation-prone world we live in now, I wouldn't be surprised by that being the real reason.

jte