Yet Another Best Flat-Wounds Thread...

[jbassplayer]

Ok so I have been looking for a good set of flat-wounds for my 08 MIA Fender jazz. I have no specific price range, but the catch is that I need to be able to string them through the body without any problems...Any and all suggestions are welcome!

[Surprise Panda!]

TI's

Expensive, but worth it. I don't have a set, but played some once, really great.

[BZadlo]

Check out Labella 760FM. I've strung them through the body before.

[jimc]

I'm an old fart (53), been playing forever and one of the things that makes me feel really old is reading all the 'what is the best' threads on talkbass because my experience has shown me that there is no right answer to this sort of question.

You might have heard this before but it's true, the best flats are the flats that are best for you. Tone and feel is so subjective that asking what string or what bass is best is like asking who is the best bass player (which of course gets asked here!).

The best thing to do is try them all, I know flats aren't cheap but they last forever and sometimes you see them offered up used here. Try as many as you can and then decide, for yourself, which is best, because only you will know.

It's taken me many years to figure out that only I know what works best to make me sound like me.

As a for instance, I tried T.I. Flats 2 or 3 times and never could get used to the lack of tension or the difference in feel to roundwounds. Fast forward a couple of years and they are pretty much all I use.

If I had answered your question back then I would have said that T.I.s weren't all that. Now I would recommend them 100% as the best flatwound string.

For me!

[jbassplayer]

Originally Posted by BZadlo

Check out Labella 760FM. I've strung them through the body before.

The tension wouldnt be to much on the neck, or is the tension problem with the labellas just the wierd angle at the bridge when stringing through the body? Sorry for the stupid question but im new to flats

[superfunk47]

Aside from the "what's best" part of the question, what flats will work well strung through the body? I'm in a similar predicament, and the TI's sound like they might be just the ticket.

[jbassplayer]

Originally Posted by jimc

I'm an old fart (53), been playing forever and one of the things that makes me feel really old is reading all the 'what is the best' threads on talkbass because my experience has shown me that there is no right answer to this sort of question.

You might have heard this before but it's true, the best flats are the flats that are best for you. Tone and feel is so subjective that asking what string or what bass is best is like asking who is the best bass player (which of course gets asked here!).

The best thing to do is try them all, I know flats aren't cheap but they last forever and sometimes you see them offered up used here. Try as many as you can and then decide, for yourself, which is best, because only you will know.

It's taken me many years to figure out that only I know what works best to make me sound like me.

As a for instance, I tried T.I. Flats 2 or 3 times and never could get used to the lack of tension or the difference in feel to roundwounds. Fast forward a couple of years and they are pretty much all I use.

If I had answered your question back then I would have said that T.I.s weren't all that. Now I would recommend them 100% as the best flatwound string.

For me!

Thanks for the recomendation! I have heard plenty of great things about these strings, but can they be strung through the body without any problems?

[jbassplayer]

Originally Posted by superfunk47

Aside from the "what's best" part of the question, what flats will work well strung through the body? I'm in a similar predicament, and the TI's sound like they might be just the ticket.

I wasnt intending to find " the best" flats on the market, I meant flats that work really well with being strung through the body.

[jimc]

I'm sorry, I should have read your original post more carefully. In which case I believe T.Is are available in extra long length and their flexibility should work well strung though the body.

I've never noticed a difference when I've strung though the body compared to regular stringing but that's probably for another thread!

[Mastermold]

I have Fender 9050ML flats strung through the body on a 51 P-bass reissue and they work just fine, very tight-high tension string with a lot of thump. So those would be fine.

TI strings are great strings and a safe bet because they're more flexible than typical flats. Can't go wrong with them IMO.

La Bella are also great flats, but they say not to use them for through-body setups, but some do anyway so the La Bella warning may just be cautious on their part.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by jbassplayer

Thanks for the recomendation! I have heard plenty of great things about these strings, but can they be strung through the body without any problems?

I've been using them for over 10 years strung through the body on a couple basses with no problems. They're the only strings I use since I tried my first set.

The so called lack of tension is a myth. They have enough tension when strung to pitch. They feel a little loose when first installed but stiffen up some as they get played in. They sound great and last forever. 8 years + on my oldest set when I changed them, not because I needed to-there was still plenty of sound left-but because someone sent me new set as a present.

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by jbassplayer

Thanks for the recomendation! I have heard plenty of great things about these strings, but can they be strung through the body without any problems?

Youshould be able to get all the info you need here on their site.



http://www.thomastik-infeld.com/guitars/index.html

[peakdesign]

Go for them. TI's seem different from just about any flatwound strings. They are more flexible and feel a little looser, more elastic, to the fingers of both hands. The sound develops over a longer and more complex envelope than with any flats I've tried. The way a steel roundwound note develops and changes over time in the high end, giving it character, the TI note develops in the bass and midrange, if that makes sense. I'm new to TIs, and don't care for the proverbial telephone cable feel and fast decay of most flats, but I do love the TIs, I only wish the G string was as elastic as the bottom 3, it seems a little stiffer, more Fenderish. They say they change character after the first two weeks, maybe the G will soften up. I tried them on a vintage Precision, because I was planning to cut them for a short scale, and so this was the opportunity to try them on the long scale, but now I don't think they're coming off! I kind of suspected this might happen. If you read up on them you realize you're dealing with a speciality. As someone here put it, especially if you play, I forget the word, i think he said "deliberately". But I never expected them to slap so well and sound so "live" on frets! I wouldn't mind if they retained some of the first two weeks' zing, either, but everything about these has been a surprise, so in a week I might well agree with everyone that they only get better as they mellow out.

[jbassplayer]

Does anyone know if these are able to be stung through the body without putting too much tension on the neck(if at all possible) or any other problems???

here they are...
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ngs?sku=100361

[Mastermold]

Originally Posted by jbassplayer

Does anyone know if these are able to be stung through the body without putting too much tension on the neck(if at all possible) or any other problems???

here they are...
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ngs?sku=100361

Yeah Chromes are pretty safe in that scale. I'm using their heavier guage (.050-.105) and the tension is okay.

[metalmariachi]

GhS Precision flats and Bright flats, D'Adderio XL chromes super long scale.


Those and the TI are the only ones I've tried.

There are probably some others as well.


Check Just strings They usually have the scale length in the description.

http://www.juststrings.com/electricbassguitar.html

MM

[Jeff Michael]

Man, I am currently up to my ass in flats--I've been trying to find a set for a string-through bass to no avail. I used TIs for a long time--which yes, fit on a string-through bass--and liked 'em fine, but now I have Jamersons on a couple of toploader basses and I've really gotten into the higher gauges and tensions. But none of the sets I've bought trying to replicate the Jamersons for stringing through are working out. The silk winding on the E always ends up a little bit past the nut. I've got a set of Rotosound heavy 77LEs with an E that's been trimmed to string-through Fender length, halfway installed, and immediately removed, a set of medium Chromes that didn't even get that far, an installed and removed set of Jamersons (didn't like converting the '54 P clone to a toploader), and I think two used sets of TI flats--one from the string-through fifty-faux and one from my '75 (toploader) P.

I finally ended up going with Fender 9050Ms--after all, they invented the damn string-through thing--though I think I'm gonna just ignore the warning, rustle up a set of La Bella 760FM-XLEs, and string 'em through.

JAM

p.s. shoot me a line if you're flats-curious and you want one of the workbench sets I mentioned above on the cheap.

[tapp01]

Originally Posted by jbassplayer

Does anyone know if these are able to be stung through the body without putting too much tension on the neck(if at all possible) or any other problems???

here they are...
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ngs?sku=100361

Chromes are my personal fave. Buy them here --

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/decchbagustr.html

[lonote]

Originally Posted by jbassplayer

Does anyone know if these are able to be stung through the body without putting too much tension on the neck(if at all possible) or any other problems???

here they are...
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ngs?sku=100361

Chromes are my string of choice for my J-Basses; I use Fender 9050's on my P-Basses. Don't worry about "too much" tension on the neck, that's why truss rods exist.

[jbassplayer]

Are these long enough(and safe) to string through the body of my Fender Jazz bass?

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ium?sku=103126