Are Flatwounds wasted on an Active Bass?

TI flats on a Jazz bass with EMG’s. They sound very expressive.

Deleted member 271037 said:

GHS Brite Flats aren't flatwounds. They're groundwounds. They don't sound like flats and they don't feel like flats. They more like stiffer, worn roundwounds (once they get past their initial sticky/clanky phase)...

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You're right about the Brite Flats being groundwound (= half-rounds). I would consider them to be "semi-flat" as their tonal character is more flatwound than roundwound; in fact, I would even put them in the same category as some of the brighter flats, such as Fender 9050s.

And yes, they can feel sticky/grabby compared to true flats, but once they're played in, most of the sticky feel does go away. And yes, they're stiffer than typical hex-core rounds of similar gauges, and that's why I like the light set 45-98, which feels very similar to the Fender 9050L (45-100) in terms of stiffness.

I have a relatively new set of BF on my Ibanez SR650E and like them enough to keep them on for awhile.

retslock said:

The feature that sets active basses apart is a preamp eq on board, just like an amp you’d play through has eq on board. The question could be extrapolated to amps as well since all we’re really talking about is the presence of powered equalisation. Are flats wasted on an amp? The questions seems ridiculous but there’s not much difference to the outcome wherever the eq comes from so the answer is no.
EDIT: Written before I read the previous comment #16.

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We were probably typing that exact same comment at the exact same time.

Everyone has a different like when it comes to strings. On all my fretted basses I use Boomer's. That's after years of trial. When I toured, it was always Boomer's put on by my tech. On my fretless it's flats. Depends on music choice and the tone you are looking for.

I don't think so at all! Did the typical Phil-Lesh-thing and had TIs and Pyramid flats on my Alembic. Wanted to echo what @retslock said - flats aren't wasted on an amp, ergo I tend to think the same. It's really about utility and would go as far as to say that it depends on what sound you're trying to get out of them! "Passive" basses kind of have their own sound, though can be replicated depending on the preamp that you have. The Alembic being a LPF Q Filter instead of a "tone knob", really brings out the desired thump I want to get out of the Alembic to get that "Phil" sound (depending on the year you're trying to replicate!), or to get a real upright sounding bass for jazz/latin gigs.

I have TI flats on my Bongo HSp, love them. Lots of interesting and usable tones. Not wasted at all.

Since tapewounds present grounding problems with many passive basses, I’ve dedicated one bass, a Peavey G-Bass, to those strings. It’s far from a one-trick pony, but it’s pretty damned fine on vintage R&B and country grooves. There’s an ass for every saddle, y’know.

I have a set EB Group III on my Charvel Pro mod PJ IV. Honestly, she sound a bit anemic and dry compare to EB Cobalt flat on same bass. Meanwhile, Group flat produce more fret click/noise than Cobalt flat. Fret noise getting worst once i turn up Onboard preamp's treble knob.

I have a set of Chromes on my Yamaha BB1200S and they sound amazing. I can dial in a bright roundwound-type sound with the pre-amp EQ, or keep it warm and mellow.

Rumfoord said:

IME, they're also not bright. I think they're much less bright than flatwounds, actually (contrary to the ghs packaging).

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Actually, yeah I totally agree with this. Once GHS Brite Flats are past their initial bright(ish) and sticky phase they are darker sounding (or perhaps a better description would be "more dead") than most flats. Maybe not quite as dark as a broken-in set of GHS flats though, so I guess their brightness scale kinda makes sense. But GHS flats are probably the darkest sounding flats you will even find, once they're broken in. GHS Brite Flats don't just go dark, they go "dead" as well, like old, worn roundwounds do.

I would never mistake GHS Brite Flats for actually being flats. They sound and feel like dead roundwounds. Very inarticulate, stiff, dead roundwounds. The tone is quite unique though. There's something about the mids... Great for that "dry" 70s bass tone (if you know what I mean). I find them... interesting. I don't enjoy playing them (too stiff/inarticulate) but they often sound far better in the context on a mix than they do on their own. Still, they seem to me almost universally disliked, and for a good reason IMO.

Absolutely not. My 20 yr old Chromes which are totally dead have a richness to them that I cannot explain... deep but with a biting mid range quality.. I for one would love to try them in an active bass... bet they would bark and honk like crazy. They sound amazing in my stock Squire P bass.

HowieD72 said:

They (EB Cobalt Flats) sound great on my active (Audere) Jazz. Maybe ditch the GHS Brite Flats & try a different brand of flats. I tried several rounds and flats but as soon as the EB Cobalts went on.............I found the strings for that bass I've got Kent Armstrong Lipstick single coils pups.

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Similar to my set-up: Nordstrand / Audere Pro Z / Cobalt flats. Sometimes you just hit on the right mix by accident.

Riis

Yahboy said:

I have a set EB Group III on my Charvel Pro mod PJ IV. Honestly, she sound a bit anemic and dry compare to EB Cobalt flat on same bass. Meanwhile, Group flat produce more fret click/noise than Cobalt flat. Fret noise getting worst once i turn up Onboard preamp's treble knob.

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But EB group flat 2810 just sound nice on my previous Sterling Ray5.

Zooberwerx said:

Similar to my set-up: Nordstrand / Audere Pro Z / Cobalt flats. Sometimes you just hit on the right mix by accident.

Riis

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Yes, i agree.
And my Audere is the Pro Z also. I've never tried the Nordstrand pickups.

I once combined Chromes with a 3 band EQ. The husky overtones of the flats got in the way of my trying to use the EQ to get a really focused tone, so in my instance this was a mistake.

Neon Blues said:

I have long been a Flats user, and mostly on Passive basses. After a 12 month bass break, I returned and have come to love rounds for the first time really in 20 years.

I recently bought a bass with an 18v Preamp, Piezo, Jazz and Musicman pickups and strung with GHS Brite Flats (I think).

Whilst the bass itself played and sounded amazing. The changes in tone across the different pickups was very subtle and could barely tell the difference especially live.

I'm not saying they don't sound good but more a comment on the range of tonal options across the pickup settings.

I put on a new set of GHS Bass Boomers and the tonal range was stunning.

I guess I just wondered if others had a similar experience with flats on Active Preamps and particularly different Pickup combinations.

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Well, lessee...
First? I'd say that there's some debate about GHS's "Brite Flats" actually being flat wounds - and not just their brand of "ground wounds", under a different name. But, that's a debate for another time...
I currently have 3 active basses with flat wound strings on them; 4, if you consider a G&L ASAT Bass an active bass. Which, since it plays and sounds just fine with the battery out, and the pre-amp DOA - I really don't... Anyhow;
- '95 Alembic Epic. It wears TI Jazz Flats, and TBH? I can't imagine it ever wearing anything else. Any tone I want out of that bass (and it has... a lot of them), is, simply, to die for... Can't really sound like an old P-Bass with La Bella 1954 Original ("Jamerson") Flats, but... really; what other bass can? Still, with 27 other basses? I got that tone covered, elsewhere...
- '20 EBMM 4HH Stingray Special. Galli JF 4505 Jazz Flats on this one. Pretty much low-mids and mids-focused flats, with a good low end - and decent highs, too. It's pretty obvious which position the 5-position p/u selector switch is in, with those flats...And, although some of them aren't useful - to me? They are very obviously there....
- '24 Schecter Stiletto Studio 4-FL fretless. It came with Ernie Ball Group IV Flats. Still not quite broken in, but close enough to say... the bass sounds really good with them; and, plays better than it sounds. I'd be... well, maybe a little happier... if they had more bottom end. Like the Galli's do... But, I'm still getting used to playing a fretless, and still getting used to the EMG pre-amp and pickups. Still... so far? It seems to have a pretty wide range of tone options. How many of them will be useful to me? Guess we'll find out..
- '17 G&L Tom Hamilton Signature ASAT Bass. These have slightly different pickups than the normal ASAT's (less output), so...? Mine currently wears Fender 9050L Flats. It wore an old set of D'Addario Chromes for the first few years I owned it. With the bass in "Active" mode? It did a pretty decent job of taming the obnoxious (to me) high end those strings have. But, I doubt anyone's going to accuse an ASAT bass of having a large tonal palette - regardless of what strings it's wearing. With the Fender 9050L's? It gives me the tone I want to hear from it; so, I'm happy...
As for the GHS Boomers? Yeah; really, really good strings. Had them on 3 of my basses (all passive), and if my nerve-damaged, often-frostbitten fingers could stand to play rounds for more than a couple of minutes? Gawd only knows, how many of my basses would be wearing them now...

GIBrat51 said:

I'd say that there's some debate about GHS's "Brite Flats" actually being flat wounds - and not just their brand of "ground wounds", under a different name. But, that's a debate for another time...

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First time I read about this. Jon Moody, former (-summer 2023) Head of Product Development at GHS Strings, has gone on record saying their "Brite Flats are roundwounds", verbatim:
https://www.talkbass.com/posts/13840914/
https://www.talkbass.com/posts/14838071/
https://www.talkbass.com/posts/15075498/
https://www.talkbass.com/posts/16069150/
https://www.talkbass.com/posts/16217902/
https://www.talkbass.com/posts/17271076/

Ernie Ball Group IV Flats. Still not quite broken in, but close enough to say... the bass sounds really good with them; and, plays better than it sounds. I'd be... well, maybe a little happier... if they had more bottom end. Like the Galli's do

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Thanks, I've been wondering about differences between these two.

Flats & passive are like chocolate & peanut butter: beautiful together, but you're free to enjoy either in some other context.
My fretless bass has active pickups & EQ & has had the same TI flats for over 20 years.

^Ha! yep, that makes sense why the difference across pickup selections wasn't what you were expecting!