I'm looking to experiment with flats on my G&L Kiloton, but the flats I have looked at are all in the $30 to $50 range. Are there any cheaper flats in the $20 range that sound good?
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Affordable Flats?
- Thread starter Hutch801
- Start date
Have you ever played flats before? Are you after a particular feel and/or tone? There are almost as many variations of flats as there are rounds.
I have never tried them before, but I guess a more mellow tone is what I'm looking for.
One thing with flats, once you find the right string for you, you never have to change them if you don't want to.
If I were you, I'd spend $35 to try either Fender 9050 flats (semi-modern) or GHS Precision Flats (old-school).
Do they really last that long? My experience is limited to rounds and they certainly go dead. I have heard they last longer, but do they not go dead as well?
I was actually looking at GHS but I was hoping to go a bit cheaper. But if flats last longer probably worth the extra bucks.
Fender Flats 9050's are your best bet, inexpensive, last a long time, great strings. Amazon $29.00
Just Strings has them for $25.61
I use both ghs precision flats and
Fender 9050m both great (IMO)
Prefer Fender Flats...Good luck!
Just Strings has them for $25.61
I use both ghs precision flats and
Fender 9050m both great (IMO)
Prefer Fender Flats...Good luck!
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Those are great prices on the Fender. Strings By Mail has them listed for $34.99 now.
Have fun trying out flats. I made the switch years ago and never looked back.
Check the classifieds here if you're looking for a deal. Sometimes people will sell slightly used or almost new flats at a discount since they tried them and went with something else. For example, here's a set of Labellas recently sold on Talkbass for a great price.
Check the classifieds here if you're looking for a deal. Sometimes people will sell slightly used or almost new flats at a discount since they tried them and went with something else. For example, here's a set of Labellas recently sold on Talkbass for a great price.
Ernie ball cobalt flats, I’ve been really enjoying them. Tried a few other sets of flats, Chromes, GHS, Labella, none of them were as pleasing as the cobalts, have them on my Sabre and my P bass. Nice medium tension, great feel and they’ve been great sounding and showing no signs of slowing down
Flatwounds are kind of going through an issue, some have always been expensive like La Bella and Thomastik flats, but the ones that use to be pretty cheap were Chromes, Fender Flats and Ernie's. They use to might I add, but I bought my fender flats and they weren't in the 40+, I think I bought them 3 months ago for 35 bucks? Honestly it's worth it because for most people flats only sound better with time. Chromes are brighter than most I personally prefer that, Fender Flats are awesome but take some time to break in. GL YMMV!
I’ve found flats typically cost a little more. But they can last a long time. Many of us get years on a set of TI but the first cost is a lot. I’d never recommend them for a first set of flats for that reason. Good luck.
I’ve had GHS Precisions last for a decade. The G finally gave out about the fifth time I removed them to shim a neck or try them on a new bass. Been using them since the 80s. GHS (I’ve read) are the initials of the three guys who took over after Squier stopped making Fenders strings. Squier made the strings on Fender basses until the late 60s I believe. Somebody with a better memory will hopefully correct me if I’m wrong on the dates
I've been playing expensive Thomastik Infeld JF344's for the past 10-12 years. But recently I've been really liking these Ernie Ball Cobalt flats. Both the light and regular gauge. They are less than $30 as well.
**ERNIE BALL FLATWOUND COBALT SUPER SLINKY 45-100 ELECTRIC BASS STRINGS 2814** 749699128144 | eBay
**ERNIE BALL FLATWOUND COBALT SUPER SLINKY 45-100 ELECTRIC BASS STRINGS 2814** 749699128144 | eBay
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I've played quite a few flats (Labella low tension, rotosounds, Ernie ball, fender, and chromes). The chromes in my opinion are the best. They have a brighter almost round wound tone to them and stay pretty bright after they are broken in. I've been using the same set on my #1 p bass for about a year now and absolutely love them. They are pricey now, but if I can go over a year without changing them it's more than worth it.
Hey Hutch, I probably have a set of Chomes I could send you for free if you want to try them out. Maybe just send me $5 for postage. If interested, PM me.
