Alice flatwound strings are they worth it?

[michael_t]

34" it's great for a hofner

No, you need 34" winding length (ball end to silk) for a Hofner. @Thesis is talking about 34" scale (= "long scale").

Strings for "long scale" would be too long on the Hofner, which needs "medium scale" strings with 34" winding length.

 

[_Serja0_]

Ente

No, you need 34" winding length (ball end to silk) for a Hofner. @Thesis is talking about 34" scale (= "long scale").

Strings for "long scale" would be too long on the Hofner, which needs "medium scale" strings with 34" winding length.[/QUOTE
Entendi

 

[joenoone]

I play fretless / flatwound and the best bang for the buck strings I've found are the Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwound. Not much more either (~$35 USD). Bright sound and long lasting.

 

[CapnSev]

They’re flats so they’re going to last you a long while if you like them. Id save up and get what you really want, and something you know will fit.

 

[Bobbadfinger]

(to the OP, so sorry using portuguese here)

Serjão, independentemente da qualidade, precisa ter coragem pra pagar mais de 300 reais numa corda Acme que vende por R$ 68 (mais R$32 de frete no Aliexpress), enquanto tem Thomastik Infeld (que custa mais de US$70 nos EUA fora envio) no ML por R$530...

67.01R$ 5% de desconto|Alice corda de baixo elétrico sem frete, conjunto completo de 4 peças, acessórios de peças de guitarra e baixo a628|Peças e acessórios p/ guitarra| - AliExpress

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(nem me ative ao tamanho de escala requerido, só à proporção dos valores)

 

[_Serja0_]

(to the OP, so sorry using portuguese here)

Serjão, independentemente da qualidade, precisa ter coragem pra pagar mais de 300 reais numa corda Acme que vende por R$ 68 (mais R$32 de frete no Aliexpress), enquanto tem Thomastik Infeld (que custa mais de US$70 nos EUA fora envio) no ML por R$530...

67.01R$ 5% de desconto|Alice corda de baixo elétrico sem frete, conjunto completo de 4 peças, acessórios de peças de guitarra e baixo a628|Peças e acessórios p/ guitarra| - AliExpress

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(nem me ative ao tamanho de escala requerido, só à proporção dos valores)

Valeu meu brother!

 

[smugas]

I bought A628 for the Precision Bass, but after putting it on I was scared when I saw my fingers getting very dirty. I don't know if it is some harmful material (box info says: material from different countries). The strings are incredibly smooth. On a photo ther is comparison of 'E' strings to ddarrio chromes. You can see some flaws in the wrapper. Sound was good, but I tested them very briefly.

 

[zubrycky]

As a brazilian, I confirm everything OP said. Flats are rare here and they're outrageously expensive (I could buy a bass with the cost of a set of strings).

That said, I bought an Alice flats equipped pb bass and I really liked it.

Here's how it sounds.

 

[zubrycky]

Excuse my ignorance but how is it possible for bass flatwound strings to be rare in the land of Vinicious de Moraes, Deodato, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes, Astrud & Joao Gilberto, Baden Powell and so many other giants of Bossa Nova?

Most of time, music shops in Brazil only import what they think will sell. There's no variety of anything here. For strings, rounds are what you'll find here.

Yes, these styles are no longer even part of the mainstream here in Brazil... They are valued for their work in the past, but they haven't been part of popular taste for a long time.

As a brazilian, I confirm that but I don't think they're valued. A most appropriate word is forgotten.

Interesting... Be that as it may, I had the impression, mainly due to information like in the links/videos below, that contemporary bass playing is quite big in Brazil.

BRAZIL - The new capital of the bass world?

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These videos have clickbait titles aimed for their huge brazilian bass playing audience.

The impact of these styles in current brazilian mainstream music is below zero.

 

[Phaidrus]

Most of time, music shops in Brazil only import what they think will sell. There's no variety of anything here. For strings, rounds are what you'll find here.



As a brazilian, I confirm that but I don't think they're valued. A most appropriate word is forgotten.



These videos have clickbait titles aimed for their huge brazilian bass playing audience.

The impact of these styles in current brazilian mainstream music is below zero.

Sorry to hear. The artists mentioned above are absolute legends and part of the world's cultural heritage.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Sorry to hear. The artists mentioned above are absolute legends and part of the world's cultural heritage.

Same tour and line-up as a show that was broadcast by the Italian-language Swiss TV in 1978 (and which a couple MPB-obsessed friends of mine know note for note).
On the violin bass (Eko brand, I think), the diminutive Arnaldo Alves de Lima a.k.a. "Azeitona" ("olive") who, if my googling is correct, had been one of the pioneers of bossa nova two decades earlier (on upright bass at the time).

 

[Yahboy]

I bought A628 for the Precision Bass, but after putting it on I was scared when I saw my fingers getting very dirty. I don't know if it is some harmful material (box info says: material from different countries). The strings are incredibly smooth. On a photo ther is comparison of 'E' strings to ddarrio chromes. You can see some flaws in the wrapper. Sound was good, but I tested them very briefly.

Those black powder will serve you some time until they completely gone.

Did you feel the D string stiffer and less string vibrate compare to A and G string ? The set i play sevral years a go have that weird feeling on my plucking hand.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

No, you need 34" winding length (ball end to silk) for a Hofner. @Thesis is talking about 34" scale (= "long scale").

Strings for "long scale" would be too long on the Hofner, which needs "medium scale" strings with 34" winding length.

With a real Höfner you will also need to make sure the tapered end of the strings are thin enough to fit into the holes in the guitar-style tuners. With many strings they aren't, even if the scale/winding lenght is correct.

But with Höfners there's really only one type of strings for me: Pyramid Gold!

 

[Phaidrus]

Same tour and line-up as a show that was broadcast by the Italian-language Swiss TV in 1978 (and which a couple MPB-obsessed friends of mine know note for note).
On the violin bass (Eko brand, I think), the diminutive Arnaldo Alves de Lima a.k.a. "Azeitona" ("olive") who, if my googling is correct, had been one of the pioneers of bossa nova two decades earlier (on upright bass at the time).

Vinicius de Moraes the legend. Diplomat, singer, poet, composer, playwright, graphic artist. Sings seminal bossa nova tunes sitting in front of a desk covered with leopard print tablecloth, drinking whiskey. As cool as the architectural concept of Brasilia and as international as it gets. And the entire ensemble is tight a*f.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Haha, this is super black powder maker after you play it.
I have a client who looking for supercheap flatwound bass string several years ago, and I found this on AliExpress.
String construction look fine when open box, but there are some diesel like smell rather than metal smell. Once setup done and tune in pitch, all my finger get black just play no longer than 10 minutes.
After a week, my client told me that black power still there but decrease in some amount.
Bass tone after a week sound like fresh set flatwound, even sound fresh, but the tone decay quite fast.
Need to mention that the E string sound much better than dull and lifeless GHS flat E string .

Already forget those string tension, balancing and plucking feel.

Hopehelp

This happened to me with the well established Pyramid Gold 45-105

 

[motoman]

I have a set of alice flatwounds first flatwounds i ever tried. they seem ok for the price