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Bandmates complain about flatwound sound

#61
My band complains when I don't use flats. The last time I tried (totally straight ahead Boomers on a J), the drummer asked me what that horrible run ringing sound was.

They've seldom been complimentary about my sound with Chromes, although they sound good me and they don't draw complaints. GHS and Dunlops get the thumbs up.
 
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#62
Lol…usually bass players love to brag that the others in the band don’t have a right to an opinion, and here’s a lot of them telling you that you should go back to rounds. I went back to rounds for that reason and I believed those in that band that they were right.

BTW, they darn sure do have a right to an opinion unless you just plain don’t want to be in that band.
 
#63
Mmmm…. Flats’r bad, mmkay?

upload_2021-10-14_22-20-33.jpeg
 
#64
Controversial opinion, but hear me out before you shoot me: I've had good experience with boosting the highs on my active bass with flats. I'm using TI jazz flats on an Ibanez SR and boosting the highs will give me a lot more definition without any of the squealing highs. The only problem: any noise will also be amplified. You may get around this by using an EQ pedal and targeting frequencies, but the point still is: maybe a boost up top is just what some of us need.
 
#65
Might really be an EQ thing. When I switched to flats, I realized that I can leave the high end alone and neither cut nor boost it. With (fresh) rounds, I always cut the treble and boosted the bass.

If I had my setup dialed in for rounds and plugged in with flats, I imagine it will sound as you describe. A massive ball of bass with blurry edges and no definition at all.
I use a comp as peak limiter for the clanking noise when hitting a fret and if I dig in too hard, play otherwise with a soft touch and turn up the master instead of the bass knob.
 
#67
I play dead chromes on a P bass with a light touch over the PU and I've always suffered the opposite....."man can u reign it in a bit". Play flats correctly with the correct eq and its thunder.
 
#71
I have all kinds of different strings on various basses. (love them all, especially tapewounds).
I normally play fingerstyle on rw and tapes, but When it’s flatwounds, always with a pick,
to overcome the relative dull sound.
I use “soft” flatwound sets, like the Optima RB and Labella Low Tension Flexible flats,
which can be “tubby” sounding.
 
#72
Root 5 said:
Steve Harris: ‘Hold my beer’
Click to expand...

It's worth bearing in mind that Steve changes his strings very frequently. I think he uses a fresh set for every show. Your average player won't be able to do that, so the strings will break in and lose some of their brightness. For what it's worth, I enjoy that sound and with the right EQ I think it's bad as hell in a rock band.

Must be nice to be sponsored by Rotosound!
 
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#73
Nashrakh said:
Controversial opinion, but hear me out before you shoot me: I've had good experience with boosting the highs on my active bass with flats. I'm using TI jazz flats on an Ibanez SR and boosting the highs will give me a lot more definition without any of the squealing highs. The only problem: any noise will also be amplified. You may get around this by using an EQ pedal and targeting frequencies, but the point still is: maybe a boost up top is just what some of us need.
Click to expand...
+1 to this, I actually found that flats sound great with a bright eq, when I used them I used to boost treble and upper mids, gives a bright tone that is very different to rounds
 

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