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Best Flatwound Strings?
- Thread starter cv115505
- Start date
Im assuming Summer Madness by Kool and the Gang was recorded with flats? Looking for that exact tone for my 2012 Pbass. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks
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I've tried a few and the ones I like best are the LaBella Deep Talking flats. They bring out the P-bass thump really well with a fat low end and little top end. The other side of the spectrum for me was when I tried the Chromes. I know many like them, but I didn't like the feel or tone. Hey, this is why we have choices and lots of 'em!
Hi guys, i Need your help! I bought a fretless with Black coated Flatwounds with purple windings. They are very stiff an have a huge diameter. The G Sounds a Little dead Compared to the others (maybe worn out?) Which String ist this?
To fit the threads name: in my opinion These are the best strings.
To fit the threads name: in my opinion These are the best strings.
Yup. Classic strings, can sound very upright like and have a distinct tone when picked.
EdwardofHuncote
I Still Dream of Jeannie
- Aug 21, 2013
- 6,654
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- I privately own and operate a local musical instument repair shop.
They're not flats, but they look and feel a lot like flats - GHS pressure wounds. I put them on my deluxe p bass and they really rounded out the edgey mids in a good way, and they feel a lot like flats. I'm still breaking them in but the G and D string don't have as much girth as I expected. I think they'll get better when I play them more.
Edit: I loved the Rotosound 77 jazz flat wounds on my deluxe jazz V when I had it. Turned it into a new bass. Very smooth and round but still with nice sustain. The tension felt higher, but that was a positive on a bass with a weak floppy low B.
Edit: I loved the Rotosound 77 jazz flat wounds on my deluxe jazz V when I had it. Turned it into a new bass. Very smooth and round but still with nice sustain. The tension felt higher, but that was a positive on a bass with a weak floppy low B.
So far, I dislike 9050MLs the least, though they're too long for a Fender toploader (all Fender strings are) but less so than the old 9050 series.
Ernie Balls are useless. I bought some .105s (which are too thick for a through-loader) and the voiced lengths are about 5" too long in the E on a Fender toploader...making them totally wasted money, no good for anything.
Just got through putting on some short-scale Chromes that (astonishingly!) properly fit the bass, but are too high-tension and twangy. They're ~155# per set, but feel tighter. The whole point of a shortscale is to have lower tension at pitch to have more fundamental and less overtones, at which Chromes fail. The awful zingy sound may somewhat blow over in a few weeks, but it'll never go completely away.
I hate to think I'm going to have to drop nearly fifty bucks or more to get a set of flats I actually like.
Ernie Balls are useless. I bought some .105s (which are too thick for a through-loader) and the voiced lengths are about 5" too long in the E on a Fender toploader...making them totally wasted money, no good for anything.
Just got through putting on some short-scale Chromes that (astonishingly!) properly fit the bass, but are too high-tension and twangy. They're ~155# per set, but feel tighter. The whole point of a shortscale is to have lower tension at pitch to have more fundamental and less overtones, at which Chromes fail. The awful zingy sound may somewhat blow over in a few weeks, but it'll never go completely away.
I hate to think I'm going to have to drop nearly fifty bucks or more to get a set of flats I actually like.
If you've frequented recent flat wound threads you might have seen my response to complaints about price:
$50 = a little less than $0.03 a day over the five years you will get out of any set of flats. Compare that to the $250 running DR Sunbeams changing them twice a year will cost you over the same period. Even higher priced flats are a good deal.
+1
I've never understood the complaints about the cost of flats. Plus if you try some and don't like them, you can easily sell them here on TB.
I am in the middle of my search of the perfect flat. HA! So until I find the right one they are kind of expensive. I kept the chromes on for about 2 months. I kept thinking I was going to like them, but they never grew on me. Jamerson flats are next. Is there a big difference between the Jamersons and the LaBella 760 fl?
The Jamersons are great flats and don't 'wreak havoc' on your neck as much as some people worry. But I can only play them for a few months before the tension is just too much.
According to my hands, fingers and ears NOTHING is even close to T-I Jazz Flats. Yeah - they're expensive, but well worth it.
I like TI's but switched to Sadowsky's and never looked back. I also tried Fenders, just ok for me. The fenders were to bright. TI's sound great but they felt to soft. The Sadowsky's just fit and sounded perfect to me.
