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Bye Bye, Bella!

RudyTardy

RudyTardy

Aug 20, 2002
621
1,378
Los Angeles
www.beigerecords.com
#1
Over the course of a year, I have now had 3 sets of La Bella flats with bad strings. One set of 760FL had a sitar D string, the next set of 760FL had a completely dead E (not like a normal "dead and then even out scenario... like barely making a note dead). And now, I just put on a set of Low Tension Flats on one of my P basses and the E string will not intonate (when adjusted to match 12th harmonic, the rest of the fingerboard is flat).

Not once have I have a bad string from DR, Dunlop, even Fender!

Bye Bye, La Bella. Your tone is admirable, your quality control is for the birds.

Ciao!
 
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#8
For the first time, I bought a set of La Bella LTF-5 (flexible) flats for my G&L JB-5 (plek'd, low action) to replace a set of GHS Precision flats.
It appears that the D-string is defective as the D saddle needs very high action to decrease buzzing, though without stopping it fully (happens from fret 5 to fret 15 onwards, and only with the D-string).
Intonation and note (pitch) keeping are OK
I then tested the same set on both my Sire P5/5 and my Squier VM P-bass V that otherwise play perfectly each with a GHS flats set. I also tried swapping the LTF D-string separately, together with the other 4 strings of the GHS set.
Same result! the D-string has to be much higher over the frets in order to stop buzzing.
Note that all these 3 basses have also been strung with Chromes or EXL at a moment without any problem.
I also have a L-2500 with Chromes and I can imagine I will get the same result.
Has anyone experienced this? What's wrong with that D-string?

IMG_4006 (2).JPG
 
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#9
I have broken two different Labella flats in the last week. One was the E string from a 760FS set, the other an A string from a 760FL set. Two different basses. In both instances I was setting the witness point at the bridge, which I have done hundreds of times before. This is not my first go-round changing strings and I didn’t push too hard. There are no burrs anywhere to be seen on the saddles. Super disappointed. Never had this happen before and it has put a bit of a bad taste in my mouth in all honestly.
 
#12
Glazenn said:
For the first time, I bought a set of La Bella LTF-5 (flexible) flats for my G&L JB-5 (plek'd, low action) to replace a set of GHS Precision flats.
It appears that the D-string is defective as the D saddle needs very high action to decrease buzzing, though without stopping it fully (happens from fret 5 to fret 15 onwards, and only with the D-string).
Intonation and note (pitch) keeping are OK
I then tested the same set on both my Sire P5/5 and my Squier VM P-bass V that otherwise play perfectly each with a GHS flats set. I also tried swapping the LTF D-string separately, together with the other 4 strings of the GHS set.
Same result! the D-string has to be much higher over the frets in order to stop buzzing.
Note that all these 3 basses have also been strung with Chromes or EXL at a moment without any problem.
I also have a L-2500 with Chromes and I can imagine I will get the same result.
Has anyone experienced this? What's wrong with that D-string?
Click to expand...

I contacted Strings-On-Line, and had the choice of either an immediate refund or a full set replacement. That's customer service at its best. I will buy another same set, but locally - fingers crossed.
 
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#14
Some of the problems described in this thread seem like setup/fret/nut issues to me.

Strings breaking with normal use is a different matter of course.

Personally I've never had any problems with LaBella flats except that I find them too dark/muddy for some basses. Also, for some reason the brightness out of the box can vary a lot, which I guess can be a sign of poor QC. The sets always seem to have a reasonably consistent tone across the strings but the brightness out of the box between two different brand new sets can vary a lot in my experience. It's not a big deal as they allways end up with the same broken-in tone: Fat, thumpy and a wonderful classic tone on SOME (but not all) basses.

I would never use LaBella flats on dark sounding basses like a T-bird. Even with passive P-basses (which is THE classic LaBella tone IMO) it can vary a lot depending on the bass/pickup. Darker sounding P-basses can get a bit muddy with LaBellas, especially the E-string. In my experience LaBella flats aren't at their best with P-bass pickups that are overwound or "aged"/voiced to sound the way a vintage P-bass pickup would sound today. Brighter sounding passive P-basses with "normal" P-bass pickups are usually pure magic with LaBellas though. Don't forget, Jamerson's pickup wasn't 50 years old when he recorded one of the most iconic LaBella/P-bass tracks ever. Some of the so-called "vintage" P-bass pickups that are manufactured today are too dark sounding and more like a parody of the 60s P-bass tone IMO.
 
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#15
I've got a set of 760FS on a 51' copy and lately, the E died on me. I'm leaving them on in case they even out eventually but I've got a set of fender flats ready to go. I like the tone but wouldn't buy again.
 
#16
Deleted member 271037 said:
I would never use LaBella flats on dark sounding basses like a T-bird. Even with passive P-basses (which is THE classic LaBella tone IMO) it can vary a lot depending on the bass/pickup. Darker sounding P-basses can get a bit muddy with LaBellas, especially the E-string. In my experience LaBella flats aren't at their best with P-bass pickups that are overwound or "aged"/voiced to sound the way a vintage P-bass pickup would sound today. Brighter sounding passive P-basses with "normal" P-bass pickups are usually pure magic with LaBellas though.
Click to expand...

Interesting...

I don't know much about pickups. So, just wondering... Would the CS60 pickup that came stock on my 2014 Am Std Precision be considered one of those "darker" and "aged" ones?

I ask because the La Bella flatwound 104E (760FL) sounded a bit too muddy on it for my taste.
 
#20
cymbop said:
Sorry to hear that, @RudyTardy . I only play two basses; the P-bass has worn the same set of 760FL for almost 17 years, and the Casady has my "fresh set" of 760FL's at only 12 years' use.
Click to expand...
Thx @cymbop. I started this thread two years ago so I am past it now haha. I really do love the tone of DTFs, but I have stuck to Dunlops for now. Maybe there was a bad batch back then and I got unlucky.
 

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