Can I still play aggressively on flats?

[tb-player]

I also thought on putting rounds on a jazz bass, or flats on my (or another bc I’ve been looking into other basses) P-bass.

I think you’re exactly right. Put rounds on your jazz and flats on your precision. Bring both to practice/soundcheck and see what you think. For a 2nd opinion, don’t ask the guitarist or the drummer… ask the soundperson which they prefer. If they’re excited about what you’re doing, you’ll stand a better chance of being present in the mix.

 

[DrBnz]

Its kinda like running in water.

 

[mrcbass]

Playing aggressive and sounding aggressive are two different things. You can play aggressively on rubber bands if you want. Aggressive sound?

Yes you can get some aggressive sound out of flats, but you won't get extreme aggression out of them. For example, the aggressive sound you get from slapping on rounds, can't be duplicated on flats - at least I certainly can't.

Rounds will naturally add some attitude to your sound - and will make a lot of noises that you may not want. But you can get flats to have attitude as well with technique and pedals. I'm a flats guy as a rule - I hate the clankiness of rounds. I also find that flats will cut through the distorted guitars a little better as the tone doesn't get lost in theirs. But when I need to run a slap line or want to make "other noises", I use rounds.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I’m joining a praise + worship
And want to find my own sound on bass because so far I’ve only done what I saw and what my father says I should do, I want a warm full sound but my dad says if I use flats for this I won’t be able to play aggressively which I will have to do quite often, what’s the best way for this? I considered getting a PJ and blending the the 2 pickups to get a warm sound and having rounds to have some pop and keep the aggressive ability, I also thought on putting rounds on a jazz bass, or flats on my (or another bc I’ve been looking into other basses) P-bass. And by the way I don’t have lots of money to throw around

Frankly, once the sound guy gets done with what you send him, in the sanctuary there might not be much of a difference.

But to your question, my advice is for $30-$40 get yourself a set of flats. Probably the church will reimburse you. If they work for you, fine. If not, you now know.

BTW, after 23 years in a praise and worship band in a church with a weekly attendance of around 1,500, nobody ever asked me about using round wounds strings. In fact out sound engineer preferred them in the house, and he was a bassist really fond of playing the deadest flats he could find used with the fender tail piece with the foam still in tack. However, he said round are much easier to mix due to conditions of the room.

All the recordings I did (like hundreds), the was no problem getting a warm full sound out of a PB, JB, or a PBj using DR-LowRiders.

 

[pbass2]

Try some Chromes out for starters. They're IME the brightest, most "roundwound-ish" flats. Really good all-around and versatile string actually. You get the flatwound benefits (less string noise from your fretting hand and a somewhat more focused fundamental), but you can still slap or clank away with a pick just fine. Can sound plenty "aggressive", "grindy", whatever you want to call it. Good solution if you only have one bass. I personally find them too bright for flats - they don't get thumpy enough for my taste - but I use several different basses with flats and rounds so I want the full spectrum from thud to clang.

 

[gstaats]

I run ti jazz flats at church and in the indie/rock band I'm in. They can sound warm and full or funky and punchy. Technique really drives the tone. Don't get me wrong, ti jazz flats will never sound like a set of stainless rounds.

 

[Mark Karwan]

I would also suggest trying D'addario Chromes. Not too expensive and a very good string. I would say they certainly can sound "powerful" if not "aggressive." Pick the gauge that's closest to your current strings, or if your neck needs a little adjustment anyway go lighter or heavier accordingly.

 

[Altitude]

I know I do, but if you need further validation, ask Steve Harris.

I in fact visited this thread to see how long it took for someone to mention Steve Harris. 19 posts, is the answer.

I think, if I might put words into the OP's mouth, that the question might actually be whether flats can be used to deliver an aggressive, edgy tone like one might associate with roundwounds.

To me, this is the main issue with flats. They sound great when you're running them dark and mellow, but that's all they do really well. You can EQ them to pull out what brightness they have to offer, but the fundamental of the tone is still dark. This is what Steve Harris seems to be doing, and at risk of committing heresy I'll say that he would have had more success with what appears to be his tone goal if he'd been using rounds all this time.

Roundwounds can be made dark much more effectively than flats can be made bright. This is simply because you can only EQ a frequency that is present in the signal - you can dial back the brightness on roundwound strings but you can't add brightness to flatwounds where it's not there to begin with.

Caveat - Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats. These are magic strings that strictly speaking are flatwound, but they've done a few things in the design that help them deliver a much brighter tone.

 

[Matt O]

Can I still play aggressively on flats?


I know I can, whether or not you can is up to you to find out. String it up with flats and see what happens at a rehearsal. I’d suggest Chromes for what you’re after.

Also, some in the thread are pointing to Steve Harris as an example of a flats player that is aggressive. It’s true, he is both of those things, but keep in mind Steve changes his strings pretty much daily. He’s after the tactile feel of flats but with the sound of brand new flats, which can be almost indistinguishable from the sound of rounds, so he’s maybe not the best example… unless you have an unlimited string endorsement of course.

 

[themickster]

I’m joining a praise + worship
And want to find my own sound on bass because so far I’ve only done what I saw and what my father says I should do, I want a warm full sound but my dad says if I use flats for this I won’t be able to play aggressively which I will have to do quite often, what’s the best way for this? I considered getting a PJ and blending the the 2 pickups to get a warm sound and having rounds to have some pop and keep the aggressive ability, I also thought on putting rounds on a jazz bass, or flats on my (or another bc I’ve been looking into other basses) P-bass. And by the way I don’t have lots of money to throw around

Play how you want on whatever strings you.

 

[Egg250]

Yes. I use GHS Precision flats on my basses. For me, it's all about comfort and I hate the way rounds sound when doing a slide. I've surprised a few seasoned guitarists who didn't think flats could sound bright for rock music. Steve Harris, from Iron Maiden, uses flats. Strings help but it is really how you dial in the eq. If you want a warm sound, scoop the mids. If you want an aggressive sound, keep the high mids flat or slightly boosted, also a slight boost to the highs will help.

 

[Jay2U]

YES! These are EB flats, tuned BEAD.

 

[micahwc]

Yes.

 

[micahwc]

Yes. I use GHS Precision flats on my basses. For me, it's all about comfort and I hate the way rounds sound when doing a slide. I've surprised a few seasoned guitarists who didn't think flats could sound bright for rock music. Steve Harris, from Iron Maiden, uses flats. Strings help but it is really how you dial in the eq. If you want a warm sound, scoop the mids. If you want an aggressive sound, keep the high mids flat or slightly boosted, also a slight boost to the highs will help.

He also changes his strings before every live performance.

 

[micahwc]

OP, if you’re playing in a worship band you Gould check out the praise and worship bassist group here.

 

[SpeakerBoxxx]

Both types of strings, flats & rounds, have their own distinct tonal characteristics. I play both and I find flats tend to have a more warm old school thuddy sound. A fresh set of rounds tend to have piano-like zing; a very modern and some may say aggressive tone. I have never in my experience, gotten my flats to sound anything like rounds, but I can get my rounds to sound more like flats with eq and technique.
I'm probably going against the popular belief here but I think your Dad is correct about losing something (aggressive tone) with the flats, just my opinion. I know Steve Harris has been brought up here a few times as an example of "aggressive" sounding flats, but he is an extremely experienced player and is going against the norm. His tone comes from his technique and experience as a player coupled with his string choice. Very few players can make flats sound like Steve.
You can choose to play flats or rounds, that is your choice, but the most common string of choice for an aggressive tone is a round wound and the flat wound is the common string for a thuddy old-school sound.

 

[DaveParker39]

Yup.

 

[klyph]

Once again, OP is MIA, without answering probably the most important question: “Do you slap?”. If not, Chromes are probably the answer. If you do, Chromes MIGHT be the answer.

 

[Sam Dingle]

...try it and find out? Steve Harris uses Flats

 

[Bassiclees]

100%... TI Flats will go from being picked aggressively to finesse fingertips and back and forth for... a long long time without compromising a thing. Moreso, TI flats get better over time and seem to welcome abuse. Maybe it's the Jack Daniels in my sweat, I dunno.