I would suggest the La Bella 760FS-M (45-65-85-105, Medium Scale, 34.25" winding length) for top-loading.
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I recently installed an old set of RS77LDs that I had laying around on my Ibanez AEB5E, in D standard. They sound so fantastic on that bass. It’s an acoustic-electric but I never plug it in; it’s perfect for practicing at home or the office. It has such a sweet, woody tone with these strings. It can have plenty of snap just by varying my right hand placement.
The search function says that 760FX - LaBella's 39-56-77-96 set of flats - has never been mentioned on this thread! I think I might be about to get a set to try at D Standard
The bass I'll be putting them on has a weak neck, it wants a total tension of about 120-125 lb, and currently has a featherweight set of Roto flats, 30-45-65-85. I like their tone and feel
If I wanted to continue with Roto flats, 35 or 40 for the top string and 50-75-95 from the Heavy set would work for D Standard
Looking at other published figures.... Chromes' 40-60-75-95 set would be only just north of 125 lbs, but not are the right style of flats for this bass. GHS' 45-60-75-95 set has similar total tension, and a more suitable tone
The consensus seems to be that when comparing like-for-like gauges, Monel Flats have higher actual tension than Deep Talkin Flats, so I'm hoping that 39-56-77-96 of LaBella shouldn't be any heavier than 40-50-75-95 of Rotosound [158 lb at E standard / c. 125 lb at D standard]
I'll going to search for reports of the 760FX being lower tension than the Chromes 40-95 or GHS 45-95
The bass I'll be putting them on has a weak neck, it wants a total tension of about 120-125 lb, and currently has a featherweight set of Roto flats, 30-45-65-85. I like their tone and feel
If I wanted to continue with Roto flats, 35 or 40 for the top string and 50-75-95 from the Heavy set would work for D Standard
Looking at other published figures.... Chromes' 40-60-75-95 set would be only just north of 125 lbs, but not are the right style of flats for this bass. GHS' 45-60-75-95 set has similar total tension, and a more suitable tone
The consensus seems to be that when comparing like-for-like gauges, Monel Flats have higher actual tension than Deep Talkin Flats, so I'm hoping that 39-56-77-96 of LaBella shouldn't be any heavier than 40-50-75-95 of Rotosound [158 lb at E standard / c. 125 lb at D standard]
I'll going to search for reports of the 760FX being lower tension than the Chromes 40-95 or GHS 45-95
Finally got around to ordering these. They showed up today. Going to put them on tonight.
Fun times.
I use Dunlop flats on a top-loaded 32” scale bass, play and feel fine for me!
Sounds like something to try when my DTFs die.
I am very happy currently with the the DTFs I just put on, only gripe is the G/F string is a little bit hot.
Hopefully that mellows out over time like they usually do with flats. Had to adjust the pole pieces on my pups to accommodate the G/F string.
For those following at home Relentless J pups in series, 500k pot load, and LaBella DTFs is a killer combination. Throw a little drive and EQ and it is so fat, and meaty, with just enough clack.
Once I have the setup dialed in I’ll drop a short vid demo.
This has been a success. The strings still sound and feel good, I'm not making any allowances for them in either respect.
Has anyone tried the very similar 40-60-75-95 set of Chromes at D Standard?
No, but I have tried light gauge (45-65-80-100) Chromes and they were too loose for me. I figured this out when I was recording a song and the bass part was half a step sharp because I accidentally bent a string when I was playing. Therefore, there's no way that I would like the extra light Chromes in D Standard.
I play the medium gauge (50-70-85-105) Chromes and the tension is perfect for me in D Standard. It's similar to the heavy gauge (55-75-90-110) D'Addario NYXLs in D Standard. I also play standard gauge (45-65-85-105) Rotosound 77s and they're of similar tension to the two D'Addario sets.
Here are the tension numbers for the extra light Chromes in D Standard on a 34" scale bass. All figures come from the D'Addario String Tension Calculator.
F2: 30.0 lbs.
C2: 38.2 lbs.
G1: 32.0 lbs.
D1: 28.7 lbs.
Total: 129.0 lbs.
My left hand and wrist hated me when I tried a 5 string, but I sometimes needed notes below that E. I tried tuning to C standard, but with my preferred strings (Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats 45-65-85-105) things were too floppy, so I went with DGCF. I'd only run across a handful of people having one bass tuned to that, but I quickly switched on all but one bass that runs fatter strings for BEAD. It's rare I need anything below D except when practicing to a youtube version in the wrong key. Then I detune to C and live with the floppies for practice, or I grab my BEAD and cope as I would with a song that needed it live.
I actually tried ADGC on the fat stringed bass, but it was too floppy so I tuned it to BEAD. If I need to jump on an E standard bass it's no trouble since I used that for years. I adjust quickly enough between these tunings.
All my basses are (reverse) Thunderbirds (see my sig for deets) and the EBCF tension works out just fine.
If there's a downside, it's that if another musician looks at my left hand to check what I'm playing, they're probably going to be confused!
Also, one bass (Epi Vintage Pro) has the bridge a little off, and intonation in D has the D saddle smack up against the bridge's guard rail. All my other basses intonated to D quite happily.
I actually tried ADGC on the fat stringed bass, but it was too floppy so I tuned it to BEAD. If I need to jump on an E standard bass it's no trouble since I used that for years. I adjust quickly enough between these tunings.
All my basses are (reverse) Thunderbirds (see my sig for deets) and the EBCF tension works out just fine.
If there's a downside, it's that if another musician looks at my left hand to check what I'm playing, they're probably going to be confused!
Also, one bass (Epi Vintage Pro) has the bridge a little off, and intonation in D has the D saddle smack up against the bridge's guard rail. All my other basses intonated to D quite happily.
I installed a set of 50-110 DR DDT strings on my Peavey Fury IV on Sunday night (I removed D'Addario ProSteels 45-105). I played it for the first time last night and I can't get these off fast enough! Such a shame, I had such high hopes for them.
I'm going to head to GC on my lunch and pick up something else, very likely some Rotosound Swing Bass 45-105. DGCF, of course. I was really enjoying the ProSteels in this tuning; I shouldn't have bought the DDTs, but that's just a life lesson. I'm really excited to get some Rotosounds for it, I think they'll be great.
In other news, I have a set of D'Addario ProSteel 50-135 strings on order from FretNation. These will be going on my Schecter tuned ADGC. I'm craving some low end so I can play along with some of my favorites (Tremonti, Alter Bridge, etc).
I'm going to head to GC on my lunch and pick up something else, very likely some Rotosound Swing Bass 45-105. DGCF, of course. I was really enjoying the ProSteels in this tuning; I shouldn't have bought the DDTs, but that's just a life lesson. I'm really excited to get some Rotosounds for it, I think they'll be great.
In other news, I have a set of D'Addario ProSteel 50-135 strings on order from FretNation. These will be going on my Schecter tuned ADGC. I'm craving some low end so I can play along with some of my favorites (Tremonti, Alter Bridge, etc).
Interesting... I had the DDT 45-105 on one of my J's for DGCF for five months. They sounded not too bad, but I've always had a love-hate relationship with stainless steel rounds, ie "love the tone, hate the feel". Now that GHS Pressurewound 44-106 are back on that bass (in DGCF), I couldn't be happier.
Just curious... What was it about the DDT that you didn't get along with?
I'm a big SS rounds guy; they're probably my favorite type of round. Specifically, I think I went too heavy on the gauge, 50-110. I have no issues with the plucking hand feel, but something just feels "off" for my fretting hand. They feel ungainly, clumsy. Not sure how else to describe it. I noticed it immediately and decided then and there that they had to come off. It's a shame, but I'll be okay.
I was wondering about those gauges. DDTs are designed with thicker-than-average hex core wires for down-tuning. When I tried the 45-105 set for DGCF, I found them plenty firm but not too stif. 50-110 might be better for the C-standard tuning, though.
That could be. I have already cut them off of my bass and installed Rotosound Swing Bass 66 45-105 in DGCF. I'm playing for midweek at church and I have rehearsal for Sunday tomorrow, so I'll get some playing time with them this week.
Funny you say that. A few years ago, I had a bass with DR DDTs (65-125 gauge) tuned to C Standard. The strings were OK, but nothing special tonally. They also felt like bridge cables, especially the 125 gauge C1. I ended up trading that bass for and the new owner took the DRs right off in favor of something with lighter tension (likely for standard tuning). This was about a year before I figured out that D Standard was the right tuning for me.
Update - I currently have heavy gauge (55-110) D'Addario NXYLs on my main Ric 4003. They're the best rounds I have ever played! The tension is great for D Standard and they sound like a combination of the regular XLs and Rotosound 66s that I used to play.
Nice. I had rehearsal/midweek at church tonight. I’m soo happy to be back on RS66s. I’m thinking these are my favorite roundwound strings. I see no need to go up in gauge.
Update - It's been 4 months since I put Rotosound 77s on my P Bass. I realized this week that my strings never mellowed out. They died instead. The highs and lows are gone and all that's left are hollow mids. I'm disappointed about this change in tone over 4 months. I didn't think flats would sound worse over time, but the 77s somehow do.
I'm thinking about replacing them with either D'Addario Chromes or NYXLs (depending on if I want flats or rounds). I have those strings on my other two basses and they are some of the best I have ever played.
