Labella low tension flats are a happy medium and my favorite by far
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
D'addario Chromes -> La Bella 760FM
- Thread starter JenderBazzFass
- Start date
I find that all flats need a few months to settle in and sound the way they will for many years.
I admit I'm a big Labellas fan; I generally play the light gauge 760FL set, which are lighter than the FM set.
As far as gain, if the output is low, just turn the amp up one notch. Pickup adjustment can compensate for some difference from string to string.
But if you like bright flats, after a few weeks you find that the Deep Talkin' Flats are not going to do it for you.
I admit I'm a big Labellas fan; I generally play the light gauge 760FL set, which are lighter than the FM set.
As far as gain, if the output is low, just turn the amp up one notch. Pickup adjustment can compensate for some difference from string to string.
But if you like bright flats, after a few weeks you find that the Deep Talkin' Flats are not going to do it for you.
As we all know, the bass picks the strings. Each brand of strings has different qualities and we can use those qualities to compliment the different qualities of the bass. Some basses are thumpy and could use a string like Chromes to add a little something extra or maybe a bass is a little bright sounding and can use a darker sounding string. It's all a matter of blending the ingredients together to get a desired result.
If you want a "brighter" flat try the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats
I really like Chromes and really like LaBella DTFs and really like TI flats and really like GHS Precision flats and really like Fender flats and really like Colbalt flats, etc..... But I've also disliked them all on the wrong bass. There is no "one string fits all" in my experience, each bass is its own piece of wood and resonates differently and even between the same kind of bass you can find one brand of strings sounds good on one but not another. If you like the Chromes stick with them. I've found they sound great on P-basses in particular so I'm not surprised you like them.I won't be playing live for about 2 months, so I decided to try the La Bella strings everyone talks about on my P-bass so they'd have time to settle in.
My experience with them has been a little uneven. First, I heard they start out bright and it takes a while for them to break in, but it seems to me like they started off quite a bit darker than the Chromes I was using, and with much less higher end right out of the gate. Will they get a lot darker as they settle in? How long does that typically take for you folks who play every day?
These strings also seem to have less output and less sustain than the Chromes. Is that everyone else's experience? I kind of want the greater sustain for the playing I do, to be honest.
Just wondering what others' experiences are like.
Honestly, so far I liked the Chromes better and if these won't settle in differently I'd like to switch back over and get those strings played in before my next time out.
thanks!
I started with Chromes, Fender Flats, and I learnt that those aren't really the true authentic "flats" (I disagree but just some general opinion from others I would say) I will say I love Chromes but they stayed too bright for me personally. I love the darkness of La Bella but not the price...lol I say though if you like the chromes stick with them, Chromes are my go to for flats that I want bright, though I mostly used tapes and rounds these days on a jazz.
It depends on the bass, as noted above. I've used TI flats on seven different basses, some with more success than others. On my Tony Franklin fretless P, I much prefer Chromes ECB84 (40-100) to TIs. Doesn't mean those are the best or my favorite for every bass.
The flats I've liked the least were the one set of La Bella 760FL that I tried. Liked them for two gigs, but after that they were all thud and not enough other character for me.
The flats I've liked the least were the one set of La Bella 760FL that I tried. Liked them for two gigs, but after that they were all thud and not enough other character for me.
760FMs are a completely different feel than 760M. 760FMs are far lower tension and have a smoother, more polished surface, unlike the stiff / roughish feel of the 760Ms. The 760FM A string doesn’t feel like an over tightened E like it does on the 760M set, which is probably my biggest beef with the Ms. The difference between .109 and .110 is actually pretty significant, .109 is just right, imo, .110 feels way fatter for some reason even if it is only +.001. The FMs are better balanced gauge wise, you can see that just looking at the numbers, but they feel like wayyy better balanced, imo.
Much of the same tonal characteristics of the Ms without feeling overly heavy. 760FM is my favorite La Bella set, 760M my second, and kind of a distant second. I currently have Ms on one P and FMs on 4 or 5 other Ps. 760FM = “Diet Jamersons”. You should give them a shot.
Last edited:
Whoever said LaBellas are brighter than Chromes was putting you on. That's nonsense. LaBellas are the old school high mass, high tension tone and plunk. The LaBellas sound and feel so much better; there's no comparison in my mind.
The LaBellas should sound stronger than the Chromes, so you aren't set up for them, aren't used to them, or you're hearing things. Chromes are more anemic, tinny, and congested sounding in comparison.
Sustain is often a misused term, so it's hard to know what exactly you're saying when you use it here. Simple sustain is how long the note rings, and it's largely a function of setup and technique.
However, there are different attack and decay characteristics to different strings, largely dependent on mass and tension. Classic high mass/high tension flats like LaBellas have very "front loaded" decay. There's a big burst of sound up front, which quickly drops off, and the decay is quiet (but there). That said, you can also control this to a large degree, with the way you play.
My instinct says that you're just not set up for the strings, and haven't adjusted your plucking technique to them yet. They should definitely not be quieter than Chromes.
The LaBellas should sound stronger than the Chromes, so you aren't set up for them, aren't used to them, or you're hearing things. Chromes are more anemic, tinny, and congested sounding in comparison.
Sustain is often a misused term, so it's hard to know what exactly you're saying when you use it here. Simple sustain is how long the note rings, and it's largely a function of setup and technique.
However, there are different attack and decay characteristics to different strings, largely dependent on mass and tension. Classic high mass/high tension flats like LaBellas have very "front loaded" decay. There's a big burst of sound up front, which quickly drops off, and the decay is quiet (but there). That said, you can also control this to a large degree, with the way you play.
My instinct says that you're just not set up for the strings, and haven't adjusted your plucking technique to them yet. They should definitely not be quieter than Chromes.
Chromes are MUCH brighter. That's their "thing".
Might want to detail what you want in a string (brighter than Chromes?). LaBella "floats my boat", but others here could buy a small country with the money from all the strings they have tried!
Might want to detail what you want in a string (brighter than Chromes?). LaBella "floats my boat", but others here could buy a small country with the money from all the strings they have tried!
The great thing about a really broken in set of La Bella 760x is the strong fundamental. They have a percussive quality that I don’t find in too many other strings. I tend to play with a string mute, so that amplifies the thumpy attack. One thing to maybe try before going back to chromes is if you have an amp with a master volume, try pushing it to overdrive a bit. Tube amp? even better. Or try a light amount of dirt from a pedal. IMO, La Bella’s really shine in the warm and slightly fuzzy sound, they can sometimes sound a bit sterile otherwise.I won't be playing live for about 2 months, so I decided to try the La Bella strings everyone talks about on my P-bass so they'd have time to settle in.
My experience with them has been a little uneven. First, I heard they start out bright and it takes a while for them to break in, but it seems to me like they started off quite a bit darker than the Chromes I was using, and with much less higher end right out of the gate. Will they get a lot darker as they settle in? How long does that typically take for you folks who play every day?
These strings also seem to have less output and less sustain than the Chromes. Is that everyone else's experience? I kind of want the greater sustain for the playing I do, to be honest.
Just wondering what others' experiences are like.
Honestly, so far I liked the Chromes better and if these won't settle in differently I'd like to switch back over and get those strings played in before my next time out.
thanks!
How stiff they are is fine to me--that's just personal preference.
The 760M's I have are also the most polished I've use/d, compared to GHS P, Roto 77, Fender 9050M, and 50-110 Dunlop, so I'm not sure what to make of that.
Considering trying 760FM's on a Jazz Bass that absolutely handles Fender 9050M's perfectly fine, I'd really like to know probably most of all how much lower the tension, expressed in pounds.
Last edited:
I’ve tried a few sets of Labellas and they just don’t work for what I’m trying to do. Too dark and undefined to my ear. Chromes are great if you want a more round wound sounding flat. TIs don’t do it for me in the feel department, and they can have a plastic characteristic to them, IMO. The flat I’ve been really enjoying lately are the GHS Precisions. They have a very nice balance between thump and note separation/articulation. Sustain seems fine to me, too.
Well... maybe yes; maybe no... I learned to play bass in 1968, on a friend's '68 Rick 4001. I'm pretty sure those factory installed, German Maxima Flats qualified as "true" flats. As did the Squier Flats that came stock on Fender Basses - on Jazz Basses, until 1978 or so; on P-Basses, until 1981. Again, those were "true" flats. What they were not, though, were bridge cable stiff; nor were they all about the bottom end. The Squiers and the Maximas could thump, if you wanted them to; but, they also had plenty of low-mids; mids; and even some decent top end. They weren't particularly heavy strings, either... The Maximas, in particular, I remember as being pretty low tension and flexible. Not to the extent TIJF's are, but... easy to play. Optima's 4440 RB's are near-clones of those old Maximas; and, GHS's 3025 Precision Flats are as close to the Squier Flats as you can get, nowadays. All but 2 of my 23 basses wear flats, but only a couple of them wear what you'd call "Old School" Thumpers. That has it's place, and it does work well for a lot of what I like to play. But, I find that most of what I play, sounds better when played on the strings that it was probably recorded on in the first place; or flats that lean more toward the middle of the flat wound tone spectrum. I do not have a bass strung with what are considered "bright flats", though. I did have one, for a while; a G&L ASAT Bass with a set of really old D'Addario Chromes on it, that were salvaged from a project bass. I was... fairly satisfied... with them - on that bass - for as long as they lasted, but... I'd never put Chromes on anything but an active bass; I couldn't dial out enough high end to suit me. When they finally died? A set of Fender 9050L's replaced them, and those flats work much mo' better, AFAIC...
Try the Labella 760FLs... they are way better than the FMs. I went from Chromes to 760FLs and never looked back. Ok, maybe a brief fling here or there 
I have Chromes, GHS, LaBella and Sadowsky flats
I want them all to be a bit different from each other.
If I really like Chromes and wanted to try LaBella then I should know I’m getting a different thing
I want them all to be a bit different from each other.
If I really like Chromes and wanted to try LaBella then I should know I’m getting a different thing
