Do flats ever go dead

[Stan_da_man]

Here is a question - can a flat ever be dead out the box? Has in dead dead.

 

[GIBrat51]

I switched to flats eb'd that is from eb rounds. Do flats ever go dead like rounds they sound kinda dull

Couple of things, here...
First; Yes, of course flat wound strings go "dead". All metal strings eventually "die".
Second; what you - and most people - really mean when they refer to strings as "dead", is moribund; "a person or thing, approaching or near death." In other words, they ain't quite dead yet; but they will be soon. So, what happens to strings - specifically, bass strings?
- Rounds. Rounds start out bright, then begin to get less bright; either very quickly or not quite so quickly. Eventually, they get dull and thumpy; and sound "just like flats"...
- Flats. "Bright" flats - like D'Addario Chromes - go through the same process that rounds do. They just do it much more slowly than rounds... The middy, "Modern" flats, like TIJFs or Fender 9050s, do the same thing. But, they seem to last longer, because they have fewer highs to lose in the first place - and more mids and lows. Old School flats, like La Bella DTFs or GHS Precision Flats, seem to last the longest. But, they start out with very little high end to begin with; some don't have much of a mid range, either. They're mostly all fundamental low end - and they stay that way...

But, like I said; yes, flats - and rounds; any kind of bass string - will eventually really, truly "die". How can you tell? If your strings get to the point where they go out of tune much too quickly for you; or, worse yet, won't intonate (or stay intonated long enough for any reasonable length of time)? At that point, your strings aren't moribund. They are really, truly, dead. And, you really, truly, need new strings...

Have I ever had flats go really, truly dead? One set, yes; and one set; a soft 'maybe'... I had a set of medium scale La Bella 760FLs that had been on an old MIJ Epiphone bass for at least 14 years. They didn't like to stay in tune, and eventually the D and G strings didn't want to intonate, either. Uh oh; time to go... The "maybe" flats? My '73 Rick 4001 came to me with a set really old, grungy flats. I got them 'sort of" in tune just for a function check. I took them off soon after, and replaced them during the bass's cleaning and set up. So, I don't know if they were dead - or would soon would be. I've regretted throwing those flats away for years; they might have been the original Maximas that the bass left the factory with. Sadly, we'll never know...

 

[aus_bass]

If they go dead, I am yet to experience it.

My oldest flats are a set of 10 year old GHS P flats. They stay in tune and intonate just fine. Sound fantastic.
I had a set of 13 year old Chromes, which I foolishly left on a bass I sold. They too, were fine and sounded awesome.

 

[Smith357]

They don't go dead, they come dead.

 

[Pilgrim]

I thought it was a great thing!!! Lol. The were like ca ckunk! They wouldn't even make notes! Ha. You should strings from the 70s!! They were like cables! I couldn't tell which was the E or A!!

I still have the flats on my 1967 P that were installed about 1972. They play just fine and I wouldn't trade them for anything. Yes, they have lost the high end, but in fact I usually roll the treble off a bit when playing them.

That reminds me, I have a spare set of tuners that I bought so I could string up some flats on a 2x4 and age them in case one of my basses with 10+ year old strings has a string break.....

 

[johnpaulbass]

In my opinion they don't die yet I've found some problems with intonation in old, worn and abused strings.

 

[Bodeeni]

I have been using Chromes for years. Eventually they go to another layer of "broken in", I call dead. This can be a few years, or more, in, where the string do longer has any definition. They get very dull and even loose any clank. I change them then. Really depends on how much the bass is getting used. I have several basses, with flats, in rotation right now that are not getting there. But when I only had one it did more frequently. That might still be a workable tone but it is too dark for me.