Dunlop DBFS 45/105 flatwound Strings - Uhm...

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

That's the thing about Dunlops...they're quite zingy out of the package, but they soon go dead and get as thuddy as any flats. If you'd like to rush the process, I recommend plain old Eucerin cream as the most effective way I've deadened strings quickly. Store brands OK. Does not work on TI, coated, or tapewound strings.

I'll see how many weeks will be required to make them less metallic sounding .. fact is that I didn't have a P-bass where to install them and I placed them on my J-bass, so I also have to find a suitable bass-amp tonal configuration; I guess this process would have been easier with a P-bass

 

[Phaidrus]

I'll see how many weeks will be required to make them less metallic sounding .. fact is that I didn't have a P-bass where to install them and I placed them on my J-bass, so I also have to find a suitable bass-amp tonal configuration; I guess this process would have been easier with a P-bass

I think it took a month or so of regular playing, perhaps a bit longer. They surely don't sound metallic now, quite the contrary in fact. Also, according to my experience, they are less aggressive than the Fenders, which maintain a certain upper mids growl. Schematically, one could say they're somewhere between the Fenders and the Pyramids, which is also where the DR are, but they're yet different. They're quite unique and versatile strings and for once what is stated on the package is true.

 

[GwenOnBass]

/agree
about the fresh zing. Mine really began to hit their stride around the two month mark of daily play. About a month in before I was comfortable opening the tone knob.

It's the Dunlop flats tonal palate that drew me. That they turned out to be fairly supple to fret is a bonus. They're "just right" in so many ways.

That said, I swapped Low Tension Flats back on the semi-hollowbody because there's a new bass incoming that fills the role. The LTFs and Dunlop flats appear comparable in pulling tension (medium scale), as I've made no changes to the truss rod.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

/agree
about the fresh zing. Mine really began to hit their stride around the two month mark of daily play. About a month in before I was comfortable opening the tone knob.

It's the Dunlop flats tonal palate that drew me. That they turned out to be fairly supple to fret is a bonus. They're "just right" in so many ways.

That said, I swapped Low Tension Flats back on the semi-hollowbody because there's a new bass incoming that fills the role. The LTFs and Dunlop flats appear comparable in pulling tension (medium scale), as I've made no changes to the truss rod.

Yes although I could adjust the bass neck better with the LTF .. I think the Dunlop's stiffness is slightly higher than that of the LTF

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

I've adjusted the truss rod of my J-bass again .. I've disconnected the neck and the relief is in line with Fender's recommendations, maybe a tad lower.
The strings' response to playing has improved although I've got some unwanted interferences with the frets on the high register nots on the G and D strings (think the neck is affected by a bit of sky-jump) ...
I've cleaned the neck's fretboard with the conditioner and I applied a bit of conditioner and hands-cream onto the strings which, in effect, started to sound less metallic ..
Situation seems to be improving; will continue applying cream into the strings in the coming days ..

 

[Phaidrus]

I've lauded the Dunlop flats in previous posts and I'm not taking back any of the praise but this is the tone I'm looking for (for my reggae Pbass) and admittedly I'm not getting it so far. Of course, I'm playing a Pbass and Don Chandler is playing a Jbass (strung with Elites Detroit flats). Depth, punch and focus.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

I've lauded the Dunlop flats in previous posts and I'm not taking back any of the praise but this is the tone I'm looking for (for my reggae Pbass) and admittedly I'm not getting it so far. Of course, I'm playing a Pbass and Don Chandler is playing a Jbass (strung with Elites Detroit flats). Depth, punch and focus.

Never heard of these strings .. my J with the Dunlop however sounds similar to this rolling a bit of the tone off ..

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I've lauded the Dunlop flats in previous posts and I'm not taking back any of the praise but this is the tone I'm looking for (for my reggae Pbass) and admittedly I'm not getting it so far. Of course, I'm playing a Pbass and Don Chandler is playing a Jbass (strung with Elites Detroit flats). Depth, punch and focus.

Zooming in, it looks like he has the treble rolled off and the bass boosted. Difficult to replicate the active J tone on a passive P just with similar strings.

 

[JimmyM]

Reggae bassists are known for turning the treble all the way down and turning the bass all the way up. Almost every single one of them I ever work with does that.

 

[Phaidrus]

Reggae bassists are known for turning the treble all the way down and turning the bass all the way up. Almost every single one of them I ever work with does that.

The problem is that when I do that the tone becomes rather boomy and honky without punch and substance.

 

[Phaidrus]

Zooming in, it looks like he has the treble rolled off and the bass boosted. Difficult to replicate the active J tone on a passive P just with similar strings.

I asked and he replied that the lows are bumped at about 60Hz. There's a smooth thickness to his tone that I can't quite get with my setup; it sounds like there's always a harsh residual (growl?) somewhere in the mids in my case. By the way, any idea which Jbass variant this is? You mentioned it is an active one. It has 21 frets and a wheel thing at the truss rod opening.

 

[Phaidrus]

Never heard of these strings .. my J with the Dunlop however sounds similar to this rolling a bit of the tone off ..

That's a dream tone

Btw, these are the strings
Elites Detroit Flats 4 String Set

 

[JimmyM]

The problem is that when I do that the tone becomes rather boomy and honky without punch and substance.

I agree. But that's what they do. Maybe not every single one, but it's prevalent to this day.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Final judgement on my side:

1. These strings are characterised by high-tension.
2. These strings tend to sound metallic.

They are similar to Fender flats but more expensive.
Today I'll receive another set of TI JF344 which have the right tension and flat sound for me and they will be permanently replaced.

My short top-ten so far is:

1. TI JF344 44-100 (round core).
2. LaBella LTF-4A 42-100 (round core).
3. D'Addario Chromes ECB81 45-100 (hex core).
4. Pyramid Gold 45-105 (hex core).
5. Fender 9050L 45-100 (hex core).
6. Dunlop DBFS 45-105 (hex core).

To my feeling, the above strings are characterised by an increasing stiffness proceeding from top to bottom.
Sorry for all DBFS supporters but this was intended as a public utility thread for people looking for advice in making the right choice of flatwound strings having certain features.
I've many times seen the Dunlop DBFS strings compared to the Tomastik JF 344 strings; there's nothing more wrong in my opinion, which is my opinion only although it comes from years of playing, musical judgement and money investment.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

You won't find a cheaper alternative to TI Jazz Flats IMO. Not an expensive one either. The TI flats may not be for everyone but they are unique. I've tried pretty much every flatwound set available today and nothing sound or feel even remotely like the TIs.

The TIs are a bit expensive but in my experience they last forever (provided that you take the necesseary precautions for installing round core strings!). When comparing the lifetime of TIs with certain "cheaper" brands the TIs aren't really that expensive after all IMO. And if you're in Europe the price gap between TIs and some US brands is also considerably smaller than in the US.

The only negative things I've got to say about TI flats is that I wish the A-string had SLIGHTLY heavier gauge and that it sounded less metallic out of the box. For some reason that A-string always takes considerably longer to mellow out than the rest of the set.

I also had a string go bad after loosening the tension all they way when tweaking the setup. It felt like the dreaded round core issue, with the windings loosening slighty from the core. The string made weird "ping" noises when bringing it back up to tension and had developed some weird, ugly overtones. I've never loosened the tension on TI flats all the way after that experience.

Apart from that I've used TIs on several basses for over a decade and never had to replace a set. In fact, they sound better than ever and they're one of my favourite strings. At least the long scale sets are. The short scale sets are almost unplayable to me due to the INSANE jump in tension between E and A. I really can't understand what they were thinking when they designed the short scale TI flats set???

Have you tried the Optima RB flats? If you're looking for flats with a loose, round core feel you might like them. They tone isn't remotely close to TIs though and the tension feels somewhat unbalanced across the strings. If I remember correctly the G felt rather stiff compared to a VERY bouncy D. I only used them briefly because they gave me buzzing issues on two separete basses with PERFECTLY levelled frets that worked great with other strings. The problem was that bouncy D-string. It vibrated with a HUGE amplitude that didn't work for my style of playing (I like to dig in a bit, close to the neck). I loved the tone though. I generally love the tone and feel of round core strings exactly because they tend to vibrate with a bigger amplitude than hex core strings. But with the Optima RBs is was just a bit too much for me. I never used them long enough for the strings to break in but as far as I can remember they were quite bright out of the box but also had a bit of "bounce" to them. A bit like the D+G strings on Pyramid Golds (out of the box) perhaps. Except that the Optimas RBs were far more balanced sounding out of the box. The Pyramids take a lot of time to mellow out before the tone is balanced across the strings. But like I said, I haven't used the RBs long enough to comment on their broken-in tone. I suspect I would have LOVED it but I couldn't live with the buzzing I got from the D-string.

The strange thing is that TIs are also very low tension but I've never had any buzzing issues with them, even on some rather problematic basses. I don't know how they do it. Maybe the silk inlays dampens them somehow? They really are exceptional if you can handle the low tension.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

You won't find a cheaper alternative to TI Jazz Flats IMO. Not an expensive one either. The TI flats may not be for everyone but they are unique. I've tried pretty much every flatwound set available today and nothing sound or feel even remotely like the TIs.

The TIs are a bit expensive but in my experience they last forever (provided that you take the necesseary precautions for installing round core strings!). When comparing the lifetime of TIs with certain "cheaper" brands the TIs aren't really that expensive after all IMO. And if you're in Europe the price gap between TIs and some US brands is also considerably smaller than in the US.

The only negative things I've got to say about TI flats is that I wish the A-string had SLIGHTLY heavier gauge and that it sounded less metallic out of the box. For some reason that A-string always takes considerably longer to mellow out than the rest of the set.

I also had a string go bad after loosening the tension all they way when tweaking the setup. It felt like the dreaded round core issue, with the windings loosening slighty from the core. The string made weird "ping" noises when bringing it back up to tension and had developed some weird, ugly overtones. I've never loosened the tension on TI flats all the way after that experience.

Apart from that I've used TIs on several basses for over a decade and never had to replace a set. In fact, they sound better than ever and they're one of my favourite strings. At least the long scale sets are. The short scale sets are almost unplayable to me due to the INSANE jump in tension between E and A. I really can't understand what they were thinking when they designed the short scale TI flats set???

Have you tried the Optima RB flats? If you're looking for flats with a loose, round core feel you might like them. They tone isn't remotely close to TIs though and the tension feels somewhat unbalanced across the strings. If I remember correctly the G felt rather stiff compared to a VERY bouncy D. I only used them briefly because they gave me buzzing issues on two separete basses with PERFECTLY levelled frets that worked great with other strings. The problem was that bouncy D-string. It vibrated with a HUGE amplitude that didn't work for my style of playing (I like to dig in a bit, close to the neck). I loved the tone though. I generally love the tone and feel of round core strings exactly because they tend to vibrate with a bigger amplitude than hex core strings. But with the Optima RBs is was just a bit too much for me. I never used them long enough for the strings to break in but as far as I can remember they were quite bright out of the box but also had a bit of "bounce" to them. A bit like the D+G strings on Pyramid Golds (out of the box) perhaps. Except that the Optimas RBs were far more balanced sounding out of the box. The Pyramids take a lot of time to mellow out before the tone is balanced across the strings. But like I said, I haven't used the RBs long enough to comment on their broken-in tone. I suspect I would have LOVED it but I couldn't live with the buzzing I got from the D-string.

The strange thing is that TIs are also very low tension but I've never had any buzzing issues with them, even on some rather problematic basses. I don't know how they do it. Maybe the silk inlays dampens them somehow? They really are exceptional if you can handle the low tension.

I agree with you .. TIs = low tension, no buzz, great vintage tone.
I like Pyramid Gold's tone as well but they are a bit too stiff for me.
I wanted to try the Optima RB but they are very expensive and I think I'll settle with TI JF344 from now on .. too much money spent in experimenting already

 

[Deleted member 271037]

I agree with you .. TIs = low tension, no buzz, great vintage tone.
I like Pyramid Gold's tone as well but they are a bit too stiff for me.
I wanted to try the Optima RB but they are very expensive and I think I'll settle with TI JF344 from now on .. too much money spent in experimenting already

Are you aware that Pyramid Golds can be purchased as single strings in practically any gauge you can dream of? Check out the selection at Saitenmarkt. You could easily put together a lower tension set that you MIGHT like better. But yeah, I've spent FAR too much money experimenting with strings myself so I know what you mean.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

(Btw, for some reason Saitenmarkt have the Pyramid singles listed with the Pyramid Gold sets, not under "Single strings for bass").

 

[iiipopes]

Give them time. They will get very dark, indeed over time. Too dark for me.

 

[Selim]

Shouldn't the comparison for similarity with TI flats be with the Dunlop 40-100 set?

I don't hear or feel a similarity between those 2 strings. The Thomastiks don't compare well with other strings for me because they are unique among flats.

I like the Dunlops because for me they are the closest to the now discontinued Sadowsky black label flats.