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Dunlop Flatwounds premiering at NAMM

#101
My set of Dunlop flats arrived yesterday, and later today I will be stringing up my 09 Precision with them to test them out. Wasn't going to at first, since I like my wuss 40-100 gauges and the smallest they come in is 45-105, but the talk about the light tension swayed me into trying them. Have to admit that setting up a bass for a different set of strings isn't my favorite activity in the world, but hopefully since I'm going from Dunlop rounds to Dunlop flats, the invasiveness of the setup will be minimal. We'll see...
 
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#102
Welp, the reviews turned out to be pretty right on, and so far I'm loving them! Even with the heavier gauges, the tension is very low for flats so they feel like a lighter gauge (not quite as loose as TI Jazz Flats but way looser than LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats or D'addario Chromes), and I'm not having to adjust the string height or neck vs. the Dunlop Super Bright Nickel rounds I've been using on it, which is a huge relief! (EDIT: might have to adjust the D string down a little, but we'll see tomorrow once the bass settles in) All I had to do was reset the intonation and I'm in business. They are also the smoothest feeling flats I've ever used, bar none, and unlike most other brands of flats I've tried, there's no initial stickiness.

Of course, a full review of flats is impossible when they're new since the true test is when they go dead, but initial impression of the tone is full and solid with increased midrange response, which should serve me well when they go dead, as the mids are always the first thing to go, and that's always bugged me with flats. Only had a half hour with them, but so far I'm quite impressed. If you're into flats, I think they're definitely worth a shot!
 
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#104
Jeff K said:
It's a 2011 Fender American Standard Jazz. The first pic shows the headstock/nut area. The A, D, & G strings are strung through-body while the E is top-loaded. In the 2nd pic, you can see that the silk on the E-string (top-loaded) sits on the witness point of the saddle. But if I string it through-body, the silk on the other end sits in the nut-slot.
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Just wanted to point out that this issue has been corrected. I'm stringing thru bridge with the set I got, and while the fat part of the E string does wind around the tuner a little bit, it's not by much, and the silk ends just as it comes off the tuner. If you string it thru-body, the silk easily clears the nut. The silk does hang over a little bit on the bridge end, but that doesn't bug me and I seriously doubt that it affects the tone, but if it bugs you, you can just wind the silk off a little bit or go thru-body.
 
#105
JimmyM said:
Just wanted to point out that this issue has been corrected. I'm stringing thru bridge with the set I got, and while the fat part of the E string does wind around the tuner a little bit, it's not by much, and the silk ends just as it comes off the tuner. If you string it thru-body, the silk easily clears the nut. The silk does hang over a little bit on the bridge end, but that doesn't bug me and I seriously doubt that it affects the tone, but if it bugs you, you can just wind the silk off a little bit or go thru-body.
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Good to know. But I'm thinking I just got an early-version anomaly. I contacted Dunlop to see if they might have an extra E-string laying around. They were very nice and sent me an entire new set free of charge. But I haven't tried them yet. Before I received them, I went ahead and trimmed (with a razor blade) some of the silk back that had been sitting on the bridge. I've done that before with various brands, but usually when the silk was sitting in the nut slot.

Anyway, kudos to the Dunlop folks for their excellent customer service. I normally keep my flats on for years, but will try the new set the next time I have to change strings. I'm an incorrigible "hot-button" buyer; and anytime I get a new/used bass I change to flats almost immediately. :D
 
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#106
Jeff K said:
Good to know. But I'm thinking I just got an early-version anomaly. I contacted Dunlop to see if they might have an extra E-string laying around. They were very nice and sent me an entire new set free of charge. But I haven't tried them yet. Before I received them, I went ahead and trimmed (with a razor blade) some of the silk back that had been sitting on the bridge. I've done that before with various brands, but usually when the silk was sitting in the nut slot.

Anyway, kudos to the Dunlop folks for their excellent customer service. I normally keep my flats on for years, but will try the new set the next time I have to change strings. I'm an incorrigible "hot-button" buyer; and anytime I get a new/used bass I change to flats almost immediately. :D
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Well next bass, you'll be set for strings! Dunlop is a real class act when it comes to CS. BTW, I ended up cutting the silk on the bridge end back a tad on the E and A, too. As I predicted, it didn't change the sound but it looks better. I am so loving these strings so far. When they're new, they so remind me of the sound of a moderately broken in set of Super Bright Nickels. I'm finally getting them to dull down slightly, but I'm trying to do it the hard way instead of putting any goop on them to force them to go dead. But I'm digging them so much that I may end up having to start bringing two basses to every gig again :D
 
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#107
Ha ha! Yeah, I like them too. One of my favorite flats has always been the GHS Precision Flats (even before they were considered cool!) ;) Mainly because they sound so good right out of the pack.

Many years ago, s friend who worked in a music store used to shake his head like I was crazy when I said I liked the GHS flats better than Chromes. Now all these years later, he uses them too. But alas, GHS apparently doesn't make the regular long scale anymore - only the super-longs. So the Dunlops might very well become my new go-tos...
 
#108
Ya, I have a set of GHS's here that I liked the sound of a lot, but I just couldn't abide by the stiffness. I don't mind stiffness if it's a thin gauge, but GHS's never came in a thin gauge. Of course, neither do Dunlops, but the looser tension is getting me over that hump.
 
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#109
JimmyM said:
Welp, the reviews turned out to be pretty right on, and so far I'm loving them! Even with the heavier gauges, the tension is very low for flats so they feel like a lighter gauge (not quite as loose as TI Jazz Flats but way looser than LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats or D'addario Chromes), and I'm not having to adjust the string height or neck vs. the Dunlop Super Bright Nickel rounds I've been using on it, which is a huge relief! (EDIT: might have to adjust the D string down a little, but we'll see tomorrow once the bass settles in) All I had to do was reset the intonation and I'm in business. They are also the smoothest feeling flats I've ever used, bar none, and unlike most other brands of flats I've tried, there's no initial stickiness.

Of course, a full review of flats is impossible when they're new since the true test is when they go dead, but initial impression of the tone is full and solid with increased midrange response, which should serve me well when they go dead, as the mids are always the first thing to go, and that's always bugged me with flats. Only had a half hour with them, but so far I'm quite impressed. If you're into flats, I think they're definitely worth a shot!
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Hey Jimmy, what's the gauge of the strings, i think it was mentioned here earlier, but to lazy to look.
Like you, i'm use to medium light gauges, 40-100.
 
#112
Got impatient and rubbed Eucerin moisturizer on my Dunlop flats to make them go dead, and they're not quite to total deadness but they're close enough to get an idea of the dead sound, so I took my 09 Precision to my gig along with my Hammersmith PJ4 strung with a broken-in-but-still-live set of Dunlop Super Bright Nickels. These basses both have EMG Geezer pickups and sound identical with the same strings. Used my PF-50T and my PF112hlf and went to the PA with the 50T's output transformer DI, and set it with knobs at noon because it's dead flat when nooned. And if I wasn't convinced of it before, I'm now convinced that the entire idea behind these flats was to make a set of Super Bright Nickels with a flatwound sound.

Everything seemed right in line with the sound of the SB's, except using a pick or digging in with your fingers gives you that "thwack" of picked flats instead of the "zing" of rounds (they're pretty zingy out of the box, though), and the low end response has a noticeable boost from what you get with the SB's, especially in that all-important 100-200 hz "feel the bass" range. The treble was a bit much so I turned the treble knob on the amp back to 10:00, which is where I usually have it when I use the Hammersmith. After that, they sounded perfect. Played most of the set with the Precision, but switched to the Hammersmith for the last 3 songs just to keep it fresh in my mind. Ended up having to boost the lows to 1:30, which is my usual setting, but that was the only change required to match the frequency response. If you're not familiar with SB Nickels, I think of them as the perfect marriage of my two previous favorite types of rounds...Roto steels and D'addario nickels. Bright top end with nickel warmth everywhere else in the spectrum and very versatile according to how they're played.

I haven't been able to do any recording tests comparing them with the flat sets I have laying around yet (DTF, Chromes, GHS, old school Fenders), but I may do that when I get some time. Going from memory, though, I'd probably put these strings somewhere on the tonal spectrum between Chromes and Deep Talkin' Flats. There are characteristics that remind me of both, but it's been a while since I strung a Fender with flats so I probably shouldn't try to do any memory comparisons. But I can tell you that of all the flats I've tried back when I was heavy into them, my favorites for tone were old school Fender flats. But they were very stiff, and Chromes came in a lighter gauge and sounded very close except for a tiny little extra gank in the 1k range, so they became my favorites. I don't know how the Dunlops compare to the old Fenders, but I definitely like them more than the Chromes. Maybe one day this week I'll dig out the old sets and...

Aw, who are we kidding here? I'm not going to do that! I got fanatical about comparisons like that for a while, but I think I'm over it, especially when it comes to changing strings, one of my least favorite activities. I'm just going to declare the Dunlops the winner. One of the toughest things about using rounds and flats on the same gig is matching the volume and frequency response so one bass doesn't sound crazy different from the other, and all I've got to do to accomplish that now is move the bass knob. I can't do that with the others. And that makes hours of string changing and recording and nitpicking the differences useless for me. Doesn't help any of you who are deciding if you should try them, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Just take my word for it...they have great tone, they get pretty thumpy when dead, they're smoother than any flats I've tried and not at all sticky, and the tension's lower than most flats but not all noodly. And the price is pretty good. If you're thinking about trying them, it is my semi-professional opinion that you darn well should!
 
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#113
I've been playing these flatwound for a while, and they're one of three sets I am currently running with Labella and Ernie Ball Group III being the other two.
One thing that I have not seen mentioned in all the conjectures about their tension and tone is their value.

I am frequently seeing these strings for $25 a set and in a world where TI are $75 and other brands frequently around $50, these represent an amazing amount of value.
At a third of tI's price, they're even a downright bargain!
 
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#114
Laurent said:
I've been playing these flatwound for a while, and they're one of three sets I am currently running with Labella and Ernie Ball Group III being the other two.
One thing that I have not seen mentioned in all the conjectures about their tension and tone is their value.

I am frequently seeing these strings for $25 a set and in a world where TI are $75 and other brands frequently around $50, these represent an amazing amount of value.
At a third of TI, they're even a downright bargain!
Click to expand...
It certainly does not hurt my feelings to pay reasonable prices.
 
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#117
JimmyM said:
Aw, who are we kidding here? I'm not going to do that! I got fanatical about comparisons like that for a while, but I think I'm over it, especially when it comes to changing strings, one of my least favorite activities. I'm just going to declare the Dunlops the winner. One of the toughest things about using rounds and flats on the same gig is matching the volume and frequency response so one bass doesn't sound crazy different from the other, and all I've got to do to accomplish that now is move the bass knob. I can't do that with the others. And that makes hours of string changing and recording and nitpicking the differences useless for me. Doesn't help any of you who are deciding if you should try them, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Just take my word for it...they have great tone, they get pretty thumpy when dead, they're smoother than any flats I've tried and not at all sticky, and the tension's lower than most flats but not all noodly. And the price is pretty good. If you're thinking about trying them, it is my semi-professional opinion that you darn well should!
Click to expand...

These sound exactly like the flats I'm after - how do they compare in tension and flexability to Chromes?
 
#119
I'm really into these strings as well. I've been an avid Fender 9050 user for a few years but the Dunlops seem to maintain some evenness and life in the top end that I really appreciate. I have a set on my 68 Jazz that I'm playing on the road night after night. They sound so great. Very different than Chromes - which I've really come to dislike. The top end of the Dunlops is sweeter and more musical. Big low end, medium tension, low 'thunk' factor with plenty of 'thump' - what's not to love?!
 
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#120
JimmyM said:
...I'm totally in love with their Super Bright Nickels...
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Dumb question from a flats player: What is the point of super bright nickels? Isn't that like Jumbo Shrimp and Government Intelligence? :D

I thought the point/goal of using nickel instead of steel was to get a more mellow tone? Must be more to it. Just curious.
 
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