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Dunlop SS Flats to TI Flats & Back

TheCouchBassist

TheCouchBassist

Come on you Spurs!
Aug 20, 2013
1,908
3,547
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Eden Prairie, MN
#1
So for the longest time I used (and loved) Dunlop Stainless Steel Flat-wounds.
I then got a custom D. Lakin 5734 with TI Flats.
I initially didn't like the TI's as they were so much different from what I was used to.
By that I mean lower tension, brighter sounding etc.
Over time I really grew to appreciate the TI's.
They are super easy on your fretting hand and fingers (if you play fingerstyle) and seemingly never go dark/dead.

However, that was the one thing I missed about the Dunlop's. Sure, they are brighter than I want when they are new, but once they mellow they are EXACTLY what I want a flat to sound like when I completely roll the tone off.

Anyway, I just put a new set of Dunlop's on and I don't believe I'll be going back to the TI's. Once again, its a bit of an apples to oranges thing, but I'm definitely a Dunlop SS flat-wound guy.
 
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#2
Which Dunlop flatwound gauge do you prefer?

I have never used TI's. But for sure, I love my Dunlop flatwound 5 string 40-120 set. They just feel right on my fingers and sound just as what I've expected from flatwound strings. Although, I kinda wished the low-B could be a little bit tighter/not as loose. I'm thinking of switching the low-B to the 125 gauge, but it means I have to buy the whole 45-125 set. I've never seen Dunlop strings are being offered as singles.
 
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#6
JimmyM said:
I am too and I don’t care. It works for me, and the only thing important is my opinion.
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My revelation came when I auditioned for the metal band DVNE and their tuning for bass was, iirc, Bb, Ab, Db, Gb - so basically a 5 string half step down, and no E string. I thought I'm not buying special strings for an audition, and I tuned my 45-105 Dunlop Marcus Millers down to that, and it sounded fantastic, even if felt floppy.
 
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#10
These are my two favorite sets of flats and I go back and forth all the time as to which is my favorite. They have enough similarities that make it easy to be interchangeable and just enough differences that make me want a second P Bass so I can have a set of each strung up.
 
#11
uwrossl said:
These are my two favorite sets of flats and I go back and forth all the time as to which is my favorite. They have enough similarities that make it easy to be interchangeable and just enough differences that make me want a second P Bass so I can have a set of each strung up.
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Interesting. I tried TI's 20 years ago, and the only thing I found they have in common is the flexibility. I hear other bassists use TI's and they sound like flats to me, but I gave them 4 months to go dead and they never did, even though I could usually kill a set of rounds over the course of 3-4 gigs. To me they might as well have been rounds. I know you guys who like them really love them, and and I get it, but I could never get them to sound like that.
 
#12
JimmyM said:
Interesting. I tried TI's 20 years ago, and the only thing I found they have in common is the flexibility. I hear other bassists use TI's and they sound like flats to me, but I gave them 4 months to go dead and they never did, even though I could usually kill a set of rounds over the course of 3-4 gigs. To me they might as well have been rounds. I know you guys who like them really love them, and and I get it, but I could never get them to sound like that.
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I often joke that my favorite set of rounds is a set of TI Flats...for about their first 6-8 months so I get it. They definitely don't go dead n dull like a set of LaBellas or GHS but they sound like flats. My current set that's a couple years old wouldn't be mistaken for rounds...unless I wanted them to be. Dunlops aren't exactly the most traditional sounding flats either...not one dimensional at all. I'm in no way insinuating that they are the same string. They have enough in common that I like them both a lot...and different enough that I need them both.:D
 
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#13
uwrossl said:
I often joke that my favorite set of rounds is a set of TI Flats...for about their first 6-8 months so I get it. They definitely don't go dead n dull like a set of LaBellas or GHS but they sound like flats. My current set that's a couple years old wouldn't be mistaken for rounds...unless I wanted them to be. Dunlops aren't exactly the most traditional sounding flats either...not one dimensional at all. I'm in no way insinuating that they are the same string. They have enough in common that I like them both a lot...and different enough that I need them both.:D
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That's true about Dunlops till they go dead.
 
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#14
JimmyM said:
That's true about Dunlops till they go dead.
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The 45-105 set I have are a little over 2 years (albeit a pandemic tossed in there) and still sound good. I don't kill em with lotion or vaseline though when I get them as I don't mind the break in period. I've got a new set of the 40-100s on the way to replace them. It's been awhile since I played the smaller set but I really liked them when I did. The short scale set on my Serek is three years old and they are pretty dead and muted now which is perfect for that bass.

JimmyM said:
I know you guys who like them really love them, and and I get it, but I could never get them to sound like that.
Click to expand...

It's funny...I was thinking about this today and I find myself in the exact same situation with LaBellas. When others play them they sound amazing. Thumpy but very musical still. In my hands they just sound like a boring ball of mud. Maybe I don't dig in hard enough to pull the tone out of them from years of using lower tension strings.
 
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#19
uwrossl said:
The 45-105 set I have are a little over 2 years (albeit a pandemic tossed in there) and still sound good. I don't kill em with lotion or vaseline though when I get them as I don't mind the break in period. I've got a new set of the 40-100s on the way to replace them. It's been awhile since I played the smaller set but I really liked them when I did. The short scale set on my Serek is three years old and they are pretty dead and muted now which is perfect for that bass.



It's funny...I was thinking about this today and I find myself in the exact same situation with LaBellas. When others play them they sound amazing. Thumpy but very musical still. In my hands they just sound like a boring ball of mud. Maybe I don't dig in hard enough to pull the tone out of them from years of using lower tension strings.
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Which LaBella set you mean, the 760FS? Thumpy and musical is what I'm looking for myself and I have the impression I'm not quite there with the 45105 Dunlops. Sometimes I think they lack substance/thickness tone-wise. Yet I do appreciate the low tension and flexibility. Should I try the 50110 set? Or the 760FS? Or the Pyramid? Which are the juiciest flats of all?
 
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#20
Phaidrus said:
Which LaBella set you mean, the 760FS? Thumpy and musical is what I'm looking for myself and I have the impression I'm not quite there with the 45105 Dunlops. Sometimes I think they lack substance/thickness tone-wise. Yet I do appreciate the low tension and flexibility. Should I try the 50110 set? Or the 760FS? Or the Pyramid? Which are the juiciest flats of all?
Click to expand...

In that post I was referring to the 45-105 Dunlop set that I have. The bottom half when referring to LaBellas was that I just can't seem to make them sound good even though I think they sound good when I hear others play them. I recently purchased the Dunlop 40-100 set again to give them another go. Like them but ended up putting the 45-105 back on. I'm not 100% convinced that Dunlop didn't change their formula a bit in some way on the flats because the 40-100 set did seem to break in a little different but it's been a while since I've played that set. May have to pick up a 45-105 set and break them in so I can A/B them. Overall for me though I don't feel like the dunlops lack anything at all. I do feel that way when I play more traditional sets like LaBellas.

When it comes to traditional sounding flats I like the GHS P Flats closely followed by an old set of DR Legends that I have. I've tried time and time again to get along with LaBella but they always end up coming off in favor of either the Dunlops or TIs. The only set of LaBellas that were kind of a revelation for me were the FX set. Still had plenty of tension on them and even worked great on a blues project that tunes a half step down. To me it's got the best sounding E string out of the LaBella sets. Oddly my next favorite set of LaBellas was the Jamerson set. Hi tension but sound great. I found the FL and FS sets to just be "Ok" and both were pretty high tension. All that said...if you want a little more girth and thump to your sound and are already a Dunlop fan... I think you'd like the the 50-110 set. They play in the same ball park tension wise of the LaBella FL/FS sets.
 
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