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Dunlop vs. Fender Flatwounds?

From your experience, which flats have better growl?

  • Dunlop

    Votes: 16 44.4%

  • Fender

    Votes: 20 55.6%
  • Total voters
    36
Brent's Groove

Brent's Groove

Mar 14, 2007
185
181
Virginia
#1
I'm hoping to find a set of flats that have plenty of growl but are less clangy and metallic than the Chromes I'm currently using on my Geddy. The research I've done has pointed me to either Dunlops or Fenders, but I don't quite know how the two compare with each other.

Can anyone offer a recommendation from personal experience? To prevent derailing, I'm currently only interested in learning about your experiences with Dunlop or Fender flats.
 
#6
Brent's Groove said:
To prevent derailing, I'm currently only interested in learning about your experiences with Dunlop or Fender flats.
Click to expand...

I always try to respect the OP's specific request... ;)

Fender = more "grindy" than "growly" (to my ears), though it can growl if pushed hard enough on a right bass (= J-style). They can start out rather annoyingly bright and "clangy" when new, but eventually settle into a nice full-bodied low mind grind (= purrr...). Their midrange character seemed to suit my J bass better than my P. More punch than thump.

Dunlop = no personal experience with them. Based on everything I've read, they're slightly more "polite and refined" than the Fender with smoother mids. Semi-modern in their overall character with roundwound-like sustain, but they can thump once broken-in.

The biggest difference between the two is stiffness/flexibility. The Dunlop is more supple-feeling due to the thinner core wire used. Dunlop 45-105 would be closer to Fender 45-100 in overall playing feel.

(I personally prefer the black silk on the Dunlop than the green one on the Fender.)
 
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#11
Another vote for Dunlop. I recently tried both and A/B'd them on the same Jazz bass. I was looking for a more traditional sounding flat, with lower tension, to fit in better with my current band. And with a little less tension. Carpal tunnel and arthritis will eventually end my playing days, but I'm gonna put it off as long as I can.

The Dunlops are definitely better in the mids department. Smoother and more pronounced with plenty of growl for my needs. The .40-100 long scale set is hard to find and I ordered mine from Reverb. They feel lighter than my usual 40-100 Chromes and sound better with the type music I'm playing at the moment.

The Fenders were plenty bright and stiff like like Chromes so I didn't see any point in leaving them on very long. They may have a bit more mids than Chromes, but not enough to make a difference. That, combined with the tension, was enough to get me to take them off pretty quick.

So far I like the way the Dunlops are settling in. As of now, we have 37 gigs booked for this year with a few more yet to be confirmed. I'm looking forward to seeing how they sound and play by December.
B.
 
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#15
I've used both pretty extensively. If its got to be between those 2, I would lean towards the Fender flats. They have more of the growly mid range that sits really nice in a mix. I find the Dunlops sound "big" at home, but on the gig I find that I miss that low mid definition that I really look for especially when playing with distorted guitars.
 
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#16
JimmyM said:
I've tried Fenders. They're OK but have more in common with Chromes than not. I don't know what you're defining as "growl," but when Dunlops are new, they're quite bright, then mellow out to a nice thuddy thud. Not sure if that's what you're looking for but I love them.
Click to expand...

I guess I could say that I'm looking for something similar to Chromes, but a little more tame. I've got my thud needs covered with my P bass with GHS flats. Is it correct to say you prefer the Dunlops over the Fenders?
 
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#17
michael_t said:
I always try to respect the OP's specific request... ;)

Fender = more "grindy" than "growly" (to my ears), though it can growl if pushed hard enough on a right bass (= J-style). They can start out rather annoyingly bright and "clangy" when new, but eventually settle into a nice full-bodied low mind grind (= purrr...). Their midrange character seemed to suit my J bass better than my P. More punch than thump.

Dunlop = no personal experience with them. Based on everything I've read, they're slightly more "polite and refined" than the Fender with smoother mids. Semi-modern in their overall character with roundwound-like sustain, but they can thump once broken-in.

The biggest difference between the two is stiffness/flexibility. The Dunlop is more supple-feeling due to the thinner core wire used. Dunlop 45-105 would be closer to Fender 45-100 in overall playing feel.

(I personally prefer the black silk on the Dunlop than the green one on the Fender.)
Click to expand...

I like the idea of having more punch than thump with the Fenders. And the prominent midrange is definitely appealing to me too. Thanks for your opinion, and thanks for reading the original post.
 
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#18
BLDavis said:
Another vote for Dunlop. I recently tried both and A/B'd them on the same Jazz bass. I was looking for a more traditional sounding flat, with lower tension, to fit in better with my current band. And with a little less tension. Carpal tunnel and arthritis will eventually end my playing days, but I'm gonna put it off as long as I can.

The Dunlops are definitely better in the mids department. Smoother and more pronounced with plenty of growl for my needs. The .40-100 long scale set is hard to find and I ordered mine from Reverb. They feel lighter than my usual 40-100 Chromes and sound better with the type music I'm playing at the moment.

The Fenders were plenty bright and stiff like like Chromes so I didn't see any point in leaving them on very long. They may have a bit more mids than Chromes, but not enough to make a difference. That, combined with the tension, was enough to get me to take them off pretty quick.

So far I like the way the Dunlops are settling in. As of now, we have 37 gigs booked for this year with a few more yet to be confirmed. I'm looking forward to seeing how they sound and play by December.
B.
Click to expand...

I usually prefer high tension, but the Geddy neck is so slim that lower tension is something that might be an advantage. Your description leads me to believe the Dunlops are kind of the middle ground between more modern bright flats, and thumpier traditional flats. That sounds like a good option for the current gig I've got.
 
#19
Without a doubt, the Fenders. Not at first though, you’ll hate them at first.

The Dunlop’s are a pretty tame string. I got rid of them after about two months. They did a good job at combining new and old school, but Dunlops don’t do either all that well. I eventually found them lifeless and boring.
 
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#20
Lots of good input in this thread. It appears that these two string sets are more distinguishable from one another than I originally thought... but the problem is that they both seem like strings I would like lol. I plan on making a decision within the next day or two.
 

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