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Ernie Ball Group series flats

jcburn

jcburn

Oct 11, 2003
2,628
1,674
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Tasmania, Australia.
everburn.com.au
#1
So I think I've just found the new rabbit hole to go down for myself.

A few years ago I decided I wanted to try flats. Always been a stainless boy, but found myself wanting less treble and a bit more thump than stainless was delivering. Tried EB Cobalt flats as my first foray....kinda still sounded like rounds and to be honest smelled bad (smelled like wet rust). So I ditched the idea and did the usual rounds (no pun intended).....DR Sunbeams, GHS Pressurewounds etc.

All great strings, but they all have the trait of rounds I'm trying to get around - high mid gank once the strings settle in and age. The fact I like a little overdrive in my signal also enhances this tone.

So on a bit of a whim I tried a set of Sunbeams for a set of EB Series III flats. Wow - these sound great. My take is these are quite bright sounding flats but amplified they really do have some thump that I was missing. They feel super smooth and have a great tone.

I think if I had the choice I'd prefer slightly heavier gauge than the series III (100-45) but now starts a journey with flats. Next I think I'll head to the ever popular Chromes and see how they fare but to be honest I think these guys are sounding exactly how I wanted flats to sound, plus I'm think the brightness will dull slightly as they age.

Just some thoughts as I rarely see the Group series flats discussed.
 
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#3
I tried both Chromes and LaBellas when I first tried flats and was not a big fan of the feel or the high tension.

At the suggestion of a friend who had been through every set of flats he could find, I ended up trying Ernie Ball Group IV flats gauged one size down from the rounds I normally used. In my case that meant 40-95 instead of my usual 45-105 rounds.

That set of strings completely changed my take on flats. Flexible and smooth and with enough midrange detail that it wasn’t a huge shift from playing nickel rounds.

In the ten or so years since then I’ve grown to like some other flats as well. While I’m still not crazy about Chromes or LaBellas and strongly disliked Roto-Sounds, I found that I like GHS flats for a more traditional flatwound sound and TIs for even more flex and mids than I get with the EBs. Between those three choices I’m able to taylor my flats to any particular bass.

One day I’d like to try Pyramids but I haven’t yet.

Oh, almost forgot…. I like the Sadowsky Black Label flats as well and find them to be pretty similar to the GHS.
 
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#4
I think the Group III flats are under rated as well....similar-ish to Chromes, solid sound once broken in and the brightness wears off. That said, the Dunlop Flats are my new fave....not floppy nor bridge cable stiff, and finally a set of flats that are very even sounding right out of the box, no dull E string.
 
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#5
For those who tried both, how far are the EB Group to Fender flats ?
(I understand both be considered in the "modern" flat category)

At the moment my Matt Freeman is strunged with the 9050L, but I'm not completely satisfied with those; they replaced GHS Precision flats (which I think sounded better than the Fenders, but at the time I was trying to clean up some low mids that are overpowered with this bass/string combination).

Even at a .100 E, Fender is stiffer than I'd like; and they growl much more than the GHS, a feature I don't really want with flats...
 
#8
Ernie Ball stainless flats are probably the most underrated strings out there of any kind. The only thing I don't like about them are the gauges in the sets, so when I use them, I order singles. They have roundness. They have definition. They have longitivity (as do all flats) They don't start zingy and fade to worthless thump. They don't die over time; they just get mellow.
 
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#9
iiipopes said:
Ernie Ball stainless flats are probably the most underrated strings out there of any kind. The only thing I don't like about them are the gauges in the sets, so when I use them, I order singles. They have roundness. They have definition. They have longitivity (as do all flats) They don't start zingy and fade to worthless thump. They don't die over time; they just get mellow.
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I know this is 2.5 years after the fact, but where do you order singles from? I'd love to combine the 3 + 4 strings from the Group I set with the 1 + 2 strings from the Group II set.
 
#10
basslust said:
I know this is 2.5 years after the fact, but where do you order singles from? I'd love to combine the 3 + 4 strings from the Group I set with the 1 + 2 strings from the Group II set.
Click to expand...

So, you're talking 50-70-90-110?

Unfortunately, Ernie Ball stopped making these flats available as singles within the last year or two. You would have to check around to see if any of the online dealers might have old stock left.
 
#12
michael_t said:
Unfortunately, Ernie Ball stopped making these flats available as singles within the last year or two. You would have to check around to see if any of the online dealers might have old stock left.
Click to expand...

iiipopes said:
EB website. Bass Guitar Single Strings | Ernie Ball
Click to expand...

I guess I was wrong on this one. ;)

I was just going by what Jason at Fret Nation told me the last time I was trying to put together a custom set (40-55-75-95), maybe one and a half years ago.

Or, maybe singles are now only available directly from Ernie Ball, as opposed to through a dealer.
 
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#15
basslust said:
I might be missing it, but I don't see a way to check out on the website. Do you call them to order?
Click to expand...
Hmmm. That seems to be changed as well. Maybe they are going back to retailers rather than direct. I confess it has been a few years since I ordered any.

I set up a new account on their web site just now, and it does appear you can order merch & swag & pedals, but not strings. Hmmm. I may just have to completely re-think purchasing EB if they are going to make it that difficult. This is the same reason I don't play Fender strings anymore: can't get singles. OTOH, D'A & GHS have open portals to order directly. Curt Mangan will reply personally to specific requests. And so forth.
 
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#16
Reviving this thread, but hopefully this will help someone in the future as I couldn’t find a lot of info on these strings and this is the most recent thread on them. I just installed a 5 string set (I believe they’re the same as Group 3 + a low B). I was surprised by a few things:

(1) tension: much lower than the labella’s FL-B’s I have on another bass. I had to loosen the truss rod to add relief more than what I had for a set of D’addarion XLs that these replaced. I figured I’d be able to tighten it and get the neck straight, but no. Not sure how I feel about this yet as I think I like a little more tension if I do some slapping (strange to write this about flats).

(2) these are bright sounding! At least out of the package. The G had already settled some… strangely is seems the G, and D lost some of their brilliance quickly, but the B, E, A still have that new metallic ring to them. I was debating between flats and half rounds, so I’m hoping these will kinda split that difference.

(3) They’re smooth, but a “dry” smooth is as best I can describe it… not as smooth as the Labella’s. There is a little more sound when running fingers up and down the strings as compared to LaBellas. Maybe this will wear off too once the spaces between wraps gets filled in with hand oils and skin flakes, lol.

I’ll be using these in a band setting next weekend, so looking forward to how they sit in the mix on my Sire Z3. The band and FOH usually love my P bass with labella flats, so hopefully these will still give that big foundation, while allowing my fills and things to be a bit more present in the mix.
 
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#17
Basslie said:
(1) tension: much lower than the labella’s FL-B’s I have on another bass. I had to loosen the truss rod to add relief more than what I had for a set of D’addarion XLs that these replaced. I figured I’d be able to tighten it and get the neck straight, but no. Not sure how I feel about this yet as I think I like a little more tension if I do some slapping (strange to write this about flats).
Click to expand...
Forgot to mention that I had to give more relief because there was quite a bit of metallic clack and there was 1-4 fret buzz, especially on the A and E. Maybe this is why EB came up with the 4 string group 2.5, to add a bit more tension to those. Adding relief and adjusting bridge saddle heights got rid of it… just surprised how much I had to do… coming from rounds, I figured I’d be able to straighten out the neck and lower action with flats cause I assumed they’d be higher tension.

Maybe when they settle more, I’ll be able to adjust them again.

Also… I was surprised at how well they intonated! Even the B string intonated all the way up and down the neck. Maybe my tuner isn’t the most sensitive (cheap tuner pedal), but don’t think I’ve had a set intonate so well and easily— even rounds. FWIW: I ran these through the body.
 
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#18
Basslie said:
Forgot to mention that I had to give more relief because there was quite a bit of metallic clack and there was 1-4 fret buzz, especially on the A and E. Maybe this is why EB came up with the 4 string group 2.5, to add a bit more tension to those. Adding relief and adjusting bridge saddle heights got rid of it… just surprised how much I had to do… coming from rounds, I figured I’d be able to straighten out the neck and lower action with flats cause I assumed they’d be higher tension.

Maybe when they settle more, I’ll be able to adjust them again.

Also… I was surprised at how well they intonated! Even the B string intonated all the way up and down the neck. Maybe my tuner isn’t the most sensitive (cheap tuner pedal), but don’t think I’ve had a set intonate so well and easily— even rounds. FWIW: I ran these through the body.
Click to expand...
I have these flats on my American Pro 2 P bass V and they're great! They will be definitely be staying on there for a long time.
I am debating on putting these on my American Pro 2 4 string as well .:thumbsup:
 
#19
Is there anything similar to the eb group series in an xl winding length? (As far as I can tell, EB only offers Slinkys in xl) A parts P I bought came with them and I really like them. I have an Ovation Magnum that needs a longer winding length that I’m hoping to find something similar for.
 
#20
themarshall said:
Is there anything similar to the eb group series in an xl winding length? (As far as I can tell, EB only offers Slinkys in xl) A parts P I bought came with them and I really like them. I have an Ovation Magnum that needs a longer winding length that I’m hoping to find something similar for.
Click to expand...
DR Legend Flats, maybe...? DR's "long scale" is longer than most at 37.75" wining length (ball end to taper/silk). Would that be long enough?

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