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Favorite Flats/Reccommendations please!!

What brand do you reccommend?

  • D'Addario

    Votes: 18 30.5%

  • La Bella

    Votes: 15 25.4%

  • Rotosound

    Votes: 2 3.4%

  • Thomastik-Infeld

    Votes: 10 16.9%

  • Ernie Ball

    Votes: 2 3.4%

  • GHS

    Votes: 7 11.9%

  • Fender

    Votes: 4 6.8%

  • Other (Please state in post!!)

    Votes: 1 1.7%
  • Total voters
    59
  • Poll closed .
bassist4dalord

bassist4dalord

Dec 13, 2007
5,724
3,537
SW Missouri
#1
I might be acquiring a Fender P-Bass somewhere down the line and will no question be stringing it with flats, if I end up getting it. So... I want some heavy-gauge flats cause I like heavy strings. Which brand from the poll? Please don't reccommend any others. Thanks! Please just list pros and cons, any I should avoid... I have a set of D'Addario Chromes on my Fender BG-31 ABG that I previously had on an Ibanez and love! But I want to try something new :hyper:
 
#3
I've only played Roto 77's and LeBella's The Roto's sounded great for rock, nice thump. The LeBella Deep Talkin Flats sound amazing and made the Rotos sound one dimensional. I have since switched to the Jamerson set. They sound huge, like the DTF's only thicker. The DTF's sound a little crisper, with great fundamentals and good character and blossom to notes. The Jamerson's do all that only thicker and smoother. You said you like "heavy strings" and The Jamerson set are definitely Heavy.
 
#9
pjmuck said:
I've had the same set of Chromes on my P bass for over 10 years. I love the tone and feel. But I have LaBella Jamersons on order and can't wait to try them out.
Click to expand...

I had Chromes in medium (.050-.105) guage and loved the tone too while playing solo -- nice and deep, rich, etc. But when I had band practice they weren't cutting through the mix.

So I put on a set of La Bella 760FLs (.043-.104) based on the great reviews here at TB. Sounded less deep, but had a bit more of an edge at the attack so I figured these would help cut through the mix better. Nope. They sounded too thin when driven at high volume with the band.

So now what?

I'm thinking about trying a set of La Bella 760FS (.045-.105) since they've got a little more tension and are a little thicker.

The Jamerson set is tempting me too, but I don't know that I want that much tension on my neck (CS P-bass) -- unless I have to because no other strings cut it.

On the other hand, my Rotosound Jazz 77s on my SX P-bass are sounding better all the time -- maybe I need to try those again on my CS P.
 
#10
I like the way Chromes sound and feel but I can't bring myself to recommend them since I have had some sort of problem with about 50% of the D'Adarrios I have purchased.

I just ordered some TIs -- I'll let you know how that goes (going on an Am. Std. P5).
 
#11
PSPookie said:
I like the way Chromes sound and feel but I can't bring myself to recommend them since I have had some sort of problem with about 50% of the D'Adarrios I have purchased.

I just ordered some TIs -- I'll let you know how that goes (going on an Am. Std. P5).
Click to expand...

I've got TI flats on my Squier VM Fretless Jazz and they sound great on that bass.

I've thought about buying a set for my P-bass (Pino Palladino sure likes them on his P) but I don't know if they'd have enough thump for me.
 
#13
Well, I got my Jamersons this afternoon and quickly slapped 'em on the '73 P, replacing the 10 year Chromes I had on there. I was fully expecting months (if not years) of breaking in before they mellow out, but to my surprise they're fairly mellow out of the package. they cut through, but are by no means trebly or crisp. To the naked eye, the string gauges look the same as the 50-105 Chromes I replaced, even though they're supposed to be much heavier, so my fear of playing "bridge cables" was put to rest. Yes, the tension was high at first, but after I set up the bass for them and stretched them out a bit they really didn't feel much different than the Chromes, IMO. In fact, I even raised the action a little to get more thump out of the tone.

Amazingly, my playing felt and sounded smoother, with less noticeable fret click clack and an overall improved tonal balance across all strings from the 10 year old Chromes. Fatter but with better clarity ad detail, but no harsh offensive top end, even with the treble cranked. My P really sounds like a P now. So if you're a Chrome player now, don't let the high tension string gauge comments scare you off, because with a proper setup (which you should be doing with any string change) they really feel comfortable and smooth, IMO, especially if you're a current Chrome player.
 
#14
pjmuck said:
Well, I got my Jamersons this afternoon and quickly slapped 'em on the '73 P, replacing the 10 year Chromes I had on there. I was fully expecting months (if not years) of breaking in before they mellow out, but to my surprise they're fairly mellow out of the package. they cut through, but are by no means trebly or crisp. To the naked eye, the string gauges look the same as the 50-105 Chromes I replaced, even though they're supposed to be much heavier, so my fear of playing "bridge cables" was put to rest. Yes, the tension was high at first, but after I set up the bass for them and stretched them out a bit they really didn't feel much different than the Chromes, IMO. In fact, I even raised the action a little to get more thump out of the tone.

Amazingly, my playing felt and sounded smoother, with less noticeable fret click clack and an overall improved tonal balance across all strings from the 10 year old Chromes. Fatter but with better clarity ad detail, but no harsh offensive top end, even with the treble cranked. My P really sounds like a P now. So if you're a Chrome player now, don't let the high tension string gauge comments scare you off, because with a proper setup (which you should be doing with any string change) they really feel comfortable and smooth, IMO, especially if you're a current Chrome player.
Click to expand...


10 years with the same set of Chromes?! Or just using them for 10 years?
 
#18
I've got different flavors of flats on different P's. Lately I've been digging GHS Precision flats.

Something you didn't mention, which you might like to try, are the Pyramid Gold flatwounds. Best flats I've ever heard, but I can't afford a new set since the last bass I had with them on it got stolen about 5 years ago. :hmm:
 
#19
GeneralElectric said:
I've got different flavors of flats on different P's. Lately I've been digging GHS Precision flats.

Something you didn't mention, which you might like to try, are the Pyramid Gold flatwounds. Best flats I've ever heard, but I can't afford a new set since the last bass I had with them on it got stolen about 5 years ago. :hmm:
Click to expand...

Tell me about the GHS flats, I've not tried them. Do they thump? How do they compare to La Bellas, Chromes, Fenders, etc.?
 
#20
I started using GHS flatwounds after hearing Ben Kenney's tone in his solo work. It's just massively huge for flatwounds, and they still cut through. I've only got them on my Warwick Flashback 4-string (KILLER sound through my Mesa setup), but soon I'll be buying a set for my Mexi-Jazz.
 

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