First time ever using Flats

[Appogee]

I had my bass restrung 6 weeks ago with Dunlop SS Flats ... SO SMOOOOOOTH!
But tonight I realised I've lost the callouses on my fingers!

 

[el murdoque]

It's not only the tone that needs breaking in, the whole experience does. Most fresh flats feel terrible. They are uncomfortable to play and stick to the fingers. Playing them for a while will not only mellow the tone, but also smooth the strings by a lot.

 

[specs]

Struggling to keep up now, since so many of you have posted! Lol,

Seriously, though, I have read each and everyone of them so far and the support and the advice and suggestions have been noted and really appreciated.

This is why I love Talkbass, ever such a supportive community. Thank you all so much so far.

 

[specs]

Here’s my concerns for you from most to least.

1. Tension / stiffness: you didn’t get very flexible flats AND you didn’t a light gauge. The strings will feel stiff compared to almost any rounds you have played in the past. You might not have a problem with you picking hand, but they will feel stiff under your fretting hand. Light EB Cobalts, light Chromes, or LaBella LTFs would be more like rounds tension.

2. Tone: If you need piano string ring / tone, you will be disappointed. EB Cobalts get closest to doing that, but not like a round. You using a pick will help.

3. Playing style: if you do any slapping, flats might not satisfy. Once again, EB Cobalts will get there to some degree.

4. Stickiness: if you have a problem with that, it will probably be short term. Any flat I’ve tried that was sticky didn’t stay that way for long. Difference in humans / body chemistry might affect how sticky or how long sticky.

I think flats with a pick cuts like no other tone. I’m no good with a pick or I would use one exclusively on flats. You have a step up in that.

Good Luck!

Thank you for the detailed post, I appreciate the effort you went to!

I don’t slap very much live, I do it at home every now and again just to get the vibe.

Well, I’ve been using a pick most of the time in my years, (Jason Newsted style), due to the top of bands and the music I was in to and still do, so hopefully that will be a nice cut/punch in the mix indeed.

No, I didn’t choose a lower tension set, because I simply went with the gauge that I typically use when it comes to using rounds, and again, without defending myself, I didn’t know flats had a higher tension! Haha! Just never, ever looked into them.

 

[specs]

@specs I think you'll have some fun with the flats - I certainly did when I was subbing in a blues band last year and needed something a little less aggressive sounding. I got the cheapos from Amazon (Adagio flats - £17). They sounded great for that band and the feel was nice, not a lot of tension at all compared to a couple other basses I'd tried strung with flats. I played them for a couple months covering daily practice, 2 shows and weekly rehearsals and they held a consistent sound throughout. Customer service was great as well as the A string seemed DOA and the company sent me a replacement string next day delivery.

Long term they definitely didn't fit with my main band (loud, grungy) and I went back to D'Addario NYXL's. I normally get a year out of these (weekly rehearsals, 10+ gigs) before they lose the crisp and zing factors that I like, but last year I put fresh set on for our 2 week tour. I played HARD for those 2 weeks, a lot of sweat, some blood, spilled drinks etc and they still have plenty of life left in them (I still haven't replaced them actually due to band break up). I found fast fret to do a good job after each set/rehearsal for keeping them fresh, so to summarise I'd recommend checking out NYXL's or the new XT's from D'Addario if you haven't already tried them. The brands you listed normally using (EB, Roto, Dunlop) I associate with shortest life spans in terms of their "new" string sound to their broken in sound. In the rounds game, I went through almost every big brand over the years and always came back to D'Addario. DR was a close second and I'd probably would still use them if they weren't so expensive here - NYXL's are about £30, DR's about £45+).

NYXL, I’ve heard of these and have used pro steels in the past, hopefully as and when the time comes to switch back to rounds (My P bass has them) I will definitely consider this when it comes to a search. Thank you!

 

[Flatwound]

Lots of good knowledge here. I want to second the idea of flats with overdrive/distortion. I’m playing in a cover band that does some old Motown and R&B. I use an Orange Terror Bass with the gain turned up enough to get a little hair going. When I listen to recordings of us playing live, I hear something like that old Motown sound. At church, I go direct, but I go through a Sushi Box London Underground to get the same sort of tone. Again, when I listen to the church service videos, I don’t hear distortion or fuzz, but warm, thumpy tone.

 

[Altitude]

I've been playing 35 years and have been a fresh string junkie the whole time. I used to boil them, now I soak them in denatured alcohol (works better).

I also tried flats to explore the no-maintenance appeal. It's true, they start off more or less dead and stay that way, and you can leave them on indefinitely.

My ears like the sound of flats as a tone role-player. When I want that P-bass flats sound, nothing else provides it. But I also tend to play a broad variety of music across bands, and I don't want the flats sound all the time - especially in a horn funk band I'm in.

Also, and more importantly - I'm not crazy about the friction that happens with flatwounds when my hands get damp during gigs. I love Ernie Ball Cobalts, for instance, they almost perfectly bridge the flats-rounds tone gap. But they are sticky when wet.

So I have a set of flats for all my basses if I need them, but I play rounds normally.

I have a new thing, though - I've decided to stop caring so much. My theory being that the difference between a fresh roundwound string and a broken in set is imperceptible to the audience. Especially on my jazz bass - I have a nicely broken in set of Pressurewounds on right now. They are dead by my own standards, for sure. But at stage volume that bass sounds like a jazz bass is supposed to, and I might as well just roll with it and make my life easier.

 

[Prodigus Filius]

Struggling to keep up now, since so many of you have posted! Lol,

Seriously, though, I have read each and everyone of them so far and the support and the advice and suggestions have been noted and really appreciated.

This is why I love Talkbass, ever such a supportive community. Thank you all so much so far.

Swamped by the luurrrrrvvvv. He he. Always how it is when someone joins your outfit. Lot of strong feelings about rounds and flats on TB.. War of the Strings. You'll find your way. Maintain a focus when buying. Be methodical if you can when trying out stuff. Decent flats are typically more expensive than rounds, so can burn a hole in the wallet if no thought goes into it.

 

[specs]

Swamped by the luurrrrrvvvv. He he. Always how it is when someone joins your outfit. Lot of strong feelings about rounds and flats on TB.. War of the Strings. You'll find your way. Maintain a focus when buying. Be methodical if you can when trying out stuff. Decent flats are typically more expensive than rounds, so can burn a hole in the wallet if no thought goes into it.

Yeah, I checked out the pricing of flats over the few days. Goodness some of them creep into the “whoaaa, for one set?!” range, however the flattening out process from different companies must have an impact on that.

I’ll keep an open mind as I go along with this flat journey, oh yeah, get I get swamped alright! But it’s support & guidance.

This instrument that we play was something we chose or was chosen to play (everyone has their story), is a personal experience you learn as time goes on.

Years on, you never stop learning. A song, a different progression, a new technique, in my case, a new type of string for me to try & embrace.

 

[Prodigus Filius]

@specs
If you have a rainy day and some spare time. An oldy, but a goody. Confessions of a Flatwound convert... Bear in mind that there are now some flats that don't appear within its' dusty pages. Dunlop flats and Ernie Ball cobalts to name a few

 

[Eli Brockway]

Gotta say, this "as heard on" section surprised me a bit for the Rotosound 77s. I wonder how accurate it is.

 

[Yahboy]

Hit those flats with fast fret and wipe them down before you play and probably after every set. Flats can get sticky.

Ti flat , 9050 and Cobalt flat has no sticky issue to me .

 

[retslock]

Hello folks!

After 22 years of playing, I have always stuck with many types of different rounds, currently my bass is in the music store workshop, being restrung with jazz bass, 77’s (45 -105). Flats. I have never touched a flat string in my life.

Not that I can’t restring myself, I have done so for many years, the reason being is I know they have high tension on them, and after they’ve been put on, it will be need to be set up and have the intonation done.

I play in a rock ‘n’ roll band, doing covers from the 50s all the way through to today, the main reason for this hopeful change is because after one gig, sometimes two, if I’m lucky, I’ve killed my strings.

No matter how much I carefully install them, seat them properly, stretch them, tune them up slowly, put in a 90° bend and then cut them to scale, wipe them down, clean them with fast fret, even boiling them, and soaked them in denatured alcohol, I always end up with the same dead string problem, so hopefully using flats and giving the lasting nature, well also being able to focus on the real low end of the instrument these in hope should work very well and last a very long time.

I’m sure some of you have some good experiences with this, and I was hoping to hear some stories and some insight to using flats for the first time.

Thank you very much!

You will definitely lose that piano-like zing and the round-wound grind but you’ll gain slick feel under the fingers and that old school thump. They will last a long time but they aren’t everybody’s cup of tea. I don’t use anything else. My favourites so far are La Bella DTFs and I also like and use D’Addario Chromes. The higher stiffness suits my playing style. There are others I haven’t tried since the ones I’m using have been on for a long time and I don’t plan on changing them. For me the experience has been positive. You will discover for yourself if they suit you or not.

 

[specs]

You will definitely lose that piano-like zing and the round-wound grind but you’ll gain slick feel under the fingers and that old school thump. They will last a long time but they aren’t everybody’s cup of tea. I don’t use anything else. My favourites so far are La Bella DTFs and I also like and use D’Addario Chromes. The higher stiffness suits my playing style. There are others I haven’t tried since the ones I’m using have been on for a long time and I don’t plan on changing them. For me the experience has been positive. You will discover for yourself if they suit you or not.

Certainly glad they worked out for you, I’m fully aware that piano like tone you get from rounds won’t be there, you know that open E tone “Barrrrrrrrrrr”

Well it’s time to thump for a while I say my good man, & I’ve noted your string choices for future reference

 

[SteveFromBerlin]

You will definitely lose that piano-like zing and the round-wound grind but you’ll gain slick feel under the fingers and that old school thump. They will last a long time but they aren’t everybody’s cup of tea. I don’t use anything else. My favourites so far are La Bella DTFs and I also like and use D’Addario Chromes. The higher stiffness suits my playing style. There are others I haven’t tried since the ones I’m using have been on for a long time and I don’t plan on changing them. For me the experience has been positive. You will discover for yourself if they suit you or not.

That‘s interesting, aren‘t La Bella DTF and Chromes quite the opposites of one another? Do you prefer one or the other in certain musical settings or on certain basses?

 

[Zbysek]

After 22 years of playing, I have always stuck with many types of different rounds, currently my bass is in the music store workshop, being restrung with jazz bass, 77’s (45 -105). Flats. I have never touched a flat string in my life.

I am in similar situation: have been playing 30 years or so, always used roundwounds

now I am considering getting P-bass and string it with flats

I am interested to read about your experience...

clean them with fast fret, (..........) I always end up with the same dead string problem,

IME, fast fret can cause bass roundwound strings to become dead. The oil contained in the fast fret will get between the wires on roundwounds...and the bass looses brighteness...

Long ago, I borrowed a bass from a slap player for several minutes. When I was about to hand it back, I started cleaning it. He got furios when he saw me putting fast fret on his bass...

 

[retslock]

That‘s interesting, aren‘t La Bella DTF and Chromes quite the opposites of one another? Do you prefer one or the other in certain musical settings or on certain basses?

I have them on different basses. Two have La Bella and two have Chromes. I play those basses all the time and honestly, I don’t get why people say they are so different. They just aren’t that different at all.

 

[specs]

Well I got the bass back today, plugged her in & I was pleasantly surprised how thumpy and smooooooth these things are, I was half expecting that fresh zingy tone you get but a second in, it’s more like a broken in set of rounds right now. Put some distortion on and it seems to blend well so far, I’ll have to see what they are like in rehearsal

 

[TomB]

That‘s interesting, aren‘t La Bella DTF and Chromes quite the opposites of one another? Do you prefer one or the other in certain musical settings or on certain basses?

I’d say only very different when brand new. As they break in, they become more and more similar, IMO, definitely not opposite. …both do the same job. As for finger feel, it depends on which gauge you’re talking. Standard Chromes are a lot like DTFS to me. FL’s are a little softer. Neither one is in the TI camp at all - maybe opposite .

 

[4StringDave]

Oh bugger.

I found that at first, but persevered and now I love them. I use Fender flats, and the tone doesn't need to be bright to be heard. The tone of flats sits in its own place which makes them easy to hear on stage. I've never had a better live sound.