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Flat wounds question
- Thread starter FLAT EARTH
- Start date
It all depends on the mix. I can't make flats work at all in the horn band, I need SS strings and lots of wang and clang to cut through the way that works.
In the 60's pop band with just drums, guitar and keyboard, they work famously. I have 5 year old Sadowsky flats on. Lot's of mids that make a thick vintage foundation without the super lows. It's plenty low but I don't want "bloom" and they work just fine for that.
In the 60's pop band with just drums, guitar and keyboard, they work famously. I have 5 year old Sadowsky flats on. Lot's of mids that make a thick vintage foundation without the super lows. It's plenty low but I don't want "bloom" and they work just fine for that.
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It's a hip sound nowadays, especially in the realm of indie and art rock, and even with fusion and pop stuff that's happening now. I like it, and a lot of flats available now are bright and sustain enough that you can make it work as long as you aren't playing lots of hard rock/metal or modern R&B/Gospel stuff.
Switching to flats made me like bass guitar again after years of primarily playing upright - it just felt right.
Switching to flats made me like bass guitar again after years of primarily playing upright - it just felt right.
First off, any rocks hits from the 60's, those were flatwounds. Any hits from Motown...those were flatwounds. If you'd consider Led Zeppelin a rock group (tongue-in-cheek obviously) John Paul Jones used flatwounds (now-days he endorses Elixir nickel plated steel string with Nano-coating). It really wasn't until the 70's with bassists like Chris Squire that round-wounds even started to become popular. Then, they pretty much took over although there seems to be a resurgence in flat-wounds again.
Now if you check with string manufacturers, they sell probably 10 times as many round-wound strings as they do flat-wounds because round-wounds lose their brightness - sometimes within a month or two, sometimes within a couple of years or more. Flat-wounds historically, never had that brightness so nothing to lose. It's pretty common to see someone playing the same set of flats that he's had for 10 years or even 20. So sales figures from string companies will tell you what they sell the most of, but they can't tell you what most people are playing because there's no way to reliably gauge what all the bass players are using at any one time.
I started with flat-wound strings back in 1965 because that was what they came with and that was all that was available. That was the "normal" string. In the early 70's, while touring with a nightclub group playing 5-nights a week, 50-weeks a year for 3-years, I switched to the Fender tape-wound flats. I continued to use those until early in 1976 when our house was burglarized and all my gear was stolen, including my 1965 Jazz Bass.
In 1985 I finally found another Jazz Bass with the same neck profile as my '65 had and it came with round-wounds. After two years I replaced those with a new set of Dean Markley Blue Steel round wounds. I replaced those with the same strings a number of times until ~2013, when I bought a set of DR Black Beauties. I liked that set of DR Black Beauties better than the Blue Steel strings because the D and G strings weren't as shrill as the Blue Steels, and the sound was a little better balanced between strings. And yes those strings lost a fair amount of their brightness after a couple of years or so.
Then, in 2018, I bought a pair of LaBella white Tape-Wound flats (white to match my Olympic White Jazz Bass) after my DR strings lost a good part of their black coating on front and had totally lost it on the underside of the strings where they contacted the frets. I was watching a Scott's Bass video where he was comparing some of the strings by mounting each set on the same bass. He was surprised that the LaBella Tape-wounds (his were black tapes) had such a nice sound with more mids and highs than "normal" flat wounds usually exhibited. I put those on and haven't looked back since. They are still plenty bright, but not brittle-sounding, and the sound is far better balanced across the strings than any others I've used.
I keep thinking I should put a set on my 5-string, but I'm not even using it right now in the groups I'm playing with, so I'll probably put that off until I start taking it to all my gigs. I play a wide variety of rock songs with them and they are great strings for that. I also play in a blues/rock band and they work great for that too. My maple-necked Jazz has great sustain (better than my '65 did by far) and these strings sustain at least as long as the round-wounds I used to use. So, I say, "give them a shot!"
DR Legends are my go to flats... love the feel and the sound
I love my TI Jazz flats and use them for all genres I play (mostly classic rock, 90's stuff and the occasional punk or metal song) on a P bass, but recently have been wanting something with a little more aggression and zing for certain songs and playing live. Trying out TI Power Bass rounds and so far I like them a lot (but not a fan of the way all rounds chew up my fingers compared to the flats).
But back on topic, the TI flats have a lovely feel to them, relatively even tension and sound fantastic on a P bass. They are quite dynamic / expressive, too, IME. They complement the tone of a P bass well, IMO.
Interested to try LaBella gold tapes next...
But back on topic, the TI flats have a lovely feel to them, relatively even tension and sound fantastic on a P bass. They are quite dynamic / expressive, too, IME. They complement the tone of a P bass well, IMO.
Interested to try LaBella gold tapes next...
I use flats (TIs) for most things, but for snarly, aggressive tones, there's no beating rounds, and I use bog standard D'Addario nickel wounds for that.
I play at church, and worship music demands a lot of dynamics. We go from rock/ funk styles to really mellow atmospheric stuff almost every service, so string noise is a big issue. I use Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats on my Caprice. That combo of bass and strings covers a really wide range of what I need to do tonally.
Same with me. They're on most of my Jazz basses, and on some of my others as well.
yeah, you at least have to try them! But keep in mind a couple things: if you buy them new, play them for a few months at least, they require a break in period... and there are very big differences in sound and feel between the different makes and models, so try a few different ones... I suggest you start with something common (maybe chromes or labella), then go from there... if you don’t like them, report back with specific dislikes and folks here can recommend which way to go next.
one more suggestion: you can buy used flats in the classifieds here. They’re quite easy to wipe down so it’s not totally disgusting
but it will allow you to try different strings for cheap (you can also resell them), and they will most likely be broken in (at least a bit).Good call on dangerous by big data , what a great video too lol
Long time Roto 77 user. They do seem to vary in texture from time to time. If they start out feeling a little “half-roundish” with the windings, they do smooth out a good bit. I use the 45’s on my Fender but they are pretty stiff. I highly recommend the 40’s which are often special order.
Interesting. I would not have guessed that song used flats (can anyone confirm?). But if it is, sign me up. I love that bass tone..
T$
I love the sound of the Roto 77s, but the tension is high and after a 4 hours set, my fingers are hurting.
