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Flats - Do I need to man-up?

#181
.. old set of D'Addario Chromes light-gauge re-installed on my avatar's Fender American Original '60s jazz bass.
These strings were previously installed on the same bass but, at that stage, I still have to fully realize the great potential of flat-wound strings ... ;)

Note:

They may be light-gauge (45-95) but their tension exceeds that of the Half-Rounds, notwithstanding the latter having a larger cross-section
 
#184
4StringDave said:
I need to just admit defeat and go back to my rounds, or am I missing a trick?
Click to expand...
IMO: you ain't missin' nothin'! you were right all along! :laugh:

4StringDave said:
I began to feel like I was missing out on something with all this flats love on here.
Click to expand...
that's just here --- none of my non-TB, bass playing friends ever talk about a P with flats....all (a few heavy hitters) use rounds.

4StringDave said:
I'm happy with my tone with rounds
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:thumbsup:
 
#184
4StringDave said:
Bit of background - I play in a Country Rock band, a 60s band, and a Blues Rock band. All fairly traditional stuff, with not an ounce of slapping in sight, fingerstyle (and palm mute) only..! I normally play a Fender Jazz with old D'Addario nickel rounds on it (45-105), either both pickups or front pickup only, but also occasionally take my P with the same type of rounds. The sound I am going for is deep, defined and muscular.

I decided, as everyone seems to love them these days, and specifically due to the vibe of the 60s band, to purchase a set of Flats - Fender 45-100 to be specific, after a little bit of research on here and elsewhere.

Played a gig with them tonight on the P (as I didn't want to muck about with the setup on my Jazz, which is my baby) - very disappointing..... The bad bits: the feel - they feel like cables, and sticky so hard to move around on. Also felt like harder work to fret; the sound - the boom is there, but almost too much at times. It seems like there is little of the "finesse" that I get with the rounds. It's hard to describe, and could be to do with readjusting my ears.

So, my question is, do I need to just admit defeat and go back to my rounds, or am I missing a trick? All reasonable suggestions considered!
Click to expand...
I recently bought a lightly used fretless Jazz with the original (10 yr old) Fender flats on it; I have to agree with you, as I hated them. The feel was awful, I didn't care much for the tone. Off they came, on went the rounds.
I have TI flats on another fretless, & the difference is night & day! The TI's have so much...character. I love them.
 
#185
-Asdfgh- said:
Cobalts or TIs, although I did see a UK brand (not Rotosound, and relevant for me, not the OP) for much less than either but I have so many strings I haven't bought any.
Click to expand...

Funny thing, I never cared for Cobalts. And I thought I didn’t like Chromes (I had already tried them on a few different basses) until I was given yet another a set by a friend who didn’t want them. However, when I put them on a new MIM Fender PB I got as a Christmas gift (and which I had just loaded with a Klein ‘62 Epic pup) I discovered, much to my surprise, tgat I really liked them on that bass. And I liked them even more after they broke in - which took surprisingly little time. So that’s whats on there today.

So go figure. :laugh: (I figure I’m slowly starting to lose it - and big time.)

But that experience further reinforces my belief there’s an ideal set of strings for each bass you play. The trick is finding it.
 
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#188
Flats, rounds, PW, SS, nickel, tapes, fingers, pick, slap, active, passive, P, J, PJ, HBs, MM...

We live in an era where options seem almost limitless. Take the chance and then you'll know if you like them or not. Flats usually need to settle and it could take several weeks of playing (rapid-aging tricks notwithstanding...)
While DB players need to spend several $100s to find their perfect string set (and more often than not, ending up with a hybrid set), €28 doesn't seem too bad to know for sure if flats are for you. Give them a chance. You still have the Jazz with rounds. In the meantime, play, play, PLAY!
 
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#192
JRA said:
IMO: you ain't missin' nothin'! you were right all along! :laugh:

that's just here --- none of my non-TB, bass playing friends ever talk about a P with flats....all (a few heavy hitters) use rounds.

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
I respect everyone's choices and by far rounds are the more popular choice, and most of the time I use them, too. But there are PLENTY of current heavy hitters who use flats. Off the top of my head, Sean Hurley, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Cliff Williams, Steve Harris, Joe Dart, Michael League, Pino Palladino, Owen Biddle...and some old dude named Paul Something. So it isn't just here.
 
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#194
JimmyM said:
Fender strings are made by D'addario, and for the first couple weeks they're sticky just like Chromes. They're not 100% identical to Chromes but they're similar. But if they feel thick to you, you can always get a lighter gauge.
Click to expand...

Fender flats are zingier than XLs and stay zingier longer. For me.

Which is why I prefer XLs.
No zing for me! Ever!
 
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#195
JimmyM said:
I respect everyone's choices and by far rounds are the more popular choice, and most of the time I use them, too. But there are PLENTY of current heavy hitters who use flats. Off the top of my head, Sean Hurley, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Cliff Williams, Steve Harris, Joe Dart, Michael League, Pino Palladino, Owen Biddle...and some old dude named Paul Something. So it isn't just here.
Click to expand...
:laugh: ha! i was just getting ready to respond to your "conventional wisdom" thread on the subject. of course: there are lots of great players from all genres playing flats (and all manner of strings not round wound)....just none of my non-TB cats. my real point was that TB presents a 'bubble' on some (most?) issues. "a P-bass must have flats" is a TB thing IME. most of the cats i run with use a specific string to accommodate one thing/issue or another, specifically --- but not because they "read" about it somewhere (TB). YMMV. (also: most of my references are old enough to be 'set' in their ways, so there's that.)

now i have to jump off this thread so i can post in your thread! :laugh: --- :thumbsup:
 
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#196
JRA said:
:laugh: ha! i was just getting ready to respond to your "conventional wisdom" thread on the subject. of course: there are lots of great players from all genres playing flats (and all manner of strings not round wound)....just none of my non-TB cats. my real point was that TB presents a 'bubble' on some (most?) issues. "a P-bass must have flats" is a TB thing IME. most of the cats i run with use a specific string to accommodate one thing/issue or another, specifically --- but not because they "read" about it somewhere (TB). YMMV. (also: most of my references are old enough to be 'set' in their ways, so there's that.)

now i have to jump off this thread so i can post in your thread! :laugh: --- :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
If it makes you feel better, I agree with you. I love rounds on a P!
 
#197
JRA said:
:laugh: ha! i was just getting ready to respond to your "conventional wisdom" thread on the subject. of course: there are lots of great players from all genres playing flats (and all manner of strings not round wound)....just none of my non-TB cats. my real point was that TB presents a 'bubble' on some (most?) issues. "a P-bass must have flats" is a TB thing IME. most of the cats i run with use a specific string to accommodate one thing/issue or another, specifically --- but not because they "read" about it somewhere (TB). YMMV. (also: most of my references are old enough to be 'set' in their ways, so there's that.)

now i have to jump off this thread so i can post in your thread! :laugh: --- :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Nah ... in my case it was a genuine, recent discovery .. a P-bass with flat-wound strings is truly a Weapon of Bass Destruction ;)
 
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#199
grinx said:
Fender flats are zingier than XLs and stay zingier longer. For me.

Which is why I prefer XLs.
No zing for me! Ever!
Click to expand...
Ya, if I want zing, I'll use rounds. However, I use Chromes on a couple of my basses, but as soon as Hipshot figures out the add-on for low tension strings they're planning for the double stop Bass Xtender on most Fender keys, I'm switching over to Dunlops because they are thud city! But I can't tune the E down to B with any of my Fender keys using Dunlops except the Hammersmith PJ I have with Hipshot Ultralites and I'm not about to plug and redrill my Fender headstocks, so for now I'm using Chromes on my 09 P.
 
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#200
4StringDave said:
Bit of background - I play in a Country Rock band, a 60s band, and a Blues Rock band. All fairly traditional stuff, with not an ounce of slapping in sight, fingerstyle (and palm mute) only..! I normally play a Fender Jazz with old D'Addario nickel rounds on it (45-105), either both pickups or front pickup only, but also occasionally take my P with the same type of rounds. The sound I am going for is deep, defined and muscular.

I decided, as everyone seems to love them these days, and specifically due to the vibe of the 60s band, to purchase a set of Flats - Fender 45-100 to be specific, after a little bit of research on here and elsewhere.

Played a gig with them tonight on the P (as I didn't want to muck about with the setup on my Jazz, which is my baby) - very disappointing..... The bad bits: the feel - they feel like cables, and sticky so hard to move around on. Also felt like harder work to fret; the sound - the boom is there, but almost too much at times. It seems like there is little of the "finesse" that I get with the rounds. It's hard to describe, and could be to do with readjusting my ears.

So, my question is, do I need to just admit defeat and go back to my rounds, or am I missing a trick? All reasonable suggestions considered!
Click to expand...

no you are not missing a trick … you simply found out hype and reality are 2 different things

play the strings you like …. don't play strings because others like them
 
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