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Flats - Do I need to man-up?

#301
4StringDave said:
Hi guys - quick update

I decided to persevere with the flats, but changed them onto my main Jazz Bass, mainly to play in my 60s band. I've been practicing with them and getting used to the feel.

Played the bass at practice before our big Christmas show and everyone in the band loved the sound and how it helped fatten out the bottom of the band whilst simultaneously giving more space to the treble instruments. Decided to play it at the gig and here's my observations:
- during soundcheck the sound was fantastic - rich, deep and defined.
- Once we started playing and the hall was full of people who were making a noise of their own the sound was still good but less defined
- By the second set it had deteriorated a bit again, but then I suppose this is normal rounds or flats with the increased crowd noise and the band playing that little bit harder.
- I don't sweat much, but the heat made my fingers a little moist which made the strings begin to feel a little grabby. I managed

I think I'll keep these strings on this bass as I actually enjoyed it, and ironically I've since been giving it a lot of thought and my favourite all time bass sounds seem to be always a jazz with flats.....

I might try some other brands of strings, perhaps something a bit looser, to see if I can improve the feel. Cobalts, TIs ans LaBella Flex Flats are on the radar.
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I love my TI's but my Labella low tension flats are n my number one pbass. They are made for that bass, nice full round sound and perfect tension. They do not feel like cables.. I use GHS fast fret, I apply before each set. It helps me slide and isn't sticky feeling at all.
 
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#304
edencab said:
are the majority of yours Fender flats or a mixture?...Fenders sound great to me... "Fenders on a Fender" is a good way to start
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Sorry for the delay in responding. Yes, the majority of my basses with flats are with Fender Flats. I used to peruse eBay for strings and acquired a few sets of Picato Flats, which I also love. But you can't beat the price of Fender strings.
 
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#305
I'm not reading all sixteen pages: did the OP have a set up done on the bass when mounting the flats: truss rod adjustment, check frets for wear, bridge saddle intonation and height, nut slot witness points, contour back to tuners, proper geometry to the string slot, etc.? When I use Fender Flats, they feel just fine to me, no harder to play than a conventional set of 45's rounds, because I have the bass set up properly to accommodate them.
 
#307
Thanks to the TB brain trust and decades of field research, I've settled on a Fender P with flats (Roto 77s, 45's) and a FSO J 5 with nickel rounds (DR Sunbeams, 45's).

But yes, some flats definitely need manning up to. For example, I could not deal with the LaBella Jamerson flats - they seemed comically large to me.
 
#308
Bit late to this but having played flats all my life, a perspective.
Flats are an aquired taste and have nothing in common with rounds at all. Firstly the Fender flats I played once were terribly indestinct, flabby and just plain yuch. However, the 15 year old dead Chromes I have on my two P basses are power house strings that I will never change. They are gnarly and full of mid range bite but they need to be played in a certain way. If I just whack them they clunk and make no sound at all but if I play into them gently with a light touch over the PU they punch like crazy.
Even the way you position your fretting fingers will affect the tone. I kinda roll my fingers into a note and when you get it right you can feel the mid range building....Flats? I love em.
 
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#309
tvbop said:
Bit late to this but having played flats all my life, a perspective.
Flats are an aquired taste and have nothing in common with rounds at all. Firstly the Fender flats I played once were terribly indestinct, flabby and just plain yuch. However, the 15 year old dead Chromes I have on my two P basses are power house strings that I will never change. They are gnarly and full of mid range bite but they need to be played in a certain way. If I just whack them they clunk and make no sound at all but if I play into them gently with a light touch over the PU they punch like crazy.
Even the way you position your fretting fingers will affect the tone. I kinda roll my fingers into a note and when you get it right you can feel the mid range building....Flats? I love em.
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Chromes? Best flats bang for the buck IMO ..
 
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#310
iiipopes said:
I'm not reading all sixteen pages: did the OP have a set up done on the bass when mounting the flats: truss rod adjustment, check frets for wear, bridge saddle intonation and height, nut slot witness points, contour back to tuners, proper geometry to the string slot, etc.? When I use Fender Flats, they feel just fine to me, no harder to play than a conventional set of 45's rounds, because I have the bass set up properly to accommodate them.
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The bass didn't really need set up too much as the tension was similar to my XL 45-105s, it was more the feel of them and the "stickiness". I'm glad to say, I've had them on now for two years and I'm used to them, so the moral of the story is that you will get used to the feel and the stickiness will go away. I still use rounds for some gigs and the flats for 60s gigs.
 
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#312
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!
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I would submit to you that you may not have given yourself enough time to adjust to the flats. If you've been playing anything for a long enough time and then switch to something different it takes a while to get used to it. Not sure what your goal to attain was with the switch, but you definitely should've expected a different feel and tone from the flats vs the round wounds. Maybe you should just set a specific time allotment playing the flats before you make a determination on whether or not you like them. There is a physical adjustment to makes well as the tonal differences. Play 'em for awhile.
 
#313
GonzoBfiddy said:
I would submit to you that you may not have given yourself enough time to adjust to the flats. If you've been playing anything for a long enough time and then switch to something different it takes a while to get used to it. Not sure what your goal to attain was with the switch, but you definitely should've expected a different feel and tone from the flats vs the round wounds. Maybe you should just set a specific time allotment playing the flats before you make a determination on whether or not you like them. There is a physical adjustment to makes well as the tonal differences. Play 'em for awhile.
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It's now been two years and I seem to have indeed managed to "man up". I can now switch between flats and rounds easily, which is ideal as I play the flats in my 60s band and rounds for most other things.
 
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#314
micguy said:
Flats are not a "man up" kinda thing - they're easier on the fingers than most rounds - if anything, they're sissy strings. The real strings you need to "man up to" are rough stainless rounds - Rotosounds come to mind.

I wonder how many people will disagree. Only one way to find out.....
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It depends on the bass and the right sound for the music, the fingers will get use to any of them! IMHO.
 
#316
4StringDave said:
The bass didn't really need set up too much as the tension was similar to my XL 45-105s, it was more the feel of them and the "stickiness". I'm glad to say, I've had them on now for two years and I'm used to them, so the moral of the story is that you will get used to the feel and the stickiness will go away. I still use rounds for some gigs and the flats for 60s gigs.
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Nice to hear how you got on with them a couple years after the fact. That's a lifetime as far as string experiments go. At least for me. I bo back and forth but I really dig the set of fender flats that I've been using. I find that minor tweaks in the setup can mean a world of difference when switching strings, any strings for that matter, but especially when trying out something completely different that you're used to like flats. It might just be me but I'm still doing minor tweaks on my setup a couple months after having put them on. Especially the pickup height. I don't know but it seems like the E string vibrates with so much more force that it overpowers the pickup and just makes a splat sound more so than a thud. Lowering the pickup to just the right depth can help the flats sound their best. Glad to hear you didn't completely give up and found good results.
 
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#317
tvbop said:
The 15 year old dead Chromes I have on my two P basses are power house strings that I will never change. They are gnarly and full of mid range bite but they need to be played in a certain way. If I just whack them they clunk and make no sound at all but if I play into them gently with a light touch over the PU they punch like crazy.
Click to expand...

I have a set of Chromes on my Franken Pbass that are now around 7 years old.
For quite a few years after switching to bass I played 95% or more with a pick. As time went on I started playing most ballads with fingers and these days I probably play 70% of current material with fingers. When it comes to upbeat or rock songs though, nothing sounds as good to me as using a pick on the flats on that Pbass.
 
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#320
4StringDave said:
My post is meant to be kind of tongue-in-cheek, although I would genuinely like some suggestions if people think it will help. I'm always looking to improve things, and stupidly I began to feel like I was missing out on something with all this flats love on here. Other than that I'm happy with my tone with rounds, and it was probably worth the €28 to confirm it :)
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They are just different things. Flats are not going to feel like rounds. They are not going to sound like rounds. Yeah flats absolutely bring the boom. Combined with a P having more oomph than a jazz anyway, it stands to reason there is going to be an abundance. You may need to tweak the rig a bit. Everything you found troubling are exactly why I put flats on the P. I want the stiffer feel. I can lower the action with that extra tension. I want the boom. especially in a DI siuation
 

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