Flats - Do I need to man-up?

[red_rhino]

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!

Finding out that you're not a flats guy is not a defeat at all. It's due diligence. You were willing to consider the possibility that something might work for you and it didn't. I just went thru a similar exercise with several different sets of flats on several different basses and came to the same conclusion; just not my thing.

My latest string love is for GHS Pressurewounds. I'll spare you the hype; they get plenty of it. If you're looking for something that feels and plays like a round, but gives you great tone without being too zingy, these are worth a try.

As for not loving flats; now you know. You can unsub from all those string threads now.

 

[2F/2F]

I hate to break it to you, but those are on the lighter end of bass strings; they should be incredibly easy to do everything on. I use .052–.110 on most of my basses, as I find .105s and below too flexible. I like my electric bases to lean toward having a bit of an upright bass feel and sustain.

The point isn't that you're a wimp and I am not. The point is that if you have a problem with .100s, then there is something other than a "wimpiness" issue going on. If I had to guess, I would guess that you probably just aren't used to them. I have played flats almost exclusively since I started playing bass as a kid over 30 years ago. And I feel that rounds are total crap when I play them, at first. Stiff, twangy, cumbersome, nasty e.q. spikes in unpleasant areas, gritty feeling, dirty/tarnished feeling, tonally unstable/unpredictable, etc. It takes a lot of adjustment for me to get the best out of them...but I can do it; it just takes time. You were probably experiencing the same thing, but in the other direction.

Also, did you set up your bass after the string swap? Different levels of tension when switching from one string set to the next can change things enough that you need to set things up again.

 

[Hypercaffium]

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!

To me, the "finesse" is in the flats. I hear smoothness, balance, compousure, fat mids, deep muscular bass with soft velvety top end. Rounds sound more trebly, zingy, aggressive, definitely less "predictable" in terms of EQ but more predictable in terms of tone.
I use and love both for different things, but I must have a bass with flats for certain stuff.

 

[okabass]

Talk about going from extremes...from telephone cables to wet noodles!

Hey man, been a while...hope all is well! Still got that SVT rig you built yourself?

Hi
Thanks all ok. And you?
Okafunken rig blows nicely after 12 years.
Yes extremes. I feel its good to have clearly different strings. La Bellas for rocky or heavier and Thomastiks for fancier stuff.

 

[bleedingfingers]

Haven't seen anyone mention DR Legend flats ..
Smooth as silk have them on my Pre don't think they are broke in but other than feeling a little stiff
I really dig them .
Also put some foam in at the bridge and still have enough sustain .
Someone previous mentioned setting up the bass I dropped the action on mine .
I don't think you get as much movement because of the tension so a lower action is easy to achieve .
They are pricey but seem to get better the longer you play them .
They wear in rounds wear out .
I have rounds on everything else but really like playing the Pre with the flats on it .
For the kind of tunes you are playing makes sense ( to original poster)

 

[IamGroot]

Find "your" sound and run with it and you will grow musically. Be open to changes, but find the bass, strings, amp combination that works the best for you


Ps. There can be more than one.

 

[Dynacord]

The Thomastik Infled Jazz Flats have already been mentioned - they are certainly brighter and more full range than the Fender flats (though the Fender ones I have are the older version so I can't really say about the current ones) - I notice you're in Europe and the price difference is not as significant as in the US (about 40 euro for a 4 string set - and , as you surely know, the US brands are priced significantly higher than in the US generally).

 

[Dynacord]

Based on OP comments, I’d say try TI’s or Pyramid Gold’s before you give up on flats.

LOVE the Pyramid Golds personally but as the OP mentions lack of high end in his post, the TI might be the better choice (if the softer tension is not a problem for him).

 

[JoeWPgh]

If the string tension is high, you can lower your action as the strings won't move as much. For a soft feeling flat, the TI's are it. I personally like the Cobalt flats. They almost sound like nicely broken in rounds

 

[Hypercaffium]

If the OP doesn't like both the feel and the tones from flats, he should come back to rounds. There's nothing wrong with that.

 

[BaticaBG]

Fender flats are great choice ( they are good sounding and they are cheap) I think for country and old school sound they are win combination over the rounds...

 

[Coot]

I found it took a couple months to really break in my Chrome flats.That stickiness wears off . They sound great with my P/J.I use 1/2 rounds on my Jazz. That's always an option as well . We all like different feels to our gear, find what YOU really like and go with that.

 

[Hypercaffium]

Fender flats are great choice ( they are good sounding and they are cheap) I think for country and old school sound they are win combination over the rounds...

+1
I tried many flats but 9050Ls are what I use the most. They're more affordable, sound great, and seem just bright enough.

 

[Cutter8]

LOVE the Pyramid Golds personally but as the OP mentions lack of high end in his post, the TI might be the better choice (if the softer tension is not a problem for him).

You’re right about that.

 

[4StringDave]

Finding out that you're not a flats guy is not a defeat at all. It's due diligence. You were willing to consider the possibility that something might work for you and it didn't. I just went thru a similar exercise with several different sets of flats on several different basses and came to the same conclusion; just not my thing.

My latest string love is for GHS Pressurewounds. I'll spare you the hype; they get plenty of it. If you're looking for something that feels and plays like a round, but gives you great tone without being too zingy, these are worth a try.

As for not loving flats; now you know. You can unsub from all those string threads now.

Just reading the OP I'm thinking the strings just need to be broken in.

Thanks. I might just give those pressurewounds a go, as I do love old rounds once the zing has worn off.

To everyone else - thanks very much for all your suggestions - food for thought. To answer a couple of questions, I didn't set up the bass after putting the strings on as I had to go to the gig right away, and also because there didn't seem to be any change in action etc. I do remember an old pal of mine who used flat telling me he could get the action a lot lower with flats, so that might be worth experimenting with. I do plan to keep them on and persevere for a while as it's not my main bass anyway, and although it was weird it was fun to try something else. I've been a working musician for over 20 years and have been fine up till now, so if they don't work out it's no big deal. Just thought I'd give it a go.

 

[teh-slb]

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.

I have nothing but respect for finesse players, but I'd play submarine cables if that's what it takes to get the boom and the sound that makes people forget about life for a moment and wiggle their behinds on the dance floor.

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

Disappointing to you? What does the rest of the band say? Was the audience into it?

(Edit: ha! Too late to the party, by the looks of it )

 

[TOOL460002]

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!

DR High Beams or bust. Sorry.

 

[Hand slap]

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!

Sounds to me like you basically described the vibe of a flat?

 

[interp]

TI Jazz Flats. Leave them on for at least a month or so before making any final judgment. Then if you don’t like them you should be able to sell them on TB classified for 80% of what you paid for them. If you do like them, leave them on for 5-6 years and you will have experienced the cheapest bass strings available.

 

[4StringDave]

Disappointing to you? What does the rest of the band say? Was the audience into it?

(Edit: ha! Too late to the party, by the looks of it )

Not my normal band (was a sub gig) and I'm not convinced my regular band would have noticed much anyway. The audience probably didn't even know what a bass guitar is....

The sound was actually decent, but as I said it was more difficult to be subtle, maybe because I was so focussed on trying to play them....... Just need to get used to how they respond.