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Flats - Do I need to man-up?

#121
Hounddog409 said:
Did you adjust your amp settings? Highly doubtful rounds and flats would have same settings to achieve desired sound.
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I leave the amp pretty flat, sometimes with a small bass boost. I took the bass control back to flat. I wanted a different sound though in a way, because there's no point in changing strings from rounds to flats to get the same sound, especially if they feel wrong to me..
 
#122
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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This sounds like an excellent opportunity for another bass; why switch strings when you can switch basses?
 
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#123
4StringDave said:
I leave the amp pretty flat, sometimes with a small bass boost. I took the bass control back to flat. I wanted a different sound though in a way, because there's no point in changing strings from rounds to flats to get the same sound, especially if they feel wrong to me..
Click to expand...

Well, up the treble and mids, lower the bass to get rid of the thud and mud.

Kkobs are there for a reason.....time to experiment
 
#124
LoTone said:
How about some GHS Pressurewounds instead?
  • Warmth (check)
  • Punch (check)
  • Feel (check) (more grippy than flats fore sure)
Less expensive than flats to boot. Give it a shot.
View attachment 3488162
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The main dislike I had with pressurewounds is that the low B string rolled easier than any other string I've tried, even the superbrights.

The other dislikes was these strings are not really warm compared to the modern flats. I would even consider it close. Pressurewounds to me are fully roundwound sounding with just the high zing removed.

Feel was great though.

I believe pressurewounds probably sat in the sweet spot between rounds and flats back in the day. But with the advent of modern flats, the sweet spot moved on GHS.

I like the Cobalts that replaced the pressurewounds better. I do have 9050MLs on my EBMM as well, but boomers stay on the precision. Cannot get a better classic roundwound precision sound than those boomers, imo.

OP, perhaps try tapewounds?
 
#125
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...

You already have plenty of feedback, but my comments as a flats player are these....

1) Option: the very popular light gauge Labella Deep Talkin' flats are .043-.104 and I believe would feel less like cables. "Ah feel yore pain" because I tried the Labella Jamerson flats once (and only once) and they felt like tugboat hawsers under load to me. They came off the bass immediately. The Labella 760FL sets are much kinder to fingers. I haven't had much experience with Fender flats but their strings in general feel stiffer to me.

2) Time helps. Flats need to age a bit and settle in. They sound different a month or two down the road than they do at first.

3) I think more "finesse" comes with verying the plucking hand position, moving from closer to the bridge (brighter) and moving upwards, over the bottom of the fingerboard (classic sound.) When I want a really mellow sound, I anchor my thumb on the bottom of the fretboard and pluck over it.
 
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#126
Give yourself (and the strings) some more time to adjust. I don’t think it’s realistic to expect you’ll achieve perfect dexterity on a brand new set of strings after the first gig. Some flats take months to break in before they really feel and sound good :)
 
#128
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 haven't read through the whole thread, but if no one has already mentioned it, try either GHS or Rotosound Pressurewounds. They're a nice compromise between rounds and flats. They give you what you want from both and little of the things you said you didn't like about the flats. They're my favorite strings, and the best thing is that while they sound great right out of the package...they really sound great a few weeks/months down the road.
 
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#129
The only place I like flats is DB. I've never liked flats on BG. Too dull sounding given the relatively short scale. You can easily control the brightness of rounds with technique and eq, but you can't add overtones that just aren't there with flats.

I know this is heresy around these parts, but I don't play oldies/classic rock, and I've never been interested in emulating that tone.
 
#130
I have a Rickenbacker 4003 with TI’s on it and while the sound isn’t for everyone, I personally love that thump the flats give my Rickenbacker. Most flats have to be broken in at first but once you get used to it, they feel great to play on. TI’s are a little different in a sense that they aren’t high tension so they don’t feel like most flats; in other words they don’t feel like bridge cables. Some like the less tension some don’t. It’s all preference. A little pricey but I think it’s worth it
 
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#133
Do you have enough opinions yet? Here’s one more: what I like about flats is the strong punch and quick decay I can get from them. So, I want high tension flats, and like the GHS precision set. LaBella Jamerson set is nice if you don’t string through bridge and I have a set of TIs in an old Precision I don’t want to challenge the neck on. Those have tension similar to most rounds and take a light touch. They are like playing rounds that last for years and don’t zing or eat frets. Real flat wounds are high tension, and to get what they are good for, you dig in.

And for the same diameter as a round wound string, flats have a lot more steel and much higher output. So, you alter your playing style, and setup for flats.
 
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#135
short answer = NO

first bass had flats ... didn't know there was anything different back in 1974 , age 15 ...

upon first string change , went to them new fangled rounds ... never looked back ..

tried several flats , from Ti's to tapes ... sound in pretty cool for various things ... just don't like the feel with either hand/fingers ..!??!

my happy medium for sound/feel ... GHS Pressurewounds ,... or any ' roller wound ' type string ..!!
 
#136
They take getting used to. Did they offer you a sound that you liked and cannot get with the rounds? If so, I say keep trying them, you're already out the money. If they didn't, go back to the rounds.

Also, flats suck to slide on.
 
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#137
AcridSaint said:
They take getting used to. Did they offer you a sound that you liked and cannot get with the rounds? If so, I say keep trying them, you're already out the money. If they didn't, go back to the rounds.

Also, flats suck to slide on.
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I'd say the sound was quite a bit more "clunky" (hard to describe, but very much like the sample someone put on above), and far less refined than the rounds. Not a bad sound, and it might/should work for the 60s band, but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle for the two people who might notice...
 
#138
Have not had time to read the thread, but want to mention DR Flats and Sadowsky Flats. Neither are sticky, and both provide thump and more modern timbres, based on how you play them. I use both - the DRs have more old-school. I have not tried the new Sadowsky flats, but have had a set of the "old" ones on two fretless basses for many years, and have one unopened set reserved for the future. These are phenomenal strings, if you want to do both old school, yet more.
 
#139
74hc said:
The main dislike I had with pressurewounds is that the low B string rolled easier than any other string I've tried, even the superbrights.

The other dislikes was these strings are not really warm compared to the modern flats. I would even consider it close. Pressurewounds to me are fully roundwound sounding with just the high zing removed.

Feel was great though.

I believe pressurewounds probably sat in the sweet spot between rounds and flats back in the day. But with the advent of modern flats, the sweet spot moved on GHS.

I like the Cobalts that replaced the pressurewounds better. I do have 9050MLs on my EBMM as well, but boomers stay on the precision. Cannot get a better classic roundwound precision sound than those boomers, imo.

OP, perhaps try tapewounds?
Click to expand...
Since the original OP explains that the player is coming off usually playing broken in roundwounds. Well, pressurewounds (PW) sound like broken in roundwounds from the start. That sounded like a match in heaven.

However, I do agree that the PW do not have as much warmth as flats but then again, people that do not like flats usually complain that flats are too warm and they do not have enough definition.

To each is own I guess.
 
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