Oh I see that you continue and in a harsher way ah ah .. Carry on, carry on .. this will certainly improve your life for the few days to come
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Flats help
- Thread starter svp
- Start date
I was so underwhelmed after having read all the super positive comments here that after a hour I realised that they were either based on a bad assessment of the strings’ properties or I got a bad sample; however I bought two packs; I opened the second and it looked and felt exactly as the first one.
Very angry for having wasted 100€ (in Europe they are more expensive than in the USA) I took them off and established that they were bad strings for me as I don’t like very stiff strings and they have to sound vintage as flatwound strings.
That’s why when I hear again people stating that the Dunlops aren’t stiff I think that their vision is somehow obfuscated and I feel the urge to tell what I believe is true (at least they are not so flexible to allow them
to be compared to TI, Rotos or Pyramid and this has to be said objectively - for example the LaBella LTF 4-A, so called flexible flats, are not that flexible IME and it should be objectively stated, although they sound very nice, the opposite of the Dunlops).
Then we have the “Dunlops pasdarans” that get hot for nothing and the thread becomes a bashing this, bashing that one .. bah .. the OP will do what he/she wants and what he/she likes with his/her money but he/she should listen to people with different experiences in order to make an informed choice; mine with Dunlops is this and I’ll never spend another cent for them unless they change the 45-105 model specs.
A couple of thing is great with them however: 1. They are very smooth, 2. The plastic wax covering the silk at both ends preserving it from unravelling.
Tone and stiffness-wise however the OP can find much, much better, especially if he/she likes playing Motown’s soul
Have had both Dunlop flats (the medium and the heavy set) and DR Legend on a Pbass.
As has already been mentioned, Dunlop flats are low tension for the respective gauge (it even says so on the packaging!) and are also flexible. DR Legend are higher tension (but still normal for their gauge) and stiffer. The DRs have a fuller, thicker sound with a slight midrange snarl while the Dunlops have a puffy sound with no midrange edges/harshness that gives the impression of it being somewhat hollow, lacking substance or, put positively, being airy. They are both well made, DRs have no gaps in the windings and are super smooth polished, Dunlops have gaps, which are typical with some flats, and are not mirror finished; nor are they rough, of course. I like them both for what they are. If I had to choose between them, I'd go for the DR Legend as they suit more what I'm playing with this Pbass, which is now strung with Fender 9050M, but that's another story. And as always, YMMV.
As has already been mentioned, Dunlop flats are low tension for the respective gauge (it even says so on the packaging!) and are also flexible. DR Legend are higher tension (but still normal for their gauge) and stiffer. The DRs have a fuller, thicker sound with a slight midrange snarl while the Dunlops have a puffy sound with no midrange edges/harshness that gives the impression of it being somewhat hollow, lacking substance or, put positively, being airy. They are both well made, DRs have no gaps in the windings and are super smooth polished, Dunlops have gaps, which are typical with some flats, and are not mirror finished; nor are they rough, of course. I like them both for what they are. If I had to choose between them, I'd go for the DR Legend as they suit more what I'm playing with this Pbass, which is now strung with Fender 9050M, but that's another story. And as always, YMMV.
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Oh I see that you continue and in a harsher way ah ah .. Carry on, carry on .. this will certainly improve your life for the few days to come
For someone that says they aren't going to engage you sure seem to feel the need to continue to engage.
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These are light but don't feel like spaghetti like some of the light flats do and they have a nice tone, very clear from bottom to top. I've tried a lot of different flats, and La Bellas have always been my favorite, they last years too. I have not tried either one you mentioned though so there's that. DR does make good strings though.
760FX Deep Talkin’ Bass Flats – Extra Light 39-96
760FX Deep Talkin’ Bass Flats – Extra Light 39-96
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I really appreciate this! I know the LTF's and Cobalts but no experience with the DTF's. How did the Roto SM77's make it to the top 3?
Riis
Well, the Rotos aren’t very stiff; they sit midway between TI and LaBella DTF.
They aren’t as smooth as the LaBellas but are on par with TI.
They are sold at nice (to me) gauge (40-100).
Again, they (to me) have a pleasant vintage tone, not too rich in the mids dept. but not too muddy, so they sound right and, above all, they are cheap, at least in Europe.
If you look a stiffer and cheaper alternative to the TIs the Rotos are a good candidate in my opinion.
I'm aiming for something "navigable" for aging, almost-arthritic hands: smooth to the touch & fairly flexible.
Riis
TIs are more flexible; many here define them as being floppy; I was against this definition until I became used to the higher stiffness characterising the LaBella DTF 760FL and I could not really fully adjust back to the very low stiffness of the TIs.
The Rotos are a good in-between; they may be ok for you, I guess …
Well, I'm not going to buy anything else until I stick these LTF's on one of my fiver's. I'm having some decision-paralysis as I can't decide on the recipient. Guess I can move them around as desired.
Riis
I felt (but this may just be my impression) that the DTF 760FL from LaBella were actually more flexible than their so-called flexible counterpart, the LTF-4A strings.
They sounded very nicely but they weren’t all that flexible IME.
So I decided on the Dunlop stainless steel flats and they just arrived in the mail. Put them on this afternoon, lowered the action some and adjusted the eq on my amp and cranked it and I am totally happy with the tones I am getting and the feel of the strings. These are definitely the flats for me for the sound I was looking for and at a reasonable price.
Yep .. they're the RS775LD model; same monel alloy as the SM77; never tried them though as I don't play 5-strings basses.
So this is how Dunlop flats sound on a Pbass in the hands of Michael League.
I also very much like the cardan joint connecting his head to the shoulders’ area
Anyway this how LaBella DTF 760FL sounds in my poor hands:
A new Beginning (2023)
Nice fat growl!I also very much like the cardan joint connecting his head to the shoulders’ area
Anyway this how LaBella DTF 760FL sounds in my poor hands:
A new Beginning (2023)
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