Flats on a 5 string bass?

I have tested TIs on two fivers (two Sandbergs), and they worked nicely. Other good five strings (IME) are Chromes and Sadowsky. The Sadowsky has a tapered B string, though, if that matters to you. I liked it.

 

I use LaBella Deep Talkin Flats on my 5 string fretless, and will continue to do so unless they quit making them.

 

I've used TI Flats on all my 5 strings and they have been great.

Ibanez SR5005 Prestige
Bachuss Woodline
Benavente SCB

Some of the best strings and tone I've ever had with these basses.

 

Chromes on my xotic xp-5. Sounds great.

 

I've used TI, Chromes and GHS with great success.

 

Yup, they work great.

 

I had Chromes on my Precision 5 for several years and they sounded FANTASTIC on that bass and I also loved the relatively stiff feel. I then went to rounds for a while but about a month ago I went back to flats and put a set of LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats on it. I haven't used the P with my band yet and the strings are nowhere near being broken in but, so far, I'm liking them a lot. They're very deep sounding and I'm finding them a lot more articulate sounding and not as sustainlessly thuddy as I expected them to be based on what I've read here on TB (again, I'll see what I think when I finally get to play them with the band). However, when I bought this bass the previous owner had TI Jazz Flats on it and I didn't like their feel. They were just too loose for me. But I didn't think they sounded bad and, in fact, I remember kind of liking how they sounded on it.

I also recently bought an L-2500 and the previous owner had TI Jazz Flats on that one as well. Once again, I just didn't like how they felt but, unlike my memory of how they sounded on my Precision, I really didn't like how they sounded on this bass at all. After giving it a couple of weeks, I put a set of rounds on it.

TL;DR - I kind of liked how the TI's sounded on my P but did not like how they sounded on my L-2500. In both cases, I hated their loose feel. So far I have only limited experience with the LaBella's on my P but I really like their feel and, although I've only had them for a month or so and haven't played the P in a band situation yet, I'm liking them. Finally, I simply LOVED how the Chromes sounded and felt on my P.

 

Chromes on my Portamento 5, GHS flats on my SUB Ray 5 and Ibanez SRX705. The Portamento came shipped with Chromes installed, and they are perfect tonally for the electronics on that instrument. The GHS flats help tame the highs from both the Ibby and the SUB while adding an extra dimension of lows. Nice clear fundamental pitch with punchiness. Loud, but refined and smooth. Rounds sound thin and clanky by comparison, which is why the flats will stay on.

Also, setup and action with flats is stupid low...the SUB's strings look as if they're laying right on the frets, yet there's no buzz. Effortless playing.

 

EB Custom Gauge on my SR 505, it's fantastic.