Flats or Tapes for an Ibanez AGB205

[Xyth]

Greetings all. First time poster. I'm thinking of getting an Ibanez AGB205 and am looking for advice on the feasibility of restringing it with flatwounds or possibly even tapewounds. It's a shortscale 30.3" bass, but takes longscale strings thanks to it's bridge setup. It ships with .055/.075/.090/.110/.145 rounds, so I presume I'm going to need some pretty heavy flats/tapes for it. Any recommendations? Will a .130 or .135 be enough for the B - will the extra tension of flats/tapes compensate?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[iiipopes]

Frankly, I would stay with the stock strings. First, tapes do not come that heavy. In spite of the larger diameter, it is as a result of the thickness of the nylon tape, which does not have any significant mass, so the 135 tapewound B string actually has less tension. They will flop. Second, the only flatwound B strings that are out there are the Ernie Ball, D'Addario and T-I, and they only go from .130 to .136.

Here is how floppy they are: Take a standard bass, and down tune it to A-D-G-C-F. Then capo the 2nd fret to emulate the shorter scale at standard pitch. Then you will know what they will feel and sound like. I seriously considered this bass until I took a .132 flatwound B string and did this. It was floppy, indistinct, thumpy, and generally inferior in tone and feel.

What I would consider instead is to contact Kalium/Circle K and get their recommendations to have a 50 or 55 balanced set. They use multiple windings on the larger strings, which retain flexibility and tone.

 

[Xyth]

Thought that might be the case. I've been playing acoustic bass exclusively for the last 18 years, so I'm a bit out of touch on stringing electrics. Really looking forward to getting back into them though. I'll check out Kalium strings. Know if anyone make halfrounds that heavy? I mainly want the smoother feel and reduced squeak.

 

[iiipopes]

Thought that might be the case. I've been playing acoustic bass exclusively for the last 18 years, so I'm a bit out of touch on stringing electrics. Really looking forward to getting back into them though. I'll check out Kalium strings. Know if anyone make halfrounds that heavy? I mainly want the smoother feel and reduced squeak.

Sorry. There is even less choice in a half-round or ground-wound.

 

[Jonathan X]

Greetings all. First time poster. I'm thinking of getting an Ibanez AGB205 and am looking for advice on the feasibility of restringing it with flatwounds or possibly even tapewounds. It's a shortscale 30.3" bass, but takes longscale strings thanks to it's bridge setup. It ships with .055/.075/.090/.110/.145 rounds, so I presume I'm going to need some pretty heavy flats/tapes for it. Any recommendations? Will a .130 or .135 be enough for the B - will the extra tension of flats/tapes compensate?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I use regular light chromes, which are great for this bass, but you can use just about anything.