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Flats That Behave Like Rounds

#41
Rounds are pretty brash. They just bust in and take what they want (not unlike the honey badger). If they get lubricated they can really wreck the joint. Of course they have a lot of depth but that also makes them emotional, and they can be unstable.

Flats, on the other hand, are chill. They like to sit back and take it all in. They're way too cool to get uptight over some rando ********. They ain't deep, but they are long and broad and they know how to sit in the groove.

Yeah, I just can't see rounds behaving like flats. They're not even on the same plane.
 
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#42
Stan_da_man said:
I forgot about them! Isn't the tension/flex like TIs though?
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No, IMO why more tension than TI's. I'd say similar to the DR Legends. They have good amount more tension than a round wound, but not as much as most other flats.

EDIT: sorry should of elaborated. These are very a smooth feeling round core flat. Very easy to fret and play fast with. IMO they are very versatile. Roll the tone off and you get an d school thump. Roll the tone in and dig in and you can make them growl.
 
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#45
mouthmw said:
EB Cobalt Flats are very similar in tension to roundwounds, and they sound like roundwounds without the finger noise during sliding. That's exactly why I didn't like them, they didn't have that traditional flats thump and thud. Luckily, EB Group flats have a similar tension to Cobalt flats, but they have a more traditional thumpy flats tone.
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I came into the thread to upvote this post. I find that the Cobalt Flats are a perfect crossover string. They have the attack and clank of a brand new set of flats, but they have the sustain (and lack of thump) of rounds, and retain it for a long time. Also, with a bit of palm mute you can get most of what you need for a flat tone (pick or thumb). Although palm muting gets exhausting and that's not really the point.

In other words, I think the Cobalts are perfect for getting a "brand new flats with a lot of compression in the studio" tone. It's not quite a round sound though.
 
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#46
Skillet said:
View attachment 3552811
If you haven't tried these, they're worth a shot.
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I do not like stiff strings either, and my current set is these Dunlops. OP, you might give these a try, they are pretty flexible, but I went from a 45-105 set to a 40-100 set and I like them much better.
I tried the LTF Labella, while they felt nice, the tone just wasn't there. So far the Dunlops have the feel and the tone.
 
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#47
Stan_da_man said:
I want to give flatwounds another shot.

I would like a flatwound that behaves like a roundwound, preferably with a standard gauge.

I have tried Chromes and 9050s in the past and not liked either, finding them too stiff. Same problem with GHS Precision flats & La Bella Deep Talkin flats.

Has anyone tried or compared DR Legend flats, Dunlop flats or Ernie Ball Cobalt flats? Any other flats that might be worth checking out which behave like rounds?
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From the round wound camp: Why bother? LOL!!
 
#49
40Hz said:
Does "nothing like" answer your question? ;)

BYW - exactly what does "behave just like a roundwound" mean?

You said in another post: "I'm after a mellow, old school flatwound tone"

What exactly are you looking for? I'm having trouble reconciling those two statements.
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Flexible but not bright, is what I've gathered.
If I'm right, it basically boils down to: what are the most flexible flats next to Thomastiks and La Bella LTFs (which the OP also tried and are apparently out too)? Once a list is made (possibly with gauges included), and the results checked against tone reports of each model, the topmost product which is not from the bright flats camp would be the winner.

I can only offer my experience with Fender 9050CL (flexible but not vintage-sounding) and Pyramid (plenty vintage, decent flexibility IME, but couldn't say how they fare against, say, DR, light-gauge GHS or Dunlop flats.)
 
#50
Stan_da_man said:
How do these compare then to the TI flats or La Bella LTF? I've played both but never Cobalt flats. Any comparison would be great.
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EB Cobalt flats are nowhere nearly as low tension as TI flats. I haven't played the LaBella low tension flats. I like the EB Cobalts for both feel and tone. They are great on my P-bass, and I also tried a 5 string set on my Carvin LB75. It helped thicken it up quite a bit since it's has single coils. They are sort of a round-wound tone with flats feel, but not as bright as most rounds.
 
#51
Have you tried finding a really old and worn set of rounds. I have some 11 year old rounds that almost sound like my 1 year old TI-flats but still have a bit of brightness in them when I dig in. My favorite flat-sounding flats are LaBella Deep Talkin flats but they are a bit like playing rebar.
 
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#54
mattj1stc said:
I'm from the other side of the tracks in terms of flats. I like mine to be very "flat" sounding and I think that having a decent amount of thickness and tension helps to deliver that sound. As such, my flats of choice are the La Bella Jamerson 1954s.

Because I like the feel of higher tension strings, I've also used the Steve Harris Rotos. While somewhat similar in feel, they're a great deal brighter. I think the Monel metal has something to do with this. Anyway, Rotos (specifically the Steve Harris ones) would be my recommendation.

Only 2 caveats - the tension will be high and the brightness will diminish over time (but not rapidly).
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I don't want to cause too much of a sidebar, but isn't tension virtually identical? D'addario lists their tensions and the round & flats are pretty close. The theory is that the "deadspace" from the rounds over a core allows for greater perceived feeling of slack (but the tension is still almost identical).
 
#55
I use DR Legends on my 5 string Spector and Rotosound 77's on my 4 string Spector. Love them both; the Jazz flats are a little higher tension than the Legends IME. Oh, and the Roto's have no problem handling a drop D on the E string...could probably go MUCH lower, although haven't tried it
 
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#56
HaphAsSard said:
Flexible but not bright, is what I've gathered.
If I'm right, it basically boils down to: what are the most flexible flats next to Thomastiks and La Bella LTFs (which the OP also tried and are apparently out too)? Once a list is made (possibly with gauges included), and the results checked against tone reports of each model, the topmost product which is not from the bright flats camp would be the winner.

I can only offer my experience with Fender 9050CL (flexible but not vintage-sounding) and Pyramid (plenty vintage, decent flexibility IME, but couldn't say how they fare against, say, DR, light-gauge GHS or Dunlop flats.)
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Way more research than I'd care to do for him. :laugh:

For fiats I'm currently using TIs, LaBella Deep Talking Bass 43-104s, or light gauge GHS Precision Flats depending on the bass. But I always pick the instrument for the sound first and then try to identify the best matching string set for that instrument.
 
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