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Flatwound: Fender or La Bella?

squire65

Guest
Sep 22, 2013
215
86
Italy
I've just strung my Jbass with Fender flats, and I like em very much.
Now it is time for my Precision Road Worn to be strung with flats...shall i try La bella 760FL?
Are they better or different from Fenders?
 
thats it exactly.

depends on what sort of music you like to play, if its more modern you should probably stick with rounds. I play old RnB, Rock n Roll from the 60's and 70's so the 10 year old Labellas on my Jazz bass fits the bill perfectly, they sound fantastic. If I want an edgier tone than I use a bass with RW's
 
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J + Fender 9050 = Focused bottom with a bit of the J growl.
P + La Bella DTF = Classic thump with low-mid bark.

Different oh yes!
Fender= Agressive tone
Labella= Fat smooth deep tones

Let me re-word my previous post to better describe the different flavors in the flatwound goodness.

J + Fender 9050 = Creamy milk chocolate with almonds.
P + La Bella DTF = Rich dark chocolate.

I guess my point is, if I were to have a J and a P with flats on both, I might as well have two different sets for tonal variety as not all flats are the same.
 
Flats have purcussive attack.
If you want Growl, you want roundwounds.
Flats Don't Growl. They Punch.
You have obviously never played the Fender flats. They growl. I played a single set for two years, until I decided to go with tapes after Fender discontinued my favorite set, the CL 45-60-80-105. The only thing that happened in that two years is the E string did end up being a little dark, so I replaced with an Ernie Ball 105, which also has a tad of growl to go with the punch.
 
Let me re-word my previous post to better describe the different flavors in the flatwound goodness.

J + Fender 9050 = Creamy milk chocolate with almonds.
P + La Bella DTF = Rich dark chocolate.

I guess my point is, if I were to have a J and a P with flats on both, I might as well have two different sets for tonal variety as not all flats are the same.

^^^What he said. I have both basses and currently use both the Fender and Labella as described. I have also used Chromes, GHS Precision and Thomastik flats.
I like the GHS Precision Flats as much as the Fender 9050, maybe a little bit more. My moods shift a bit y'know...

=JR=
 
Sorry, but no. Flats do not growl. At All. Never have. Never will. It is impossible for them to do so. Flats are good for many things, but growl is not one of them.
Your mileage may vary. I stand by my opinion, and have concert footage. The problem is it is a single file, and I am old enough that I have never learned how to post sound clips.
 
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