flatwounds and rock...do they mix?

[Floyd Eye]

I keep flats on one of my basses ( a P bass actually). I rarely use it though. It doesn't work for RATM, Nirvana, AIC, etc.. Great for older stuff, metal, funk, Motown, Beatles.

In any event, you will be the only one who notices, so use your ears. If you like it, voila!!!!

 

[Toadsmacker]

As said before, Steve Harris uses them.
Also Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath and Cliff Williams of AC/DC (in the studio, at least)

I use D'Addario Chromes flatwounds on my Ibanez ATK 300, I think they sound awesome for any type of rock music.

 

[Sundogue]

With today's basses and rigs as well as higher quality flats being produced, I'd have to say emphatically, YES!

IMO they are the perfect string for rock especially. They don't cut through the mix as much as they lay such a solid foundation in the rhythm section that their presence doesn't get lost in the guitar mayhem. The louder you play the more defined the notes are with flats.

I'm sure many will disagree, and they will most assuredly be roundwound lovers. Don't get me wrong, if you are into Chris Squire or John Entwistle then rounds may be your thang. But yes, rock music was built on the power of the rhythm section and flats just smack you in the chest without all that cheesy zing.

 

[IPA]

Steve Harris

end of thread, cut here

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[chubrocker]

I tried flats on my relic'd Squier. I'm on my second set currently I like them so much.

 

[jarrhead]

Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden always had flatwounds on his bass.

Dan Briggs of the prog metal band Between the Buried and Me also uses flatwounds.

correction, he uses D'Addario halfrounds!

-Your friendly btbam enthusiast

 

[jarrhead]

I would go with halves personally, all bias for my undying love for Dan Briggs aside. They feel nicer than rounds, aren't stick, and don't have the annoying bright sound. They sound good new and used.

 

[propel]

Wolfmother, The Arctic Monkey and The Parlor Mob's bassists all use flats. Flats on Ricks actually

I've never put flats on any of my basses but the more I listen, the more I think I'm gonna try some out!

 

[fourfinger]

Putting flats on a bass for the first time is just like getting a new bass. It may take a little while to dial in your sound, but after a while you wonder how you ever did without. Flats can work great for rock.

 

[FunkMetalBass]

Depends on the style and how well you want to cut through the mix. I would ditch the flats.

 

[xray]

Oteil seems to do ok with them in The Almans...

+1 big one on this!!

 

[Pilgrim]

Flatwounds STARTED rock.

Flatwounds ARE rock.

Rounds are latecomers.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Flatwounds STARTED rock.

Flatwounds ARE rock.

Rounds are latecomers.

Yeah, that whole progress thing... Deeply under-rated.

 

[KingRazor]

Before deciding on flats for sure I'd give half rounds a try.

 

[Evanseveneleven]

As said before, Steve Harris uses them.
Also Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath and Cliff Williams of AC/DC (in the studio, at least)
.

Steve Harris uses flats now, but everything up to Seventh Son (all the classic stuff) at least was roundwounds. His recorded sound is woeful these days in comparison , and i don't know why anyone would want to copy his current gear to emulate it. He also restrings every gig, which is very unusual for a flat player.

Geezer Butler uses DR Strings (Hi Beams and Black Beauties I believe).

Nothing against flats, McCartney on Abbey Road and Pino on D'Angelo's Voodoo are 2 tones I could listen to all day and it's great that they have made such a strong comeback over the last few years, wouldn't have thought it possible 10 years ago. I just think that it is important to put forward another perspective.

Nearly everything recorded from the early 70's until a few years ago was roundwounds. Sure there were still some examples of flats usually in bands trying to recreate the vibe of the sixties, but they were certainly not common. One of the major reasons for James Jamerson's decline was his refusal to swap to rounds. He found himself unemployable because his sound wasn't as suited to the style of the day. What was great in the sixties wasn't up to par in the seventies.

I also think it's a bit misrepresentative to say that rounds are ok if you want to sound like John Entwistle or Chris Squire. Both great players with really distinctive personal voices that would difficult to emulate with any gear. What about choosing players like Tony Levin, John Paul Jones, Jaco Pastorius, Victor Wooten, Leland Sklar, Marcus Miller, Rocco Prestia, Geddy Lee, Stu Zender, Doug Wimbish, Flea, Nathan East, Steve Digiorgio, Bernard Edwards, Robert Trujillo, Rex Brown, Jack Bruce, Anthony Jackson, Eddie Jackson and Mike Dirnt. That will give a more honest perspective of the true sound of rounds.

As said, I have nothing at all against flats. I have a bass strung with a set and love playing it from time to time for variety. I'm sure that you can make them work in any style of music, but if I was doing anything other than a sixties revival or a soul band, flats would not be my first choice.

 

[treekiller]

Before deciding on flats for sure I'd give half rounds a try.

I've been using D'Addario half for the past few months on my Precisions and I'm very happy with them. My band plays mostly 60's/70's rock, but you can play most anything in the "rock" genre without a problem. You can even slap with if you absolutely hafta, but if that's your thing then you wouldn't have been asking about flats either.

 

[Bongolation]

I explained it to someone the other day like this:

With roundwounds, the bass sounds better.

With flatwounds, the BAND sounds better.

With rounds, it's just very hard to get the low bottom without a lot of engineering tricks (and that's what you're paying an engineer for). Without it, the band sound is just less full. There's a hole in the sound.

 

[pudgychef]

Steve Harris

end of thread, cut here

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or did it end 18 posts and a few days ago when we first mentioned him?

 

[lowendfriend]

I like stainless flats....you can get a lot of sounds using eq....try flats and put more energy into low and high-mids or tweak up the treble. You aren't restricted to

T h u m p

with flats.

 

[mellowgerman]

This is the only thread in memory that actually caused me to do the "pfft" response in real life.

Flatwounds work sooooooo well with rock. In fact it's the only way to string up a bass for rock IMO.