Flatwounds on a "fancy" bass

[J. Brooks]

Hey, I'm wondering if there's many people who use flatwounds on fancy modern basses, like Fodera, five strings, Sadowsky, basses with active preamps etc. and what their tone goals are, or reasons for doing so?

The reason I ask cuz it seems most people use roundwounds on modern basses and just curious to hear y'alls opinions one way or the other. (I have more experience with passive vintage style instruments)

 

[Abner]

What do you consider a modern bass? Is it just something with a preamp in it? Or is it something made after 2000? Or 1990?

And what is it that makes it "fancy"?

 

[undercoverhippy]

What do you consider a modern bass? Is it just something with a preamp in it? Or is it something made after 2000? Or 1990?

And what is it that makes it "fancy"?

I think he just means "boutique" non-Fender basses. He mentions Fodera and Sadowsky as examples but I'm sure Pedullas and other brands would meet that too.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

I have TI Jazz Flats on this Stud: X2 Nordstand BIG BLADEMAN + Nordie JC-3b preamp.

 

[Abner]

I think he just means "boutique" non-Fender basses. He mentions Fodera and Sadowsky as examples but I'm sure Pedullas and other brands would meet that too.

Well, I guess that counts me out, then. I just have mostly early '80s Ibanez. Most have eq/preamps, though, and all have flatwound strings.

 

[J. Brooks]

Well, I guess that counts me out, then. I just have mostly early '80s Ibanez. Most have eq/preamps, though, and all have flatwound strings.

Yeah, sorry I'm not too specific in my description. I'm thinking anything either 1) ultra high end or boutique or 2) something with a lot of tonal options from a preamp or active electronics of some sort

Do you find that the flatwounds limit the timbre of the instrument? Or do they respond well to the preamp?

Thanks

 

[king_biscuit]

The basses you mentioned are designed to be very hi fi sounding and I would never put flats on them. It would be like installing mud tires on a Ferrari. I love mud tires, btw, but they belong on a Jeep...

 

[gustobassman]

My .02...

I've really only used flats for about two years now, but I have them on my Sadowsky Verdine White 5 (Fancy or boutique? Maybe.. workhorse more like it, lol ). I play reggae with that bass, the Sadowsky preamp is very well suited to flats IMO.

My tonal goal is low-mid heavy - thick and round but not boomy, while having a clarity as well. The VTC and treble control really work magic together to bring out the upper mid character in my case. Gives a little more depth to the flatwounds IMO. Check out the clip in my sig below if you are interested in hearing that bass. Headphones or monitors, best bet.

 

[soundsupport1]

An obvious reason is that you have a fretless.
My Lakland 55-02 is a 5-string, high-end, bass with an active 3-band EQ and coil split. I use flatwounds for the sake of the neck. That said, the flatwounds I have on it - D'addarios - are the most 'modern-sounding' I could find.
They're quite trebly, but a 5-10% bass boost evens things out well. And that's where you want an active bass with flatwounds: If something's missing, you can put it back in.

Peace,
SoundSupport

 

[Inara]

I played Ti Jazz Flats for years on a fretless Roscoe LG3005, a Pedulla Rapture fretless, and also on a couple of EBMM Stingray 5 fretlesses.

 

[J. Brooks]

My .02...

I've really only used flats for about two years now, but I have them on my Sadowsky Verdine White 5 (Fancy or boutique? Maybe.. workhorse more like it, lol ). I play reggae with that bass, the Sadowsky preamp is very well suited to flats IMO.

My tonal goal is low-mid heavy - thick and round but not boomy, while having a clarity as well. The VTC and treble control really work magic together to bring out the upper mid character in my case. Gives a little more depth to the flatwounds IMO. Check out the clip in my sig below if you are interested in hearing that bass. Headphones or monitors, best bet.

Yeah sounds very smooth and even and clear. Nice, what kind of flats?

 

[J. Brooks]

The basses you mentioned are designed to be very hi fi sounding and I would never put flats on them. It would be like installing mud tires on a Ferrari. I love mud tires, btw, but they belong on a Jeep...

Yeah that's what I was wondering, if the flats counteract the hi-fi element. Maybe hi-fi was the word I was looking for, rather than fancy.

 

[GIBrat51]

I imagine an Alembic Epic is sorta boutique-y. Also; both it and my G&L ASAT Bass are active, with pre-amps and lots of tonal options. And, yes; both of them do, indeed, wear flat wounds. TI Jazz Flats on the Alembic, and an old, very broken in set of D'addario Chromes on the ASAT. Do they respond to the pre-amp and stuff? Yes they do - quite well. Do they limit both bass's tonal range (or "timbre")? I'll have to admit that - yes, they do. However...
Any kind of string will limit a basses tone. The real question is, do they keep you from getting what you want/need out of that particular bass? Being able to get, say, 50 different, distinct tones from a bass/string combination is fabulous; providing you want/need 50 different tones. But, if you only really ever need or want, say, eight of those tones? Then, why should you give a tinker's damn about the other 42? If you don't need them, who cares if you can't get them? I suppose getting as many tones as possible would matter if it was your only bass, and you needed to play many kinds of music with it. But, no matter what kind of strings you put on that bass, they're gonna limit you to some extent. I can be happy with a relatively limited tonal range from a given bass, because I have...several... basses. For what I want to play with the Alembic, the TI Jazz flats work very well. If I decide I want to play a different kind of music, or want a tone that the Alembic/TI combo can't give me? I'll use a different bass, with strings that I think will work better. That's why I have...several. The G&L is my most recent bass, and we're still getting acquainted. So far, for what I think I want to play with it, the Chromes are working quite well. But, if I decide that I want it for some other kinds of music? If the Chromes do not give me the tones I want, then the Chromes will come off. I'm a pack rat when it comes to strings; there's a set of something - rounds, flats, whatever - in my stash that will give me the tones that I want ...

 

[chaak]

Hey, I'm wondering if there's many people who use flatwounds on fancy modern basses, like Fodera, five strings, Sadowsky, basses with active preamps etc. and what their tone goals are, or reasons for doing so?

The reason I ask cuz it seems most people use roundwounds on modern basses and just curious to hear y'alls opinions one way or the other. (I have more experience with passive vintage style instruments)

Bubby Lewis plays exclusively tapewound (signature LaBella) on Active MTD basses
Thundercat plays flats on his custom Ibanez not quite an active bass but has some sort of an on board EQ / MIDI circuit

 

[biguglyman]

I have a 2015 Carvin XB75 5-string. Extended scale, jazz type p/up in the neck position and a MM type at the bridge. I have another, older Carvin LB75 I use rounds on. They're bot active although the newer one has an 18 volt 3 band pre and the older one a 9 volt 2 band.. I love rounds on the older bass and wasn't getting as much "difference" in the newer one so I tried flats. Love the feel and now I have a much broader sonic palette. I find that with the 3 band pre in the newer bass I can get more mids and highs although it never quite approaches the rounds on my other bass. I like the variety. If I only had one of those basses though, I'd probably opt for rounds.

 

[Abner]

Do you find that the flatwounds limit the timbre of the instrument? Or do they respond well to the preamp?

Limit? Not in the least. I actually think the eq is more effective on flats than rounds. The treble control can bring out the attack, the bass control the oomph!, and with a three-band eq, the mid control can help the definition or clarity.

Funny, I used to play rounds back in the '80s when an Ibanez Musician was my main player, and I got to the point where I didn't even bother putting a battery in it because I always bypassed the preamp and played it in passive mode. These days, they all have flats, and I always use the eq. (Some people might take this to mean "flats need all the help they can get". I would disagree.)

 

[Volker Kirstein]

... It would be like installing mud tires on a Ferrari. I love mud tires, btw, but they belong on a Jeep...

Then there is the 2022 Ferrari Purosangus AWD/SUV, on which mud tires would be entirely appropriate:

It all depends on what you're going for.

Flats, Tapes, or Rounds... each has its uses. There is no wrong answer.

 

[chris_b]

Do you find that the flatwounds limit the timbre of the instrument?

Flats don't limit anything. If you want the sound that flatwounds gives you then it's all good.

I currently have flats on a passive bass and rounds on my active bass, but in the past I've had all rounds and all flatwounds.

 

[el murdoque]

I've just placed an order for TI flats that fit my custom made multiscale 5 string.
And my Ibanez BTB686sc is strung with LaBella flats.
I'm a player that cares about the low end content. I like my tone low and well rounded, yet tight and focused.
I used Elixir strings for a long time that gave me that sound after about three months and kept it for roughly a year. Until I rediscovered flats. And must admit that I greatly prefer them to rounds whenever possible.

 

[ELG60]

I have a set of TI Jazz Flats on this Devon which is equipped with Honey Badger Heavy Hitters and a Nordstrand 3 band pre. Every time I take it out, the tone is commented upon favorably.