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fretless, flats for fat bass sound?

irieyogini

irieyogini

Dec 23, 2019
11
8
#1
Greetings All,
recently joined tb to learn others thoughts on the flats... had an old set, idk what they were, for a decade, always sounded good... then a friend put on the black taped ones and they were too sticky and have gone "toneless" after about a year, quick decay, little sustain. (is that what you guys mean by dead? and then some of you like that sound?) ready for new strings.. they are so pricey its hard to dial it in. like a fat bass tone and strings that last 10 years. usually use larger gauge to get a warmer, fatter tone and roll the highs and mids just below neutral and crank the lows for most gigs. (reggae, groove oriented music, dont ask me to take a solo, lol, im a drummer)... thoughts?
 
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#3
Hi... I’ve used flats, wrapped, and rounds on fretless. I believe my preference depends on several variables; mainly -
1) Which bass (fingerboard material, scale, pickup configuration, eq, active/passive)
2) Style of music (boomy bottom end, thuddy, sustained, midrangey, speed need)

Right now, I have Thomastiks on my ‘83 Ibanez Musician. They are very flexible and responsive to bending. I got them to try on a Fender P and they weren’t my cup of tea there. But they were expensive and I figured I should give them a shot on another bass.

For what you want, I’m thinking you will get recommendations for LaBella DTBs and DR Legends. I prefer the Legends mainly because I can usually get them cheaper.
 
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#5
ColonelZulu said:
Hi... I’ve used flats, wrapped, and rounds on fretless. I believe my preference depends on several variables; mainly -
1) Which bass (fingerboard material, scale, pickup configuration, eq, active/passive)
2) Style of music (boomy bottom end, thuddy, sustained, midrangey, speed need)

frankenbass: old ibanez body, heavy. idk for sure but, schecter (from when they made fender) neck, as a guess, no watermark or indicator other than old style fender shape, heart shaped tuning pegs. ebony fretboard w/ brass inlay, pj pick ups, standard length, i think. no batteries :)

definitely boomy bottom, sustained, reggae, ska, so heavy bottom as well as reactive needs. i use a fretted for poppy punk project.
tcelectronic 2x12's, sounds great. thus far great tone, but, need new pick ups as well... nervous to ever change things on it because the tone overall is amazing. open to pick up suggestions, also!
Click to expand...

also, i have a heavy hand and probably play way too hard most of the time; using the heavier gauge strings lends itself to this. i wonder about the bendiness... i really appreciate you taking the time to respond!
 
#7
irieyogini said:
also, i have a heavy hand and probably play way too hard most of the time; using the heavier gauge strings lends itself to this. i wonder about the bendiness... i really appreciate you taking the time to respond!
Click to expand...
Flats seem to have more tension than rounds of the same diameter.
I’m crazy heavy handed too. Try the DR Legends.
 
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#8
You may like these as GHS doesn’t seem to take very long to break in for flats, and they are definitely on the darker end of the tonal spectrum:
BAE7A9EA-1D08-4FB8-85EB-4860AE344CBB.jpeg

Or, for tapewounds, I recently tried these and found them very warm with lots of low end on tap:
AD4A5972-04D7-4D10-A9E3-601458C234AF.jpeg
 
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#9
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#12
Blue could be D'Addario Chromes, the "medium" gauge (.109 E) LaBella flats, LaBella Jamerson flats, or the discontinued Sadowsky Blue Label flats. There might be others, but that's all I know.

The LaBella usually looks/feels more smooth, shiny and glassy. The Chromes have a more dull appearance with more apparent spacing between the winding.

For reference, here's a set of Chromes:
https://images.reverb.com/image/upl...90,w_620/v1523388494/po8h8358j8bq5h0pqxoi.jpg

And here's the 760M LaBella set:
https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/img_4782-jpg.695828/

Other folks who know more about this will probably be along shortly.
 
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#15
irieyogini said:
Greetings All,
recently joined tb to learn others thoughts on the flats... had an old set, idk what they were, for a decade, always sounded good... then a friend put on the black taped ones and they were too sticky and have gone "toneless" after about a year, quick decay, little sustain. (is that what you guys mean by dead? and then some of you like that sound?) ready for new strings.. they are so pricey its hard to dial it in. like a fat bass tone and strings that last 10 years. usually use larger gauge to get a warmer, fatter tone and roll the highs and mids just below neutral and crank the lows for most gigs. (reggae, groove oriented music, dont ask me to take a solo, lol, im a drummer)... thoughts?
Click to expand...
Try the La Bella black or white (transparent ) nylon they are very fat with great growl! IMHO flats sound, well flat! The nylons have great projection and most people are shocked how great they sound! YMMV:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
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#16
Recent convert to TI Jazz flats-1st set on my fretted Korean Bullet. I’m sure I will eventually try a set on a Fretless but on my lined rosewood active Fretless jazz-GHS Precision Flats. Lined rosewood passive Fretless jazz-GHS tapes. Unlined maple Fretless pj-GHS tapes. Unlined rosewood Fretless pj-Fender tapes . I love the sound of the Fender tapes but finger feel is rougher to me. I have a set of Rotosound Tru 88 tapes on a fretted Rivoli and think they would be great on a Fretless as well. So yeah, overall I’m a Tapewounds On Fretless guy except for the GHS Precision Flats. But pretty sure TIs would sound good on a broomstick.
 
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#20
irieyogini said:
Greetings All,
recently joined tb to learn others thoughts on the flats... had an old set, idk what they were, for a decade, always sounded good... then a friend put on the black taped ones and they were too sticky and have gone "toneless" after about a year, quick decay, little sustain. (is that what you guys mean by dead? and then some of you like that sound?) ready for new strings.. they are so pricey its hard to dial it in. like a fat bass tone and strings that last 10 years. usually use larger gauge to get a warmer, fatter tone and roll the highs and mids just below neutral and crank the lows for most gigs. (reggae, groove oriented music, dont ask me to take a solo, lol, im a drummer)... thoughts?
Click to expand...
This is the first time I read anyone has a complaint of sticky tape wound strings. I experienced sticky flat wounds (D'Addario Chromes) though just for awhile, but my D'Addario (black) nylon tape wounds have been smooth ever since I put them on, more than 3 years ago.
 
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