@jglunt Some other thoughts about flats that I've used…
TI flats – They feel very nice under the fingers and they're known for their string-to-string balance, which I agree is among the best. For me, the A string is too small at .070. Needs to be .075-.080, IMO. It just feels skinny/thin under the hand. Low tension. The E string sustains better than any E on flats that I've tried, but I feel that each string seems to have a little less sustain as you work up to the G. They do sound smooth, but at the same time, I don't feel that I can really "dig in" with them because they're too light tension. I've had them on a P bass, J bass and currently on my L-2000.
D'Addario Chromes – most people seem to try these because of their accessibility. It's the flat that most big box stores carry. They're good strings, start out a little brighter/scooped and eventually settle in to more of a mid-focused tone but tend to lose their character when they do. Can be a little bit high tension. Balance well across all strings acoustically and amplified. I've had several sets, used on L-2000, SB-2, L-1500, P bass, J bass, a fretless P bass, and a medium scale set on a Rogue violin bass. I do recall getting compliments on my tone with a well-broken-in set on a L-2000.
Fender 9050 – similar to chromes but with a little bit more voice in the mids. Can get growly. Tension is similar to the Chromes. Also balance well across all strings acoustically and amplified. Long term, they seem to hold their mids and character better than the Chromes did. I've had the same set on my LB-100 for the better part of 10 years and they still sound great. They've come off a few times, made it onto an L-2000 for a while and sounded very good there. But they keep ending up on the LB-100 as they just seem to be at home there.
GHS Precision Flats – These float more in the thumpy camp where the LaBellas reside, but do get a bit growly (not as much as the Fenders, though). They don't have the glossy feel to them, they have what I would think is more of a medium tension to them, don't feel floppy, but again, the E string sounds kind of dead acoustically and the D and G seem almost a little bright, but everything balances out when plugged in. I have these on my L-1000 currently. (I also have a short-scale set on a Gibson Les Paul DC Jr bass, and on an SG bass previously, and I would not buy the short scale set again only because the E string is way too light, IMO. The E string seemed to have no volume on the SG, but it sounds fine on the Les Paul Jr.)
LaBella DTF – I actually only have tried the medium scale set on the aforementioned SG bass, but they totally solved any issues I was having with the P Flats set. Much more tension on the E string, but the E is a .105 versus the GHS .095. They do have a glossy feel to them. The whole set seems fairly quiet acoustically, but plugged in, they have much more punch, much more balanced. Get a little bit growly when using the bridge pickup. Took it from a bass that I was thinking of selling to one that I really enjoy playing now. Great old-school vibe.
LaBella Low Tension Flats – these have more low thump than the TIs, and a slightly glossy feel. And the A is .075, so they beat the TIs there. They do have a clear top end, though subtle, which surprised me. Used on a L-1000 and L-2000. Acoustically, the E string seems pretty dead/thuddy, but it balances out and sounds really good amplified. (I put them on my LB-100 for a while, but never really played it through an amp because the Fender 9050s went back on pretty quickly, just based on feel.)
Ernie Ball Group V (the 5-string version of the Group III) – had them on an active Jazz V for a while. The B actually was very clear, E and A sounded good and the G string quickly felt and sounded dead and bland. D string was somewhere in the middle. Felt nice to the touch, medium tension, but largely uninspiring.
I realize that it sounds like I've gone through a lot of sets of flats, but really, most have just had the same set moved around on different basses. For some reason, I've had 5 sets of Chromes, but everything else, just one set of each, not counting the short/medium scale sets.
To me, though, they don't really have the playability of a flatwound. There's more finger noise than a flat, and they feel kinda strange to me. They sound more like a flatwound to me than a roundwound, but not exactly like a flatwound. It's a sound all its own. I tried D'Addario half-rounds a long time ago, and I thought that they didn't sound as good as roundwounds nor play as well as flatwounds. I considered them a nice try that fell flat, but they might be worth another try. Thanks for mentioning them.
Time for a nap!
