I'm one behind you. Just put my first set of cobalt flats on my LB-100 and was similarly gobsmacked.
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I'm one behind you. Just put my first set of cobalt flats on my LB-100 and was similarly gobsmacked.
6 months later EB Cobalt flats still sound great on my L2500, had Cobalt rounds on before the flats also. Really like them.
Do you folks find there's a subtle roughness to the surface of the cobalt flats? That is, they're not as glassy smooth as some others? I found the same thing with the cobalt rounds and really didn't enjoy the feel, but it's more tolerable with the rounds. This isn't an out-of-the package stickiness, but something I think inherent in the material/processing/assembly characteristics of the strings. Or is it just me?
Not just you. They break in and become smooth, play it a while.
I know you guys are talking about flats but if you can see your way to a set of rounds on your LB-100's, try a set of GHS Balanced Nickels. They are the only strings I've had on My LB-110 since I got it 5 months ago and it is an absolutely AMAZING sounding instrument! I get compliments all the time on my tone and I attribute it to the LB-100 with Balanced Nickels and a little bit of my fingers 
. It takes a team!
I had been playing GHS Preasure Wounds but they ended up a bit too aggressive. I easily acclimated to the feel of rounds and I think it made me a better player by causing me to keep the sting noise under control.
. It takes a team!I had been playing GHS Preasure Wounds but they ended up a bit too aggressive. I easily acclimated to the feel of rounds and I think it made me a better player by causing me to keep the sting noise under control.
GHS Precision Flats and TIs sound really--depending on the rig and the tone to be achieved.
That's true, and the La Bella Deep Talkin' Flats on my L-1000 sound great for what I'm doing. So, @Luke the Fluke, what kind of sound/music are you aiming at?
I've had a set of Cobalt Flats on a Pbass for two years now. At first they had an odd feel but that went away after a bit of time. I'll tell you, I don't like flats but I like these. 2 years in and they still sound bright and growly. I normally don't get much over 3 months out of a set of strings. I tried them on my 82 L2KE and I didn't like them very much on that.
Erm - so it might sound a bit odd so I'll give you a bit of a background...
When I started playing and when I was in bands I used to play an Japanese fender '57ri
Then the last 10 years or so my main bass was a Warwick Streamer with a fancy ACG preamp, I had a load of other basses come and go but generally everything was thru neck and active.
Then I saw my green 1982 L1000 for sale, and as one of my bucket list basses went for it.... I was amazed how much I jelled with a passive fender style bass and it became my main bass. All good!
Looking to have slightly less Warwicks I traded a thumb bass for a Sadowsky Metro will Lee - again I seem to be lucky as it's another amazing bass and seems to do everything and just feel so right.
So I've now got three basses, a modern Streamer, essentially a Jazz bass and something that's essentially a P bass type sound.
What I want to do is try flats to help take the L1000 to somewhere else that will separate it more from the Sadowsky. I don't really know enough about flats to know what would work, and where it would sound like... so advice appreciated.
Got it. And I definitely hear you, as I have three different G&Ls that I've strung to minimize overlap between them.
An L-1000, because of its pickup position and hum-canceling nature, wants to be a P, but more so. And since you already have a P in your arsenal, I think you want a string that highlights that "more so." So I would echo the cobalt flats recommendations above. TI flats are another string that sound great through MFDs and would still set you apart from a typical P thump.
An L-1000, because of its pickup position and hum-canceling nature, wants to be a P, but more so. And since you already have a P in your arsenal, I think you want a string that highlights that "more so." So I would echo the cobalt flats recommendations above. TI flats are another string that sound great through MFDs and would still set you apart from a typical P thump.
So...assuming you have rounds on the Sadowsky and it sounds quite modern, the flats I know break down this way:
(i) GHS Precision Flats and La Bella DTFs: old school thump with the GHS a bit more fundamental and a bit more tension, and the LaBellas a bit warmer; both age to very warm thump
(ii) TIs: mid-forward with a characteristic bite, articulate, very flexible, retain distinctive character with age
(iii) Chromes: bright, focussed sound, with fairly high tension; lose some highs with age but modestly so; *not* thumpy
(iv) EB Cobalts: very focussed mids and more bottom than TIs, articulate, moderate tension, *not* thumpy.
One person's take. I've had DTFs, TIs, and Chromes on my Wunkay. Settled on DTFs for rootsy music use—kind of Super-P..
I think the L1000 is meant to be the P in the arsenal.
Ah, I think you're right. I thought he was saying he was trying to differentiate from a P.
Oh well. MFDs also love Chromes. And I have Fender flats on my SB-1, and that's as classic a sound as I would ever want.
You are correct, but they smooth out some.
It feels similar to ground wounds there is a bit of an edge to the windings.
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I have TIs on my first gen SB-1.
Another consideration is LaBella low tension flats. The 2 year old cobalt rounds were on my Dolphin for about 6 months after living on Sparkle for over a year before being replaced by the Cobalt flats.
I also tried GHS Brite flats, which were nice on the L2500.
They look like this @dave64o
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I think I've found my new main bass! Felt and sounded awesome!!
