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Has the bass world changed to flatwounds?

I

itsmecraigl

Feb 27, 2010
32
0
#1
Here's where I come from:
Playing in 1965 with a Gibson EB-3 in a soul band. Bass came with flatwounds and I used them for years without changing.
Then came the early/mid 70's and I switched to a P-bass with Rotosound and D'Addario roundwounds, playing rock. Couldn't get enough of that piano sound and with a coupla 15's in a cabinet it was the real deal.
Now I see a shift in opinion again. I play in an acoustic trio and fill in for rock acts in emergencies. I see where the rounds are just not thumpy enough and are too twangy in the acoustic trio, so I get on here and I see all these posts about flatwounds.
My question is simple. Is there a current shift away from roundwounds?
After all these years I realize strings play perhaps the biggest role in the sound, next to the type of pickup, of course.
What gives? Any opinions? Did you change from rounds to flats, and if so, why?
Also if you're playing with a humbucker, are you using rounds or flats?
 
#2
Never have used flats, except to try them out. I like nickel rounds and don't see any reason to change.

As to your question about the trend...I wonder if it has to do with the more full range voicing of many current cabs and modern amps. After all, rounds can sound very brittle if not eq'd properly--at least in my somewhat limited experience.
 
#3
I played with rounds since I stared. I switched to flats at the end of 2010 and stuck with them pretty much exclusively for the next year. I only recently switched back to rounds after experimenting with various strings again. I would say the shift of going back to flats you speak of is more a TB thing. I don't notice them being as popular with bass playing friends and people I meet in music stores. I also distinctly remember the last time I bought flats the guy behind the counter asked me why and seemed very surprised.
 
#4
I think there are just a lot of people on TB that have the hots for them or like to experiment. Among other bass players I've known personally, none of them used flats. Among the pros I pay attention too, the only one that I'm aware of that is famous for using flats is Steve Harris.
I've tried them and half flats. I don't see what the big deal is.
 
#5
Rounds are still my favorite. In an acoustic setting, if I EQ with more bass, all I get is a loud E string. If I take the high end down a notch, it sounds like a blanket is in front of my cabinet. Think I'll try flats for the acoustic gigs to see if I like them. Ordered a set of LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats after reading about a thousand posts on here.
 
#6
I use them on my #1 bass, like them a lot, and they fit in well with my current main band.

That being said... for the worship sets I occasionally play, flats are pretty much not ideal and I'm anxious to get my 2nd bass (with rounds) back from the shop for those gigs. The lack of sustain can really come up and bite you, especially on the slower legato stuff.

I would say a more fair characterization is that a lot of bassists are realizing flats have their place just like rounds do, and they are opting to go for the right tool for the job more often now rather than just stringing every bass they own with the roundwound string du jour.
 
#7
I started playing with my "working band" (cover band) in 2006 and I have used many different basses along the way, but always always ALWAYS flatwounds.

We play an extremely wide variety of music from Beatles & Billy Joel to LMFAO & Usher and there has never been a moment where I wished my bass had rounds on it. Even the very few slap songs along the way went fine - boosted the treble on my Stingray and got all the zing I needed.

I have converted many others along the way who never would have tried them otherwise. Most of my friends will now only play flatwounds.

It will always be a mostly-roundwound world but I am doing my part to spread the gospel of flatwounds to anyone who will listen. :hyper:
 
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#9
"I think there are just a lot of people on TB that have the hots for them" <<<<
So true, social! Opinions are so all-over-the-place on here. I keep doubting myself.
One guy says 'XYZ strings suck". The next guy says "XYZ's are the greatest string I've ever used and I've been playing for 60 years".
One guys says a certain bass is a great value and the next guy says his fell apart during the gig. Man, you have to filter out a lot of misleading information on here.
The more you read, the more you find yourself going in circles.
 
#10
I have only played bass for just under 3 years, and my first bass was a Squier VM Jazz and for a while I was frustrated because I wanted a big, warm thump out of it (I probably should have bought a P to start with but whatever) so I gave it a series/parallel switch which made it considerably fatter sounding but it still had some clank that bugged me so I switched the strings to chromes and I love the sound. I also have an Epiphone EB-3 with chromes and the big warm sound that this thing puts out is killer. It's currently my favorite tone. I guess I knew I didn't want to play punk or prog and (don't everyone kill me for this, but,) I really have no interest in slap, so why have the rounds when I can just get some nice, fat mellow flats?

Also my favorite music is from the late '60s when rounds were just coming into existence so that probably helped my decision.
 
#13
Flats forever! :)
I've had nothing but good comments live & in the studio since switching to flats.
Even people who know nothing about the bass will say "can you switch back to that bass?" (the one strung with flats)

My biggest problem with roundwounds is that, if I am playing in a band with both guitar & piano, they simply don't sound in tune to my ear.
 
#16
Guys, good thread!
Mannix, in all these years I've been playing, there is absolutely nothing that can compare to the low end a Sidewinder pickup can put out. It's the DEEPEST bass pickup I've ever heard. Looked at the Epi and will probably buy one before I die (long scale, though). Ain't spending $1400 for a Gibson, that's for sure. I own an Epi LP Special and even though I've never gigged with it yet, the quality is amazing.
Should have asked what flatwounds you people were using, but I didn't want to start a string war. I tried the D'Addario Chromes and wasn't impressed.
 
#18
itsmecraigl said:
Guys, good thread!
Mannix, in all these years I've been playing, there is absolutely nothing that can compare to the low end a Sidewinder pickup can put out. It's the DEEPEST bass pickup I've ever heard. Looked at the Epi and will probably buy one before I die (long scale, though). Ain't spending $1400 for a Gibson, that's for sure. I own an Epi LP Special and even though I've never gigged with it yet, the quality is amazing.
Should have asked what flatwounds you people were using, but I didn't want to start a string war. I tried the D'Addario Chromes and wasn't impressed.
Click to expand...

you will be disappointed with the epi pickup. bass is fine , pickup is nothing like the original
 
#20
"Clean" sound is a huge sticking point for me. Flats were a revelation for me - the tension is high enough to get low and yet completely buzz-free action, and there is zero string noise.

With Chromes and Fender flats, the tonal profile is pretty similar to roundwounds. Flats no longer mean all bass and thump with no sustain.

At this point, I don't think I'll ever go back to rounds. I'll spend two hours trying to get them set up to play as smooth and clean as my Fender flats, and take them right back off.
 

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