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How long to get my flats sound "not new"?

SlapPopBass

SlapPopBass

Jan 8, 2013
98
11
Iowa City, Iowa
#1
Hi guys, I just recently bought and strung on a set of daadario chromes on VMJ bass a couple days ago, and so far I'm really impressed with what I have so far. But what I really wanna achieve is that old flatwound sound, see the thing is, I want my strings to go "blurnk!" instead of the ringy "twang!" when I pop them (I'm a slapper). I'm skeptical about the rubbing bbq sauce and fried chicken grease on my strings thing(kinda grossed out imho, having brown patches all over the strings) so how long does it take on average to get it to that sound? Is there anything I can do to speed up the process? (aside from rubbing jabba the hutt's secretions on it?) (Sorry if you guys get this alot)

Btw, the kinda "blurnk" sound I would like is something like in this video:
 
#2
Forget the sauce gimmicks, chromes are just twangy period, I've been told it goes away after there broken in, Im not sure about that, every bass I've gotten that had chromes on it still sounded pingy even after being played alot. I always take them off and put on a set of Labella DTF's , then it sounds proper. I am not endorsing Labella, its just my observations, please take it as such.
 
#3
IME with Chromes it's going to be awhile before they settle down as much as you want and likely won't sound like the strings on the video. If you really want that sound you might want to start with a string that's darker than Chromes i.e. GHS Precision Flats or LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats. I'm sure there are others but that's the limit of my direct experience.
 
#5
jallenbass said:
IME with Chromes it's going to be awhile before they settle down as much as you want and likely won't sound like the strings on the video. If you really want that sound you might want to start with a string that's darker than Chromes i.e. GHS Precision Flats or LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats. I'm sure there are others but that's the limit of my direct experience.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. See the problem is, where I come from, La Bella Flats or GHS Flats are not available, even from the best and largest music store in my area. The only two I have access to are Chromes and the Rotosound Flats. Reason why I went for the Chromes was that I heard alot more good things about it then them Rotosound flats, plus I'm not exactly very well to do, so my wallet is a bit tight. (It was a choice between $22 and $35, converted to my country's currency it became $110 and $179 respectively) But money aside do you think those Rotosound ones could sound the way I want to in the video? Or should I just play the sht outta my bass and wait till my Chromes mellow break in?
 
#8
Ive had chromes on my custom for months now and they sure do loose that twang. They probably take more beating to get that dull but i think it could be done. Also if you want a head start, pull them a bit to stretch them and break them in a bit more. It worked for me at least
 
#11
1 Get the dead flatwound string sound
2

Just don't use any kind of cooking oil that will go rancid.

VinKreepo said:
Alright, here's the low down on worn strings. ROUND wounds will lose their brightness at first due to oil, soap scum, food, etc. deposits from your fingers in between the windings (grooves). However, this does not apply as much to FLAT wounds which have very shallow grooves, if any at all.

But you see, deposits affect BRIGHTNESS. To get that nice "thump," you need to kill the sustain of the strings.

Think of a small spring. When you pinch it and then let go, it pops back fairly quickly. If you do it over and over, eventually it won't pop back as much and will be a bit more compressed than it was new. Furthermore, if you were to stretch the spring and then pinch it back, it will have little to no recoil.

So, you need to (A) kill the brightness using oils, ethyl alcohol, etc. and (B) kill the strings' stiffness by stretching/bending them (to "bend" them quickly, grab both ends and wrap it around your bed post or something and work it back and forth around the post like tugging back and forth on each side of horse reigns).
Click to expand...
 
#12
To me, Chromes start sounding awesome after about a week or so. Very thumpy and old school, but without sounding "dead".

Honestly, when I want "dead as Jimmy Hoffa" DEAD, I prefer to use D'Addario Half Rounds. They are definitely bright like a roundwound at first, but when they die (a couple of months or so), you're left with an amazing and long lasting dub string! They seem to collect funk in between the windings and really go mellow. I have an Epiphone Rivoli with year old Half Rounds which sounds like a nuclear sub under a polar ice cap! Deep, deep, deep!
 
#19
Chromes are bright but they do mellow with use IMO. i don't have any quick fixes for ya, but maybe play em in for a month and see how you feel...

i'd just get some Labella DTFs if you want the 'dead flats' sound. and they only get deader :)
 

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