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How much time should I spend trying to like flats...?

neutron619

neutron619

Jul 12, 2019
121
261
United Kingdom
#1
Well - I hope you chaps don't feel I'm wasting your time. I wasted some time worrying about whether it was acceptable to start two completely different threads in the same forum within an hour of each other, but my questing through the world of strings continues and I have a completely different subject to ask for some help with. Hopefully the mods won't mind too much.

I've got a 5-string J-bass onto which I recently put some La Bella flats. They were quite nice on my other "cheapo" bass, but on the Squier, I just don't like them. They feel slippery and imprecise and as much as I really want to like them, they sound pretty crap, no matter what I do with the pots / amp. They're also oddly twangy and noisy, which surprised me - they certainly weren't on the other one. As far as I know, the setup is good, intonation is bang on, everything's adjusted to be comfortable. Except I seem to hate them.

How long do I should I give it to see if they (or I) settle down before I put the heavy-gauge rounds I like for that bass back on it? I mean - I've read that flats are harder to play accurately: do I just need to practice more and ignore the sort of "sickly" tone for a bit? Can I learn to love them? Should I?

I've been entertained and much-informed by your answers previously: I'll hope for a little of both this evening.

With thanks for any thoughts you can offer.
 
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#3
did you take them off another bass or did you install a brand new set?
New flats are a bit weird at the beginning and settle in after a couple of days, then they slowly start maturing until ripe after around three months.
IMO not every bass is made for them. Some are just too good with rounds. That, off course, depends on your taste and your preferences.
 
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#4
Was the other bass they were on a J as well? Flats seem to be even more polarizing on J's for people because to some they tend to kind of oppose some of the things J's are tonally known and loved for. The only flats I've liked on my J are TI's and it's probably because of a few of the things they have in common with rounds. La Bellas are pretty thumpy and especially if it's a set of the DTF's very old school. If you're looking for a flat that's suits your J and old school thump isn't doing it for you try the TI's, Dunlop Flats, or Cobalt Flats. Better sustain and tensions that are more in line with rounds. Even the La Bella LTF's are really good. Nice old school vibe but do more than just thump. Lower tension really helps with longer sustain. Otherwise just stick with rounds.
 
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#5
neutron619 said:
I've got a 5-string J-bass onto which I recently put some La Bella flats. They were quite nice on my other "cheapo" bass, but on the Squier, I just don't like them. They feel slippery and imprecise and as much as I really want to like them, they sound pretty crap, no matter what I do with the pots / amp.
Click to expand...

Some flats match up better with a P-style bass, while others sound pretty decent on a J-style bass.

When I tried La Bella flats on my J, I didn't like them because they seemed to suck the J-bass character right out of it.

For a set of flats that can match up better with a J, try these:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

If you have to force yourself to like a particular set of strings, the chances are they're not for you.

EDIT: My favorite flats for my J are actually Fender 9050s, but unfortunately, no 5-string set available. The EB SS flats (not Cobalt) are the closest thing to the Fender 9050 in their tonal character.
 
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#8
Hello chaps - thank you for your replies. Let me respond to a few of the questions:

el murdoque said:
did you take them off another bass or did you install a brand new set?
Click to expand...

Nope - E/A/D/G have been on the other (4-string) bass for maybe 4-5 months though it gets light use, so perhaps they still weren't worn in. The B-string on the 5 is new, but on the basis that I can tell the difference between that and the rest, at least the top 4 are probably worn in.

uwrossl said:
Was the other bass they were on a J as well? ... Otherwise just stick with rounds.
Click to expand...

Yes, both basses are J's, although as I think I said above, they were oddly OK on the other one. The set I had on the 5-string prior to the flats was a D'Addario medium-heavy gauge nickel-wound set - 45-135 I think - and I did rather like those, I have to say. Thank you also for the comments about the character of La Bellas - my inexperience is lessened by those kinds of useful observations.

quickfix said:
It's the feel of cold, smooth, slick steel that is so intoxicating for some of us. I wouldn't waste much time on flats if you didn't like that feel right away.
Click to expand...

Sorry, they don't seem to do it for me if that's how it usually goes. To be fair to them, when I borrowed my teacher's Fender P-Bass for part of one of my lessons, it did sound really good and felt really nice to play, although also "slippery" I think.

michael_t said:
For a set of flats that can match up better with a J, try these:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

If you have to force yourself to like a particular set of strings, the chances are they're not for you.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation. The UK company I usually use called Strings Direct don't seem to have those listed but I've no doubt someone else will.

Thanks again for all the replies. Looks like the rounds are going back on at the weekend.
 
#11
I'm a round wound guy, but I constantly try different strings on basses until I find the perfect combination of strings, bass, electronics, and amp/cab. Lots over variables, not to mention throw in different rooms, PA systems, playback monitors....ugh. Ok I'll stop.

I have 3 basses I consistently play based on a current project, and another one that's a fretless that I just enjoy playing. Out of those four, I have 2 strung with flats, 2 strung with rounds. Out of the 3, 2 are precisions, both with EMG Geezers, and the other a GL, CIJ. The Geddy likes Rotosound 66's, ran through my Trace Elliott ELF and GK 212 cabs. It's a perfect match. I've tried countless combinations, and this one is it for me.

The P basses are as follows: My number 2 is a White early 2000's CIJ PB-70, strung with Earnie Ball Cobalt flats, 45-100-105, (can't remember the EString gauge) and it has an awesome smooth growl that I really dig. Many different pickups and strings have been in this bass over the last few years, and this is the perfect combination for that bass. It can be smooth, but growl when digging in. It's mostly stock besides the pups.

My #1 is a '94 MIM P bass highly customized, only body and neck stock. It's the best sounding bass I've either toured with or recorded with, hands down. It has the Geezers, hipshot tuners, and a badassII bridge. Strung with DiAddario Pro Steels, this bass can cover everything. It's normally played through2 Ampeg SVTs live, but is equally home in the studio. It just has the mojo. Ive had basses costing thousands, but this one smokes them all.

My Fretless Jaco Sig jazz has worn the same Diaddario chromes for the last 9 years, and it just gets better with age. After I had such a pleasent experience with the EB cobalt flats, I got a set for that bass. They promptly came off after a good setup and about 3 days of heavy playing. They simply did not work as well as the Chromes on that bass. The "mwha" is just amazing.

So after such a long winded approach to your answer, the set up was for a reason. I can tell almost instantly whether a set of strings (or any other component) works or doesn't on a bass. My first love is a P bass strung with brite rounds, but flats on the right bass gets my motor running just the same. I'm not a fan of the dead sounding flat, so the Jamerson thud is not my thing. If it's yours, my recommendations will probably not work for you. As you like rounds, I'd suggest the cobalt flats if you are looking for something a touch more mellow than rounds. But if it doesn't work for my ears or fingers after the change, I generally know it's just not the sound I'm looking for.

Also food for though. Sweats on a supermodel look great. A nice suit on a fat slob simply looks like a nice suit on a fat slob. No amount of tailoring is going to make that guy look good. Same with basses. Some of those amazing sounds you hear coming from a bass are more than likely the player, not the equipment. As hard as I try, when I play I always sound like me. And I've learned that's not such a bad thing.

I have been very fortunate to have found some great combinations that are very pleasing to my ears. But not one bass sounds exactly the same, nor are they intended to. If I was only after the one sound, I'd sell all my other basses, but that's never going to happen. But a know almost instantly if it's a sound I like better or not.
 
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#13
I been try labella DTF 760FL, Sadowsky blk label flat and Fender 9050L in both fresh and broken in condition on my previous Squier classic vibe 60 jazzbass。

In fresh condition, Labella 760FL has similar freshing tone as both Sadowsky and Fender but meatier voice and thick/big E string voice.

In broken in condition, I don't like labella tone on jazz bass, she absolutely sound weird to me, and string become much stiffer like bridge cable. I more prefer broken in Sadowsky tone than Fender ....

On my Squier VM 77 jazzbass， I use GHS 3025, Ti flat and EB Cobalt flat. Ghs from Fender player P, Ti from CV 60P and EB from Squier Fretless P.
Ti flat absolutely sound like Vintage Jazz tone from track, sweet tone without too much thud.
Cobalt flat has juicy ans meaty growl tone. Has better MID voice present from scoop when both pickup engage.
GHS flat..... sorry, this flat is crap to me.
 
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#14
neutron619 said:
Well - I hope you chaps don't feel I'm wasting your time. I wasted some time worrying about whether it was acceptable to start two completely different threads in the same forum within an hour of each other, but my questing through the world of strings continues and I have a completely different subject to ask for some help with. Hopefully the mods won't mind too much.

I've got a 5-string J-bass onto which I recently put some La Bella flats. They were quite nice on my other "cheapo" bass, but on the Squier, I just don't like them. They feel slippery and imprecise and as much as I really want to like them, they sound pretty crap, no matter what I do with the pots / amp. They're also oddly twangy and noisy, which surprised me - they certainly weren't on the other one. As far as I know, the setup is good, intonation is bang on, everything's adjusted to be comfortable. Except I seem to hate them.

How long do I should I give it to see if they (or I) settle down before I put the heavy-gauge rounds I like for that bass back on it? I mean - I've read that flats are harder to play accurately: do I just need to practice more and ignore the sort of "sickly" tone for a bit? Can I learn to love them? Should I?

I've been entertained and much-informed by your answers previously: I'll hope for a little of both this evening.

With thanks for any thoughts you can offer.
Click to expand...

Oh, Squier 5 string jazz bass.
Honestly, I try several time on VM jazz V at GC and play/setup few from my friends, I never found a good B voice on it.
Since you prefer labella flat, been you try Labella LTF5A on it ？

Off topic.

I have a friend who move to Flatwound for his Yamaha trbx505 and I recommend him a try on LTF5A since he wanna get similar string stiffness as 40-120 Dunlop round.
After couple weeks playing, he told me that he don't like the bass tone except solo neck pickup.

I found LTF5A sound a bit dark and bassy on his bass, lost some Mid and hi mid thing.

I ask another Trbx friend a try on string swap experience for tone and he aggree. He has a set of EB cobalt flat on his trbx 605.
Once swap, the 505 came alive and clear B and E. string. But overall tone are less growl than 605.
The LTF5A has more clarity in tone on 605, no crap tone. Classic tone with nice B string voice. But string to string tone balance still better on EB cobalt flat.

I believe there tone different on mahogany vs alder body.

I play cheap bass too.... I have another great Flatwound set for my Sterling SUB Ray5 ～ EB 2810. I get a useful B string tone until 12th fret.
 
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#15
I went through a similar situation recently. I *wanted* to like flats on my current p bass. I had, after all, liked flats on other p basses I've had over the years.

I tried a few sets of strings, trying to give each set at least a couple months to break in. I even rotated in some older sets that had at least a year of playing time on them. No matter what I tried, none of those strings were a good fit for that particular bass.

For fun, I took all the strings that didn't work on the p, and I tried them on my jazz, and some of them I tried on my Ibanez (Nordstrand pickups). Both of those basses sounded great with the exact same flats I *wanted* to work on the p.

Long story short, I'd recommend giving your strings a fair shake, but don't spend too much time trying wanting to like something that you don't actually care for.
 
#17
You may not be a flat wound kinda guy. We've all gone on string quests. It's a necessary exercise, if not to find out what you do like, at least you'll find what what you don't like. There's value in that.

Last year I went thru several different brands of flats on several different basses to see what I liked. What I discovered is that I'm still a round wound guy. For me, the best it ever got with flats was "interesting" due to the difference. I gave it weeks, not months. I wasn't willing to invest months in the hope that maybe they would improve or I would grow to like them. No regrets.

Give it as long as you like, but if you have to ask the question, you probably already know the answer. :cool:
 
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#18
Thank you to all of you for your replies since I last checked back - expecially to Yahboy and JGBassman for their extended answers - lots to chew over there. Although I appreciate all of the input, I think red_rhino hit the nail on the head:

red_rhino said:
We've all gone on string quests. It's a necessary exercise, if not to find out what you do like, at least you'll find what what you don't like. There's value in that.

...

Give it as long as you like, but if you have to ask the question, you probably already know the answer. :cool:
Click to expand...

I'm definitely on my string quest at the moment and I probably do know the answer. I'll keep an open mind, but I think the rounds are going back on the Squier at the weekend. I'll keep the flats in the string box until I buy my next bass - you never know, they may be perfect for that, whatever it turns out to be.

As an aside, it's been interesting to hear again about the Ernie Ball Cobalt flats - they seem very popular - and a lot of people are talking about them favourably, so I've made a mental note to try some at some point.

Thank you again - your advice is much appreciated. I'm going to come back and read through this all again when I finish work for the day, and see what else I didn't get the first time round.
 

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