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

[logdrum]

Love 'em on my six string. The TIs have a really sweet singing voice for solos up high, where I feel rounds can get a bit too thin (especially on the c string). Chords also sound closer to a Jazz guitar.

That said, I'm yearning for another sixer to put rounds on. Of course flats can't do everything, but neither can rounds.

I did not know that TI makes 6 string flats. Do they have Super long scale that would fit a 36/35 scale. My bud wants TI flats for his 35 I know they have rounds. That’s what I have

 

[JakobT]

If you’re not happy with flats right away, just put the rounds back on. You don’t have to like flats. That’s just an impression you get from being here on TB.

 

[IamGroot]

I don't play flats for any other reason than how they sit in the mix for certain songs.

My TI jazz stay lively for a month.

 

[groooooove]

you need to figure out why you "want to" like something.

finding what actually works for you is important... at the end of the day, if you don't like something you just dont and thats fine.

there are fantastic players who do/use stuff that just aint for me. it's aight.

I personally enjoy flats on occasion, but aside from my cheap beatle bass copy I don't have a bass right now that calls for 'em.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Until you play them on a record and/or with a band, you can't truly judge flats. On their own, in a vacuum, they might not inspire (or they might...), but it's in a real band/mix setting that they shine. IME, anyway.

 

[Scarysharkface]

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.

Record with them and give it a listen. It will give you a different perspective on how they sound on that bass.

John

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Who says you have to like flats at all?
Dirk

 

[Rezdog]

Greetings from the North,

For me it all depends on the bass and what I'm doing with it. On my VM J5 bass I have LaBella Tapes. On my P5's I have one strung with rounds and the other with flats. If you're not feeling it change it up until you are. Another thing I do is try to keep a set of strings consistent and not mix brands or ages for the best results.

Rezdog

 

[Paul New]

My first bass, 67 Jazz, came with flats on it, but it didn't come to life until years later when I put some fender rounds on. Some people make a jazz sound great with flats, but not me. Maybe try the TIs, they are completely different, but if you like the rounds, why change?

 

[Kro]

Flats on PBass is the de facto setup

I don't know if I'd say de facto, maybe de rigueur.

IIRC recent polls still show that the vast majority of players are using rounds, they're just more of a silent majority, which makes sense as rounds are still the default - no fun in discussing that.

 

[klokker]

I'm in the camp that says whatever works in the mix. I played for a long time in a band where flats just didn't work very well, I needed the top end that rounds could give me to sit in the mix right. Didn't like much warmth, but it came out in the mix nicely. Now in a 4 piece band, flats are just right.

They need to be the right flats as well, but that's another thread.

 

[Lava]

First, adjust your eq to get them closer two what you want. You'd eq differently than what you use for rounds. Use them at rehearsals and then at a live show. In the end, you need to feel good about playing them, if you still don't like them, switch back to rounds.

 

[bassdude51]

The rest of your life.

 

[rohi]

Couldn't hurt to just keep a P around with flats-- lately that's all I play. Good thing with flats is, it's a "buy once, cry once" type of deal. I'll probably never change my TI flats.

 

[red_rhino]

Slapped on some GHS Pressurewounds and I am soooo happy with the tone! They are kind of a hybrid between a flat and roundwound. Great thump but with more clarity. I put some on my P and they sound awesome also. If I ever need to get a more "traditional" sound, I just roll back the tone knob on my bass and voila'! Won't use any other strings.

+1!

GHS Pressurewounds is where I ended up at the end of my string quest for exactly the reasons Kipp described. I have a set of light gauge PW's on my '65 P and my Tobias Classic. These two basses couldn't be any more different from each other, and the PW's work beautifully on both.

 

[Michael Bauer]

You should spend the rest of your life trying to love them; they are worth it!

 

[superdick2112]

 

[Charlzm]

I had Fender flats on a Geddy Lee Jazz Bass with a swapped in fretless neck for a couple of years. Never liked the feel of the strings or the sound: poor articulation and too biased towards low end IMHO.

Then tried Fender and later LaBella flats on a 4 string passive fretless bass (P/J config) and had the same feelings towards flats.

I then had a 5 string active dual single-coil bass converted to fretless and tried half rounds as an experiment. That was what I had been looking for.

I would never put flats on a fretless bass again, especially after the experience of not liking the flats for about 8 years. And on a fretted? Never.

 

[707GK]

It’s a preference thing. Some like flats, some like rounds, some are in the middle and don’t rightly know how they feel about flats.

I keep trying flats every so often. I started playing on rounds and that just feels like “home” for me, where I can get the bass to make all the sounds it was intended to. But with flats, even aged in a bit, just never felt or sounded right to me.

I’ll keep trying them on occasion because tastes change. But everyone is different and I wonder if you are just not a flats person at this moment.

 

[dangevans]

If you don't like the sound, don't use them at all. Same reason I don't use rounds. Problem solved.