How often do you change your flat-wounds?

[atrapp]

I find that every 12 years works well. of course with an average of 16 to 20 basses the actually playing time per set is kind of hard to judge... LOL

 

[Paul New]

I change them sometimes to try something new.

But TI flats, I’ve found, don’t last forever. After -20 years on a P Bass they were not sounding good to me. I really prefer those strings around 2 or 3 years old.

By constrast, a 10 year old set of GHS Precision flats on a P bass sounded pretty much the same as after a short break-in, maybe a month.

 

[HowieD72]

I think I've only changed them when I wanted to try a different brand, gauge, etc.

+1

 

[mambo4]

I bought a set of TI Jazz flats
the end

 

[MrAB4003]

There are only three times I have ever changed flatwounds:
1. Last year, I switched from light gauge to medium gauge Chromes when I switched to D Standard tuning. The light gauge set was not tense enough. I still have the light gauge set just in case I want to tune another bass to standard.
2 & 3. I took off Rotosound 77s in favor of other strings because they died within four months. I have never experienced this with any other brand of flats. This happened twice.

 

[GIBrat51]

Well in light of the relatively recent thread on how often people change strings it got me wondering about flats specifically. From my experience flats seem to be more personal when it come to how often people change them as opposed to round-wounds. So my question is who often do you change your flats?

Well...
Since I started playing basses with flat wound strings on them - 55+ years ago? I've only had to replace a set of flats - because they actually died - once. It was a set of 45-105 D'Addario Chromes that I salvaged from a skanky '88 Kramer Forum III project bass. I cleaned them up, and saved them in a baggie for about 10 years. I got them out, when I needed a set of flats to put on a new-to-me '15 G&L Tom Hamilton Signature ASAT Bass. I don't like D'Addario strings as a rule (why isn't important), but the Chromes were handy - and they fit the bass. They actually suited it fairly well, so I played them for almost 3 years. When they wouldn't hold tune - and wouldn't intonate any more? I replaced them - with Fender 9050L's. Which I like a lot better...
Every other time I've changed flats on a bass? It's been because there were flats that I thought might suit the music I like to play on that bass a little better. My '78 Fender P-Bass went thru 3 different sets of flats - over 28 years - before I settled on the GHS #M3050 Precision Flats that it wears now. All the other flats? They eventually all wound up on other basses. I pulled the D'Addario ECB82 "Chromes" that came on my '25 Birdsong Fusion 2 off, because... well, frankly? Because I thought they sounded like ass. The old set of Gen1 Sadowsky Blue Label Flats that I pulled off my Carvin LB-20 about 14 years ago - to convert it to BEAD tuning (with tape wounds) - are now on the Fusion 2. Much better... Oddly, the ECB82's that came on my '24 Fusion Lined Fretless? They sound great. Something about how the 2 pickups on the Fusion 2 are wound, compared to the single p/u on the Fusion Fretless, maybe... I had to replace the Optima R4099 "Chromes" on my '78 Kramer 450B Lumie about 18 months ago. I decided to intonate every one of my 30 basses (something I don't generally care about, much), and discovered the Optimas wouldn't intonate; the ball end silks were juust on the bridge saddles. So, I replaced them with La Bella 760FS DTF's - which don't have ball end silks... Those Optima's went on a new-to-me Tokai TB48 Thunderbird a few months later... I like them on that bass a lot. And, about a year ago, I put a set of TIJF 324 Jazz Flats on a new-to-me '93 Canadian Fury Anthem lined fretless bass. Took them off about 10 minutes later; they made noises that I hope never to hear again. Turns out, that bass had custom pickups that were intended to make it sound like an upright bass - and, to do it using tape wounds - only. With a set of Roto TruBass 88m's? It does exactly that...
But, other than that? No, I haven't changed my flatwounds. I pretty much have the flats I like, on all my basses; well, the ones that don't wear tapes, anyway. Still waiting for them to die. And, I've been waiting 16 years, for some of them...

 

[Hawk620]

We're supposed to change them????

 

[seanm]

We're supposed to change them????

Just like your tires, you have to put the winter flats on in the winter, then go back to the all season flats in the summer.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I say this with no pride and some shame: I change my Chromes the moment they start to sound like flats. About 6 months in.

I'm about to also put them on another bass, where I hope they'll be permitted to reach their real character. We'll see.

 

[LowWay]

When they stop intonating properly

 

[dbflats]

For whatever reason, the step-wound flats, then offered by Status Graphite and long off the market, which I put on a bit over twenty years ago are just fine. No idea if this is typical with flats generally.

And of course, we're not all reaching for the same sounds. Me, I'm after a sort of rock solid vibe that links up with the kick drum nicely. I almost only play bass on recordings these days.

 

[Hawk620]

Just like your tires, you have to put the winter flats on in the winter, then go back to the all season flats in the summer.

I've had the same set of all season La Bella flats on my PBass for 15 years. They might be going dead by now but then how would I know?

 

[ElectricBass72]

I don't play traditional flat wound strings. I play Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats. 3 years seems to be the trend for the Cobalt life span. I have them on my Sire Marcus Miller V5 fretless, Sterling Stingray 5HH, Squire Precision Antigua and Fender 60's Vintera Jazz.

 

[Pilgrim]

My newest flats are probably 3-4 years old. They vary in age, with a few around 10 years, one set at 25, and one set at 50+ years old.

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

What is this "Change" of which you speak?