I hate flats! am I nuts?

[Emanuel Apascaritei]

OMG....you hate flats, blasfemy...how can you hate flats???

 

[MikeBass]

Saying that would equate to denying the variety in flats sounds - which IS there.

That's like saying putting rounds on a bass is making all of them sound that same - zingy and clanky. There is IN MY OPINIONabsolutely no truth to that statement either.

There, fixed it for you.

I've tried a number of sets of flats. Chromes as well.
Just didn't do it for me.

The variety in flats may be there. I just never heard it. And IME, they pretty much all sounded pretty much the same.

 

[Nashrakh]

And IME, they pretty much all sounded pretty much the same.

I could say the same about rounds.

I guess people couldn't care less what we think though.

If we all used the same stuff, things would be pretty boring, right?

Also, it's not so much my opinion - I mean, who in their right mind would try to pass off a whole kind of strings sounding alike as fact?

 

[wideyes]

...which is my opinion of people who've been on TB less time that I have--having any opinions on anything at all!

(j/k)

Sometimes these silly food fight threads are so much fun.

Heh, yeah, we could start a little merry-go-round on here if we're not careful

 

[JimmyM]

that's true. wasn't bad...just wasn't my thing. fortunately i couldn't hear it very well [/QUOTE

The wife and I noticed that as well.

But those rounds, with the Quarter Pound pickups (not exactly "vintage" according to folks) sounded awesome,and thats all that really matters isn't it?

i actually disagree with those who say they don't sound vintage. the mids get boosted and the highs get attenuated. that's vintage to me and they're the only pickups i've tried that work for my thing on that p lyte.

if i ever get off my lazy butt, though, i'll soon be putting my first good bass back into action...a 76 p with the prettiest ash grain you ever saw!

 

[TRichardsbass]

to the OP, yes, you are whacked. I'll be over to your house in a few to beat some "flat-sense" into you.

;-)

 

[BassLife77]

in 30 years of playing I never cared for flats. that 'thud' sound is not for me.

 

[dvh]

i hate flats, they have no bright and sustain...

Why I like them - they sit in the mix so nicely and they are more percussive (less sustain). I love the tension too. To me they feel so much more natural to play...

Even the fretlees players, who it supose they want a more upright tone, they use rounds...

That`s the opposite of my experience. Some fretless players might prefer rounds...[/QUOTE]

plus flats costs twice $

But they last twice as long (or longer...)

 

[lunarpollen]

i hate flats, they have no bright and sustain... Even the fretlees players, who it supose they want a more upright tone, they use rounds... plus flats costs twice $

Lots of fretless players only use flats. A set of flats might cost twice as much as a set of rounds, but in the end, rounds will probably cost 10x as much because a set of flats will last many years, while a set of rounds, on average, gets replaced every few months.

 

[lunarpollen]

Every time I play a bass or hear a bass, especially soloed or prominent in a mix, with flats, even on the famous records, I want to wretch and take up clarinet.

Wow you must hate the entire recorded work of the Beatles then... The Who's "My Generation"... Anything recorded before bass roundwounds were invented and even most classic stuff that was recorded after that... I guess it's all a matter of taste really, I personally can't stand avocado, and some people can't understand that!

 

[selowitch]

It's definitely a matter of personal preference, and you're not crazy for disliking flats. Like rounds, they have advantages and drawbacks. I currently only have one bass, a MIM Fender Jazz, and it has Chromes on it against a maple fingerboard. Sounds great to me. My ideal setup would be having a P-Bass with a rosewood fingerboard and Chromes, then I would change the Jazz Bass over to DR Marcus Miller rounds.

I'd then use the P-Bass for most of my set, but then turn a lot of heads when I pick up the J for something more aggressive and funky.

 

[Stranger Danger]

It depends. If youre hanging out playing by yourself then flats wont sound good. If youre playing in a band, they sound great in the mix. Especially on a P-bass. That being said, I prefer rounds on my Jazz. IMHO, yadda, yadda, yadda

 

[MikeBass]

I could say the same about rounds.

I guess people couldn't care less what we think though.

If we all used the same stuff, things would be pretty boring, right?

Also, it's not so much my opinion - I mean, who in their right mind would try to pass off a whole kind of strings sounding alike as fact?

I never claimed it was fact.. Just my opinion.
IMO, they sound like poo. Others think they sound awesome.

And maybe you missed my comment about "I just never heard it".

 

[MosGuy]

Every time I play a bass or hear a bass, especially soloed or priminent in a mix, with flats, even on the famous records, I want to wretch and take up clarinet.

I also engineer and produce, and have never found that a bass with rounds, hi pass filtered or tone pot down a bit, has been hard to mix.
I just don't get it. Maybe it's a recorded frequency in a mix (that I like, say Jamerson) vs. the instrument by itself or in my hands?

(having said that, i do get good results every now and then with my vintage hofner with pyramid flats after eq'ing, which I also don't get).

What am I missing? I feel I should put some flats on my P bass, but then I'll hear one and it's hello clarinet teacher...

Not trolling against flats. I want ot like them. But it sounds so nasal and one dimensional and farty to me.

Out of curiosity if you dislike flats that much. Why have a Hofner with Pyramids ?. Granted it would give the classic Beatle type sound in particular. But if you hate the sound, why torture yourself. Go 100% rounds and be happy

 

[kevbassman]

Nope your not nuts, I still won't play anything but stainless steel roundwounds, not enough brightness/grittiness in anything else

+1

 

[EagleMoon]

I've wanted to like flats, but they just don't have enough definition for me. I like grindy/growly bass, and only roundwounds will do that for me.

 

[JimmyM]

Out of curiosity if you dislike flats that much. Why have a Hofner with Pyramids ?. Granted it would give the classic Beatle type sound in particular. But if you hate the sound, why torture yourself. Go 100% rounds and be happy

i've got rounds on my jay turser beatle copy and i prefer them to flats on it. i like flats on it no doubt, but the rounds adds a bit of versatility for me that it doesn't have with flats, so i usually end up taking the flats off and using rounds most of the time.

 

[slopeshoulder]

OP here.
I should change the title of this thread to "I hate it when engineers bring a bass with flats on it to the front of a mix, especially if the player used a pick and recorded direct."

 

[eyecandy]

flatwounds focus on the lows and low mids... than rounds which is brighter and punchier..

 

[Moreheadroom]

Be nice to yourself. You gotta let it go. You really don't have to like them - I got it bad with flats but in a different sorta way.... love how they sound (mostly), but they're just not kind to me.
Think a lot of people in the 60's and 70's may have made a different sound if they had more choice.
Maybe not better or worse...just different.....