I like Fender Flats...what else might I like?

[Sparkl]

Love La Bellas for the old-school thing, but that's not the sound I'm after.

Love DR Legend flats except the E string has that vintage "clunk" factor, which again isn't what I'm going for.

Wanted to love D'Addario Chromes but I found the texture to them tacky/sticky, not a pleasure to play.

So far of what I've tried, I've loved the Fenders best, even if their tension balance within sets can be a bit wonky. They have a growl and clarity that is very pleasing in my Precision Bass. I've heard Ernie Ball Group flats aren't too dissimilar... or what about Rotosound Jazz 77s? What other flats might be in a similar ballpark?

Absolutely recommend to try Dunlop stainless steel flats - very nice strings.

I have some thomastik sets and labellas obviously but out of the bunch, the dunlops feel the most balanced between tension, sustain and solid brightness of the string.

I very much love them and especially use them on my Jazz basses.

 

[Brandon Shea]

Dark green silk at both ends? or only at the ball?

Just double checked, it's at both ends.

 

[Sparkl]

If you can find a set without a dud, Dunlop Stainless Steel flats.


Also, maybe SIT silencers?

Hmm, I'm on my 5th set since I discovered them and haven't had a dud yet.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Just double checked, it's at both ends.

Unless they're decades old Fender flats, they should be Pyramid Gold flatwounds. If you have a caliper handy we could zero in on the exact set.

 

[michael_t]

Just double checked, it's at both ends.

Do they have color-coded ball ends, Gold-Red-Silver-Green (E-G)?

 

[Pocket4]

Don't pass on the Sadowski label flats.

 

[Meghans Dad]

I liked the Fender flats, but they don't come in 5-string sets anymore.

 

[Swerve]

If you like the growl and clarity of the Fenders then Cobalt flats may be worth a try. Similar stiffness. Growl for days. They've converted quite a few of the "never flats" crowd.. The only thing you might not like is they are not as smooth as the Fenders. More grippy.

Dunlops are crazy smooth after a few hours of playing. Like silk. Very bright for a while and then they mellow out. Less stiff than the Fenders but not floppy, kind of in the middle. Michael League plays these. Check out the Snarky Puppy Rig Rundown on YouTube. That opening solo bass thing he plays is one of the best demonstrations of a P with flats I've ever heard. It's what turned me onto the Dunlops. Too bad their price has doubled in the past 5 years. I bought my first set for $30.



But honestly if you really like the Fenders just stick with those. They have no downsides in my opinion except for the odd choice of gauges they come in, and the fact that you can't purchase singles.

 

[Yahboy]

Love La Bellas for the old-school thing, but that's not the sound I'm after.

Love DR Legend flats except the E string has that vintage "clunk" factor, which again isn't what I'm going for.

Wanted to love D'Addario Chromes but I found the texture to them tacky/sticky, not a pleasure to play.

So far of what I've tried, I've loved the Fenders best, even if their tension balance within sets can be a bit wonky. They have a growl and clarity that is very pleasing in my Precision Bass. I've heard Ernie Ball Group flats aren't too dissimilar... or what about Rotosound Jazz 77s? What other flats might be in a similar ballpark?

I have LTF4A on my new bought Squier CV70sP , Ti flat on Vintera 50s P and EB Cobalt flat on MOD Squier PJ bass. All work well to me and no problem get in mix.

Yesterday, i wire the Squier Cv70s P to A250k volume/ A500k tone , this change make the LTF4A sound more open , bring out the upper mid nicely and still keep the classic P vibe with 30% tone knob roll back.

Ernie ball Group flat also work well on P bass, but she sound a bit dry and boring to my taste, but work great on stringray 5.

I only have the sound sample of Ti flat.

 

[insomehonkytonk]

You might like GHS Brite Flats, I intend to try them out on a new build. Many different gauges to choose from.

 

[DCCat]

Don't pass on the Sadowski label flats.

Was going to post this but Pocket4 beat me to it. The Sadowsky Blue Label flats are mid-forward in a manner that's similar to the Fenders and TIs, but stiffer than TIs (even the 40-100 set is significantly stiffer). Not cheap, though ('bout the same as TIs, last I checked).

 

[Pier_]

I'm trying the Fender flats in the last weeks: started with the 9050L set, then went for the 9050M, and I'm enjoying them so much.
I've tried most flats on the market, used the TI Jazz flats for a long time, but now I'm used to higher tension strings.

the Fender compared to the Rotosound are a little less stiff and smooth, Rotos are rougher (more space between the windings) and firmer.

talking about sound, IMHO the Fender flats have more "frequency information", meaning that they cover a wider specturm both on bass and treble side, and when they age they retain more growl on the hi-mids.

Rotosound, even if bright, start with less informations, they are centered on the mids and tighter on the bass side.

keep in mind that Rotosound aren't stainless steel, they are monel, so less output and subtle sound.

right now I'm using the Rotosound on a Jazz Bass, since August 2023, and they match really well; on my Classic 50 Precision I've used them, but switched to the Fender and I'm preferring them due to the aforementioned wider information range, because the Precision lacks some frequencies that the Jazz has.

on the other side, the fewer infos of the Rotosound match well with the Jazz, which has more informations from the pickups.

to be clear, the sets I compared are:

Rotosound 45-65-85-105 (where the G is actually a 50)

Fender 45-60-80-100 switched to 55-70-90-105

I prefer strings with some tension.

 

[Levent]

They have a growl and clarity that is very pleasing

Try the Ernie Cobalts since you mentioned growl. I feel they are the most modern amongst flats and sounds as If they have a clean drive knob on 2/10 passively.

 

[butterfingers1]

Not much talk about LaBella. I have the Vintage 1954, Deep Talkin Bass 760FS, and Olinto on Fender Player precisions, and 760FL on a jazz. I like them all, they're similar, and much much better than roundwound strings.

 

[ok-djmiller]

I have LaBellas on my P and I love them.

Tried the EB Cobalt Flats on my Ray and didn't like em. Felt great but sounded like rounds. Then I tried the GHS Precisions and found them a bit uninspiring. E string was too clunky. They wanted to be like the LaBellas but they weren't. Maybe I needed to give them longer to break in.

Put some EB Group 2.5 Flats on the Ray and I don't think I'll ever take them off. For me, the perfect blend of feel, flex, vintage sound with some edge if I want it.

 

[SpiderBass1965]

Fender 9050L's for me.

 

[Brandon Shea]

Do they have color-coded ball ends, Gold-Red-Silver-Green (E-G)?

Yep, they do!

 

[Schlyder]

Dunlop

 

[Gervais Cote]

I have that p bass in my avatar with Fender 9050L flats and when I play rock music with my buddies, this is by far my favorite setup. It gives me just the frequencies I need and it really cuts in the mix like no other flats I tried. Everybody can hear me clearly even when my (crazy) drummer is furious !

I have another p bass with some EB Cobalt flats. Very similar to the Fender flats but the bottom notes are more "polite", it's definitely brighther, almost like some rounds and to me, it lacks of character. This setup for me is more my "jack of all trades" bass because it suits many different types of music from soft rock, to disco and blues.

Those Fender flats are hard to beat when you want your place in the mix and/or in a live performance IMO.

 

[manchego_eggo]

If you can find a set without a dud, Dunlop Stainless Steel flats.


Also, maybe SIT silencers?

are the dunlops known to have bad QC? i had a set recently where one of the strings rattled incessantly so had to ditch them. sounded amazing otherwise. very full range and could get a thump with the tone rolled back