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I want to love flats, but can't commit

ecadad

ecadad

Guest
Sep 4, 2011
95
98
#1
I've always loved the tone of flats; most of my favorite bassists seem to use flatwound strings (particularly McCartney). So a while ago I put flats on my bass for the first time, expecting to love it. I do like the tone and I absolutely love the feel of the strings (they feel so much nicer than rounds), but I often find myself longing for the tone of rounds. I guess the ideal solution would be to have two basses, one with each type of strings, but with only one bass I think rounds are more versatile for me.

As much as I love the thump and feel, sometimes I need the brighter longer sustained tone of rounds, and with only one bass it's hard to sacrifice that for flats. I think I'll switch back to rounds; someday I'll have two basses, one with rounds and one with flats, but for now I'll be sticking with rounds.

Has anyone else experienced this? I really wanna be a flatwound guy, but I can't fully commit.
 
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#2
I sympathise. I went through a big flats phase (admittedly, owning more than one bass) but came back to rounds after frequently feeling that something was missing from my sound - and being unwilling to admit to myself that it was flats. Dumb as that sounds.

I still love the sound and feel of flats, but it's more of a speciality sound for me right now, not my go-to.
 
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#6
ecadad said:
sometimes I need the brighter longer sustained tone of rounds, and with only one bass it's hard to sacrifice that for flats.
Click to expand...
Well you don't need to sacrifice a bright sustained tone by having flats compared to rounds.
Fender flats, Thomastik-Infeld Jazz flats, Dogal Jaco flats, Ernie Ball Slinky flats, the new Dunlop flats and D'addarios Chrome flats are are all very bright strings with different timbres, as well as sustain.
Sustain of course is a lot due to set-up and gauges on the particuliar bass.
What can be hard sometimes to get on some basses is the... 'crunchyness'? -of most rounds, especially when not slapping.
If you love flats, why play something else, do anyone else keep telling you that your sound doesn't fit in in the places where you play, in different genres and places? If not, the versatility is maybe overrated, if unneeded.
 
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#8
MCS4 said:
Same. I dig flats, but rounds simply sound better for more of the things I do. Luckily I do have more than one bass, so I often have one set up with flats as well.
Click to expand...

Same here. I have used various types of flats, and there are some that I like, but my sound is dependent on rounds. I have two basses but it seems pointless to put flats on one or the other as I use both constantly.
 
#12
I'm not sure what your one bass is, OP, but on my Jazz, I find that I can mimic the flatwound sound respectably, even with bright rounds, by turning down my tone a few degrees, palm muting the strings and playing with my thumb. When I need more sustain, playing with a light touch past the neck pickup (almost over the neck) helps.
Still, I would recommend stringing up a second bass with flats when you're financially able. :)
 
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#14
With one bass, it's kind of hard to suggest flats unless you went with a really bright flat. If you're sticking with one bass at least in the short term, then it's probably better to go with rounds so you can EQ out whatever brightness and high end you don't want. It's a lot harder to EQ it into tone that didn't have it to begin with. But, really, this is TB. You don't really expect anyone to tell you to stick with just one bass, do you?!?! ;)

And, for the record, my one bass with flats IS a sunburst Precision with a tortoise shell pickguard. Like I always say, go ahead and hate me if you want because I am proudly THAT guy! :D
 
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#20
Right there with you except the longing for the tone of round wounds. I used to only use flats and everyone got used to that, I call it fluffy, sound. Unfortunately, I ended up playing in several different bands that required more than what the flats could deliver, specifically on the brighter side of tone. I reluctantly put the rounds back on and am in a good place for the music I play but not my favorite tone. Gotta give a little to get I suppose.
 

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