I'm looking for two string recommendations, flats and stainless steel rounds

Dunlop for the win.

Super Bright Flats and Super Bright Steels are exactly what you're looking for. Bass Strings Online sells both, and Jason can also recommend others that will work for you.

 

They aren't bright as the name suggests they are musical and very tame imo

 

Tension is a function of gauge.

Assuming you're using the same tuning and the same scale length just get thinner sets of those same strings than the ones you're using now. Problem solved.

 

If the OP wants something "a little bit more tense than average", the Super Brights may not be the best choice as they (both rounds and flats) are known for being more supple and flexible than most others.

My recommendations would be the DR SS Lo-Riders 45-105 for rounds and the Fender 9050L (45-60-80-100) or La Bella 760FL (43-60-82-104) for flats.

 

Putting my pedant hat on for a while, really its a function of mass per length (density), so a less dense construction like a hex core might have a bit less tension, but in reality the practical differences are negligible so yes, the best practical solution with a tangible difference is lighter gauge...

 

Comparing the same gauges, the LRs are stiffer due to the hex core. FBs, which are slow-wound on a round core, are slightly more supple and flexible, although they tend to feel ever so slightly stiffer than the Hi-Beams or Sun Beams, which are also round core.

 

LaBella DTFs are the answer to all life’s questions.

 

Dunlops are definitely what you want then.

 

This is correct.

But I wasn't sure which way to go there because first he said he wants less stiff strings, then the next sentence he wants more stiff strings!

 

At the same gauge there is no difference in the lbs of pull you have to exert with the tuner to bring the string to pitch. That's what tension is.

 

Fender 9050l"s for flats.

 

I've seen you slogging this gem in the last couple "recommened strings" threads I've looked at.

While it may be technically true, it's not of any practical value whatsoever. Different strings of the same gauge may strictly have the same tension, but they can also certainly feel wildly different in terms of stiffness, which I think everyone who posts in threads like these (except you) understands is what the OP is looking for when they refer to "tension."

 

You are wrong.

Saying tension when you mean flexibility is like saying you need more gain when you want more volume.

Tension is pull, flexibility is bendyness. They are separate attributes of a string, and there are different solutions if you want to change one vs the other.

Tension numbers are literally printed on the packaging for most strings, and labelled "string tension". Those numbers are lbs of pull. Not a measurement of flexibility.

 

Yeah, I know.

But no one actually cares about tension, unless they post something like "my truss rod isn't strong enough to counteract/increase the backbow of my neck, I need higher/lower tension strings."

99% of all posters talking about tension are (erroneously) talking about stiffness. Just play ball.

 

So you want tension to mean flexibility in the strings forum and pounds of pull in hardware and repair? Because people post about the pull the strings put on the neck there every day. What are we supposed to call the pounds of pull on the strings in here then? Because that's something people take into consideration when choosing strings, whether you want to believe it or not.

 

Dunlop Marcus Miller SBs are more tense than regular SBs if I'm correct. I love Fat Beams too.