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La Bella Gold Flats ?

#41
Bass V said:
kinda. not knowing any better I have my old Asian thru-P performing pricelessly with the gold banding on the E passing 1/4'' after the nut once in tune (I'm in D for the E).
these golds are new and seasoned yet only sound good matched with certain amps so far on this trebly bass, the vaunted strong mids are wonderful and throaty, hoping they tame a bit and age well. I dig them so much now I'll mod the wiring to expand the tone range before I give up on them.
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BV...

Yep, they'll settle down & mellow out once you play them a bit & get a bit of grime on them :) If you take them off & give them a clean to bring back the lustre (with ispropyl alcohol followed by Brasso), they're a bit bright again (nothing like new though) for a couple of weeks. I've had them on my Ibanez for 18 months now, really dig the sound (so does my music teacher).
 
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#43
Got em on last night, the tautness and stiffness of each string is remarkably uniform, and so far (keep in mind only about 20min of play) they seriously deliver on the mids. This is also my first personal set of flats, but so much brighter than other flats I've played on other basses.They are super smooth and not at all sticky, to someone like me who usually exclusively plays rounds at least.

Couple odd things.
1st there wasn't enough silk on the high c to keep the string from wrapping on post.
2nd is that there were some discolored marks on the E which is kinda unnoticeable unless you're looking for blemishes which I always do.

I feel that the amount of tension it takes to get them to pitch could be more uniform, as it takes quite a bit to get the higher 3 strings to pitch then it does for the lower strings, though the E still takes a bit. I almost thought no way I can keep tuning this c without it snapping! Lo and behold it took it no prob which made me feel safer w/ ea. consecutive string afterwards.

Last note is that even downtuned these strings have ridiculous clarity, like, ridiculous. Makes the harmonics pretty dang nice.

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#44
Lenny JG said:
1st there wasn't enough silk on the high c to keep the string from wrapping on post.
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An upper C string is only @ .035 diameter. That is approximately the same diameter as a guitar A string wrapping around the lesser diameter guitar tuner post. No big deal. We only worry about the windings wrapping the tuning post on a low B, E and sometimes A strings, which can break the core.

Some companies, like D'Addario, don't even taper their 45 or lesser diameter wound bass strings, because unlike the lower strings, it just doesn't matter.
 
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#45
Rilence said:
BV...

Yep, they'll settle down & mellow out once you play them a bit & get a bit of grime on them :) If you take them off & give them a clean to bring back the lustre (with ispropyl alcohol followed by Brasso), they're a bit bright again (nothing like new though) for a couple of weeks. I've had them on my Ibanez for 18 months now, really dig the sound (so does my music teacher).
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Does anyone know if these have Nickel in their composition? I have an allergy to Ni…
 
#48
Lenny JG said:
Honestly I'd just look at their website and email them if you don't find the info. They're really communicative
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I did that and they responded pretty quickly but didn’t address my question correctly. I asked about their gold flats and mentioned that I can usually get by using most SS strings and their response was related to their SS strings having trace amounts of Ni and did not address the gold strings. I asked for clarification but have not gotten a response yet. I will post what I find out.
 
#49
I know this thread is years old, but if anybody is still wondering about Labella Gold Flats I say that are 100% the best strings on the market. Now that they have been on both my Precision basses for a few years, I can now give a proper review.

When comparing them to standard Labella Deep Talkin Flats, the sound is pretty similar, but the Gold flats have a few quirks that make them more unique. Firstly, they feel a bit more soft to the touch, and combining with a soft attack provide the absolute perfect tone for that classic Motown and Soul vibe. Along with the feel, they almost feel like they produce a more dead sound compared to most other Flatwounds strings, while packing some serious punch at the same time. And aesthetically, they look beautiful, and have kept their shine over the years, even with the gunk. The manufacturer says to clean them with brass polish and alcohol to keep the shine, it's not necessary as long as you play them often, plus taking them off to clean gets rid of that amazing aged funk tone that takes years of being on the instrument to develop. I will say that if you go awhile without practicing, they will develop a green tarnish on them, but like I said, if you play often then they stay golden.

I would heavily recommend these. They are my all time favorite string, and have given me the ability to shape my own sound on the bass, and like most flats, they seem to sound even better the longer they're on the instrument.
Absolute 10/10
 
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#52
I have a set of these things on my Epi Jack Casady bass. I really do like the sound, but...
They are the absolutely grabbiest strings I have ever played, in the last 5 decades of playing flats. I have cleaned them with everything I can think of - to no avail. My always-dry fingers will not slide on these strings - at all. Short of coating the things with oil of some kind - or constantly bathing my hands in lotion - I'm at my wit's end. I spent about an hour last night, going through my Big Box O' Strings, trying to decide what to replace the things with. I even considered replacing them with a NOS set of D'Addario Chromes. And, normally? I'd rather give up playing bass, than use those things... I even thought about putting rounds on it, fer Gawd's sake...:wideyed:
I finally decided to give them one more serious try; but, if things don't improve? Well, they'll get to meet Mr. Recycle Bin; and, I'll try some other strings - that I know my fingers will like - on the JCB...:cool:
 
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#53
GIBrat51 said:
I have a set of these things on my Epi Jack Casady bass. I really do like the sound, but...
They are the absolutely grabbiest strings I have ever played, in the last 5 decades of playing flats. I have cleaned them with everything I can think of - to no avail. My always-dry fingers will not slide on these strings - at all. Short of coating the things with oil of some kind - or constantly bathing my hands in lotion - I'm at my wit's end. I spent about an hour last night, going through my Big Box O' Strings, trying to decide what to replace the things with. I even considered replacing them with a NOS set of D'Addario Chromes. And, normally? I'd rather give up playing bass, than use those things... I even thought about putting rounds on it, fer Gawd's sake...:wideyed:
I finally decided to give them one more serious try; but, if things don't improve? Well, they'll get to meet Mr. Recycle Bin; and, I'll try some other strings - that I know my fingers will like - on the JCB...:cool:
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Mine only feel particularly sticky when playing in hot weather and my hands get sweaty.
 
#55
bassically_eli said:
Mine only feel particularly sticky when playing in hot weather and my hands get sweaty.
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Ben Hicks said:
That is something I noticed early on with these strings, they get sticky when it's hot, but I feel like I've had them on my basses for so long that I don't really notice anymore
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I know what you mean, and I've had flats that were, indeed, kind of "sticky" - until they were cleaned and/or broken in. But, my Gold Flats were never that way. They are grabby - like they were disc brake pads, and my fingers were the brake rotors. If I went down into my basement right now - where I keep most of my instruments, and where it's bone dry - and about 55 degrees right now? I guarantee you that my fingers would not slide on those strings if I put more than a featherlight touch on the things. Honestly, I'm starting to think that I need sweaty fingers to play the things. As it stands right now? The only way I can play the bass, is if I don't touch the strings - at all - unless I'm fretting a note. Which is... kind of hard, after playing "normally" for 50+ years...:cool:
 
#56
In 2019, I had these on a Jazz Bass that I ended up selling and I was not a fan. They were incredibly sticky and their gold luster came off pretty quickly. I also didn't like that they were $65 for the 5 string set. They also felt soft to the touch, but quite grabby. It was weird for me - a bassist who mostly played rounds until that point.

Perhaps I didn't give the La Bella Gold flats enough of a chance knowing what I know now. So there's a possibility that I will give them a second chance in the future, especially if I acquire a gold bass.
 
#57
From my experience they don't sound as good on J basses, and they definitely will feel strange if you normally use rounds. I noticed the sticky thing for like the first year of having them on my basses, but it seems to go away after a while (either that or I've just gotten used to it, as other strings now feel strange to me) They definitely feel soft to the touch, which is something I'm a huge fan of. I've also noticed the gold luster stays as long as you play them enough, I've had em on 2 of my basses for about 3 years and they're still gold, not as shiny as they used to be, but still look great, plus they only get better sounding the longer you have them on
 
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#58
As a mostly rounds user, and after a few years of having these on Mr. Potato, I don't have the 'grabby' experience, and the strings still look totally gold and new. Maybe I don't play it as often as some to notice, but, I do play it quite often. They sound and feel awesome every time. The only quirk I have is that I have to dial in my bridge a little more than I'm used to in order to get the low string to sound even, but I also tune it to low A, and the pickups are old random Korean soapbars of trivial quality, so that might be the reason. Either way, these things perform, sound, and look great for me.
 
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