La Bella Super Polished Ian Martin Set

[trigger_happy]

Torn between the regular SP or ASP for my Yamaha BB435. To those who tried both, which one felt smoother? Does the low B sound clear?

Originally I wanted to try the Low Tension Flats as Ive had good experience with it on my 4string Pbass. But want to have best of both worlds with the sound and feel of a flat and rounds if that makes sense. Also willing to try going the LTF 5 string route but read mixed reviews about 5 string flats sounding to muffled on the B string.

Appreciate your input bass friends!

 

[Switcharoo]

Allison version certainly a little rougher @trigger_happy

 

[Hans Gruber]

I just put them last night. I'm a huge fan of all things IMA and Labella. I was extremely excited but now extremely disappointed. My all time favorite string are probably the Low Tension Flats, but I do need a good roundwound sound for many gigs.

Pros: I like the slightly subdued stainless steel presence without it being totally noisy. They sound great, the tension is quite balanced,

Cons: They feel nothing like flats nor are they that smooth or polished. My regular nickels feel smoother. I wasn't expecting it to be a flatwound like the LTF, but it's not even close. The worst part is that the G string is absolutely unusable. There is a very strange beating/chorus sound on different parts of the string. I've been playing professional for decades and I've never had this and there's no way I can gig with this. I've had DRs that may have some spotty intonation but not to the point such intense warbling. I'll have to post video when I get a chance.

And they're quite expensive compared to other roundwounds. I wish I could get a refund. I'm not someone who blasts these things on the internet, I'm generally super positive, I can't be dishonest here.

 

[999Brent]

I just put them last night. I'm a huge fan of all things IMA and Labella. I was extremely excited but now extremely disappointed. My all time favorite string are probably the Low Tension Flats, but I do need a good roundwound sound for many gigs.

Pros: I like the slightly subdued stainless steel presence without it being totally noisy. They sound great, the tension is quite balanced,

Cons: They feel nothing like flats nor are they that smooth or polished. My regular nickels feel smoother. I wasn't expecting it to be a flatwound like the LTF, but it's not even close. The worst part is that the G string is absolutely unusable. There is a very strange beating/chorus sound on different parts of the string. I've been playing professional for decades and I've never had this and there's no way I can gig with this. I've had DRs that may have some spotty intonation but not to the point such intense warbling. I'll have to post video when I get a chance.

And they're quite expensive compared to other roundwounds. I wish I could get a refund. I'm not someone who blasts these things on the internet, I'm generally super positive, I can't be dishonest here.

I really tried to like them as well, started the thread on them, but they were not for me either, I have heard they are not as polished as the original. I certainly won’t be getting another set.
Was really excited to try them, but a no go for me….

 

[Switcharoo]

I thought some of you guys might find a comparison interesting/useful... here are two unused .125 B strings, on the left the original Super Polished and on the right the IMA version. The extra flatness of the originals is very clear here! I'm still on the fence, certainly prefer the feel of the OGs but the sizes of the IMA. The longer i play the IMAs however, the more I'm getting on with them. Incredibly sticky for the first few hours but that goes away eventually.

 

[patzilla83]

After a few weeks on a parts p-bass, I’ve decided I like everything about these strings but I just don’t like stainless steel roundwounds. I’ve used DR Pure Blues for years and I’m reinstalling a set today. These would be great on a Jazz, but I don’t have one. Unless someone wants to buy the set, I’m keeping these in a ziplock in case I buy a Jazz.

 

[quilanthegreat]

I was intrigued by the idea of a round wound tone with a flat wound feel. In my opinion, these don’t deliver at all in the flat wound feel category. I had them on a precision bass for less than an hour before deciding the tension and feel aren’t my thing - I much prefer my tried and true Dunlop Super Brights for a round wound. Just giving a heads up to anyone thinking they’d actually feel like a flat wound, that’s not the experience I had.

 

[kevk]

Just loaded a set of IMA Sig 45-103's on my M4V—like 'em…a lot! Felt a little sticky at first, but tbh…I probably didn't get all the (very waxy) string thread residue off my hands, after installing strings. All good a day later…View attachment 7200633

Quoting myself ^^^…update:

I’ve been moving these strings around to various wood-combo basses. They only work for me on ash body/maple fb’s. That said, I’ve been slowly drifting back to my fav Dunlop Super Bright Nickel 45’s for basses needing rw’s. I don’t mind the IMA SP tension—it’s their unique feel that I’m struggling with.

Imo/e with them to date, if you’ve got a bass that lacks solid punchy mid’s, and/or is inherently dark sounding overall, these strings will help.

 

[dwellers]

Agree with most of the comments. Sound is good but the feel is nothing like a flat. Much more like a round that is worn a bit. I was disappointed with how "dirty" they looked out of the package. Was this a design choice or just the way the are from the manufacturing process?

Probably one and done for me. But I like a more mellow round like DR Pure Blues. Next up are the GHS Pressurewounds. They interest me.

 

[FightMilk]

I have this Fodera that is all maple and walnut and the thing is briiiiiight. I’ve always played 40 gauge DRs which is fine live but I was recording the other day and it was just not working. I tried the ima super polished and raised the action a hair as this is mainly a studio bass. The thicker gauge helps the fatten up the bass and the construction of the string really helped to tame the harshness. Loving them! I agree with the dirty comment, I was like is this normal? These look used or counterfeit? But dang I’m really impressed with these. Strings make such a big impact and I’m slowly learning not all basses sound their best with your go to favorite strings. The silks are nice as well. I have some labella ltf on a musicman and I’ll have a set of the pino light gauge flats on a sterling soon. I’m wondering if a comparison video of these three strings would be worth making, but they’d be on 3 fairly different basses.

 

[mmbass21]

Torn between the regular SP or ASP for my Yamaha BB435. To those who tried both, which one felt smoother? Does the low B sound clear?

Originally I wanted to try the Low Tension Flats as Ive had good experience with it on my 4string Pbass. But want to have best of both worlds with the sound and feel of a flat and rounds if that makes sense. Also willing to try going the LTF 5 string route but read mixed reviews about 5 string flats sounding to muffled on the B string.

Appreciate your input bass friends!

Probably too late by now but maybe the string twisted when you put it on. Loosen it slightly and then pull it down towards the bridge to reseat the string. Hopefully it resolves the chrousy sound or you got a bad string.

I just put these on my Lull JT4 and really like them so far. I've never been a fan of stainless steel strings, the way the feel and sound are always off to my ears. These have nice tension for me and sound balanced across the entire fingerboard.

Soundwise they really remind me of Slowounds from back in the day. Those were my absolute favorite strings and wish they still made them.

 

[JenderBazzFass]

Agree with most of the comments. Sound is good but the feel is nothing like a flat. Much more like a round that is worn a bit. I was disappointed with how "dirty" they looked out of the package. Was this a design choice or just the way the are from the manufacturing process?

Probably one and done for me. But I like a more mellow round like DR Pure Blues. Next up are the GHS Pressurewounds. They interest me.

he said on one of his social media accounts that this is an artifact of the manufacturing process and after a little play they achieve the desired feel and sound. (I have not played them personally)

 

[kevk]

Quoting myself ^^^…update:

I’ve been moving these strings around to various wood-combo basses. They only work for me on ash body/maple fb’s. That said, I’ve been slowly drifting back to my fav Dunlop Super Bright Nickel 45’s for basses needing rw’s. I don’t mind the IMA SP tension—it’s their unique feel that I’m struggling with.

Imo/e with them to date, if you’ve got a bass that lacks solid punchy mid’s, and/or is inherently dark sounding overall, these strings will help.

Update: re-installed IMA SP’s back on two of my ash/maple fb basses. I guess (like most strings) it’s a trial and error specific bass match…

 

[Heavy Blue]

As a side note, I once had a set of half-rounds that I wrote off for the very same reason, but when I decided to dust them off again for a second look I discovered they actually suffered from the same highly-correctable issue as a lot of flats: Some type of gritty gunk or substance left over from the manufacturing process that can be removed by either (1) playing them a lot or (2) simply running them through a slightly damp cloth until they get fully clean before installing them on the bass. After I did the latter they were super smooth, almost like a worn in set of flats. Personally I see a lot of people knocking the texture of certain half-rounds or flats and I wonder if it is just this type of thing; these days I always clean off flats before installing and they always end up being nice and smooth.

I went through this exact same experience with a set of D'Addario Half Wounds back in '21.

I took them straight out the box and installed them. They sounded pretty meh on that bass and their feel was just gross too. Upon a closer look, I realized that it was because the strings were still covered in machine oil & tiny metal bits.

So I took them off and gave them a thorough cleaning with some iso until a white rag could dry them off without getting dirty. It took awhile. About 40 minutes or so iirc.

It was well worth the effort. Now they were almost as smooth as regular flats. Once I installed them on my '15 Squier VM60s Jazz (with the later Fender Designed pups, not the awesome Duncan Designed ones that the earlier VMs like my '13 VM70s Jazz had), the tone was finally up to scratch.

Up until then, I couldn't get those pups to sound really good with any other strings that I had tried and conversely, I couldn't find a bass that really sounded great with those particular strings either. However, they were totally the ticket for that bass and are still on them today.

Wondering how these compare to Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats? The descriptions sounds similar, not quite flat feeling, a little sticky to start and more like worn in rounds.

I was wondering that as well. Specifically irt the high end.

I have a new set of the Cobalts on hand to try on an AmPro2 Jazz that currently has a set of Chromes on it. I have a couple of basses with the Chromes but tbh, they always leave me feeling a bit underwhelmed. Reasonably good but not great like the "right" string set would be.

...Strings make such a big impact and I’m slowly learning not all basses sound their best with your go to favorite strings....

100%! I figured this out awhile ago. Imo, it's well worth the effort and much cheaper than endlessly replacing pickups.

At times it can be a time consuming process to find the set that gives a given bass its best voice. As it was with the VM60s Jazz mentioned above. That was a bit of an ordeal but a definite exception to the rule.

 

[Dusky Bass]

Wanted to weigh in if it's helpful for others... I just put a set on my Stingray Special 5 earlier today. Having read through this forum (and others) about them, I think I was able to remove any expectations of them being/feeling like flats. This helped me stay receptive to what they might feel/sound like. My thinking in using them on my Stingray was maybe I could knock just a touch of growl off and add a touch of thud but still keep the core Stingray character. (Maybe placebo and wishful thinking, but...) I think this did it.

At first play, they felt a bit rubbery in my plucking fingers and grabby in my fretting hand. But, after wiping them down with a microfibre cloth and playing for about an hour, they really are starting to feel nice with both of the aforementioned characteristics fading away. I think wiping them down was the key. I wouldn't say they feel like flats, but they're not as zippery as standard steel or nickel wound. At the moment, I'm really happy with them and it seems like they will continue to soften up over time.

The tension is really nice; they feel perhaps a little looser than the DR Low Beams I had on it. The Low B is killer and the overall sustain is strong. I'd say the action on my Stingray is 'standard' (didn't lower it from the stock/factory the way I did on my Jazz and P). I'm not much of skilled slap player, but my toying around so far creates such fun and inspiring noises that aren't too bright. I'm looking forward to spending a lot more time with them!

 

[getBAK]

I really wish there was some way to try these out... I love my D'Addario tapes, but in general trust IAM to have quality product

 

[MingusBass]

I just received a set. I haven't installed them yet but I feel like the description/advertising of these is a bit misleading. In no universe do these feel anywhere close to a flatwound string, and that's OK. These strings may lean in that direction and if that's what IMA likes...good enough for me, I probably still would have tried them out, but I don't know why they are trying to portray these as having a flatwound feel...other than it's easier to sell that concept until the word gets out. Now to decide which bass to put them on...the most obvious is my IMA5.

 

[littlebun]

Since the regular Super Polished feel like easy playing 45-105, which I like, I can't go lower tension like the Ian set. These strings change over a couple of weeks when it comes to brightness. My sets have eventually settled in and have a strong fundamental displayed in each note. These are some of the best strings to ever come down the pike. Very, Very impressed.

 

[MingusBass]

OK, now that I've got them on my IMA5, they do seem to be a bit smoother than the average Steel string, so there's that, but still not quite as smooth as any flat I've ever played. That being said, I like the strings well enough. I feel like once you play them a bit and the tackiness lessens, they feel and sound great.

 

[59jazz]

I Use flats on all but one of my basses; my Yamaha BB1600. I've been using Dunlop stainless Super Brites, which are a great fit for this bass. Last night I installed the Ian Martin set on the BB1600, prior to that I soaked them in denatured alcohol to reduce the stickyness. Right off the bat I noticed they were a smidge firmer than the Dunlops and just as smooth, no adjustment on the truss rod was needed. I play at a rather large church in the Iowa City area, running through the house and IEM system this morning, the Martin set reminded me of my Dunlops when they're broken in, but with more girth to them; a "meatier" sound. I'm wondering how long they will last sound wise, this could be a good set for me. And yes, these are not flats.