LaBella 760FL vs. DR Legend flatwound comparison

[Bounced Czech]

Hi all!

Longtime former TBer here... finally got back into bass more seriously after life got in the way, only to find that I'd been locked out of the teenage throwaway email linked to my TB account (RIP Sasquatch Dude). Anyway, I've been really enjoying going through my old flatwound catalog, and thought I'd share some side-by-side soundbites using the venerable LaBella 760FLs as a sort of control. Running an '84 Fender P (with a period Jazz bridge pup mod) DI with totally flat EQ; all levels the identical; P pickup only unless indicated otherwise.

First round here is 760FL 43-105 vs. DR Legend 450-105. These are all fully broken in strings – the LaBellas are probably 12+ years old, the DRs closer to 5; all kept strung and played for years at a time. I added a SoundCloud comment on each track to mark where the switch happens.

LaBella: glossy, mirror-like finish, brick-red silks. Super easy to slide across the fretboard. Tension very manageable, perhaps moreso than you'd even expect from a medium(ish) gauge set. Tonally, it's 100% Stax and Motown... which, if IME you can ignore the fact it sounds like Stax or Motown, actually works in a staggeringly wide range of genres from country to 80s pop. Incredible string-to-string balance in tension as well as tone. Burpy, purring low-mids across all four strings, with a surprisingly crisp, glassy top end.

DR: satin finish, blonde silks. Wraps are possibly even tighter than the LaBellas, but the microtextured finish sort of alters the smoothness aspect. Tension doesn't feel vastly different from the LaBellas, but the round cores add a certain unique suppleness – I kinda dig that. Balance wise, it's a whole different game. The D and G are noticeably brighter, with sort of an airy top end, while the E and A are absolute thud city – I was surprised how noticeable that became on the pick track with The Chain lick. Overall fine strings if you're looking for a dry, woodier tone along the lines of the old stock Fender flats of the 60s and 70s, but arguably less tonally versatile than the LaBellas IMO.

Next up, I'm fixing to dig out my old Sadowsky Black Labels (the classic LaBella-made spec from 10+ years back!) I recall those being similar to the 760FL, but with the midrange bump focused a little higher up, creating more bite and growl.

Fingerstyle, P pickup, no mute

Fingerstyle, P pickup, foam mute at bridge

Picked, P pickup, no mute

Picked, P pickup, foam mute at bridge

Fingerstyle, P+J, no mute


LaBella

DR

 

[Ricky Rioli]

Interesting that fingerstyle the DR is has a more metallic edge, but with a pick the La Bella has a lot more bite

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Interesting that fingerstyle the DR is has a more metallic edge, but with a pick the La Bella has a lot more bite

Yes, same impression here

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

Zooming in on the two photos, the LaBella seem to have a looser or less overlapped winding?
Maybe striking with a pick more directly activates their core, producing bite?

My set of Legends sound great, but are a bit stiffer than I'd prefer versus, say, Cobalt flats.

 

[iiipopes]

I have played both the LaBella's and the DR's. Tonally, the LaBella retain their tone, including the roundness with just a hair of ping on the articulation that lasts. The DR's start to fade, then fade some more, then fade to black, so to speak. Because of this, I have a hard time fitting them into what would be a good gig for them. For longevity, feel, and tone, I prefer the LaBella, and currently have a bass strung with them for when I am playing a Motown style gig.

 

[GIBrat51]

Hi all!

Longtime former TBer here... finally got back into bass more seriously after life got in the way, only to find that I'd been locked out of the teenage throwaway email linked to my TB account (RIP Sasquatch Dude). Anyway, I've been really enjoying going through my old flatwound catalog, and thought I'd share some side-by-side soundbites using the venerable LaBella 760FLs as a sort of control. Running an '84 Fender P (with a period Jazz bridge pup mod) DI with totally flat EQ; all levels the identical; P pickup only unless indicated otherwise.

First round here is 760FL 43-105 vs. DR Legend 450-105. These are all fully broken in strings – the LaBellas are probably 12+ years old, the DRs closer to 5; all kept strung and played for years at a time. I added a SoundCloud comment on each track to mark where the switch happens.

LaBella: glossy, mirror-like finish, brick-red silks. Super easy to slide across the fretboard. Tension very manageable, perhaps moreso than you'd even expect from a medium(ish) gauge set. Tonally, it's 100% Stax and Motown... which, if IME you can ignore the fact it sounds like Stax or Motown, actually works in a staggeringly wide range of genres from country to 80s pop. Incredible string-to-string balance in tension as well as tone. Burpy, purring low-mids across all four strings, with a surprisingly crisp, glassy top end.

DR: satin finish, blonde silks. Wraps are possibly even tighter than the LaBellas, but the microtextured finish sort of alters the smoothness aspect. Tension doesn't feel vastly different from the LaBellas, but the round cores add a certain unique suppleness – I kinda dig that. Balance wise, it's a whole different game. The D and G are noticeably brighter, with sort of an airy top end, while the E and A are absolute thud city – I was surprised how noticeable that became on the pick track with The Chain lick. Overall fine strings if you're looking for a dry, woodier tone along the lines of the old stock Fender flats of the 60s and 70s, but arguably less tonally versatile than the LaBellas IMO.

Next up, I'm fixing to dig out my old Sadowsky Black Labels (the classic LaBella-made spec from 10+ years back!) I recall those being similar to the 760FL, but with the midrange bump focused a little higher up, creating more bite and growl.

Fingerstyle, P pickup, no mute

Fingerstyle, P pickup, foam mute at bridge

Picked, P pickup, no mute

Picked, P pickup, foam mute at bridge

Fingerstyle, P+J, no mute


LaBella
View attachment 7475775

DR
View attachment 7475776

Yeah, I use these flats, too. They've been on their respective basses for... well, a pretty long time.
- DR Legends. I acquired an '82-ish Kramer "The Duke" Special (with the Schaller "Twin-J" pickup) around 2010. Headless, aluminum neck, 31" scale. It came to me wearing an old - a very old - set of 50-108 GHS Bass Boomers. I loved the tone, but my damaged fingers did not like the feel. I played the snot out of the thing anyway... When they finally died a couple of years later, my fingers insisted that there would be no more rounds on that bass, so... after some experimentation? I settled on the DR SFL Legends. They're flats; my fingers like them - a lot; and, best of all? They sound an awful lot like the old Boomers did. As for them not lasting very long? Mine are roughly 13 years old, now; still going strong. And, the Duke still gets played - a Lot...
- La Bella 760 FL's. I have La Bella flats on 6 of my 33 basses, but only 2 of them wear 760FL's - and they're both short scale basses. One bass - a very cheap, late '90s Chinese Starfire violin bass - wears the FL's, primarily because they turned out to be the only strings that that verkakte thing will even begin to intonate with. Gotta say, though; they do make that stupid thing sound pretty darn good... The other bass is a 30" scale Warmoth Mini-Precision Bass, that I had made in 2015. It wore DR Sunbeams originally; they did sound very good, and they stayed on that bass until they really did die. I'd have replaced them with the extra set I had, but... that finger pain thing, again. So, I put my extra set of short scale 760FL's on it in 2017... I've been happy ever since. I've thought about replacing them with a set of light gauge GHS Precision Flats (which 4 of my other basses wear), but... nah. I just can't justify it. The 760FL's sound ... well, like a P-Bass should. They feel great; and at 8 years old.? Just... nicely broken in...
As for Sadowsky Flats? I tried a set of the Black Labels - the 1st gen ones - on my '06 Carvin LB-20, quite a while ago. Nice strings, but... sadly, not for me. The Blue Label Flats, OTOH... just what my ears wanted to hear. That 1st gen set came off the Carvin last year (replaced with Optima 4099L "Chromes"- long story), and went on my '25 Birdsong Fusion II. They sound even better on that thing, so... that's where they will stay...