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Labella 760FM tone equivalent

Tim Skaggs

Tim Skaggs

Sep 28, 2002
5,150
8,240
#1
My son bought me a set of LaBella 760FM (medium) flat wound strings (.109, .089, .069, .049) for my birthday and I installed them on my PBass. I have two gigs and a little practice time on them and have determined they are just too stiff for me, but I like the tone I’m getting with them. I have the action on them lower than I normally set up my basses which is probably only possible due to the stiffness, but that’s not enough to counteract the stiff feel for my hands.

Does anyone know if the 760FL (light) are significantly more flexible? I know I can get the 760 FX (extra light), but I don’t want to make two more purchases to figure out which I can tolerate, and I don’t want to get too light….

For reference, I’ve been playing the EB Cobalt flats in the .040, .060, .080, .100 gauge.
 
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#2
Tim Skaggs said:
Does anyone know if the 760FL (light) are significantly more flexible?

For reference, I’ve been playing the EB Cobalt flats in the .040, .060, .080, .100 gauge.
Click to expand...

I found the 760FL (43-60-82-104) quite manageable in terms of overall stiffness and playing feel. They're still stiffer than the EB Cobalt Flats 40-100, but not uncomfortably so.
 
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#7
You’ve got bridge cables on your bass! I played those for a while and moved to lighter gages.

I really like the smoothness and sound of FM’s, but definitely less tension at lighter gages.

I’m playing the .104 - .43 set, and found those to be comfortable. YMMV.
 
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#8
michael_t said:
Wait... The Cobalt Flats actually don't come in 40-60-80-100 as such; either 45-65-80-100 or 40-60-70-95. Which set are you talking about?
Click to expand...
I have or have had some of each, but I think I had the .040-.095s on the bass before the changeover to the FMs.

It may seem strange (or not) but I can play a heavier string on a 4 string than I do on a 5. Maybe the string spacing helps.
 
#9
Tim Skaggs said:
My son bought me a set of LaBella 760FM (medium) flat wound strings (.109, .089, .069, .049) for my birthday and I installed them on my PBass. I have two gigs and a little practice time on them and have determined they are just too stiff for me, but I like the tone I’m getting with them. I have the action on them lower than I normally set up my basses which is probably only possible due to the stiffness, but that’s not enough to counteract the stiff feel for my hands.

Does anyone know if the 760FL (light) are significantly more flexible? I know I can get the 760 FX (extra light), but I don’t want to make two more purchases to figure out which I can tolerate, and I don’t want to get too light….

For reference, I’ve been playing the EB Cobalt flats in the .040, .060, .080, .100 gauge.
Click to expand...
Tbh I found the 760fl set too stiff for me, someone managed somehow to get tension figures for those a while ago and despite being labelled as "light" they were said to be around 185ibs in tension which i could will believe based on how stiff they felt.
 
#10
CalBuzz51 said:
You’ve got bridge cables on your bass! I played those for a while and moved to lighter gages.

I really like the smoothness and sound of FM’s, but definitely less tension at lighter gages.

I’m playing the .104 - .43 set, and found those to be comfortable. YMMV.
Click to expand...
I use the 760FL's on both of my Precisions. I find them quite comfortable to play too....sound great too! I've occasionally tried other flats on them, but I keep coming back to the DTF's. They feel and sound the way I want my Precisions to sound for the music I play.
 
#16
I feel like I ought to clarify the title of this post. At first look on line, I didn’t realize that the gauge of LaBella 760 strings were identified by the two-letter suffix FM, FL, FX, so I was going to ask if there was a different type of LaBella flat (like the LTFs) that still sounded like the 760 FMs. I had already started the thread when I figured out the two-letter suffix was the gauge, so 760FL or FX should obviously sound like 760FMs.
 
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#18
shoulderpet said:
someone managed somehow to get tension figures for those a while ago and despite being labelled as "light" they were said to be around 185ibs in tension
Click to expand...

One time I replaced a 50-65-85-110 set of Pro Steels with the 760FL, which proved to be a bit heavier than the Pro Steels 180 lbs.

Another time, I used the 760FL to replace a 45-65-85-105 set of Chromes. This time they were a bit lighter than the Chromes' 195 lbs.

So, yes, the 43-60-82-104 La Bella set splits the difference between 180 and 195 lbs, roughly the same as 45-65-85-105 Swing Bass / 45-65-85-105 GHS Boomers rounds / 44-62-84-106 GHS Pressurewounds/ 45-60-80-105 Chromes.
 
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#19
FWIW, I installed the extra light gauge on my short scale Guild Starfire. Great tone, great feel, quite a lot of sustain, but there was no way to make them not rattle on the treble strings. Also, while the bass (as in bass/low mid frequencies) was nice and round and warm, it did lack a bit in heft, which I couldn't regain with EQ. I have a set of medium scale .045/.065/.085/.105 waiting to be installed; I wanted to try the .043 gauge, but the Guild Starfire really wants medium scale strings (short scale strings are too short, long scale strings end up with a lot of the wound strings around the post) and LaBella only makes them in one single gauge. Oh well, the small gauge difference is not going to make a lot of difference feel and tone-wise, I'm guessing.
 

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