Labella Flats 49-109 or 52-110 (Jamerson) for Drop C#

[poropara]

Hi All!

Would like to ask opinions on which one will be better suited for Drop C#. Currently it's on Elixir 50-105 rounds, the 105 rounds still feels a bit too floppy for me.
So thinking the Labella flats with more tensioned feel might suit better, I have the 52-110 on a P bass for motown kind of stuff, and I actually like the Labella flats feel, although not so sure on the sound for drop C#.

So my question will be which of the 2 strings will be a better option in sound for the music I'm looking to play on drop C#.
Just a very trying time for me now, so looking towards hobby stuff (with minimal spending) to have some break haha.

Thanks again!

Bass: G&L L-1000
Style: Pick and finger
Music: Deftones, Paramore, Linkin Park, SOAD, etc. Some songs might need to down to drop C.

 

[HelpImaRock]

You already have the 52-110. Try it out. Worst thing that happens is you don't like them.

I have my Reverend Watt strung with LaBella 49-109 in C standard. I think it does the Geezer thing, but you may want rounds for more modern stuff.

You could also try a "downtuning set" or just use a 5 string set for BEAD, and don't use the G.

 

[poropara]

You already have the 52-110. Try it out. Worst thing that happens is you don't like them.

I have my Reverend Watt strung with LaBella 49-109 in C standard. I think it does the Geezer thing, but you may want rounds for more modern stuff.

You could also try a "downtuning set" or just use a 5 string set for BEAD, and don't use the G.

The 52-110 is on another P bass, incase I'm not clear in my initial post haha. Do not want to remove from that bass, as it has been properly setup and intonated.

So how's the Labella 49-109 serving for you in terms of the tension and sound for C Standard?

Thanks again!

 

[HelpImaRock]

The 52-110 is on another P bass, incase I'm not clear in my initial post haha. Do not want to remove from that bass, as it has been properly setup and intonated.

So how's the Labella 49-109 serving for you in terms of the tension and sound for C Standard?

Thanks again!

I would tune down the Precision to see if I like it. It's an experiment. You won't hurt anything. You can always tune it back up.

The 49-109 in C feels like it's in the same ballpark tension-wise as my Mustang with LTFs in E. There's a little difference in sound, but I think that's mostly just being on two different basses.

 

[poropara]

I would tune down the Precision to see if I like it. It's an experiment. You won't hurt anything. You can always tune it back up.

The 49-109 in C feels like it's in the same ballpark tension-wise as my Mustang with LTFs in E. There's a little difference in sound, but I think that's mostly just being on two different basses.

Right, got brain mush for a moment. At least with that I can test the feel and tension since both basses are 34" scale.

Thanks again for your help.

Anyone has used both strings, please do chip in your opinions too, thanks!

 

[johnh89]

Had labella 54s on a Yamaha BB734 . Had detuned to D standard for a while and it was fine with a small tweak of the truss rod . A lot nicer to play than in standard . C# should be no problem .

 

[poropara]

Had labella 54s on a Yamaha BB734 . Had detuned to D standard for a while and it was fine with a small tweak of the truss rod . A lot nicer to play than in standard . C# should be no problem .

Thanks for your input!

Now is to think either 52-110 or 49-109, not sure how much or little difference in both feel and sound.

Tried the 52-110 on my P bass downtune to C# earlier to test, I think tension wise is ok, although I think slightly thicker gauge would be better.

Checked Labella website, for their flats they do not have a thicker gauge already, unless going for their low B 128 string, but that's going to be overkill and probably need to file the nut.

 

[el murdoque]

I don't do drop tunings, but my P bass is tuned in D standard.
The LaBella DTF in 105 work fine - I have them on my backup bass that gets tuned to either D standard or E standard.
Going from there, I'd prefer the 49-109 for drop C and only use the Jamersons if you want the Bridge cable feeling.

On my D standard bass, I tried the Rotosound Steve Harris strings, but did not like them overly much (too rough for flats) - the tension, however, felt more than a set of Chromes (with a 100 E string) tuned to E.
I went to the Fender 55-105 flats, mostly because that is one of the few sets where the A string is a 90 - but I realized quickly that I really like those strings for D standard.

 

[andymac]

On my D standard bass, I tried the Rotosound Steve Harris strings, but did not like them overly much (too rough for flats) - the tension, however, felt more than a set of Chromes (with a 100 E string) tuned to E.

Would definitely suggest giving the Steve Harris flats a try, for the style of music you're playing! They are VERY different from LaBellas: bright and clanky, but still with that flatwound punch. And they downtune great, better than LaBellas. (Though they might not be stiff enough for you, if you found the 52-110 LaBellas floppy when downtuned.)

The Steve Harris flats are a love/hate thing: you might not like them, but if you like them, then you will LOVE them.

 

[Aledal]

I think some bassists that played those songs either had custom sets (I think Chi Cheng started off using .105 bass boomers and moved to a .120 rotosound later on) or used a low B on a 4 string (Shavo Odadjian). There is a DR set (DDT?) that's designed for low tunings and I think highest gauge 'E' string is .125 but I've never used them. I don't think flats in general are going to get you the right kind of tone no matter what amp/preamp you're using but the brightest sounding flats I've ever come across are the Steve Harris ones and then maybe the Olinto LaBellas.

Obviously worthwhile getting it setup in Drop C/C# at your favorite local guitar store and maybe get some tape over the pickups to stop any pops that will come with playing this kind of thing with baggy strings.

Just thinking about this has got me really nostalgic for thumping out some low low, thanks for the inspiration!!

 

[ravlin]

I'm using La Bella LTF 5 string set for C# Standard, it's perfect. Since you're effectively playing Eb with a Dropped C#, maybe you just want that .118 from the set and stick with something lighter for the other three.

 

[poropara]

Really appreciate all the additional inputs, lots of insights on both the strings and bassists!

Currently I am thinking of the LaBella 52-110 to use for the G&L L-1000 for a simple fix vs custom sets, although I might also think to get the LaBella 49-109 to use on my Fender MIA 75th P bass. (I'm just addicted to LaBella 52-110 flats' feel in recent months, which is on my Squier 40th P bass)

Thanks again all!

 

[Zazie Moondust]

If you were formerly playing rounds and are playing harder rock music, why are you trying to use flats? They're going to sound very different and probably not in the way you want.

Just use heavier gauge rounds, 110, 115 or even 120 at the bottom depending on how much tighter you want that low string from where it is now.

 

[poropara]

If you were formerly playing rounds and are playing harder rock music, why are you trying to use flats? They're going to sound very different and probably not in the way you want.

Just use heavier gauge rounds, 110, 115 or even 120 at the bottom depending on how much tighter you want that low string from where it is now.

As mentioned earlier, just addicted to the feel of Labella flats now (past 1 year+ on and off). Will it be a passing trend or real longtime interest, time will tell haha!