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Labella Flats not as thumpy as Chromes?

fourstringdrums

fourstringdrums

Decidedly Indecisive
Supporting Member
Oct 20, 2002
9,722
12,480
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Massachusetts
#1
I recently put a set of Labella 760FM's on to my Mahogany Decade. On my Basswood Squier CV P I have a set of chromes that is at least 6 months old.

Given the differences in wood and the age of strings, I'm finding the Chromes must deader and thumpier than the Labellas, which seems to be the opposite of what I've heard. I've always read that Chromes are brighter than Labellas.

Is it just a matter of waiting for the Labellas to break in and eventually they'll match the tone of the chromes?
 
#2
I've had a set of LaBella 760FL on for about a year. They don't sound "thumpy" at all to me. They have a beautiful full sound. Having said that, the Chromes I tried were brighter sounding. They were also stiffer feeling.

I like LaBella's more, by far. They'll break in. I don't think there is a better sounding flatwound made, personally. But that's just my opinion.
 
#3
fourstringdrums said:
I recently put a set of Labella 760FM's on to my Mahogany Decade. On my Basswood Squier CV P I have a set of chromes that is at least 6 months old.

Given the differences in wood and the age of strings, I'm finding the Chromes must deader and thumpier than the Labellas, which seems to be the opposite of what I've heard. I've always read that Chromes are brighter than Labellas.

Is it just a matter of waiting for the Labellas to break in and eventually they'll match the tone of the chromes?
Click to expand...

Give them some time to break in.
 
#12
DJ Bebop said:
How do the Jamersons feel compared to the Chromes 40-100, stiffer?
Click to expand...

The only Chromes in that gauge I own are long scale ones on a short scale Harmony (due to the bridge design) so tension is a bit different, but in any case the tension and stiffness are radically higher with the Jamersons. I've never played a stiffer string than this set, in fact.
 
#14
DJ Bebop said:
Cool. How are they for one drop, One Drop?
Click to expand...

Good question! I've tried a lot of different ones, but my experience might be meaningless to you. Strings are so personal, just like voices are. I've noticed many bassists, especially ones that use flats, tend to end up with a tone that is similar to their singing voice, not surprising when you think about it. Fams and Macca are two good examples to my ears.

That said, I prefer Chromes or the old Fenders (I haven't heard the new ones yet) on a J for reggae, as the extra bite helps with note definition and gives a nice edge to the tone, and the high mids really sing. I go for an old school tone though, very far from the modern active and often synthy or subby tones you hear in a lot of modern reggae, especially live.

But the Jamersons have a sweet huge fundamental and a great vocal quality to the attack; I think if I played a P for reggae I might prefer them over anything else.
 
#15
One Drop said:
Good question! I've tried a lot of different ones, but my experience might be meaningless to you. Strings are so personal, just like voices are. I've noticed many bassists, especially ones that use flats, tend to end up with a tone that is similar to their singing voice, not surprising when you think about it. Fams and Macca are two good examples to my ears.

That said, I prefer Chromes or the old Fenders (I haven't heard the new ones yet) on a J for reggae, as the extra bite helps with note definition and gives a nice edge to the tone, and the high mids really sing. I go for an old school tone though, very far from the modern active and often synthy or subby tones you hear in a lot of modern reggae, especially live.

But the Jamersons have a sweet huge fundamental and a great vocal quality to the attack; I think if I played a P for reggae I might prefer them over anything else.
Click to expand...

Thanks
 
#16
I currently use both Chromes 50-105 and 760FM, they're both about 6 months old or so. I can get either to be pretty thumpy or bright. I can dime the treble knob on my bass with the Labellas and still have a usable tone. The Chromes have a little more high/high mids, so the tone knob won't be quite so high. To answer your question, yes, I think you can give the Labellas some break in time, maybe the tone will be more to your liking.
 
#20
I am using both Chromes and Labella flats right now. On identical basses. I bet you could "break in" the Chromes for 10 years, and they would still never match the LaBella thump. Try this: Replace the Chrome A string on your Squire with the new LaBella A. Play it for a little while and tell us what you think.
 

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