LaBella Gold Flats

[LHbassist]

I wanted a set of these to try, and had intentions to put them on my 'Davenbacker' a build I did a few years ago. 34" scale, one gauge only available. I have quite a few basses strung with flats. My two favorite sets are the Ernie Ball Slinky four and five string sets, and the great new generation Fender 9050's. I took the halfway broken in set of standard 45-100 9050's off, and put on the LaBellas. When I took them out of the package, all I could think was WOW! Can a bass string be' beautiful?' Yes. These are gorgeous looking strings. Sadly, the true gold color of these strings does not really show up well in photographs. See attached one. Here's the odd thing. Like the D-Addario half- rounds I've tried, there is a definite difference in the 'ring' of the different strings. The 'G' is fairly lively- bright, nice ring to it, the 'D' a little less, the 'A' less than that, and finally, the 'E' string, which sounds almost like it's an old broken in string. That' O.K. with me, with my current taste in tone. I'm listening to the bass through headphones, and it just sounds great. That slightly less overtone characteristic on the low 'E' translates into a nice, punchy, full low end. I've seen some reviews saying they're 'sticky.' Well, a little. I fixed that with some alcohol wiping. Other complaints are that they're stiff. Ah, I find them to be 'average' in tension. Another reviewer stated that his bass is much lower in volume now. I did not find that to be true, either. I recommend these, if you want a punchy flat that sounds like great, and looks amazing.

 

[ahbradot]

Cool build and good strings are a great combination.

 

[GIBrat51]

Well...
I have these strings on my gold '22 Epiphone Jack Casady Bass. Yeah, they do look good - really good. And, yeah, they do sound good on that bass (I keep the impedance switch at 250). However...
No, they do not feel all that great - to me. The stiffness/tension is... fine. I've been playing basses for 50+ years, mostly with flats that are a lot stiffer. The 760FGS strings, IME, are about average... My problem with them is that they are... well, they're grabby. Not sticky, like some new flats are. My clean, dry fingers simply will not slide on them - at all. My theory is that it's because the outer windings are brass, and brass things tend to be... grabby. They've been on the JCB since it was new, and I - canned the factory rounds, about 5 minutes after the initial function check. So, they're far from new, and well broken in. I've cleaned them God knows how many times - with everything I could get my hands on. To no effect... I've managed to keep from rubbing various... lubricants (and, yes, I've actually thought about fried chicken grease) on them - so far. I just keep trying to play those strings, hoping that the grabbiness will go away. And, over the years, it has - a little. Still pretty annoying, but... they're getting better. Not enough to keep me from thinking "Fender 9050L's" every time I pick the bass up, but... better...

 

[LHbassist]

Well...
I have these strings on my gold '22 Epiphone Jack Casady Bass. Yeah, they do look good - really good. And, yeah, they do sound good on that bass (I keep the impedance switch at 250). However...
No, they do not feel all that great - to me. The stiffness/tension is... fine. I've been playing basses for 50+ years, mostly with flats that are a lot stiffer. The 760FGS strings, IME, are about average... My problem with them is that they are... well, they're grabby. Not sticky, like some new flats are. My clean, dry fingers simply will not slide on them - at all. My theory is that it's because the outer windings are brass, and brass things tend to be... grabby. They've been on the JCB since it was new, and I - canned the factory rounds, about 5 minutes after the initial function check. So, they're far from new, and well broken in. I've cleaned them God knows how many times - with everything I could get my hands on. To no effect... I've managed to keep from rubbing various... lubricants (and, yes, I've actually thought about fried chicken grease) on them - so far. I just keep trying to play those strings, hoping that the grabbiness will go away. And, over the years, it has - a little. Still pretty annoying, but... they're getting better. Not enough to keep me from thinking "Fender 9050L's" every time I pick the bass up, but... better...

You put it better than I did, they are a bit 'grabby.' The 9050 series are great feeling strings. They may go back on my Davenbacker, but not for a while. I dig the S.I.T. flats I have on one bass- it's a five, and oddly it has a D'Addario .132 low 'B' in the set, likely due to the S.I.T. company not making their own 'B.'
The Ernie Ball slinky flats are also a nice feeling string. I just revisited the DR Legends, another good flat.

 

[MrAB4003]

Well...
I have these strings on my gold '22 Epiphone Jack Casady Bass. Yeah, they do look good - really good. And, yeah, they do sound good on that bass (I keep the impedance switch at 250). However...
No, they do not feel all that great - to me. The stiffness/tension is... fine. I've been playing basses for 50+ years, mostly with flats that are a lot stiffer. The 760FGS strings, IME, are about average... My problem with them is that they are... well, they're grabby. Not sticky, like some new flats are. My clean, dry fingers simply will not slide on them - at all. My theory is that it's because the outer windings are brass, and brass things tend to be... grabby. They've been on the JCB since it was new, and I - canned the factory rounds, about 5 minutes after the initial function check. So, they're far from new, and well broken in. I've cleaned them God knows how many times - with everything I could get my hands on. To no effect... I've managed to keep from rubbing various... lubricants (and, yes, I've actually thought about fried chicken grease) on them - so far. I just keep trying to play those strings, hoping that the grabbiness will go away. And, over the years, it has - a little. Still pretty annoying, but... they're getting better. Not enough to keep me from thinking "Fender 9050L's" every time I pick the bass up, but... better...

You put it better than I did, they are a bit 'grabby.' The 9050 series are great feeling strings. They may go back on my Davenbacker, but not for a while. I dig the S.I.T. flats I have on one bass- it's a five, and oddly it has a D'Addario .132 low 'B' in the set, likely due to the S.I.T. company not making their own 'B.'
The Ernie Ball slinky flats are also a nice feeling string. I just revisited the DR Legends, another good flat.

Grabby is a great way to describe these strings.

I had the La Bella Gold Flats on a Fender Jazz Bass V in 2018-2019. Here's how I remember them:
1. They felt very sticky. This is the grabby feeling that you both described.
2. They lost their gold luster very quickly. I did not like this at all and I still won't if I were to get them again.
3. They made my hands stink after playing. Again, I think that's just part of them being brass.

I ended up selling the Jazz Bass these strings were on a few months after putting them on. So I didn't give them enough of a chance to be fair. I also know they have enhanced mids tonally, but I don't remember what else firsthand.

Note to self: Don't put them on a Jazz style bass. Advance to 1:42 for the proof.

 

[skycruiser]

Grabby is a great way to describe these strings.

I had the La Bella Gold Flats on a Fender Jazz Bass V in 2018-2019. Here's how I remember them:
1. They felt very sticky. This is the grabby feeling that you both described.
2. They lost their gold luster very quickly. I did not like this at all and I still won't if I were to get them again.
3. They made my hands stink after playing. Again, I think that's just part of them being brass.

I ended up selling the Jazz Bass these strings were on a few months after putting them on. So I didn't give them enough of a chance to be fair. I also know they have enhanced mids tonally, but I don't remember what else firsthand.

Note to self: Don't put them on a Jazz style bass. Advance to 1:42 for the proof.

Curious about item 2. I thought the winding on these was some sort of gold tinted alloy so the color would be consistent through the entire winding. Do you think these are just lightly plated or coated to look gold? This is the first I've heard of this.

Thinking about trying these on a P bass. Definitely don't want strings that are going to change appearance .

 

[michael_t]

Curious about item 2. I thought the winding on these was some sort of gold tinted alloy so the color would be consistent through the entire winding. Do you think these are just lightly plated or coated to look gold? This is the first I've heard of this.

The "gold" in La Bella Gold Flats is actually 80/20 brass, which is "gold" in color.

I was an acoustic guitar player in my younger days and remember using 80/20 bronze strings. They were nice and shiny when new but quickly lost their luster as they aged.

 

[GIBrat51]

Well...
I have these strings on my gold '22 Epiphone Jack Casady Bass. Yeah, they do look good - really good. And, yeah, they do sound good on that bass (I keep the impedance switch at 250). However...
No, they do not feel all that great - to me. The stiffness/tension is... fine. I've been playing basses for 50+ years, mostly with flats that are a lot stiffer. The 760FGS strings, IME, are about average... My problem with them is that they are... well, they're grabby. Not sticky, like some new flats are. My clean, dry fingers simply will not slide on them - at all. My theory is that it's because the outer windings are brass, and brass things tend to be... grabby. They've been on the JCB since it was new, and I - canned the factory rounds, about 5 minutes after the initial function check. So, they're far from new, and well broken in. I've cleaned them God knows how many times - with everything I could get my hands on. To no effect... I've managed to keep from rubbing various... lubricants (and, yes, I've actually thought about fried chicken grease) on them - so far. I just keep trying to play those strings, hoping that the grabbiness will go away. And, over the years, it has - a little. Still pretty annoying, but... they're getting better. Not enough to keep me from thinking "Fender 9050L's" every time I pick the bass up, but... better...

The Epi JCB came up in the monthly rotation to the living room 6 months ago, for it's play-the snot-out-of-it time. I suffered thru the FGS grabbiness the first time I picked it up - and decided "to Hell with this". It went back down to the basement, and came back out with a set of Roto RS77LD Monel Flats on it. Surprisingly, the truss rod did not need adjusting; neither did the intonation. I've used these strings on some of my other basses - my '78 Fender P-Bass and my "18 Gibson T-bird, in particular - with much success. Never on a hollow-body bass, though. But... they sound really good on this one. I've kept a close eye on the neck since I installed them, but I've yet to find anything amiss. And, I have to say... they work like gangbusters when I play the bass with a pick... I don't miss those 760 FG's at all...

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

ith a set of Roto RS77LD Monel Flats on it. Surprisingly, the truss rod did not need adjusting; neither did the intonation. I've used these strings on some of my other basses - my '78 Fender P-Bass and my "18 Gibson T-bird, in particular - with much success. Never on a hollow-body bass, though. But... they sound really good on this one. I've kept a close eye on the neck since I installed them, but I've yet to find anything amiss. And, I have to say... they work like gangbusters when I play the bass with a pick..

Yup. I have to agree that flats on a Jack Casady with a pick are a beautiful thing. I'm using Labella flats on mine.