LaBella Olinto Flatwounds - Stunning!

[Tim Skaggs]

I have a set of Olintos my son bought me for Father’s Day in ‘24.

I put them on a PBass and didn’t like them at all. I had been playing EB Cobalt flats, .095”-.040” on the PBass, and the Olintos felt way to heavy and stiff in comparison. I pulled the Olintos off the PBass and put them on a ‘91 Gibson Thunderbird. I don’t play the TBird much, but I practice with it quite a bit.

At the beginning of this year, the EB Cobalts were feeling too light and sort of twangy (cold, dry weather had taken some relief out of the PBass neck), so I was not liking the feel of the Cobalts. I thought I’d give the Olintos another try on the PBass and it was like a totally different set of strings. The 1.5 years or so on the TBird had broken them in and now the thump was great. The stiffness didn’t seem as bad, but that was probably due to less neck relief than when I tried them the first time. Whatever the case, I’ve played them for the last four gigs, and I’m loving them.

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

I have a set of Olintos my son bought me for Father’s Day in ‘24.

I put them on a PBass and didn’t like them at all. I had been playing EB Cobalt flats, .095”-.040” on the PBass, and the Olintos felt way to heavy and stiff in comparison. I pulled the Olintos off the PBass and put them on a ‘91 Gibson Thunderbird. I don’t play the TBird much, but I practice with it quite a bit.

At the beginning of this year, the EB Cobalts were feeling too light and sort of twangy (cold, dry weather had taken some relief out of the PBass neck), so I was not liking the feel of the Cobalts. I thought I’d give the Olintos another try on the PBass and it was like a totally different set of strings. The 1.5 years or so on the TBird had broken them in and now the thump was great. The stiffness didn’t seem as bad, but that was probably due to less neck relief than when I tried them the first time. Whatever the case, I’ve played them for the last four gigs, and I’m loving them.

They are very sensitive to neck relief. My P can have zero relief with these strings and there’s no buzz. Today it got super hot and the neck had a little more relief which raised the strings a bit from my initial setup a few days back. It made them a lot harder to play.

 

[Yahboy]

My issue with the flats Ive tried is the E strings never matches the rest, it get dull and thuddy and uneven. Is there a set out there this doesn't happen to?

Ti flat , both EB Cobalt flat and group flat .
To make LTF or DTF E string sound even tonal with the rest, mute foam do help.

 

[FirewalZ]

Most flatwounds are VERY uneven out of the box, and I find they really even out around the 6 month to 1 year mark. Nature of the beast.

I've tried GHS, 760FL's and EB group 3, had them on for many months and while there was improvement, the E always seemed to be "different" than the rest. Maybe I still needed more time?

 

[Turn Em Loose]

Curse you @MIJ Fender Guy! Like I need to continue digging down the string hole??

Olinto’s ordered.

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

Curse you @MIJ Fender Guy! Like I need to continue digging down the string hole??

Olinto’s ordered.

If you are looking for a FAT LaBella string that's pretty easy on the fingers, relatively, you will love them! Give them a few days at least before judging. They have a little more harmonics and sustain than the usual LaBella at first. You can have the action REALLY low with these too.

 

[Turn Em Loose]

If you are looking for a FAT LaBella string that's pretty easy on the fingers, relatively, you will love them! Give them a few days at least before judging. They have a little more harmonics and sustain than the usual LaBella at first. You can have the action REALLY low with these too.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had LaBella’s. But I remember thinking I’d like them better with more upper midrange.

 

[bassist4dalord]

Intriguing write-up. I just installed 760FLs on my backup bass (Schecter Raiden Special-4) and I was not prepared for the stiffness (my #1 wears TIJFs, though). I’m going to try these 760FLs, but I almost immediately thought LTFs would be a better fit for me. Your description of Olintos is intriguing, but we’ll see how the 760FLs go for a bit.

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

Intriguing write-up. I just installed 760FLs on my backup bass (Schecter Raiden Special-4) and I was not prepared for the stiffness (my #1 wears TIJFs, though). I’m going to try these 760FLs, but I almost immediately thought LTFs would be a better fit for me. Your description of Olintos is intriguing, but we’ll see how the 760FLs go for a bit.

The Olintos are more like the 760FL than they are like LTF. Now that I've had had these on for a bit, I am not sure I prefer them to 760FX - which is just slightly higher tention that LTF but with a hex feel. I am not sure these Olinto aren't too stiff for the long haul. If you think FL is too tight, go for 760FX over LTF, IMO.

 

[bigmikebass]

I love these strings. I have them on 3 basses. I just put a new set on a bass I fixed up and I the G string was faulty. It wobbled like crazy in pitch. Tried loosening and making sure it wasn’t twisted, set witness point, polished but slot, lowered pick ups. No luck- put a spare chrome on there and it was fine. Do they sell them individually? I think I got a bad one.

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

I love these strings. I have them on 3 basses. I just put a new set on a bass I fixed up and I the G string was faulty. It wobbled like crazy in pitch. Tried loosening and making sure it wasn’t twisted, set witness point, polished but slot, lowered pick ups. No luck- put a spare chrome on there and it was fine. Do they sell them individually? I think I got a bad one.

LaBella is known to produce bad G strings at an alarming rate. (Just google it.) Each time I need a new set of LaBellas, I buy 3 or 4 packs at a time on Amazon and return what isn't needed. I often need to open at least 2 or 3 packs to get a full set of good strings. The Olintos were perfect on the first try, though.

If you email LaBella they will send you one, but it takes forever. That's why I always do the Amazon thing. (I feel bad for doing that but I've had so many bad LaBella Gs that it must be done.)

 

[bigmikebass]

Thanks for the heads up. Good to know it isnt just me.

 

[Kyle_S]

Trying these on my Jazz bass. They feel phenomenal under the fingers. They intonate easily and accurately. They're brighter-sounding than I'd like (especially the G, holy crap is it loud and proud) fresh out the pack, but so are most flats. Looking forward to playing the crap out of them and seeing how they sound when they mellow out.

 

[bigmikebass]

Contacted Labella and they are sending me a new G- even covered shipping. Im a satisfied customer!

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

Trying these on my Jazz bass. They feel phenomenal under the fingers. They intonate easily and accurately. They're brighter-sounding than I'd like (especially the G, holy crap is it loud and proud) fresh out the pack, but so are most flats. Looking forward to playing the crap out of them and seeing how they sound when they mellow out.

With Labella I have to lower the pickup on my G side quite a bit

 

[Turn Em Loose]

Got a set a few weeks ago and strung up a bass with them for a Bob Marley tribute gig. Out of the box the G was a little different looking, feeling and sounding than the D, A and E strings. But not that different. So no biggie. And the strings sounded great.

Last week I noticed the G was wonky. Above the 12th fret is got sharper and sharper as I approached the bridge. Below the 12th fret it got flatter and flatter as I moved towards the nut. 12th fret was in tune and intonated. So I contacted La Bella and they are sending me a new G string. I hope it is a good one as the other 3 strings sound marvelous.

Not sure if I just didn’t notice the wonky G right away or if something happened? Never had a string do that before.

 

[ljazz]

I just installed a new set of the Olintos on my '87 G&L SB1...... I'm actually amazed at how balanced sounding the E is to the rest of the set right out of the pack. G string is not exhibiting any weirdness (yet???). My favorite strings of all time are the Sadowsky Blue Label Flats (v1 and v3), and that isn't bound to change anytime soon. Those singing mids are the sh!t!.... but for thump, I had been relying on an old set of Sadowsky Black Label Flats.... unfortunately they had seen one too many re-installs and gave up the ghost. I had been trialing LTF's as a replacement, and they thumped a bit at first..... and then just got dull...... Anyway, I'm hoping these Olintos prove to be an adequate replacement for the black Labels. So far they sound good.... not quite as much upper mid info as the black labels, but we'll see how they fare over the next few months.

BTW ..... I love the silks on these!

 

[ljazz]

So I'm a day in with these, and I'm quite amazed at how they sound at just a day in.... granted, I played the crap out of them yesterday, but still, they sound really good..... and feel good..... not nearly as flexible as the Sadowsky Blue Labels, but still more flexible than the 760FS's and even a touch better than the Black Labels they replaced. They thump, but with a touch of agression...... I hope they stay that way as they continue to break in.

 

[Root 5]

My issue with the flats Ive tried is the E strings never matches the rest, it get dull and thuddy and uneven. Is there a set out there this doesn't happen to?

That phenomenon is universal with flats of all brands. Just play them in.

 

[Turn Em Loose]

So I'm a day in with these, and I'm quite amazed at how they sound at just a day in.... granted, I played the crap out of them yesterday, but still, they sound really good..... and feel good..... not nearly as flexible as the Sadowsky Blue Labels, but still more flexible than the 760FS's and even a touch better than the Black Labels they replaced. They thump, but with a touch of agression...... I hope they stay that way as they continue to break in.

The Olinto’s replaced Sadowsky flats for me. The Olinto’s have an organic, woody quality about them. To my old cement ears it sounds like that quality is coming from the upper mids. Not zingy. But still “present”. Very pleasing.