- Jun 6, 2012
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- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
Oh my!! You guys are talking about how to deaden FLATS??!?!?!?! The sound of brand new stainless steel rounds is orgasmic!!!
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Last chance for flats
- Thread starter JimmyM
- Start date
I love flats. I have always loved flats. Yet I have switched to rounds over and over again for the last 30 years. I my head I kept thinking that moat of the bass players I love have used rounds so they must be what I want.
I have tried every brand and every type over the years. Then... I go back to flats.
3 or 4 years ago I just said screw it. I am going to play flats and that is that.
Now, I just keep changeing WHICH flat...
I have tried every brand and every type over the years. Then... I go back to flats.
3 or 4 years ago I just said screw it. I am going to play flats and that is that.
Now, I just keep changeing WHICH flat...
bassdude, thanks very much for the offer, but I've read it before and saw the movie and all that. Great package, too. Also did a gig few years ago with Allan Slutsky when our guitarist at the time had to miss a gig.
As for some other posts telling me it was the Chromes I didn't like, I have tried old Fender flats, LaBella, GHS, TI, and Rotosound, and Chromes are what I like and I don't feel like experimenting anymore.
As for some other posts telling me it was the Chromes I didn't like, I have tried old Fender flats, LaBella, GHS, TI, and Rotosound, and Chromes are what I like and I don't feel like experimenting anymore.
This, I have flats of diffrent varieties on diffrent basses through a process of trial and error, some work better with certain instruments than others. Its cheaper to try different strings to a bass than different basses to just one brand. Also try different gauges, those light gauges are going to sound a whole lot like rounds when you dig in. I keep rounds on one active bass in case I want that hi fi slap sound, everything else is flats.
chris merrill
Supporting Member
- Dec 14, 2012
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- Endorsing Artist for: GHS Strings, Lakland Basses
Fair enough, that's cool.
Have you tried them with a foam mute in a live situation? I have had some great compliments from sound engineers when I've used one. Makes their life so much easier and surprisingly (or not) my sound was clearer in a larger hall where I'd had problems before. Less swamp flying round.
I bet this approach would sound ace through your Ampeg and would make for a nice transition for the audience when you switch from upright.
(Don't know how much you've personally experimented with foam mutes but the trick is not to use too much. You don't want to choke the notes, just enough to kill the overtones and give you some punch. Takes some fiddling to get it right but it's worth it.
I think the real problem is that you like not liking chromes 
FWIW, about ever two years I go through a period of dissatisfaction regardless of what string I use...I suspect I just secretly like changing things up...ya know, a cheap way to get that feeling of "that's different"
FWIW, about ever two years I go through a period of dissatisfaction regardless of what string I use...I suspect I just secretly like changing things up...ya know, a cheap way to get that feeling of "that's different"
I have, and sometimes I like it but sometimes I don't. All depends on the song.
I go back and forth between flats and half rounds way too often. The problem for me is that I hate the sound from flats when I'm playing alone (practicing, recording, noodling at home) but love the sound and feel of flats when I'm playing in a group (or listening back to a recording... Even a recording of just me practicing.) The other thing I notice is that I detest the slightest bit of string noise from the rounds/halfs but vastly prefer that little bit of resistance when sliding and even fretting that I feel when using halfs. In the end I'm using flats because of the way they work in the one truly important context, playing live with a band. I've found ways around my idiosyncrasies and plan on switching up brands a little next string change or two.
To me it sounds like you know you prefer to play the flats with the band for the way the music feels when you're using them as opposed to rounds. It boils down to overcoming the psychological aspects of the flats vs rounds thing to move past the debate and settle in completely....
To me it sounds like you know you prefer to play the flats with the band for the way the music feels when you're using them as opposed to rounds. It boils down to overcoming the psychological aspects of the flats vs rounds thing to move past the debate and settle in completely....
Again, Jimmy, they just need to break in. You know better than to expect a fresh set to sound the way you want.
We'll see. Just tried it in an amp, and was only OK with them even after deadening them with hand cream. I'm thinking I may just be a rounds guy as I'm almost ready to yank them again after that.
Some really interesting perspectives here.
Since switching to flats last year, I tend to find the opposite dilemna... I'll get this notion to get more definition in my tone, and scoop out some of the mud and thud. Usually lasts till the next time I play with other instruments, and then the LaBellas go back on.
I don't cut through the mix, I kick that SOB in the balls.
Since switching to flats last year, I tend to find the opposite dilemna... I'll get this notion to get more definition in my tone, and scoop out some of the mud and thud. Usually lasts till the next time I play with other instruments, and then the LaBellas go back on.
I don't cut through the mix, I kick that SOB in the balls.
I guess I can't identify too much (even though Chromes are my current flats of choice) because I'm one of those "Why not have both?" kind of guys. Flats stay on one of my P-basses and when I want that sound I nab it. I've got a foam mute under mine which helps with the vintage vibe a LOT. Some people dig em, some people don't...I think that a lot of soundmen today, even good ones, are just plain used to EQing for rounds and flats throw them for a curve in some situations. I'd imagine the opposite was true back in the 60's and 70's. Of course the unique sound sits better in some genres than others, but look at what Steve Harris did with flats on a P-bass!
Kudos on giving flats another try though. Do you use a foam mute, Jimmy? I couldn't imagine mine without it.
Kudos on giving flats another try though. Do you use a foam mute, Jimmy? I couldn't imagine mine without it.
I totally didn't see that answer coming.
I suppose that is why you go back and forth. Maybe the answer is to just change every 6 months, no matter what...I used to over think it myself. I felt the need to change something after every gig. Never finding perfection because...
What's funny is this is the ONLY decision I have that problem with. Everything else is solved except this one. But dang it, it's going to be solved by the end of this weekend!I totally didn't see that answer coming.
I had the opposite experience too. I started getting compliments after switching to flats. However, a players sound is a combination of so many things (amp, effects, touch, bass etc). Most people are surprised when I tell them that I use flats or see that I have flats on my basses. I guess I don't make them sound like they're supposed to sound (whatever that means).
Plus, every brand of string sounds completely different. When I tried EB Group II's or Thomastics my band complained that I sounded to twangy. I didn't tell them that I changed my strings.
I would never say that flats or rounds are better for anyone. I love the tone that some flat players get and I love the tone that a lot of round players get. I however, seem to sound best with flats (LaBella 760FM's).
Plus, every brand of string sounds completely different. When I tried EB Group II's or Thomastics my band complained that I sounded to twangy. I didn't tell them that I changed my strings.
I would never say that flats or rounds are better for anyone. I love the tone that some flat players get and I love the tone that a lot of round players get. I however, seem to sound best with flats (LaBella 760FM's).
