Looking for advice choosing flatwound strings

[Luckydog]

I dont believe that chromes "thump", at any age. I've used many sets of them for many years, and at differing ages, on different basses. They also dont "grind", IMO. To me, when new, they have a more "muted pianoish" tone, with fairly even tone across the frequencies. No particular frequencies stood out, except for a mild boost of upper mids. They were uncomfortably stiff and rough textured. Some of that roughness can be eliminated by scouring with steel wool pads, but there is still a sufficient gap between the windings that the testure can still be felt, and it is off-putting, to me. Even at several years of reasonably hard use, they will not thump. They simply lose their highs, which may be what the poster is perceiving.

 

[CapnSev]

I’m a died-in-the-wool TI guy, but if you want a Chromes sound; you don’t want TIs. TI flats are completely their own thing all together.

I’d suggest Sadowsky Black Label. They sound more modern than LaBella, but feel just like them, because they’re made by LaBella.

 

[Luckydog]

Black labels... IF you can find them now

 

[kkaarrll]

put the ghs on until broken in--then leave em


and I love chromes too

 

[Linnin]

put the ghs on until broken in--then leave em

^^^forever^^^

 

[BigBear77]

Try the RotoSound 77’s. Dry warm and have a good thump to them,IMO.

 

[basmicke]

Worth checking out Dunlop flats - smooth and good balanced tension. Tim Lefebvre uses them.

Biggest pro about the chromes is that they are available at most shops.

++ on this.
The Dunlops, in my opinion, are a great compromise of what I like in a flatwound string. They are smooth, nice medium tension and have a nice, dynamic midrange as well as top and low end. The only thing I'm yet to learn is how they age since I've only been using them for a month. So far, so good
Chromes, to me, are much more metallic sounding and takes pretty long to settle in. Also, they seem to be a bit grabby to me and the only advantage they have over say Dunlops, Sadowskys, La Bellas etc is the availability. D'Addario has really done a good job in marketing their strings everywhere and are by all means not bad... but there's better strings around IMHO.

 

[Dricoman]

Try the RotoSound 77’s. Dry warm and have a good thump to them,IMO.

I sure like the RotoSound 77's Jazz 45-105 and I'm not a big fan of flatwounds but they sound good!!