Need help choosing flat wounds

[HeyBartenderman]

Classic rock (60s and 70s for me) spanned both the flatwound thump era, and the more raspy roundwound sound like the who.

Others here will disagree, but to me, a P-bass will limit you to certain types of sound. The P sound is my go-to (!): that P pickup puts the note out there, no questions no mercy. J pickups are better for dancing around the groove, and soapbars/humbuckers, well I will leave those for others to describe.

Used J basses for years, but always lusted for the way that P pickup hammers-out a note.

I just picked up a Custom '62 P Bass pickup. Ever experience that? I'm installing it on my P Bass that I'm putting flats on.

 

[OldSchoolFlats]

I just picked up a Custom '62 P Bass pickup. Ever experience that? I'm installing it on my P Bass that I'm putting flats on.

I just have the Sire P pickup on my Sire P7 shown in my avatar. Before that, it was all J and soapbars for me (to my dismay).

 

[gstaats]

Please, no, NOT TI Flats: the A string is so rubbery compared to the rest of the set they don't have consistent feel. I am totally AGAINST TI Flats until they fix the A string like La Bella did for their low-tension flats. I recently mixed sound for a band where the bass player used TI flats on his P-bass. I had mixed them before. Before, his bass had good presence and was able to slot the mix well. With the TI flats, his bass lost all definition and it was a challenge to slot him into the mix.

Maybe you had a bad set? I currently have three basses with ti flats. No issues with the a string, or any string, and they record/play live well.

 

[Barry Vestal]

Can you comment on the stiffness (and overall tone) differences between the GHS 3025 and LB 760FX ?

Prior to the 9050L, I had those GHS 3025 on my P, which I liked much better than the Fender; more old school and confortable to play. (but then I compared my Matt Freeman to an L series Precision - stringed with those Fenders - and decided to have a go on them; to discover afterwards what I loved was the bass, not the strings...)

Still looking for the "ideal" flats for this MF...

Both sets are about as low tension as it gets for a hex core string and super comfortable...As far as sound goes it's debatable but let's just say both sets have huge note fundamental....which I love....

 

[tzohn]

La Bella 760FL for single pickup basses and TI JF 344 for dual pickup. GHS precision flats are a good alternative.
I tried Fender flats (the latest crop) and they were absolutely crap. That is with my basses, my amp and my technique.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Since you had flats that long ago, the Fender flats you had may have been the Mexican made flats that were dull. A few years ago Fender changed the formula of their flats and now they have a nice grindy quality to them, completely different from the flats you probably had. The Cobalts may have a little more grind, but one day, all cobalt strings just go thunk out of nowhere. The Fenders age and mellow gracefully. The last set I had on a bass I gigged constantly for two years, replaced the E string with an Ernie Ball stainless flat of the same gauge, and gigged that set for another year. Rotos are still as above: bridge cables on a bass. I actually broke the truss rod of a bass with the 45's set trying to get it adjusted for the increased tension of the monel.

Very good reply, iiipopes.

1.) It's been at least 20 years since I had the Fender Flats on any bass I've owned. I don't know where they were made, but they sounded good.
2.) I had a set of Rotosound Flats on my Jack Casady bass about 15 years ago. They sounded good, but I then switched to Blue Steels for a few years.
One set of Flats I would stay away from, at least on the Jackbass, is the Labella James Jamerson set. The tension was so high, I thought they were going to pull the bridge out of the body. They were on 3 days, and I took them off. Scary.
3.) Right now, I have Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats on my Stingray, Ibanez Portamento fretless and my Jack bass.
So far, so good. I've had no strings go dead and no rust problems.
4.) I have Ernie Ball Slinky Group 3 Flats on my Jazz bass. Noticeably more thump than the Cobalts.

I liked bridge, "bridge cables on a bass," describing the Rotosounds.

Mike

 

[Bobbadfinger]

Probably more than 50% of advices here in TB (in the flat camp) is toward Thomastik.
To be honest, I resist to spend 70 bucks again on a string set.
Already did it on TI Jazz Rounds (which lacked balls IMO).

The "last forever" reasoning don't tick with me either. Forever is too long, I like to change strings from time to time (after all I'm a guitar player); and it's specially long in case I don't like them.
Although I can't deal with bridge cables, I found I don't like noodles either.
Setup became REALLY picky, and you must have a pretty light touch to not fret out.

So far, what I gathered from my short journey in the flat on a P quest is that I hate Chromes, Fenders are just ok, Precision Flats are almost perfect (but found them kinda low mid heavy/undefined with pickups on the hot side, like those in the Matt Freeman).

My target is an E string between 95-100, "medium" fret/pluck stiffness, nothing beyond US$45.
EB Group IV, Roto (100) and La Bella LTF are on my try list.

 

[iiipopes]

Maybe you had a bad set? I currently have three basses with ti flats. No issues with the a string, or any string, and they record/play live well.

ALL TI flats sets have rubbery A-strings. Period. I stand by my post. They were like this 20 years ago when I first played a friend's bass with them. They are like that from this summer when I help another friend's band run sound. They have been like that as long as TI has made flats, and they won't adjust them for newer, flatter fingerboard radius instruments and the different feel these instruments need. Period.

 

[gstaats]

ALL TI flats sets have rubbery A-strings. Period. I stand by my post. They were like this 20 years ago when I first played a friend's bass with them. They are like that from this summer when I help another friend's band run sound. They have been like that as long as TI has made flats, and they won't adjust them for newer, flatter fingerboard radius instruments and the different feel these instruments need. Period.

You're entitled to your opinion. The radius of the fingerboard doesn't impact string tension. Not sure where you're going with that.

 

[gstaats]

How about something more grand than just slam?

 

[DustyBottom]

I have bern on a flats journey myself and give each set so far 6-9 months to allow myself adjustment to the string make up and allow them to settle in. These are my observations based on what I like and my playing style. All were played on my Fender Aerodyne:

Ti jazz flats: Like the feel but in the end can not stand the floppiness. The setup is more extreme to try and keep from fret rattle and makes it less enjoyable to play. When you feel the “music in you”and want to dig in, the floppy fret rattle ruins the experience for me. Lastly it lacks the bottom end and find myself lost in the mix. Just my experience with them, others love them…

Chromes: I actually enjoy these a lot, have tried the 45-100, 50-105 and the balanced set from Fret Nation 45-105. I like the balanced set best. Like the feel and the tension. Some say they fade to a worthless thump but that has not been my experience. I like how they settle in and they are affordable enough to change every few years if you want to brighten back up.

Cobalt Flats: Very similar to the chromes but may be brighter. Like the tension, also bought the balanced set from Fret Nation, 45-105. Two complaints:
1) How sticky they are, just could not get rid of it. Finger slide would get grippy causing me to fumble at times, very annoying.
2) Loved the E & A strings but the D & G strings almost seemed like they were from a different set. They were too bright not bassy, more guitar sounding. Instead of a seamless transition between string notes it was more of a jump or step. Still recommend them for those looking for that brighter sound.

Still continuing the journey, want to try LaBellas and Fenders in the near future but happy with the Chromes at this point.

 

[friend33]

So I’ve been searching for some of the strings you all have mentioned, and on some of the sizes there’s “/set Accordion Accessory” at the end of the listing. What does that mean? I’ve tried looking it up on Google but only get listings regarding accordions

If you’re looking on Amazon, they are labeled that way, not sure why. The set they are recommending is the TI JF 344.

 

[andare]

You're entitled to your opinion. The radius of the fingerboard doesn't impact string tension. Not sure where you're going with that.

I think he means that a flatter radius allows for a lower action and relief but the floppy strings rattle against the frets too much, whereas on a vintage radius the action and relief must be higher so the rattling is less annoying.

 

[andare]

Probably more than 50% of advices here in TB (in the flat camp) is toward Thomastik.
To be honest, I resist to spend 70 bucks again on a string set.
Already did it on TI Jazz Rounds (which lacked balls IMO).

The "last forever" reasoning don't tick with me either. Forever is too long, I like to change strings from time to time (after all I'm a guitar player); and it's specially long in case I don't like them.
Although I can't deal with bridge cables, I found I don't like noodles either.
Setup became REALLY picky, and you must have a pretty light touch to not fret out.

So far, what I gathered from my short journey in the flat on a P quest is that I hate Chromes, Fenders are just ok, Precision Flats are almost perfect (but found them kinda low mid heavy/undefined with pickups on the hot side, like those in the Matt Freeman).

My target is an E string between 95-100, "medium" fret/pluck stiffness, nothing beyond US$45.
EB Group IV, Roto (100) and La Bella LTF are on my try list.

Fender 9050s (the new ones) are very clicky clacky at first but they mellow out after a couple of months of daily play. However they are still too prominent in the mids on a P bass, for my taste. They are better suited for a Jazz bass because they fill the mid scoop nicely.
Chromes are great on a P bass exactly because they complement its natural EQ curve.

 

[el murdoque]

Worth the price difference for the Rotosounds?

When you're changing your flatwound strings once per year you will considered as someone who changes strings extremely often in flatwound circles.
I've had my set of Optima flats on for about exactly 12 months now and I still think they will settle down a bit more.
Given that most people will change their roundwound strings at least thrice in that period, a few dollars' price difference between two sets of flats pales a bit.

 

[HeyBartenderman]

So I’ve been reading all these great responses, and I think I’m leaning towards the La Bella 760FS, but haven’t pressed the buy button yet, lol. The other one I’m likely looking at is the GHS M3050 Precision Flats.
Still reading all your inputs….

 

[Bobbadfinger]

Chromes are great on a P bass exactly because they complement its natural EQ curve.

I can see your point; but to my ears there's a hole in frequency response (along with the brightness) that I couldn't stand.
To be fair, when I tried Chromes (about 18 months ago), I didn't have the gear I have today, nor the understanding of how to properly eq the amp based on what I'd like to hear, so I wondered about giving them a second shot.
But then a friend lent me a MIJ Hofner copy, stringed with them. I can hear the same hollowness (no pun intended, considering the bass) that annoyed me in the Precision...

 

[Michael Jewels]

Dustybottom: the stickiness of the Cobalt strings should go away after about 12 hours playing time.

Mike

 

[DustyBottom]

Michael Jewels: I have heard that and like I said in my post, I gave each set 6-9 months of playing before making a decision. I even cleaned them before putting them on because I read about the stickiness they are known for. They were way better over time, from 1-8 frets but never lost the bit of sticky texture when I want to solo stuff in the 14-20 fret area, especially when I do sliding notes. Just my experience with them, do not hate them but found they were not for me.
The Ti’s on the other hand fell way flat, even disappointing, for me based on all the TB hype about them being the holy grail of flats…

 

[andare]

I can see your point; but to my ears there's a hole in frequency response (along with the brightness) that I couldn't stand.
To be fair, when I tried Chromes (about 18 months ago), I didn't have the gear I have today, nor the understanding of how to properly eq the amp based on what I'd like to hear, so I wondered about giving them a second shot.
But then a friend lent me a MIJ Hofner copy, stringed with them. I can hear the same hollowness (no pun intended, considering the bass) that annoyed me in the Precision...

Oh Chromes are definitely scooped in the mids, it's just a matter of liking or disliking that scoop.
I love Laura Lee's tone in Khruangbin and my Squier Mini P with Chromes has the same subtle high end crunch she gets.