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Need string opinions..

B

Beavisplaysbass

Guest
Dec 11, 2015
308
356
#1
A friend of mine wants me to help him with two songs. It's kind of like a fusion of R Kelly and Weird Al. Satire heavy.

Anyways after listening songs he has influence of I know I'm going to need flats. I like strings in general to be loose and floppy like my funk masters.

I'm aware of TIs being the most floppy, but they are pricey. So I was wondering if I could get one or two flats recomendation that are comparative in tone and touch.
 
#3
Flats generally have higher tension than roundwounds. It's just the physics of the strings. If you want a floppy low-tension flat, the TIs are about it. There isn't anything quite like them in terms of tone or feel. (Note: many players don't like them because they feel too loose and they don't like their unique tone - so they're definitely not for everybody.)

Invalid Link Removed. But I haven't tried them so I can't say just how soft they feel compared to other flat sets. My gotos are Chromes or LaBella Copper White Nylons. But although I wouldn't consider either to be high-tension strings, they're definitely not floppy feeling, and they're noticeably stiffer feeling than the average roundwound.
 
#4
40Hz said:
Flats generally have higher tension than roundwounds. It's just the physics of the strings. If you want a floppy low-tension flat, the TIs are about it. There isn't anything quite like them in terms of tone or feel. (Note: many players don't like them because they feel too loose and they don't like their unique tone - so they're definitely not for everybody.)

Invalid Link Removed. But I haven't tried them so I can't say just how soft they feel compared to other flat sets. My gotos are Chromes or LaBella Copper White Nylons. But although I wouldn't consider either to be high-tension strings, they're definitely not floppy feeling, and they're noticeably stiffer feeling than the average roundwound.
Click to expand...

I had a fear this was going to be the answer. How much stiffer/floppy/whatever playabililty term you wanna use would you say the chromes are.. Would they be closer to the Roto 66's or Roto 77's?
 
#6
Beavisplaysbass said:
I had a fear this was going to be the answer. How much stiffer/floppy/whatever playabililty term you wanna use would you say the chromes are.. Would they be closer to the Roto 66's or Roto 77's?
Click to expand...

Closer to the Swing Bass 66 set. The Rotosound 77 Monels are really high tension. I find the 77s very uncomfortable to play - and I don't mind a little tension since I play with a very light touch anyway. For Chromes I use the ECB81 set (45/65/80/100). They also do a superlight (40-95) and light (40-100) set.

You might want to drop by bassstringsonline.com and email or talk to the folks there. If you need tech advice when choosing strings, BSO can't be beat. They have the answers and see everything, as opposed to me who only knows from that which he has tried or currently uses. :laugh:
 
#7
40Hz said:
Invalid Link Removed. But I haven't tried them so I can't say just how soft they feel compared to other flat sets. My gotos are Chromes or LaBella Copper White Nylons. But although I wouldn't consider either to be high-tension strings, they're definitely not floppy feeling, and they're noticeably stiffer feeling than the average roundwound.
Click to expand...

The La Bella Low Tension Flats are the closest thing to the TI's in term of overall flexibility/stiffness, but their tone is more traditional than the TI's.

I would also recommend the Sadowsky flats (either black label or blue label) in 40-100 gauges, which are not as stiff as the Chromes.
 
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