As a matter of fact, yes. But not on the same bass.
I am Flat wound user for decades that in the last few years have been experimenting with rounds for live use (flats still in the studio). But I am winding my way back to the flats, so:
Installed Olintos on my 66 Fender “PJ” (I modded it decades ago) last week and I find them to be, as La Bella advertises, their most articulate flatwound yet (I’ve tried most all of their offerings/gauges) while keeping the creamy, thumpy La Bella family tone. They also have (for my personal tastes) a “just right” feel as far as stiffness/tension — similarly to their LTF flats but just a little stiffer/tighter, which I guess is what produces more depth than the LTFs. Which is just what I was hoping for, because I also really like the LTFs on this P bass but always miss the depth of the DTFs and these Olintos bring that. I also like playing on the bigger gauge but with a comfortable tension. So I’m a fan. This is the bass/strings for when you need that old school, really supportive bottom - but with clarity. This is for me, La Bella’s “Goldilocks” set.
Yesterday, I reinstalled a set of Dunlops on a Fender American Professional 5 string w/ Alleva Coppolo pickups and was immediately reminded of why these are still my favorite flatwound. I think Olintos are LB’s most articulate flat to date, but of the many flats I’ve tried over the years (haven’t tried them all, but most), Dunlops are the clearest, most articulate — and they are versatile, because depending on how you play them and where you set the tone knob, you can go from modern flat to old school thump (they develop enuf thump for me after broken in). Actually, I started installing a 5 string set of Olintos on this bass and only got as far as the D and G when it became apparent that they were not going to work for this bass. To answer your question, I they are for me clearer and more articulate than the Olintos — or maybe you could say they are both articulate but because their tone is different, so is the kind of articulation.
The Olintos are not noticeably brighter than any of their other flats, nor are they noticeably brighter than Dunlops. If anything, they are less bright — they have a more broken in tone pretty much out of the pack — certainly quicker than all the other LB flats I’ve tried — except LTFs which you could work with right out of the package. Except the G is of course — like ALL La Bella flats, it starts out brighter than the other strings in the set. You get used to it and forget about it…[/QUOTE
Thanks, that’s really helpful.
Finding that balance of clarity and thump has been a long process, I think the Dunlops strike the best balance for me so far but sounds like the olintos are worth a go.
gotta try them all eh?!
