Once you go flat, you never go back

[Element Zero]

You do realize strings wear where they hit on the frets?

Not sure what you’re getting at, but yes I do understand basic physics...

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Am i right or what guys ?
flatwound > roundwounds

I play Ernie ball cobalt flats. Wbu guys ?

Im the total opposite, Roundwounds for life, I've adjusted my tone & technique to get the most out of my bass, Strings included!
Personnally I do not get deadening the vibrance of your bass with flat strings, also heavily muting with thickass foam isnt that what the tone knob is for? I play Heavy rock & metal so flats just dont get that growl for me, so cool it with the flats are everything talk!

 

[Bonafide]

Sorry. Totally disagree with the first paragraph. You are most welcome to your flats however.

Its all good, though I wasn’t speaking to whether I liked flats or not. Disagreeing is fine but that doesn't validate the truth of it. You may have a dislike of flats and have an opinion on how they work for you, but there is zero evidence 'rounds sing better or sit in the mix better anywhere. It’s just not empirically true across the board in the recording industry. Session appropriate, production appropriate, genre appropriate, song appropriate…that is what drives the bus in a professional environment.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

I’ve dabbled in the rounds a few times since going flat ten years ago. My problem with going back is the string noise, any string noise. Flats are so quiet, so smooth, so creamy...

Flats also suit my style so well.

 

[GrapeBass]

I love the play-ability of flats, smooth and creamy until dig into 'em.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Its all good, though I wasn’t speaking to whether I liked flats or not. Disagreeing is fine but that doesn't validate the truth of it. You may have a dislike of flats and have an opinion on how they work for you, but there is zero evidence 'rounds sing better or sit in the mix better anywhere. It’s just not empirically true across the board in the recording industry. Session appropriate, production appropriate, genre appropriate, song appropriate…that is what drives the bus in a professional environment.

Amen Bro. Have a good one. Stay safe.

 

[bbh]

Flats certainly have there place. Especially on a p bass. However other types of strings like rounds would be on my jazz type bass and my bbne2.

 

[growlypants]

richwag: On my bass, I don't notice any lessening of "sustain" with Chromes. In fact, especially when new, the brightness and sustain of the Chromes has to be turned down some!! (They do mellow a bit after a few months, so relax!)

 

[Sixgunn]

Am i right or what guys ?
flatwound > roundwounds

I play Ernie ball cobalt flats. Wbu guys ?

Nope. Rounds have THE sound!!

 

[Sixgunn]

some pros claim you can make rounds sound like flats, but not the other way around

I concur.

 

[jbhaugh]

I love the sound of flats, but I wouldn't use them exclusively. I do always have one bass strung with them, though, and I think for a lot of the music I have been playing recently flats do sound better than rounds. I recently switched from TI JF344's to Dunlop flats (40-100) and I gotta say I think I prefer them on my Ibanez Roadstar II P-bass. We'll see, though - I will probably put the TIs back in within the year if I know anything about myself.

FWIW, I did not get along with the EB Cobalt flats. Too bright and I didn't love the feel.

 

[mickebas]

IMO, unless you are making a career out of playing What Is Hip, I wouldn’t recommend flats to anybody. That said, I truly do understand the attraction of flats, especially when playing by yourself. But for ensemble work, live performances, and recording, round wounds blend better, sit in the mix better, sing better, and have a better dynamic tonal range...

Ha, ha. This is what I mean by a ignorant, inexperienced comment from someone who hasn’t even realized the advantages of flatwounds being proved through the bass-music history.
If you’re this one sided in your way of thinking about sound all I can say you may be in for a treat and different experience later on in life.
I love a good set of rounds on my 71 jazz bass with maple fb for it’s clear and percussive attack but to say that my P’s with flats sits less in the mix, has less sustain or has less dynamic range couldn’t be more wrong. If I would try to get that fingered sound on my J with rounds I couldn’t come close. So it’s not a contest.

 

[Charlzm]

Am i right or what guys ?
flatwound > roundwounds

I play Ernie ball cobalt flats. Wbu guys ?

I had several consecutive sets of flats on one of my basses. Never liked the way they felt or sounded. Now I have half-rounds on that bass and all my other basses are still roundwounds.

 

[Sixgunn]

“Once you go active/passive, you never go back”

Once you go pick/fingers, you never go back”

“Once you go rounds/flats, you never go back”

“Once you go.....”

I'm gone!!

 

[Runnerman]

Surprised no one has mentioned it yet, but...
Cobalt flats have a tendency to rust!

I put a new set of Cobalt Rounds on my Peavey Foundation and they had a small amount of rust on them coming out of the packaging.

 

[534N]

Am i right or what guys ?
flatwound > roundwounds

I play Ernie ball cobalt flats. Wbu guys ?

After I switched to flats, I swore I was done with rounds, but then I got a Stingray. Back to rounds we go! But I definitely prefer flats for any bass with a P style pickup.

 

[Sixgunn]

I respond "false" to this statement.

I also one of those folks who's tried flats and wasn't into them. Flats are great, just not great for me. I vastly prefer the feel and tone of roundwounds.

Is that like voting "present"?

 

[FishDub]

Am i right or what guys ?
flatwound > roundwounds

I play Ernie ball cobalt flats. Wbu guys ?

I used to be exclusive to rounds for years but then tried TI flats. Well, I have those on my P and Fender Flats on the J. However, my Steinberger XL2 wears Labella DB Rounds just because it plays and sounds better with Rounds..

 

[MynameisMe]

I have moved back to rounds on my P basses because I did not enjoy the sound I was getting out of the flats. However, I just got a Fender Jazz bass made of parts, body and neck from different locations. I thought I had several old sets of strings to put on it and the only ones that would fit string thru body were the EB Cobalt Flats and I am very impressed with how it sounds with those strings.
They will stay on till I get bored with them.
Here's a pic of my new bass!

 

[MynameisMe]

“Match the string to the bass” has always been my policy for getting the best out of it.

If you go in with a preconceived notion that something like strings must “always” or “never” be a certain way, you risk depriving yourself of that opportunity.

I have found this to be true also.