Opinions on the NEW Blue Label Sadowsky flats

[lhindrum]

I thought I would start this thread to keep track of opinions on the re-designed Sadowsky Blue Label flats. I was a huge fan of the now discontinued Black Label flats, and have mixed feelings about the new strings which are now the only flats in Sadowsky's line (also replacing the former Blue Label flats).

My initial impressions are that the new strings feel amazing to play. The tension and flexibility feel perfect, and they are probably the most comfortable strings I have ever played.

In terms of tone, these strings initially seem more scooped than the old Black Labels. They are definitely less punchy but I will withhold final judgement until I've had them on for a month or two.

When rehearsing with my band they were more present in the mix than I expected, but they were sitting very low and provided more of a low end warmth and foundation than articulate notes.

I'll report back when I've played them for a bit longer, but I must say I'm disappointed the Black Labels are no longer available which I thought were just about perfect (I don't have much experience with the old Blue Labels).

I'm interested in how everyone else is finding these new strings?

 

[shawshank72]

I was a huge fan of the black labels, just didn't prefer the gauges available.
Tried the blue labels and was unimpressed.
Hate when people mess with an already good thing.

 

[lhindrum]

I was a huge fan of the black labels, just didn't prefer the gauges available.
Tried the blue labels and was unimpressed.
Hate when people mess with an already good thing.

Yeah, I only just discovered the Black Label flats in the last year or two. Was very disappointed to discover they were discontinued. They were the best flats I've used, and I've tried plenty.

 

[TomB]

It's my understanding over the years is that the Black Labels were re-labeled LaBella's. Is that correct? If so, are they much different from DTF's?

 

[shawshank72]

It's my understanding over the years is that the Black Labels were re-labeled LaBella's. Is that correct? If so, are they much different from DTF's?

They were made by labella to Sadowsky specs. But they are not like DTF's.

 

[ljazz]

I said this in the other blue label thread. From a playability aspect, these may be the most comfortable/playable flats available. They feel like a round core, even though they are hex core. They new Blues have more tension than the old ones, but are way more pliable.... Yet are not floppy like TIJF's .

However, I think the hallmark of the Sadowsky Flats, both Black and Blue, were the mids. These new strings don't have them.... At least not like the old versions. The old Blues were mid monsters. The Black's, especially when new, as far as I can recall, had singing mids (although more subdued compared to the Blues), and settled into a nice thump with a touch of mid articulation as they broke in.

The new ones lasted about 10 hours of play time on my main P bass. They sit completely different in the mix compared to the old Blues or even the Blacks. That doesn't work for my band. I've moved them over to my back up Pbass, and we'll see how they sound when completely broken in.

The big disappointment for me is that the old Blues were pretty unique. Mid character, much like TIJF's, but not as floppy. I play in a three pc blues act..... The old Blues allow you to completely fill up that space on top of the kick, and below the guitar.... All without stepping on either. They contribute greatly to making us sound much larger than we are.

But I still hope the new ones break in to something much different than what I'm hearing now. The feel of them alone makes it worth the wait to find out.

 

[pickles]

The black labels were almost identical to labella 760fl.

 

[michael_t]

They were made by labella to Sadowsky specs. But they are not like DTF's.

I tend to agree on this.
I tried the LB 760FL and the Black Label 40-100 back to back on my Am Std P. They both do feel silky smooth, but very different tonally. I really liked the Black Label Flats for their richer mids and articulation compared to the La Bella DTF's.

The black labels were almost identical to labella 760fl.

Silky smooth feel? Yes. Tone? No.

 

[michael_t]

Yeah, I only just discovered the Black Label flats in the last year or two. Was very disappointed to discover they were discontinued. They were the best flats I've used, and I've tried plenty.

I'm with you on this.
I really did like them, more so than the La Bella DTF, when I tried them a couple of years ago. Too bad they've been discontinued.

 

[ljazz]

I've spent the last little bit reading through some of the Dunlop flat threads and listening to some of the clips posted ..... I am thinking the new Blues might actually be close to the Dunlops. Clips sound similar, and the description of the feel seems to match, considering gauge differences. And speaking of gauge, the Dunlops come in 40 - 100 now..... Some folks talk about the ball end silk being long, and having to trim it back.... Same thing I had to do with the new Blues..... Hmmmmmmm.

 

[foal30]

I liked the Black Label flats
Only issue was the B string was too fat to fit in the bridge
So I use a D'Addario Chrome for the B

 

[lhindrum]

I said this in the other blue label thread. From a playability aspect, these may be the most comfortable/playable flats available. They feel like a round core, even though they are hex core. They new Blues have more tension than the old ones, but are way more pliable.... Yet are not floppy like TIJF's .

However, I think the hallmark of the Sadowsky Flats, both Black and Blue, were the mids. These new strings don't have them.... At least not like the old versions. The old Blues were mid monsters. The Black's, especially when new, as far as I can recall, had singing mids (although more subdued compared to the Blues), and settled into a nice thump with a touch of mid articulation as they broke in.

The new ones lasted about 10 hours of play time on my main P bass. They sit completely different in the mix compared to the old Blues or even the Blacks. That doesn't work for my band. I've moved them over to my back up Pbass, and we'll see how they sound when completely broken in.

The big disappointment for me is that the old Blues were pretty unique. Mid character, much like TIJF's, but not as floppy. I play in a three pc blues act..... The old Blues allow you to completely fill up that space on top of the kick, and below the guitar.... All without stepping on either. They contribute greatly to making us sound much larger than we are.

But I still hope the new ones break in to something much different than what I'm hearing now. The feel of them alone makes it worth the wait to find out.

It's the feel that's keeping them on my P Bass also at the moment. I really WANT to like these. I'm going to stick with them for the time being and let them continue to break in. The old Sadowsky strings were so good I can't help feeling there must be more to these strings...

 

[lhindrum]

I've spent the last little bit reading through some of the Dunlop flat threads and listening to some of the clips posted ..... I am thinking the new Blues might actually be close to the Dunlops. Clips sound similar, and the description of the feel seems to match, considering gauge differences. And speaking of gauge, the Dunlops come in 40 - 100 now..... Some folks talk about the ball end silk being long, and having to trim it back.... Same thing I had to do with the new Blues..... Hmmmmmmm.

Interesting. Does anybody actually know who manufactures the new strings?

 

[ljazz]

Interesting. Does anybody actually know who manufactures the new strings?

Actually, not considering the considerable markup, if these are rebranded Dunlops, then that might bode well for the broken in tone....

Michael League with some broken in Dunlops...


You can hear some mids poking through. Maybe that's what these new Blues will sound like once the zing wears off? Not as much as the old Blues, and not as thumpy as the Black's, but usable.

 

[lhindrum]

Actually, not considering the considerable markup, if these are rebranded Dunlops, then that might bode well for the broken in tone....

Michael League with some broken in Dunlops...


You can hear some mids poking through. Maybe that's what these new Blues will sound like once the zing wears off? Not as much as the old Blues, and not as thumpy as the Black's, but usable.

I can definitely hear some similarities between that tone and the new Blue Labels. These new strings are definitely sounding better the more I play them. It's not an unpleasant tone, just still not quite as strong in the mids as I would like.

 

[Sandwell]

I've spent the last little bit reading through some of the Dunlop flat threads and listening to some of the clips posted ..... I am thinking the new Blues might actually be close to the Dunlops. Clips sound similar, and the description of the feel seems to match, considering gauge differences. And speaking of gauge, the Dunlops come in 40 - 100 now..... Some folks talk about the ball end silk being long, and having to trim it back.... Same thing I had to do with the new Blues..... Hmmmmmmm.

Soundwise the Dunlops are like a slightly more mellow set of Chromes, which is not how you were describing the sound of the new Blues. They are great strings though, I highly recommend them.

 

[ljazz]

Soundwise the Dunlops are like a slightly more mellow set of Chromes, which is not how you were describing the sound of the new Blues. They are great strings though, I highly recommend them.

Compared to the old Blues and the Black's, I would say Chromes sound a bit scooped as well.

 

[ljazz]

I'm going to use these in rehearsal tonight. I ended up not putting them on my jazz, but another P. The new string zing, while not completely gone, has diminished considerably. The mids, are a becoming more noticeable now. They are nothing like the old Blues, and they seem to be a bit beefier in the 100 - 250 range. I also think they are more "polite" than the Black's, especially as the highs soften up. It might be too early to tell, but I'm not hearing a lot of thump, as the note decay is longer than the Black's, at least for now... That may change as they continue to wear in. They sound really nice when palm muting with the tone rolled back.

The pliability is really nice. They are kind of addictive to play on. I wonder how the 45's feel?

I'm still disappointed the old Blues are gone, but the new ones are turning out to be really nice!

 

[lhindrum]

I'm going to use these in rehearsal tonight. I ended up not putting them on my jazz, but another P. The new string zing, while not completely gone, has diminished considerably. The mids, are a becoming more noticeable now. They are nothing like the old Blues, and they seem to be a bit beefier in the 100 - 250 range. I also think they are more "polite" than the Black's, especially as the highs soften up. It might be too early to tell, but I'm not hearing a lot of thump, as the note decay is longer than the Black's, at least for now... That may change as they continue to wear in. They sound really nice when palm muting with the tone rolled back.

The pliability is really nice. They are kind of addictive to play on. I wonder how the 45's feel?

I'm still disappointed the old Blues are gone, but the new ones are turning out to be really nice!

My set is the 45's and they feel great! Lower tension and much more playable than other flats at same guage.

I also agree these strings are sounding better as they break in. They are still quite tame but seem more focussed now. No noticeable thump from mine either, but it's a pleasant, mellow tone. I'm curious enough to stick with them.

 

[ljazz]

Okay, I'm a few weeks further in with these, and I've played them a lot in rehearsals, and have used them for a blues jam we host. They are on my backup Pbass, a '08 AmStd, with an OV(?) '62 pup. They are not completely broken in yet, but most of the zing has worn off.

They definitely have more mids than most Flats. However, they are not as hyped in the mids like the old Blue Label Flats, and they don't thump or have the aggressive low mid punch like a fully broken in set of Black Labels. They are very smooth through the mids.... Very widely focused mids, if that makes sense. I don't think they have the high mids the Black Labels have either.

I know Roger Sadowsky said they wanted the tone of the Black Labels, but the construction of the old Blues. Honestly, I don't think they met that goal. Just listening to all three without plugging them in, you can hear they most resemble the old Blues. Plugging in, you can hear it as well. They are just a bit more widely voiced and less aggressive than the old version. They sit a bit lower in the mix than the old Blues, and are a bit easier to key in on than the Black's. Playing through my Shaw Audio B150, I've found that if I change my mid voicing to 6th position, and roll off a touch of lows, then they almost sound like the old Blues (with the mid switch on 5).

I'm not completely sure what Roger meant by construction, but these don't feel like the old ones at all. I could see folks thinking these are too floppy. They are less stiff than the old Blues, but have more tension. That tells me something about the construction is different.

I'm still thinking these might be rebranded Dunlops. If I roll the tone off to about a third on, they sound an awful lot like the Michael League's opening in the video I posted. I have a set of Dunlops in 45 gauge coming, so I'll compare then.