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Rotosound Flats Vs Chromes?

#21
The nicest sounding flats (apart from TIs which I just love and are on my 1977 fretless Precision) are the Picatos. They're not dis-similar to Roto77s in feel but have a beautiful, sort-of whispy finger noise to them.

I had them on a Tanglewood electro-acoustic fretless with an ebony board for a while, and really loved the sound.

I'm toying with a ste of 77s on the fretless 6, but just don't like the high tension! Might try D'add half rounds: not used those before.

Best.

John
 
#25
i've used both a went though a stage of buying different strings by different brands for about a year i settled on the roto flats i liked the chromes but the roto's just had the magic feel to them
yes there high tension but if the 50-110's are too much try the 45's me myself i like the stiff strings i find the heavyer they are the more consistent my playing but then again i do have a pretty heavy technique
best bet try both see which suits you better were all different in our tastes
 
#26
Ok, well,

ive had Chromes on my P Bass for over a month now, and Roto flats on my jazz for 4 months.

there two very diffrent strings.

the rotosounds are more like a round in feel and sound, and the Chromes are Buttery smooth.

the rotos take a while to break in, and then are great, have a good punch to um, and some roundwound clarity. Perfect for a Jazz.

the Chromes are silky out of the package, and just get better :)
there almost soft after a month, these ARE the strings you think of when you think, Flatwound on a Precision.


so my conclusion is, two very diffrent strings, exceling at what they do.
the chromes are pefect for thump, the rotos are perfect for more defined thump (maybe playing higher on the fretboard)
 
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#27
Just strung up and set up my G&L L2000 with LaBella DT's. WOW! What great strings. Yeah, they are stiff as heck, and they're not going to be the strings you want to use if you like to have your right hand close to the bridge.

But something tells me that if you play like that, you're not interested in flats anyway. These are not for the kids' table. These are GROWN FOLKS STRINGS. You need to be able to play with patience and confidence.

Strangely, it's not the right hand that I found immediately different - I have a background in double bass so it wasn't that strange to me. But I did find that I had to adjust my left hand, especially near the nut. I guess I had been counting on round windings to keep my fingers anchored in those low positions, and now I need the strength of my fingers to keep those strings stopped.

But without a doubt, I am getting a lot closer to the sound I want, and I will probably get myself a block of foam rubber to use as a mute and then we will see how things really go.
 
#28
Well, here is my opinion. I have always used flat strings on my electric bass starting with chromes (~6 months), then TI-flats (~24 months) and recently RS77(~2 months).
TI's give me a nice sound, thumpy and hearthy but sort of old school (I really like them)
Rotos are more growly and defined, high tension, but then my action can be really low (I really like them)
Chromes seem to be in the middle, have high tension but an unfocused sound (I never liked them, wouldn't buy them again)

I have a 5 string and the DR flats were not available at the time I bought the Rotos or I would have given them a go (maybe in two years). YMMV
 
#30
Tension, schmension :P The RS77LE set is great and I've used the set on my '78 P for about 20 years. I tend to change every 3 - 5 years. They mellow over time and the longer they are on, the sweeter they sound. I play jazz, rock (played in a Rush tribute band with this set for 5 years), GB stuff, etc. They are versatile.

I have very high action. My BadAss II has two metal plates under it. At the 12th fret, my action is 5/16" off the neck.

FWIW, I'm stringing my new Rob Allen P with a Roto flat 130 for the E, and the bottom three (110, 95, 75) of the RS77LE set for the A, D, and G. Can't wait!
 
#31
Rockin John said:
The nicest sounding flats (apart from TIs which I just love and are on my 1977 fretless Precision) are the Picatos. They're not dis-similar to Roto77s in feel but have a beautiful, sort-of whispy finger noise to them.
Click to expand...

I have a set of Picatos on my VMJ... I like them a lot... just wish it wasn't so hard to get hold of them though... I'm after a 5 string set to put on my Vintage V950B... I tried a set of Rotosound SM77s on it, but I couldn't cope with the ridiculously high tension...
 
#32
manicbassman said:
I have a set of Picatos on my VMJ... I like them a lot... just wish it wasn't so hard to get hold of them though... I'm after a 5 string set to put on my Vintage V950B... I tried a set of Rotosound SM77s on it, but I couldn't cope with the ridiculously high tension...
Click to expand...

What gauge did you try because I don't think the Roto's are that high tension? I use 40 to 100 which seem about right for me.
 
#33
the low one said:
What gauge did you try because I don't think the Roto's are that high tension? I use 40 to 100 which seem about right for me.
Click to expand...

When you get thicker - especially the RS77LE set - the tension is very different than the lighter sets. I have the short scale RS77 set on my Mustang and it's a very different feel tension-wise.
 
#34
FenderP said:
When you get thicker - especially the RS77LE set - the tension is very different than the lighter sets. I have the short scale RS77 set on my Mustang and it's a very different feel tension-wise.
Click to expand...

This is also true of the LaBella flats. The difference in tension between the FL and the FS is very noticeable, yet the gauge difference seems almost insignificant.
 

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