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Sadowsky BLUE Label Flats
- Thread starter miles'tone
- Start date
Any updates on these strings at all? How are they sounding now with a couple of months on them?..
Yeah mine are still on my main bass.. they seem to age nicely. Have had some trouble with the intonation on the E string, but it's better now than it was.
Are you stringing through the body? I have intonation problems with flats if I go through the body. They work much better through the bridge.
- I'm stringing through the bridge, not thru-body. They're on a Fender CS 59 P bass.
- Compared to black label flats, they are certainly more lively, both played acoustically (spelling?) and through an amp. They are more textured to the touch than the black label flats, too, but still smooth enough for my tastes. They sound good in a mix, and have a bit more prescence or attack than the black label flats, IMO.
- Compared to black label flats, they are certainly more lively, both played acoustically (spelling?) and through an amp. They are more textured to the touch than the black label flats, too, but still smooth enough for my tastes. They sound good in a mix, and have a bit more prescence or attack than the black label flats, IMO.
This sure makes me curious as to who makes them. Apparently not La Bella like the Black Labels based on this description.
@miles'tone I'm using the standard gauge, 045-105. I haven't tried the light gauge.
I switched back to chromes for the time being. I think I'm tired of playing on more flexible string types. I'll probably waffle again in the future but for now I'm really enjoying the chromes after not having played them in years.
What other flats would you say these compare to in tone, feel, and tension in the same gauge?
I would say the tension feels pretty much like the standard set of Chromes, ECB81, which I found interesting, since they are different (smaller) gauge than the standard set of Blue Label flats.
The surface of the strings certainly remind me more of well-broken-in Chromes, which means they are not at all like the glassy-surfaced Black Label flats, but still smooth IMO.
The sound is kind of a mix between the Black Label flats, TIs and Chromes. I'm not the best to analyze the sound of different strings (although I try to train my hearing all the time) but I think I can hear the well-balanced sound from the Black Label flats, the "woodiness" and organic, present mids of the TIs, and the brightness or attack that the Chromes have.
I guess you can see why I like them!
The surface of the strings certainly remind me more of well-broken-in Chromes, which means they are not at all like the glassy-surfaced Black Label flats, but still smooth IMO.
The sound is kind of a mix between the Black Label flats, TIs and Chromes. I'm not the best to analyze the sound of different strings (although I try to train my hearing all the time) but I think I can hear the well-balanced sound from the Black Label flats, the "woodiness" and organic, present mids of the TIs, and the brightness or attack that the Chromes have.
I guess you can see why I like them!
Just when I thought my string journey was over, you come up with an assessment like this... How can I NOT try them after reading this?!
The more this thread develops, it seems these might be a good fit.
I use the balanced tension "42 lbs" set of D'Addario Nickels (.045-.107) on a G&L LB-100 but am considering a set of more-aggressive-than-"traditional" flats.
The D'Addarrio tension is good, and I would be fine with lighter but don't want much tighter.
I tried the Fender 9050L (.045-.100) and liked the tone okay in rehearsal, but the A and D tension was higher than I wanted (faster playing was tight, but the high tension limited dynamics).
I tried a .045-.105 set of Black Label flats and the solo/at-home tone was great, but these might be the highest tension strings I have tried. So, odds are I still wouldn't be happy with the Black Label .040-.100 tension.
I took T.I. flats off my other bass to try on the G&L. The tension was too low here, and it wasn't the tone I was after.
(My observations are mostly with flats that wouldn't yet qualify as broken-in.)
So, maybe the Blue Label in .040-.100 will be similar to or slightly lighter than the D'Addario "42 lbs" tension?
It's interesting how different each string set can sound or feel depending on the bass. I have read a lot of ideas about where certain string sets fall in relation to others.
My basses are an alder/maple G&L LB-100 and a semi-hollow mahogany body Yancey with a rosewood board and lower-output, dual/single coil (switchable) pickups.
The T.I.s sound dark on the G&L when directly compared to the Fender 9050L, and the Fender flats sound muddy on the Yancey where the T.I.s really shine (also disliked the Black Label flats sound on the Yancey, but it was glorious on the G&L).
A years-old set of DR Legends/Hi-Beam flats even seemed brighter than the T.I. on my G&L (which seems to contradict popular opinion).
So may factors...(barometric pressure was 29.98 in ↓ and moon was waning gibbous).
My hope is the .040-.100 Blue Label set will tighter and brighter than the T.I.s, with the ability to grind a bit like the Fender 9050, but full and open sounding like the Black Labels. These reviews are certainly making it seem that way. Thanks to you folks for giving them a shot and sharing your observations.
Now to wear out those nickel rounds.
I use the balanced tension "42 lbs" set of D'Addario Nickels (.045-.107) on a G&L LB-100 but am considering a set of more-aggressive-than-"traditional" flats.
The D'Addarrio tension is good, and I would be fine with lighter but don't want much tighter.
I tried the Fender 9050L (.045-.100) and liked the tone okay in rehearsal, but the A and D tension was higher than I wanted (faster playing was tight, but the high tension limited dynamics).
I tried a .045-.105 set of Black Label flats and the solo/at-home tone was great, but these might be the highest tension strings I have tried. So, odds are I still wouldn't be happy with the Black Label .040-.100 tension.
I took T.I. flats off my other bass to try on the G&L. The tension was too low here, and it wasn't the tone I was after.
(My observations are mostly with flats that wouldn't yet qualify as broken-in.)
So, maybe the Blue Label in .040-.100 will be similar to or slightly lighter than the D'Addario "42 lbs" tension?
It's interesting how different each string set can sound or feel depending on the bass. I have read a lot of ideas about where certain string sets fall in relation to others.
My basses are an alder/maple G&L LB-100 and a semi-hollow mahogany body Yancey with a rosewood board and lower-output, dual/single coil (switchable) pickups.
The T.I.s sound dark on the G&L when directly compared to the Fender 9050L, and the Fender flats sound muddy on the Yancey where the T.I.s really shine (also disliked the Black Label flats sound on the Yancey, but it was glorious on the G&L).
A years-old set of DR Legends/Hi-Beam flats even seemed brighter than the T.I. on my G&L (which seems to contradict popular opinion).
So may factors...(barometric pressure was 29.98 in ↓ and moon was waning gibbous).
My hope is the .040-.100 Blue Label set will tighter and brighter than the T.I.s, with the ability to grind a bit like the Fender 9050, but full and open sounding like the Black Labels. These reviews are certainly making it seem that way. Thanks to you folks for giving them a shot and sharing your observations.
Now to wear out those nickel rounds.
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I would say the tension feels pretty much like the standard set of Chromes, ECB81, which I found interesting, since they are different (smaller) gauge than the standard set of Blue Label flats.
The surface of the strings certainly remind me more of well-broken-in Chromes, which means they are not at all like the glassy-surfaced Black Label flats, but still smooth IMO.
The sound is kind of a mix between the Black Label flats, TIs and Chromes. I'm not the best to analyze the sound of different strings (although I try to train my hearing all the time) but I think I can hear the well-balanced sound from the Black Label flats, the "woodiness" and organic, present mids of the TIs, and the brightness or attack that the Chromes have.
I guess you can see why I like them!
Thank you for this assessment Klonk. While I am happy with the strings I use on my basses when it comes time for a change these will probably be one that I'll try. I will probably buy a set of these along with the Fender 9050CL flats and the Labella Flexible flats. There are so many good choices these days it really makes it hard to know what to even try first. If you have tried the other two sets that I have mentioned please let me know what you think of them also. Your help is much appreciated.
About the tension of Sadow BL flat 40-100, after broke in, it is become less tension than 9050L , the broke in 760FL is tightest among three set i have use. I dint figure out how much the tension Sadow have, but, i can feel it close to or equal with Fender 7250L (Pre-2010 Mexi made).
