I just bought a super cheap fretless (Rogue LX200BF) and it came with these really nice-feeling (almost like nickel rounds) low-tension flats that allow me to pluck easily without the sticky, impeding feeling of D'addario chromes. The only trouble is that the E and A sound like absolute trash. Do you guys have any suggestions for a better-quality set with similar characteristics? Thanks
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Ernie Ball Group IV (40-95) Stainless Steel Flats.
Slick ~ La bella LTF4A.
But beware once your hand get sweat..... slick became sticky.
But beware once your hand get sweat..... slick became sticky.
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How about a try on tapewound bass string? I have positive experience on La bella copper white 750 tape. Sticky-free even hand get sweat.
But, beware again, if you love do sliding thing on your "fretting hand" , a great burning feel you never forget....
But, beware again, if you love do sliding thing on your "fretting hand" , a great burning feel you never forget....
Can you describe the old ones (colour of the ball ends, or colours if more than one, and which specifically; colour of the silks at the bridge if present; silks at the headstock; aligned or staggered; length of E string ball to silk)? What don't you care for in the tone of the lowest two?
Just so you don't accidentally get recommended more of the same.
This is my stock answer when people ask me about low-tension flats. Very smooth and very flexible and their tone is thumpy but not completely without detail. …and they’re inexpensive.
TI flats are wonderful but they are a very different animal; very flexible and very smooth, strong mid tones (they sound more like rounds than any other flatwounds) and very expensive.
Both the Ernie Ball Series and the TIs last nearly forever but their tone is very different. I like the TIs for melodic fretless lines but the EBs can work well for that, too, just with a much warmer tone.
Silver ball ends, black silk at the bridge and the headstock, the silks are aligned, and the length between those points is about 36 inches. The lower two sound completely dead with zero sustain or resonance, barely producing overtones. The vibration even feels bad on my fingers, like it's "out of tune" even though it has nothing to be out of tune with (inharmonicity?). It's a problem even when not fretting the strings, and I raised the bridge saddles high in case it was an action problem.
I like DR Legends. Low tension relative to most flats but not super low. If you want really floppy low tension and don't want to throw down major cash for TIs, Labella Low Tension Flats are really good and very close to TIs in terms of tension.
The only thing about the DR Legends is they only come in one set of gauges, 45-65-85-105.
Yes, metal strings are a great heat sink for the heat from friction when sliding, nylon not so much. A little lighter pressure helps, I don't notice this anymore.
I think my favorite strings for my fretless are LaBella Gold White Nylon. (I'm currently trying TI Jazz Rounds, great sounding strings I guess, but not quite the sound I want - I'll probably try them on one of my fretted basses.)
I have those extra light Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwounds on my Jack Casady bass right now, they a little lighter than I like but sound really good. Easy to fret and I don't find them sticky at all.
$66 for a set of TI flats? I’ll do that every time.
They last forever, and there’s nothing else quite like them. I’ve had a set move from one bass to another for years. The basses come and go, but I don’t let go of the TI’s.
Find a used set in the classifieds. You’ll save some dough and, better still, they’ll be at least partially broke in.
Don’t be put off by the initial painfully bright sound, just keep on playing em. A few months in and they’ll be settled in for the next decade.
That’s a thrifty move in my book.
They last forever, and there’s nothing else quite like them. I’ve had a set move from one bass to another for years. The basses come and go, but I don’t let go of the TI’s.
Find a used set in the classifieds. You’ll save some dough and, better still, they’ll be at least partially broke in.
Don’t be put off by the initial painfully bright sound, just keep on playing em. A few months in and they’ll be settled in for the next decade.
That’s a thrifty move in my book.
TI Jazz Flats.
Absolute no brainer.
WANTED
STAR THAT’S PRETTY HOT AND NOT TOO FAR FROM VENUS.
Uh, the sun?
Absolute no brainer.
WANTED
STAR THAT’S PRETTY HOT AND NOT TOO FAR FROM VENUS.
Uh, the sun?
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that is only one component of what contributes to the string’s feel. Legends have a round core which accounts for the lower tension. To me they feel like a much lighter string than a set of Fenders or Chromes in the same gauge.
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Thanks!
Winding length appears to match, but not silk colour: Pyramid Gold long-scales, from at least the last decade, have light purple silks. We're back to mentally rummaging through black-silked flat options:
Flats with black silk - what are they?
Flatwounds with black twine/ribbon?
Help! Need to identify strings
First link points to flats with black-silk from way-back-when possibly being old GHS Precision flats, or rebranded versions thereof (Lākland Joe Osborn, Music Man, G&L).
[Silks at the bridge and flexibility means they're not La Bella 760FS, dead tone seems to rule out Dunlops, winding length is too short for Gallis and too long for La Bella Beatle-bass flats.]
Re: -commendations,
^ Seconded.
Right after I posted my last comment, I remembered about the purple silk on the Pyramid.
How about Optima RB?
La Bella Low Tension Flats are excellent if you like vintage tones. They have the vintage round core. I'm not aware of any other low tension strings which do so.
