Some flatwound questions....

[jcburn]

I really was impressed with how they mixed with acoustic guitar. With rounds I could always get a good EQ\mix with new fresh strings, but as they died they had this "gank" develop and a harsh top end.
I was initially skeptical about flats because acoustically they sound quite dull, but both directly to the PA from my pedal board or through my amp this isn't the case. I really liked how they sounded.
I will admit some if my gigs are 80s Metal covers, and I think fresh rounds and a mid notch here and there will be a better match but for all my other gigs the flats sound better.

 

[nerkoids]

GHS Precisions on a VM 70s Jazz Bass, about 7 month old when I recorded this song, a bit of foam at the bridge:

 

[Coolhandjjl]

For those interested in the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats, the name is a bit convoluted. They go by the name Slinky Flatwound, and then in the description, you will find mention of cobalt.

 

[jcburn]

GHS Precisions on a VM 70s Jazz Bass, about 7 month old when I recorded this song, a bit of foam at the bridge:

That does sound cool and definitely suits the song.
This is more the tone I'm after, and was surprised it was recorded with flats (well at least I'm fairly certain it was - Deleo is quoted as using D'Addario Chromes I think these days).
And the Cobalt flats definitely get me there with some overdrive. .. I'll try Chromes on my PJ next. ..

 

[JOME77]

So I heeded all advice given and went with a set of Slinky Cobalt 105s. Bear in mind I like to have a bright, non scooped bass tone. Pick style rock with always on mild-medium overdrive.
Playing at home, the tone was ok. .. hard to describe. I liked what I heard.... Thump? Check. Mids? Check. Upper harmonic content without harsh noise? Check. Did sound dull but not in a dead rounds way.
Tried tonight for the first time in and acoustic duo (still play with a pick and a little overdrive!).
Wow - perfect. Fills in the gaps nicely but not too boomy, and no harsh\brittle round sound....overdrive adds crunch without fizz....I'm sold. Next is to try them with full band.
I'm stoked guys - thanks for the advice. Only took 30 years of playing to try flats. Maybe that means I'm a grown up now?

If you're impressed with the Cobalt flats (I have them on my fretless and love them) wait until you try the Chrome Flats. I have them on my Roscoe 5 and they sound and feel great! Very much between typical nickel RW's and traditional flats. Very nice high end out of the package but mellow out nicely after several hours of playing them. IMO considerably brighter than the Cobalt flats. IMO the Cobalt flats work really well with my fretless but I prefer the brighter sound of the Chromes on my fretted basses.
They also sounded great on my P-Bass but I bought a set of TI Jazz flats to try before I decided to leave them on long term. I heard so many players state that they really preferred the TI's and La Bella's on their P-bass I figured I had to see for myself.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

I don’t get along with Chromes. They are a somewhat stiff string, with a strange balance on the D being noticeably tight. I thought about building a custom set at one point, but decided against it.

Fender flats are good, and they do sound great on a Jazz.

Jim Dunlop Flats should be a consideration of yours. They have an excellent all around solid character to them. The highs were excellent, not clanky but real smooth. The bottom end could thump to a decent extent (definitely no La Bella). I was highly impressed, but I just sold them and five other sets of flats on EBay for $85....bought a Lindy Fralin ‘51 single coil for a build. Anyway, Dunlop’s would sit real well in an acoustic setting. Seems like they’d support the bottom end of the acoustic guitar well.

Cobalts were ok.

Always consider Tapes, especially La Bella tapes.

When it comes to bright/er flats (excluding tapes)....that’s all I’ve played, I think.

 

[shrimpflea]

Chromes sound pretty bright to me but they do of course mellow after time. I currently use the La Bella 760FL set, as that gives me the nicest balance of thump, mids and not too much tension, but I also like the Fender flats. Here's a Invalid Link Removed that might help.

 

[jcburn]

I really like the Cobalts.
My next foray will be Chromes and Fender 9050s I think.
I'm excited by this foray into new tonal territory!

 

[JOME77]

I really like the Cobalts.
My next foray will be Chromes and Fender 9050s I think.
I'm excited by this foray into new tonal territory!

I feel the same way. I've played exclusively nickel RW's for the last 20 years and after listening to Don Was playing on the Gregg Allman and Friends DVD I was knocked out by the sound of his P-bass with flats. That was about 6 months ago. Since then I've tried most of the recommended flat brands and really loved the sound in the recorded mix. I'm just now getting back to live playing so now I'm rotating in and out the various flatwound strings to see which I prefer for live playing. So far on my fretted basses the Chromes and TI flats really sound the best. Initially I'd didn't feel the looser tension on the TI flat's (verses the Chrome flats) when playing but the next day (after installing the TI's) I noticed that I had almost zero relief in my P-bass neck. I had to loosen the truss rod about a 1/4 turn to get the needed relief that I prefer. My neck was adjusted perfectly with the Chrome flats so I guess that it's true, the TI flats have less tension (although I honestly don't really feel it when I play).

On the subject of the Cobalt flats, they sound awesome on my fretless Warmoth Gecko! Just the right amount of growl and mwah. I originally wanted to try the Chromes but I decided to just leave well enough alone (for now). It's a bit strange but when I installed a set of the cobalt flats on my fretted Roscoe they sounded a bit dead. It almost makes me wonder if I got a bad set (comparing them to the sound of the Cobalts on my fretless).

Hopefully my experimenting with flats is almost over. It's quite expensive purchasing all of the various flatwound strings. Especially the TI flat's!