"Stop the LaBella 760FL tension fears!" thread

[Mike Vee]

All this time using flats on my Precision basses (about 14 years) I have always targeted "low tension" flats: TIs, LTFs, Dunlop, etc. I always thought "Hey, more flexible, easier to play, right?" WRONG.

After building a new all Fender parts bass (P body, Jazz neck) LTFs were just not feeling right. The jazz neck made playing MUCH better and faster, and the LTFs just felt too loose. They were "bottoming out" and making weird clanking noises when played faster (not fret buzz). I wanted to go up to 760FL but read alllllllll the posts saying how tense they are, hurt hands, etc.

FALSE!!! I just installed them on my new bass and they are BARELY different from LTF, just better in all ways, maybe 15% more tense at the most. I am not a big guy either... average, my hands are barely larger than my girlfriend's hands. I didn't need to adjust my truss rod and it BARELY moved with these strings. What it did bring was a very pleasant increase in gauge and no more bottoming out. They push back just a bit more, and make my bass feel so much more stable and substantial. And on top of that, set up VERY low with zero buzz.

Moral of the story, Don't believe the hype! These are these best flats I ever felt. They are nothing like chromes of the same size. Hell they even feel more flexible than the 100 E chromes. If you like LTF but they feel just a bit too loose, especially after a month or two, so with FLs. You won't regret it.

I will never play noodles again!

(I also had a similar experience when I finally put 100 E Chromes on my Stingray and took the TIs off - just plays and sounds so much better.)

 

[Cadillac_Mike]

Thanks for sharing. I've always used rounds for the versatility but would like to try flats sometime for the vintage sound. Never even heard of the first 2 brands you mentioned lol.

 

[Mike Vee]

Thanks for sharing. I've always used rounds for the versatility but would like to try flats sometime for the vintage sound. Never even heard of the first 2 brands you mentioned lol.

LTF = LaBella Low Tension Flats - a popular choice. TI - Thomastik Infeld JF344 Jazz LFats.

 

[Geepers]

I hear you. I find higher tension easier to play too (especially when set low as you say).

 

[Spectre Gunner]

I've used TI Jazz Flats J344 for years and I love the sound of these strings. I recently put a set of Labella Flats on a Fender Precision parts bass. While I like the sound of the Labellas I prefer the softer tension of the TI flats. It's a good thing we have options.

 

[LoveThatBass]

Low Tension strings are typically round core while High Tension are Hex Core that grabs the outer winding. I prefer round core strings such as TI JF344’s. Round core allow the outer winding to slip some. I do not care for the LaBellas Low Tension Flats as the ends that wrap around the posts is the core that has a very loosely wrapped that is not much thicker than the core. Concerning the post that stated the strings hitting the frets in open position you have to put a little more height of the E to a lesser degree the A and the fretboard as the movement of the string as it vibrates is greater. Another thing I noticed on my 2017 Fender American Professional Jazz Bass by stringing through the body puts are sharper break-over angle over the saddle and feels a little less floppy than on my basses that have top load only.

 

[mdlewis]

I have used Chromes, 760FL's and TI Jazz Flats. Honestly, the only ones that feel any different are Chromes, which feel lower tension. When switching from d'Addario EX170TP's (nickel rounds) to La Bella 760 FL's on the same bass, I do need to give the truss rod a slight adjustment so they're definitely higher tension than the rounds. But fearful? The slight tension increase is part of what you want with flats imo - it offers a different play style.

I have not used the 760FM's. I have heard that they are higher tension than the FL's.

 

[LoveThatBass]

I have not used the 760FM's. I have heard that they are higher tension than the FL's.

That makes since as the M in FM are slightly larger diameter then the FL’s (.106 vs. .104)

 

[bassdude51]

I'm not going to say which flats sound best or play best or whatever but I will say when I use TI Flats, I usually have to loosen my truss rod and that is a good thing.

 

[cymbop]

100% @Mike Vee . 760FL is the Goldilocks of flatwound string feel. Not too floppy; not too stiff -- they're just how a string should feel under your hands.

 

[Quills]

It's critical to remember that there's a difference between tension and stiffness. It's easy to get them over-correlated because, as we add tension to the strings with the tuners, the perception is that the string gets 'stiffer' because there's less 'slop'; but stiffness can be a property of other things. Particularly, with Labella DTBs, the strings are (slightly) stiffer than other strings because the ribbon is wider, the wraps are closer together, and they're wrapped slightly tighter than other strings; it's got absolutely zero to do with 'tension'. This isn't helped by the fact that a lot of manufacturers deliberately blur the line between the two in their marketing.

I've changed more than seventy basses from roundwounds to flats (mostly Labellas) and I'd say that, 92% percent of the time, you have to back off the truss rod when you do this. Meaning: the Labellas are actually lower tension that the equivalent-string-gauge rounds, but nobody believes it because of the perceptual stiffness. Years of tightening and loosening strings means they falsely correlate stiffness with tension.

Don't get me wrong; if you use the FMs or the Motown/Jamersons, they're going to be higher tension than your typical rounds, but they're also considerably thicker gauge than your typical rounds, too; you have to compare apples with apples. The FS are stiffer but still typically slightly lower tension than normal 105s, and the FLs are, quite frankly, too floppy for me, at least on a 34" scale.

I also think there's an addition factor with 'grip'. Flats with more space between the wraps (or wound more loosely) and roundwounds give you slightly more 'tread' or 'tooth' for your finger to bite onto. The sheer smoothness of DTBs adds to the perception of tension as it takes a little while to adjust; not long, just the finger-feel is a bit different.

So, yup; you're right. There's a lot of nonsense talked about DTBs. The FLs in particular have perfectly 'normal' perceptual stiffness.

 

[TheArchitect]

I had no idea people feared their strings...

 

[Tim Skaggs]

I’ve tried 760 FM and 760 FL on my P bass. (FM = medium, FL = light). The FMs were too stiff for me, but the FLs were ok. The positive about stiff strings is that you can set the action quite low without fret buzz.

I have become a full-on addict to Ernie Ball Cobalt flats in medium gauge .050”, .070”, .085”, .105”. They are a more flexible flat wound string than the Labella 760s, but I offset that a little with the heavier gauge. I like the brightness with the tone knob wide open, but they still have the flat wound thump with the tone rolled off. They have a great lifespan and a great feel under finger to me. As I said, I’ve become addicted to them and can’t (won’t) play any of my basses very long if they don’t have EB flats on them.

 

[Quills]

100% @Mike Vee . 760FL is the Goldilocks of flatwound string feel. Not too floppy; not too stiff -- they're just how a string should feel under your hands.

Yeah ... unfortunately, they don't sound quite as good as the FS and FM variants.

 

[banoonoo]

Agreed, these were not floppy unless you intentionally play like a gorilla. I had them on my Precision for 4 years, and they sounded better the older they got. I think the product description is spot on, they ARE low tension, but not floppy, at least if you play with any amount of finesse. Higher tension than TI's.

After a while I guess I missed the low-end and bass frequencies typically associated with a more traditional flatwound. I just put a set of Olinto flatwounds to replace the Labella LTFs, and so far I'm digging them. They have the flexibility of a lower gauge string but also have the bass and booty of a more traditional flatwound. Don't be fooled by the 107. I've always used 105 E strings and did not find them to be a problem to install or play at all. I've also played the Labella FS and FL flatwound sets in the past, and I will say the Olintos are probably more on par with those sets in terms of tension and feeling under the fingers than let us say compared to the Jamerson set.

Olintos are not hard to play at all, and the LTFs are not floppy by any means.

 

[LennyJ]

I am only playing 30 scales these days - and have read on the LaBella site that most all of the 30 scale strings in the flats are all low tension.

So go figure. Where as the D'Addario flats are higher tension - as I have read.

I also agree with Tim - the cobalts are really nice.

 

[Iristone]

These should be pretty much "standard tension" - when I had 760FHBB 50-65-80-100, I remember the A and D string (similar to 760FL) to be regular tension. The 0760M should be the "extra heavy" version.
Flatwounds with ribbons don't bend sideways as easily as roundwound with wires. It's obvious when you open the string pack - flatwounds can only be bent into a large circle, while roundwounds can be bent much smaller. This should lead to a difference in stiffness even at the same tension.

 

[facetsquared]

All this time using flats on my Precision basses (about 14 years) I have always targeted "low tension" flats: TIs, LTFs, Dunlop, etc. I always thought "Hey, more flexible, easier to play, right?" WRONG.

After building a new all Fender parts bass (P body, Jazz neck) LTFs were just not feeling right. The jazz neck made playing MUCH better and faster, and the LTFs just felt too loose. They were "bottoming out" and making weird clanking noises when played faster (not fret buzz). I wanted to go up to 760FL but read alllllllll the posts saying how tense they are, hurt hands, etc.

FALSE!!! I just installed them on my new bass and they are BARELY different from LTF, just better in all ways, maybe 15% more tense at the most. I am not a big guy either... average, my hands are barely larger than my girlfriend's hands. I didn't need to adjust my truss rod and it BARELY moved with these strings. What it did bring was a very pleasant increase in gauge and no more bottoming out. They push back just a bit more, and make my bass feel so much more stable and substantial. And on top of that, set up VERY low with zero buzz.

Moral of the story, Don't believe the hype! These are these best flats I ever felt. They are nothing like chromes of the same size. Hell they even feel more flexible than the 100 E chromes. If you like LTF but they feel just a bit too loose, especially after a month or two, so with FLs. You won't regret it.

I will never play noodles again!

(I also had a similar experience when I finally put 100 E Chromes on my Stingray and took the TIs off - just plays and sounds so much better.)

I am encouraged by this - I am waiting for a set of 760FS strings to arrive, having only depended on TIs and LTFs before. I’m looking forward to spotting the differences (while also being mindful that I hated a set of Jamersons that came fitted to a P-bass I bought used).

 

[2saddleslab]

Use what works best for you. Every time I play a bass with higher tension flats I'm always glad to come home to my comfy TI's.

 

[Mike Vee]

I am encouraged by this - I am waiting for a set of 760FS strings to arrive, having only depended on TIs and LTFs before. I’m looking forward to spotting the differences (while also being mindful that I hated a set of Jamersons that came fitted to a P-bass I bought used).

That’s going to be a BIG difference. If it doesn’t work out, the FL should treat you well.