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That Flatwound Sound

ebick

ebick

Guest
Sep 3, 2013
79
11
www.rukind.com
#1
So, I must admit, I'm fairly new to the bass. I've never played one with flatwound strings, though I've been told that I should try them. Bass strings are a bit more expensive and bigger deal of an experiment than guitar strings....I was wondering....

I have a Zoom B3. I looked for something that claimed to give a flatwound sound but didn't see anything. Anyone have any setting for that unit to get that sound?

Thanks,

Ed
 
#5
Jop vS said:
I don't know about the Zoom, but the H9 compressor actually claims to be able to do this, believe it or not:

Eventide EQ Compressor for H9 - Bass Demo - YouTube

I would however advise you to find a bass with flats on it to try it out. Besides the difference in tone the strings also feel quite different. Perhaps one of the people suggesting you should get flatwounds could lend one to you?
Click to expand...
Kinda buying into it, kinda not. Those strings sound pretty well toasted on that T-Bird, and while the H9 did bring it a little closer, the source strings certainly contributed as well.
 
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#6
If you're gonna dip the toes into flats, just buy a set of chromes and be done with it.
They last FOREVER and will only need replacing if you break them. I have flats on some of my basses that are over 5 years old and play them regularly, but I'm sure some people out there will have flats waaaaay older than that.
Just be mindful, flats will take some time to break in and sound like they should, they'll sound a bit awful for the first few jams.
 
#7
The OP wants to dial in the flatwound sound without having to purchase and install flats. I'm primarily a roundwound guy, so I completely understand.

Sure, one answer is to install flatwounds on a bass, and use that bass when the flatwound sound is desired. I have flatwounds on one of my basses, and occasionally gig it with classic/oldies bands, but I (almost) never switch basses mid set: I do not want the show to stop for me while I do. And some bassists don't own/bring backup, and others don't want to deal with flats even if they have a bunch of basses.

If I'm gigging and want a flatwound-ish sound for a song then I just roll back a passive tone control. No, of course it's not the same thing, but the point is to have a more vintage tone in general, not an exact flatwound tone.
 
#8
ebick said:
So, I must admit, I'm fairly new to the bass. I've never played one with flatwound strings, though I've been told that I should try them.
Click to expand...

"Should?" Meh. First, I think we need to take a step back.

If you're new to bass, your first priority should be learning to play bass -- in particular, thinking like a bass player. In the grand scheme of things, the type of strings you use is not critical, as bass tone is nothing more than "thump" to most people (we bassists' obsession with tone is mostly navel-gazing -- not even my bandmates care whether I play P or J, rounds or flats). That said, I recommend sticking with rounds for now, especially if you plan to learn slap funk bass. The general rule is this: as I noted above you can kinda-sorta fake a flatwound sound with roundwounds, but it's nearly impossible to get a roundwound tone from flats.

Once you get comfortable playing bass, then you can decide between rounds, halfs, flats, tapes... whatever works for you.
 
#9
ebick said:
So, I must admit, I'm fairly new to the bass. I've never played one with flatwound strings, though I've been told that I should try them. Bass strings are a bit more expensive and bigger deal of an experiment than guitar strings....I was wondering....

I have a Zoom B3. I looked for something that claimed to give a flatwound sound but didn't see anything. Anyone have any setting for that unit to get that sound?

Thanks,

Ed
Click to expand...

I don't have the B3, but on my other Zoom units any patch with "Fat" in the title I've found can give a more flatwound sound to roundwound strings, esp if you do a bit of palm muting.

But truthfully, if you've never played rounds you may not know what you're looking for on the Zoom even if you find it. Perhaps some YouTube clips could get your ear used to it.
 
#11
The Zoom B3 has an acoustic simulator. Combine that with a bit of upper bass/lower midrange boost on an EQ and some light palm muting... That should get you halfway there. If you want the flatwound sound just get flats, but if you're going to use a Zoom B3 with rounds, that's how I would do it. Don't overdampen the strings with too heavy-handed of palm muting though.
 
#12
Thanks everyone. Jut to try and be clearer, frist, I'm probably not the typical beginner. I've played a 6 string for more years than I care to admit.

But most importantly, it's not that I'm actually wanting the flatwound sound. I have people telling me I should try it, and I don't know what it is. I just wanted a sample....Maybe I'd like them, may I wouldn't. If I did, putting new strings on is a win. If I didn't, well, ya double the cost to go back to round and you're throwing away a perfectly good set of strings. I was hoping I could stick my feet in the water without all the hassle and cost of restringing, just to see why people say I "should".

I'll give your approach a I try Silky. Thanks
 
#13
Ya, putting flats on your bass usually requires a new setup, and quite honestly, it's work to change out strings you're used to for something different. Always takes me a month before I'm ever comfortable with my gear after doing something like that.
 
#14
Just put your old rounds back on.
ebick said:
Thanks everyone. Jut to try and be clearer, frist, I'm probably not the typical beginner. I've played a 6 string for more years than I care to admit.

But most importantly, it's not that I'm actually wanting the flatwound sound. I have people telling me I should try it, and I don't know what it is. I just wanted a sample....Maybe I'd like them, may I wouldn't. If I did, putting new strings on is a win. If I didn't, well, ya double the cost to go back to round and you're throwing away a perfectly good set of strings. I was hoping I could stick my feet in the water without all the hassle and cost of restringing, just to see why people say I "should".

I'll give your approach a I try Silky. Thanks
Click to expand...
 

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