Van Halen 1 - flats or rounds

[bobyoung53]

Discuss .. I hear flats..

Just my humble opinion but flats were considered to be VERY old fashioned during the 70's, everyone was using Rotosound Swing Bass, especially in rock bands such as theirs. This flatwound resurgence is fairly new.

 

[bobyoung53]

Based on these


I wouldn't rule out groundwounds (which existed back then, by D'Addario and GHS and possibly others) :
beside the amp saturation, there is some growl I don't usually associate with true flats (with exceptions), but finger noise from rounds is either filtered out or not there to begin with. I may be wrong.

Rotos with a pick with treble mostly off, sounds like a P bass.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

Just my humble opinion but flats were considered to be VERY old fashioned during the 70's, everyone was using Rotosound Swing Bass, especially in rock bands such as theirs. This flatwound resurgence is fairly new.

yes!!! Thank John Entwhistle and Rotosound

 

[HaphAsSard]

Just my humble opinion but flats were considered to be VERY old fashioned during the 70's, everyone was using Rotosound Swing Bass, especially in rock bands such as theirs. This flatwound resurgence is fairly new.

True (and way truer in the '80s and '90s), but toward the more lo-fi end of the spectrum (early punk bands, obscure funk, British pub rock and the like) I wouldn't be surprised to learn a shipton of Seventies music was still recorded and performed with flatwounds. After all, new Fender basses still shipped with flats up to 1983!

 

[bobyoung53]

True (and way truer in the '80s and '90s), but toward the more lo-fi end of the spectrum (early punk bands, obscure funk, British pub rock and the like) I wouldn't be surprised to learn a shipton of Seventies music was still recorded and performed with flatwounds. After all, new Fender basses still shipped with flats up to 1983!

Maybe but I'd be surprised and I bought a Ric in 1977 that came new with flats, they were off the thing and Rotos were on within ten minutes of my getting it home. Manufacturers were (as always) way behind the eight ball. Most players here in the U.S, switched over to Rotosounds during the early 70's, I know I did and still use them with a rather long excursion into flats during the early 2000's. I have La Bellas flats on one or two of my basses now but Rotos are my number one for anything, throw a mute under them and they sound just like flats with more mids, in fact they're great for funk like that.