Warm And Smooth Sounding Flats

[Father Gino]

If you don’t like low tension, then the TIs are a no go. That’s a shame because otherwise they would seem to fit the bill nicely. I have LaBella 360 fls on a P and I like them for the quintessential flats on a P thing a la Jamerson, Dunn, George Porter. I think the decay is not such a big issue if you lighten up your plucking. When you dig in for the growl and thump, both will decay pretty fast.
I personally really like the TIs on my J bass and I’m thinking of trying them on the P. I can thump and growl digging in. The digging has to be controlled as too much sounds like poo. I can also play with a light touch and get warm & smooth. I think they thump nicely too, but it took months for them to break in to get there. The TIs don’t have the same authority in the low end as the Labellas. They’re all about mids in a good way to my thinking: always very well defined.

 

[Altitude]

EB Cobalt Flats are the brightest and the most roundwound-like in their tonal character. "Warm and smooth" they are not.

If D'A Chromes are "way too bright" for the OP, EB Cobalt Flats probably are not the right thing.

Yes. Cobalts are for diehard roundwound guys who need a gateway flat. Like me, really.

I have a certain bass that is a Jazz bass and I want the sort of J tone you get from a roundwound. This bass is very bright by nature though and in 15 years of owning it I never quite found a roundwound that wasn’t edgy and clicky on this bass - even Pressurewounds, maybe the mellowest of rounds, sound much brighter than they should on this bass.

Cobalt Flats have been the answer - they are pretty much the very next step down from bright compared to Pressurewounds. But they are flat wound, so there’s less string noise and a smoother feel.

Frankly if I were looking for a thumpy 60s P vibe I would choose something else.

 

[Phaidrus]

Here's a demo of the Ernie Ball Group II flats.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

GHS Precision Flats. They will suit your needs, perfectly. The sound of chocolate, and smooth as glass!

 

[TomB]

ah I am mistaken. Is it their non-cobalt ones that are more thumpy?

EB “Group” flats are fairly warm, medium stiffness under the fingers, and also retain some mid-bite after break-in. I find them pretty similar to Dunlops, though I think the Dunlops are a bit softer under the fingers. Both have a certain amount of thump after break-in, but not to the Labella extent.

 

[Killing Floor]

I play TI on my fretted flats basses and LaBella DTF on my fretless basses. I find the LaBella more warm. YMMV

 

[bassobrutto]

Dunlops 45-105 are very smooth and warm sounding when they break in a bit. They also have a bit more definition than LaBella, GHS, and other more "old school" sets. Softer feel but not too loose. Good for all kinds of music.

 

[Bassiclees]

Warmest flats I have is a tie between D'Addario Tapes and La Bella STB's with the edge going to the DaD's however YMMV.

 

[groovepump]

One more vote for Precision Flats, if you want a thump and defined fundamental.

The LaBella flats are silky smooth-- no roughness. Not cheese-graters. How do GHS flats compare? I'm curious to try them (if they're not finger slicers)

 

[buldog5151bass]

The LaBella flats are silky smooth-- no roughness. Not cheese-graters. How do GHS flats compare? I'm curious to try them (if they're not finger slicers)

I've never tried the LaBellas, but the GHSs are smooth - like flats.

 

[BassyFred]

Tis have a long break-in period. If you try them, you should play them at least some weeks before judging.

 

[BobDeRosa]

Add my vote for GHS Precision Flats.

 

[coy garcia]

I'm surprised you didn't get along with either of your original string choices. My chromes mellow after about a week of woodshed and I just roll off the highs if I think it sounds too bright.

 

[pbass2]

So what strings should I try. I know labella's are popular but from what I herd they have a somewhat undefined E string and a fast decay which is why I haven't tried them yet. other than that any suggestions would be appreciated.

I think at some point in your flatwound journey it behooves you to try Labellas - they really do have the "classic" sound. Whether that translates to "smooth" to you would remain to be seen. The last thing I'd call the low E (or any of the strings) on them is undefined. That sounds more like a bass-dependent phenomenon. My P's and J with Labellas are primarily used for recording, and they do that "thing"--they sound totally balanced and clear in the mix with a very defined fundamental, both finger and pickstyle. As for the decay, that will be somewhat dependent on the gauge I'd say. Over the last 10-15 years I have transitioned from the heavy-as-heck Jamerson set, to FMs, to FS (45-105). I still need to use a foam mute with the FS's when I want to approximate that really retro thud.

 

[Gyver]

GHS Precision Flats might be worth a try. Woody warmth with focused punch, I particularly like the light set (45-60-75-95) on my P bass for their tonal balance. The 95E is clean and clear with very good note definition and it doesn't get muddy like the La Bella 104E I once tried on this particular bass. Punchy without being thuddy.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

What I thought immediately, and your first response - there you go!

 

[CochinoBass]

I had Chromes on my 4003 and they were way too bright. I tried D'Addario nylon tapewounds and they were better, but not what I was looking for. The nylons are warm, but also have a "ring" to them on top that is different than regular flats. Finally I put Optima RBs on it and it is exactly what I wanted.

On my P bass, I had EB Cobalts, and they were cool unique, as people have said, they are VERY bright and have a cool grind to them, very round wound sounding. Now it has La Bella 760FS 45-105s on it and they are perfect for what I want from the P. They are fairly new (less than 2 months) so they still have a fair amount of zing to them, but they have already started to settle down.

I tried D'Addario nylons on my '67 Rivoli also, but they were not high enough tension, though they did sound good. Now it has La Bella 760FM-S 49-109s and they are perfect for that bass.

I have not tried them, I think the GHS Precision flats, or either the 43-104 or 45-105 La Bellas are what you are looking.

 

[devnulljp]

I really like the DR flats, Thomastik is da bomb, just bought a set of Ernie Ball flats as that was all that was available, so will report back once I've had to use them.

 

[CochinoBass]

I'll add that the Optima RBs are reproductions of the strings that came on 60s and 70s Rickenbacker basses, but they would sound great on anything else also, I have read many good reviews of people using them on other basses besides Rics.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

The only flats I truly detest are D'Addario Chromes. They're way too bright/clanky/metallic sounding for my taste and they never really break in. They just do dead in a bad way. They're also rather stiff and unrepsonsive, totally lacking the "bounce" I want from a good set of flats. No wonder you didn't like them. I honestly don't understand how anyone can like those strings. To me they're like the worst of roundwounds combined with the worst of flats but we all have different taste I guess...

If you don't like low tension flats your should definitely NOT get the Optima RB flats that several posters have recommended. These strings are considerably lower tension and more floppy than the strings you've already tried. The same goes for TI flats, also very low tension. Sometimes I wonder if people actually bother to read more than two words before making such poor recommendations. I mean, they're very good strings but when the OP specifically don't want low tension strings they're extremely poor choices.

Optima Chromes on the other hand... I think you might really like those. They're not overly harsh/bright like D'Addario Chromes and not quite as dark/thumpy as LaBella or GHS. Optima Chromes have a lovely balanced tone and nice "bouncy" dynamics without getting quite as thumpy as LaBella/GHS. The E-string is also more defined and has slightly better sustain than those two.

Personally I like both lower tension "modern" flats like TI flats and old school flats like LaBella. It all depends on the song/genre and what kind of tone/vibe I'm going for. But I think Optima Chromes might just be the perfect "middle of the road" choice for you, based on your description.

 

[tekhedd]

Yes. Cobalts are for diehard roundwound guys who need a gateway flat. Like me, really.

They're great for cover band bass: harmonics and some sustain for modern tone, but with palm mute they attack like a flat.

The negative: they sound AWFUL when they go dead. I mean, the tonal balance is fine, but if they ever clank against the frets it's bad. Like, an awful upper-mid peaky clank (2k-ish) that makes any speaker sound cheap. This harmonic even sounds bad if I just dig in hard fingerstyle and it's mediocre with a pick. I mean, they're Balls, so you'd expect great tone + short life, and that's what you get. I mean, short for flats, it's about normal for rounds. Not a good choice for "old flats" tone.

So, yes, Cobalts are great for crossover tone. (Wait, am I saying they're the best flats for metal?) Definitely the opposite of what OP is asking for.