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What is your favorite flatwound?
- Thread starter Dirk Rockbottom
- Start date
"What is your favorite flatwound. "
What an impossible question! In no particular order, when I think of my faves:
1) Optima Chrome flats ( very highly recommend them )
2) La Bella. All of them.
3) Ernie Ball Group 1 'phone cable' flats.
4) Fender 9050
5) GHS Precision Flats
What an impossible question! In no particular order, when I think of my faves:
1) Optima Chrome flats ( very highly recommend them )
2) La Bella. All of them.
3) Ernie Ball Group 1 'phone cable' flats.
4) Fender 9050
5) GHS Precision Flats
#1 flat wound is TI Flats.
D'Addario Chrome Flats are OK for flat sound with some high end.
IMHO
D'Addario Chrome Flats are OK for flat sound with some high end.
IMHO
Great strings, have them on one of my basses, but not where the OP wants to go tone-wise.GHS Precision Flats, .40-.95. mmmmm
What’s my favorite?
Rickenbacker Maxima flats,(nearing extinction,though).
Labella Low Tension Flexible Flats and Optima’s RB 4440 sets are great and readily available.
They are somewhat similar to TI flats,but i prefer them over the TI’s for feel,playability,and tone.
I do like the sound of Chromes on a couple of my basses,but even with using their lightest gauge i get left (fretting) hand fatique pretty rapidly,
Rickenbacker Maxima flats,(nearing extinction,though).
Labella Low Tension Flexible Flats and Optima’s RB 4440 sets are great and readily available.
They are somewhat similar to TI flats,but i prefer them over the TI’s for feel,playability,and tone.
I do like the sound of Chromes on a couple of my basses,but even with using their lightest gauge i get left (fretting) hand fatique pretty rapidly,
Here's what I've tried:
Chromes: Didn't like them. Too much tension, strangely zingy. I could see that sound working for someone, though.
Dunlop Flats: 40-100s are the go to on my Mustang. These have more high end than many flats, but it's clicky, not zingy. They have a percussive sound on a short-scale. These EQ more easily than my other flats, and feel really smooth. The 40-100s seem a little scooped and sustainy on a full scale bass, but the 45-105 is a nice percussive medium-gauge set. Unlike other brands they don't last forever; they're good for about a year.
La Bella DTF: It's been a while since I've had these. A classic slightly scooped, thumpy sound.
Ernie Ball Slinky (Cobalt): Another set that sounds like rounds to me. I preferred them to Chromes because they sound good at what they do. They lack some of the lower mids I like in a round. I could see this as a really good string for punk, metal and rock pick players who want the definition and attack of a flat on a string that mostly sounds like a round.
GHS Precision Flats: My other favorite. Plumper in the mids than Dunlop or La Bella with a really cool old-school vibe. Not quite as smooth and shiny as Dunlop or LaBella, but smoother than Chromes or Slinkys, and they feel awesome. 45-95 don't feel as skinny as the gauge might lead you to believe, and 45-105 are nice, moderately stout old-school thumpers.
Chromes: Didn't like them. Too much tension, strangely zingy. I could see that sound working for someone, though.
Dunlop Flats: 40-100s are the go to on my Mustang. These have more high end than many flats, but it's clicky, not zingy. They have a percussive sound on a short-scale. These EQ more easily than my other flats, and feel really smooth. The 40-100s seem a little scooped and sustainy on a full scale bass, but the 45-105 is a nice percussive medium-gauge set. Unlike other brands they don't last forever; they're good for about a year.
La Bella DTF: It's been a while since I've had these. A classic slightly scooped, thumpy sound.
Ernie Ball Slinky (Cobalt): Another set that sounds like rounds to me. I preferred them to Chromes because they sound good at what they do. They lack some of the lower mids I like in a round. I could see this as a really good string for punk, metal and rock pick players who want the definition and attack of a flat on a string that mostly sounds like a round.
GHS Precision Flats: My other favorite. Plumper in the mids than Dunlop or La Bella with a really cool old-school vibe. Not quite as smooth and shiny as Dunlop or LaBella, but smoother than Chromes or Slinkys, and they feel awesome. 45-95 don't feel as skinny as the gauge might lead you to believe, and 45-105 are nice, moderately stout old-school thumpers.
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This is always my go to reference video for flats. I use TI flats, La Bella, Chromes and I actually like the Rotosounds for some things.
devnulljp
Supporting Member
Wait til you find out the price of strings for an upright
Much as I like flats, and, considering how many of my 23 basses wear them - I don't really have a "favorite" flatwound. What I have - through much trial and error - are flats that, IMO, work best on a particular bass, for what I like to play on that bass. With so many basses, "versatile" isn't much of a consideration around here. Anyway... which bass wears which flats?
- '01 Rickenbacker 4003. It wears the Optima RB flats.
- '73 Rickenbacker 4001. It's starting to develop the neck problem that plagues older Ricks. So, I need super low tension strings - the La Bella Low Tension Flexible Flats.
- '78 P-Bass. GHS Precision Flats (and a mute in the bridge cover).
- '91 Danelectro DC59 Pro. La Bella 760FX flats (39-96) for this one.
- '95 Alembic Epic. Italian Dogal R44's (42-100).They seem to suit the Alembic very well...
- '17 Gibson Thunderbird. Roto RS 77s on this bad boy.
- '94 Gretsch Broadkaster. It's wearing the Fender 9050Ls that the P-Bass used to wear.
- '18 Danelectro Longhorn. Again, the La Bella 769FXs. I'm not sure I like the tension - or lack of it ...
- '18 Warmoth Mini-Precision. GHS Precision Flats, like it's big brother...
- '71 Epiphone EA-260. It still wears the La Bella 760FLs it wore when I got it, and I hear absolutely no reason to replace them.
- '15 Eastwood Magnum. EB Slinky Flatwounds (formerly "Cobalt Flats").
- '88 Kramer Forum III. It's currently stringless (customization/restoration). It had Chromes on it when I got it. It'll wear them again...
- '78 Kramer 450B. Optima 4099RLs.
- '18 Eastwood Flying V bass. La Bella 760FLs.
- '15 G&L Custom Shop (no lefty, otherwise) Tom Hamilton signature ASAT bass. I put the old Chromes from the Forum III on it.
- '06 Carvin LB-20. It's set up BEAD, with the 65-135 strings from a set of Roto RS 77s.
- '03 Starfire violin bass. Another set of La Bella 760FLs.
And, that's pretty much it. My other basses wear tapes, or rounds. Either because (like my other T-Bird and Dano DC59) they contrast nicely with the flats; or, I just like the sound of them on that bass...
You’re a lefty?
If you are, could you post some pics of some or all of your herd?
Back to the OP’s original question. I use GHS Precision Flats and love them for old school thumpy sound.
As for TI Jazz Flats in my case the E string snapped on installation. No more TI for me. At $65/set I can’t afford that mistake again.
Plus after that I started hearing about how low tension they are and that isn’t something I want either. Floppy bass strings suck!About that video posted on page 2. I liked the sounds of the LaBella DTF and the Fender 9050L most and in that order.
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I’ve been a dihard DR Legend user/advocate for many years. I just put on a set of Galli. Nice even definition. A little less slam than DRs.
The Gallis?These are one of the only flats I haven't tried! They're on my short list...
D'Addario Chrome's- Question is how long do we leave them on? My P bass has the same set from 5yrs ago. Remembering when I changed them the "new brighter" sound didn't last very long maybe 3 months. They still sound good. I can't imagine swamping out $40 flats for flats very often.
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I first started with Fender Roundwound strings that came with my first P bass knockoff around 1977(Univox). I hated them out of the box. So I switch to Ernie Ball's. Didn't like them either. And I was seriously hating the Cheese Grater effect on my fingers. That's when I discovered RotoSound 66's around 1979. Much better tone and finger feel, but still tough on my fingers practicing and jamming for hours. Then I learned about RotoSound 77's. It flipped everything for me. Suddenly I could play more expressively and with less damage to my shredded finger tips. Over the years I got to try other round and flat wound brands, but always returned to my 77's. You pay a premium for them, but they are premium strings. You get what you pay for.
I use different flats for different situations. And a set of flats can sound different when strung on different basses. I found a few brands of flats I liked and got them matched to the right basses (IMO).
Some basses just don't like flats at all. I have a Yamaha BB-414 that hid under the bed and cried when I put flats on it, but when I restrung it with rounds, it was completely reborn.
Brands I like: LaBella, Thomastik, D'Addario, Sadowsky, DR, (used to like Rotosounds but something happened to the quality)
Also like tapewounds of various brands.
Also like groundwounds, Pressurewounds, Half Rounds, etc.
Flatwound brands I don't like: Dean Markley, GHS, Fender (I'll edit the post if I can think of a few others).
The Chromes don't sound great on a resonant bass, like a hollowbody. But they sound decent on something like a P Bass, especially after they are broken in and have lost the zing.
If you can learn to like Chromes, they are often the only flatwound string that you can walk into a music store and buy off the rack. The designated generic people's choice.
Some basses just don't like flats at all. I have a Yamaha BB-414 that hid under the bed and cried when I put flats on it, but when I restrung it with rounds, it was completely reborn.
Brands I like: LaBella, Thomastik, D'Addario, Sadowsky, DR, (used to like Rotosounds but something happened to the quality)
Also like tapewounds of various brands.
Also like groundwounds, Pressurewounds, Half Rounds, etc.
Flatwound brands I don't like: Dean Markley, GHS, Fender (I'll edit the post if I can think of a few others).
The Chromes don't sound great on a resonant bass, like a hollowbody. But they sound decent on something like a P Bass, especially after they are broken in and have lost the zing.
If you can learn to like Chromes, they are often the only flatwound string that you can walk into a music store and buy off the rack. The designated generic people's choice.
