What's your take on flats?

[Gremson]

It seems to me that a great majority of TB'ers love flatwound strings. In the basses forum, a lot of folks seem to comment how much better a bass would be if it were strung with flats. Yet, it seems like just about every bass found in the wild has roundwounds on it.
I'm not biased in any direction. I think either type has their merit, but I'm curious if you feel flats or roundwound strings are superior to another and why.

 

[two fingers]

I think you are misreading the situation.

Most fans of flats are somewhat enthusiastic about them. So they speak up about them more. Fans of rounds tend to jist see rounds as "normal strings". So they aren't quite as vocal about their favorites.

I mostly prefer rounds for versatility.

That being said, I have one P bass strung with Chromes (D'Addario flats) and it does sound amazing. But it's somewhat of a one trick pony. It's a great trick. But I mostly play covers in variety bands. I need to be able to go from really bright and zingy to much more subdued tones. Rounds cover more sonic ground.

Short version: There's no one "better" string for all kinds of music. If I'm going into the studio, you better believe I'm taking basses strung with bith kinds and choosing which one works best for each track.

But live I need to grab one bass and play all kinds of music. So rounds usually get the nod.

 

[JGbassman]

Neither are superior, just different. I'm a stainless steel roundwound guy for about 99% of the basses I have, but still having such a love for RW strings I still have three basses strung with flats that just sound perfect and I would never even think about changing the strings to rounds.

Those basses are a '55 p bass replica, a '60's style jazz bass, and a wonderful sounding older p bass with a rosewood fingerboard.

I can't see either being more important than the other. One nice thing about flats is I don't have to change strings as often as I do with rounds.

 

[soulman969]

Rounds are less expensive which is why current basses come with them stock and some never depart from them. That wasn't always the case. In the '60s fewer rounds existed and all Fender Basses I ever played new came with flats.

Flats on a PBass for certain genre are terrific. It's the sound of Motown, Memphis Soul, and a whole lot of tunes Carol Kaye played on in LA with The Wrecking Crew. On my Jazz Bass I prefer pressure wounds and they would also work well on a PBass.

My 5 string has mellower rounds so depending on what the job calls for I've go my bases covered. (no pun intended)

 

[Blaze Barlow]

I have a 1981 Gibson Victory Artist bass that I have strung with chromes..DA flats..the instrument is valuable to me and I like to reduce fret and fingerboard wear while still getting a superlative sound..I am playing fingerstyle..and I am using an external pre amp before my bass head..so I am able to get any kind of sound that I want..I have roundwounds on my fender jazz..

 

[mbasile]

I have two bass (a PJ and a J) strung with Chromes. I love ‘em so much that I’m looking for a workhorse P to wear them as well. Of course, I also have a P and J-ish with rounds for standard stuff.

 

[oren]

I just came from a straight ahead jazz gig playing my fretless Sire Jazz with TI flats - and it sounded great! I have flats on three of my five electrics (vintage P, Godin fretless) and, of course, my upright. Not right for everything, but they work for a wider variety of situations than one might suppose.

 

[Castrinato]

All I’ve used were flats for the past ten or so years barring the occaisonal curious dip into the roundwound pool. I find chromes to be the most versatile string and the ones I probably use the most, I’ve had GHS strings on my pbass for about three years now for the classic flat sound.
I’m actually planning on trying some nickel loriders for my Precision with GZRs this week.

 

[Aidil]

You're right on either type has their merit. Neither is superior. This is why we need more than 1 bass.

 

[Christine]

I have flats on a Gibson Tbird, EB cobalts, I love the almost vintage sound they make and I love to smoothness against my fingers when I run down the neck. They make me feel the need for a fretless

 

[Wulfensteiner]

To me? I can't escape it. Flats of the finest quality, straight from the pack, sound like dead rounds. Nice and all, but I gots no use for them.

 

[smtp4me]

I personally have never liked flats. I don't like bass tone that sounds like a dull thud, but that's just me.

 

[Haroldo]

I string both ways.......

 

[skygzr]

I played rounds for about forty years. Then I tried some flats and that’s all I use now. I get all the treble I want. YMMV.

I love the way they feel under my fingers and there’s no SQUEEEEEEK.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I only play flats. I prefer the sound, and much prefer the feel. But... I play fretless, and I don't like an overly bright bass sound.

 

[Pier_]

I don't like bass tone that sounds like a dull thud, but that's just me.

that happens when you prefer the guitar just kidding!

It seems to me that a great majority of TB'ers love flatwound strings.

as mentioned by others, it's mostly because these days flats are not the "standard" (although they "came back" a few year ago and now every brand makes flats), and since the 80's the "bass sound" shifted from the thick woody sound of flats to the bright and metallic sound of rounds.

so it's a bit normal that those in love with flats tend not just to be enthusiastic, but to spread the love; thanks to this, now every brand makes flats, some even in different ways, and they are not back on the shelves with new models, new attitudes and research results, like the "low tension flats" based on the Thomastik design.

it all depends on what you want and need.

generally people tend to think that flats are just dull sounding strings, but probably they never used them in the band mix, to find out that they don't need the upper highs to "shine through", and that flats have the perfect frequencies to stay exactly where the bass is supposed to be in most music genres, between the drum and the guitars.

rounds have more highs and basses, and give a metallic sound which sometimes is hard to separate from the guitars, and with too much basses and few mids sometimes it's just a "wooof" in the background; if the band needs that, it's perfect.

in my experience is easier to play with flats in a band mix without the need of equalization and much work, they are more "plug & play" in most situations, until you really need the metallic highs or the scooped mids that flats can't give.

these days flats are coming back even because many bands are using them, researching a "vintage" sound, like for example Bruno Mars bassist, which also slaps on flats.
in many "indie" bands flats are now the standard, because they sound vintage and smooth.

IMHO one should just try and understand what it's better for the situation: right now I have a Jazz strung with Labella 52-110 flats, a Gibson SG reissue with D'Addario nickel rounds and another SG Reissue with D'Addario Chromes.

they give me different sounds for different situations.

 

[michael_t]

I'm no longer a "flatwound enthusiast" I once was; I now look at them as just another tool in the tool box. Different tools for different jobs.

It's been several months since I used flats, but now that I've just acquired my third bass (an active 5-string), I will be putting flats on my P bass just so I'll have the option for that sound when I need it.

To me there is no such thing as "rounds vs. flats" any more.

 

[sigterm]

I like flats for certain styles, and had them on my 58 reissue P for a while but I felt like they put too much stress on my neck, it was bowing more than I'd expect from winter blues. I just put an old set of rounds on it and like it just the same for those styles. Seems it's more personal preference and with some tonal difference that may not even matter to the player.

Give them a try and see on a cheap set (as opposed to TI flats)

 

[4001]

I don't like flatwounds.
Rotosound RS 66LD stainless steel roundwounds for me.

 

[bigmikebass]

If you have at least two basses, have both options. Sometimes when in the studio, just changing the way a bass feels makes all the difference.

I agree with michael_t, it's not a versus thing anymore.

It’s a flat AND round world.

(But the earth is round for sure!)