What's your take on flats?

[MoeTown1986]

My take on flats...
I’ve hated them since day one. I keep going back and trying other brands only to take them off and go back to rounds. I’ve tried Dunlop’s, chromes, la Bella’s, fenders, and Ernie balls. They all had their own pros and cons. The Dunlop’s were my only flats that actually made it on a bass to a handful of gigs. I liked their tension and their tone. Still felt like they were just missing “it”.

Last weekend I scored a custom shop 59 relic precision that came with TI jazz flats. I get it now. I like flats. THOSE flats. All the beautiful fat mids and the plush feel of the low tension. I always swore I’d never spend that kinda money on a set of strings. I ordered another set a week after getting the CS so I could string up my other P with TI’s.

 

[darwin-bass]

I hate flats so I prefer to run LT tires with 3 ply sidewalls when Jeeping in the mountains.

 

[SteveBassJr]

Mine were on my p bass for a year before i felt good with them.

 

[eyeballkid]

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.

I just did the math. You have 300 basses?!!

 

[Rudyboy98]

I think flats (like any other option in strings) are an option. Although I’ve personally never used them, the instrument itself and the setup are a big factor when choosing any string set. (Unless someone here can verify the setup would not be any different regaoof the string type.)

Then we come to genre. Pop, R&B, Rock, or Jazz...what works in one situation may not necessarily work in the next. Hence the need for many basses, amps, and cabs.

“Ask not what your bass can do for you. Ask what can you you do for your bass!”

 

[drumandstage]

Has anyone used D'Addario ECB81-5 Chromes on a Jackson 5 string? The headstock is crazy long, and it is trouble finding a case for it (taking suggestions on that, too) and I don't want to get strings that won't fit.

 

[Thumpin6string]

If you like the sound of totally dead round wounds then flats are for you. IMHO

 

[Fender_Bender]

There is a third option that many are partial to, which is roundwounds that are a minimum 2 years old.

 

[bkbirge]

Real men string with guts. To those that say an electromagnetic pickup can't detect gut I say you just need to dig in harder.

 

[grimjim]

I just can't get past the feel of flatwounds, like nails on a chalkboard to me.

 

[drumandstage]

Not sure of those replies were aimed at me specifically, but if so my question was regarding string length, not sonic suitability.

I am a drummer taking a break from drumming due to damage to my hands and wrists. I also have relatively short fingers and so I am prone to have a lot of string contact while moving around on the fret board. That is noisy and I don't like it. In the past, Chromes Flat Wounds eased the trouble and I still enjoyed the overall tone of the bass.

Thanks.

 

[michael_t]

It’s a flat AND round world.

(But the earth is round for sure!)

Are you sure about this?

 

[Fender_Bender]

I just can't get past the feel of flatwounds, like nails on a chalkboard to me.

I can see that. They can tend to be a bit sticky and grabby because of the extra contact between fingers and strings.

 

[retslock]

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.

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)

I use both depending on the bass. I’ve found that flats suit some basses better and rounds suit others better. It can be quite a difference at times and finding the best suit can give a bass new life. I don’t slap anymore (gave it away in the ‘80s) and I’m not fond of a bright bass sound so right now my two main players have La Bella tapewound and I may put Chromes back on my custom made bass. They sounded great on that particular bass. The other four all have rounds so I’ve got whatever sound I need available.

 

[AngelCrusher]

Flats are an acquired taste. If you are playing rock and love zing, than you probably won't like them. But if you are in a band that doesn't need that, they just sit in the mix so easily.

i have a Pbass with Chromes and one with Rotos. I use the one with Chromes on most records. It is just so easy to get it right in the mix. There is a huge focus at 100hz, and I really like that sound.

There is something about a P with flats that I love. It is basically a blank canvas that I can do anything to.

That being said, I prefer Rotos on my J bass. So I can see both perspectives.

 

[JGbassman]

I just did the math. You have 300 basses?!!

Take a zero off and you will be in the right ballpark.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Same strings here in the TalkBass store. Same price, free shipping, no tax in most states.
TalkBass.com > Gold Flats > La Bella 760FGS Deep Talkin' Bass Gold Flats - Standard

How's the gold sound compared to other flats?

 

[mpdd]

I like newer ti flats and dying Dunlop nickel rounds, not too vintage and not too snappy.

 

[led4thehed2]

I'm in the P bass with flats group, but that's a recent revelation. To me, that's the sound of electric bass. Period. It's used on so many records I listen to- I hear it all the time now. Even when I played rounds I hated the sound of them brand new, and really liked them after about a year of playing. Other people sound great with rounds, but the sound I wanna hear out of my bass is flats.

 

[hintz]

I just can't get past the feel of flatwounds, like nails on a chalkboard to me.

That was the big one for me, they felt "sticky" and weird to my fingers. I accidentally bought a set of flats years ago and being a broke college student I had to live with them for a few months.(couldn't get rid of them quick enough)

For sound I can see them having a use if you play oldies or in a motown tribute, that's about it.