Why do so many players love flats?

[RVRSCO]

I’m interested in why so many bassists love using flats as a posed to rounds.

For me personally, I have never really enjoyed using flats on any of basses. I could never get used to the feel or find a decent tone with them.

So, do you use flats, rounds, both, something else?

 

[Lenny JG]

Sound great and last forever.

I use both. Depends on the bass.

 

[Al Rivera]

I like flavor in my bass tone.....I use roto 66 roundwounds, and adjust my tone knob if I need some thump.

 

[RattleSnack]

I play rounds, they are perfect when they lose that factory bright zing.
As for flats, tried them and didn't like them. I guess everyone grew up on different music and has different sound in their head.
By the way, I dissagree that "so many players" love flats. I know only one guy who uses them as main string choice.

 

[HelpImaRock]

I like rounds on guitar, but I've always hated them on bass. Flats feel right.

 

[Ghastly]

The tone sounds better to my ears when using flats, but mostly I use flats (sometimes tape-wounds) because I don't like the extra noise from round wounds.

 

[blastoff99]

Anytime a thread starts with "I know I'm opening a can of worms here," it's acknowledgement that the thread is dangerously within the vicinity of trolling.

I'll leave it open, but move it to Strings where it belongs. I would anticipate the mods there will have this on a short leash.

 

[JRA]

Why do so many players love flats?
i. do. not. know.


i don't like 'em, but a lot of players i admire and respect use 'em. it's all OK with me: play what you like!

i voted "rounds." TBH: i've ducked into the coated string thing now and then, i like them, too.

edit: i tried the vaunted TI jazz flats = couldn't stand 'em --- sent them to a friend who loves 'em...made us both happy!

 

[220_Hz]

I like the fresh zing of rounds but hate when they break in. I love the sound of broken in flats but hate when they sound new.

flats feel pretty nice to play on when they're broken in, they never give you a rough feeling against the fingers and allow you to play longer because of the smooth texture

 

[Al Rivera]

I play rounds, they are perfect when they lose that factory bright zing.
As for flats, tried them and didn't like them. I guess everyone grew up on different music and has different sound in their head.
By the way, I dissagree that "so many players" love flats. I know only one guy who uses them as main string choice.

Same here,I don't know of any local players in my area using flats,at least in a live situation.

 

[chris_b]

It's the sound.

My Mike Lull PJ5 was strung with rounds when I bought it and I was very happy with the tone. Then a friend, who had also bought a Lull PJ5, came over and his sounded better than mine! After a lot of investigation, I discovered the difference was in the strings. His bass had flats and mine had rounds.

I restrung my bass with GHS Precision flats and the sound improved. . . a lot! A few years later I put TI flats on and the sound improved, again. Flats on a Precision every time for me now. If I don't want the sound of a Precision with flats I break out the Jazz bass. That's strung with NYXL's. Tweeter heaven.

 

[J Wilson]

I just said NO.

 

[MartinB]

Both. I love flats - they sound great, feel great, and last forever. But they don't suit every style of music.

 

[SLO Surfer]

Depends on what the bass likes and what music I’m playing. I have two p basses, one sounds better with flats and one sounds better with rounds. Also depends on the style of music, some styles sound better with flats and some styles sound better with rounds.

My taste in music (listening and performing) has changed over the past 30 years. I used to play mainly active 5-string with rounds, and now I play mostly passive 4-string with flats. I chose ‘both’ in the poll because I still use both rounds and flats, but the bass with flats gets the most stage time.

By the way, I dissagree that "so many players" love flats. I know only one guy who uses them as main string choice.

Hi, I’m SLO Surfer. Now you only know two guys who use flats as their main string choice.

 

[MisterFabulous]

I use different strings on my basses, including flats. My most recent acquisition I just kept what strings it already had. Some basses don't sound good with the strings I had success with on another bass. It depends on the bass, your sonic goals, and your preferences to feel, tension, balance, longevity, etc.

 

[steve_ss]

I have flats on all five of my basses, both fretted and fretless. I like the smooth feeling under my fingers. I actually find the feeling of rounds to be uncomfortable. Also, I'm a really sloppy player and the squeaky noise when I move my fingers makes me cringe. I don't play in a band and I'm not trying to get a certain sound, so tone doesn't matter to me.

 

[jdjk7]

I know…opening a can of worms here, but I am honestly interested in why so many bassists love using flats as a posed to rounds.

For me personally, I have never really enjoyed using flats on any of basses. I could never get used to the feel or find a decent tone with them.

So, do you use flats, rounds, both, something else?

I started using flats because it was more economical for me when I was younger. Now I simply prefer them.
Rounds don't get the same tone, and while many who use flats probably prefer a dark, more muffled sound a la Motown, I like the chunky to clanky midrange they can have. To me the quintessential punk bass tone is flatwound strings played aggressively with a pick with warm to smooth highs, just enough bass, and a lot of mids. The first sessions I recorded with my current band used my Precision Bass with the La Bella '1954 Original' flats set, and through an SVT preamp clone, it sounds heavy as a ton of bricks. Especially with a RAT kicked on.

That said, my first set was D'addario Chromes, and I found those uninspiring. EB Cobalt Flats were pretty good, but now I have instruments with TIs, La Bellas, and Pyramids. I also think Rotosound's monel strings sound pretty good in demos, but I don't have any. For most of my playing career I have only used flatwounds, but this past year I've gotten back into rounds with my newest bass with the Rotosound Ultramag set. I don't really want zinginess in my rounds; I want midrange. So I went with that particular set.

 

[fdeck]

I like the tone. Having the same feel as cello and upright bass is an additional bonus.

 

[SteveCS]

Your survey options might give you a false impression of tastes. 'Flats' covers a lot of ground these days. There are the Monel flats of yesteryear, and there are modern flats where the only thing flat about them is the feel. d'Addario Chromes are one example of a non-flat 'flat' that pushes the definition, then you have EB Cobalt Flat, that totally break the mould. I would rather bore my eyes put with a spoon than play Monels, but Cobalt Flat are game-changers for me. Both flats...

 

[klejst]

Rounds for regular scale, flats for short scale in my opinion.