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why don't music stores put flats on their basses?

#21
DionClassic said:
Hey guys,
I was just at a few music stores and was looking to try out some p basses. There were about 6 or 7 to choose from and none of them had flats. I know they are more expensive but I feel like many people like the p bass flats combo... why not slap on at least one? This is up in Canada so maybe that's just here.

do you guys have similar experiences with the lack of flat equipped basses at music stores?
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It's not the store. but the manufacture. The on;y bass I know of is the Steve Harris sig. P bass from fender and it should come with RotoSound Steve Harris Flats (r-77s) But they don't. Fender puts rounds on it. Fenders fretless basses come stock with flats though.

They leave on the bass what can in on the bass. Used They leave the strings on them what they came in with.
I don't blame them for not having a bass pre strung, with flats. But I'db happy if they stocks some flat strings.
 
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#23
Jazz Ad said:
You mean the guy who changes his flats before every show to make sure they sound super bright?
I'd be surprised if more than 1% of bass players use flats.
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If less than one percent of players used flats, I doubt they'd make them anymore. Again, money. I realize it's weighted heavily towards the rounds side, but less than one percent? Where's your source for that? Or are you guessing?
Edit: It'd be foolish to make strings that only one percent of users used. It's got to be more 20-80 split. That's a guess though. Just based on what kind of money generated would make a company still invest time in a product. I doubt they'd make them for the sake of nostalgia.
 
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#24
ShallowBayXI said:
Coming from a round user, this is how I feel when basses are strung with flats... I was at GC and they had two nitro satins, both strung with flats. Had no idea if I liked them or not. And I play upright too, so it's not that I hate them in general lol... I just don't like the sound for my playing style.
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to no offense to anyone I personally find flats dull just my opinion and I am no expert I just know what I like in my stack
 
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#28
My hypothesis: The average ' dude/ dudette' that picked up a bass with flats would exclaim " What the f..k", and quickly, due to the experience being so foreign to him/her, put down the bass stating " That was f__kn' weird" and go on to the next bass with rounds. That said, the sensibilities of a ' newbie', as reflected by bass' being stocked in most retail music stores, do appear to be the focus of having the familiar rounds on the bass offerings. Sadly, not a World reflective of TalkBass citizens I think! ;) Marc
 
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#29
Unless you're talking about a rather high end shop or a factory showroom like the new Warwick/Framus showroom that opened in Nashville (I was there today; its AWESOME), instruments come out of the box and go onto the wall however they were when they got to the store. Most general music stores don't have the skills to do set ups on everything that goes on the wall. That's doubly true for big stores like GC.
 
#33
OEW3 said:
Almost every bassist I know uses flats. I know that's not the whole world, or even close, just the dudes I happen to know, but it always surprises me to get that reality slap.
P.S. Flats work GREAT for metal!
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None of the bassists I've met personally, or seen on stage locally use flats. Only old dudes (i.e my age) have even heard of tapewounds that I like, and then only from some old instrument back in the day.

The last two (young) bass players I talked to have coated round wounds, one red, the other fluorescent green. I briefly tried the green stringed bass and it was like playing barbed wire.
 
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#34
Fender basses did ship with flats in the mid 1970s.

For all the hoo-ha about flats on TB, even the polls here on TB show that about 10% claim to religiously use flats.

I've used everything, and now... well, just use pretty much any old brand of nickel-round, and change them every two to seven years, more or less.

Works for me. :)
 
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#35
/\/\3phist0 said:
Only old dudes would buy them.
You can't slap them or play metal with flats.
The stores need to sell cabs with tweeters. .
Hiding....
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Haha, no need to hide from me at least, I`m with you. Nothing like the responsiveness of a nice new zingy set of rounds through a cab with HF horn, you can always turn the highs down but you can`t go the other way. Why stop there and I`ll chuck in a " boring `ol P Bass " comment as well. Me hiding now too lol.
 
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#36
It's about what kind of music you play and how you understand "sitting in the mix" ... in my opinion there's no place for zingy piano-like tones in a blues or classic rock band for instance, the band will sound much better when the bass has flats or tapewounds that hold the bottom end nicely while leaving plenty of free air and uncluttered high end for the other instruments to be heard. Other genres or solo work may require a different choice of strings.
 
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#37
Honestly, I've only met a few bassist who prefer flats, one in college ,another a friend of mine and that's it... Even my bass teachers in college preferred rounds( these were mostly jazz players too)... I accidentally bought a set once, I just hated it, they felt sticky in my hands, the tone was just dull, even on upright I prefer "gut" strings....

I never realized how popular they were until I got on TB, maybe its the new, hip thing i missed out on, I mean if that's your thing great but count me out, I just don't get it!! Even more than tone its the feel i don't like...id consider em if i played Motown or oldies, but more than likely id just dial back my tone knob...

Also, I was very shocked when I heard Steve Harris used flats considering how clanky his tone is....also I'm pretty sure jaco used rounds...

to OP, i really think its a cost thing and alot of things popular here aren't so much outside this forum!!
 
#38
When I bought my TBird at the local GC recently it came with rounds, as did all of the other basses hanging on the wall. Immediately after getting it I had the tech do a complete setup with chromes. We A/B my bass with the chromes and the TBird on the wall with rounds through the same store amp and liked the sound of the chromes. One of the other customers in the store who was listening to us commented on how good the flats sounded. When I finally got the Trace Elliot amp that I wanted and was able to experiment with lots of different EQ and preamp settings, I was able to get a quite versatile rig. Maybe the problem is that rounds have been around so long and have become the norm, so that some people who may like the sound of flats never really have the chance to hear them or feel how different they are to play. I think it would be a great service if stores like GC could at least have a few basses strung with flats for people to listen to and try out.
 
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