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

[groooooove]

Because most people would assume the bass was broken if they plugged it in and played it. Seriously.

yup. i remember my first time playing flats. wanted no part of it.

they're also way too expensive, and are by a long shot not the standard string these days.

 

[Gorn]

I agree that Fender should sell their vintage re-issues with period correct strings.

I agree that for these particular basses and only these particular basses, they should absolutely use period correct strings, which would have been flats. (Right? Did they actually ship with flats? I think they did but I'm not sure.)

 

[brianrost]

I hope someone else already mentioned that whatever was on the bass when it shipped from the factory is what's on the bass. And 99.9% of the time that is roundwounds.

Used basses they may not restring until there is a buyer, then they put on whatever set the buyer wants.

Most stores will restring for a serious buyer to try out.

 

[nerkoids]

Rounds make the bassist sound good.
Flats make the band sound good.

Both make the music sound good.

 

[JimmyM]

Silly thread. When I bought my first bass, they all came with flats. Soon after, it was obvious that bassists were going predominantly with rounds so they switched. If flats were that popular now, they'd switch back. They're not. Not even close. Sales of rounds GREATLY outstrip sales of flats. That's just the way it is.

 

[nerkoids]

AFA the flats to rounds ratio -- yes flats are making a comeback. En force, as we say in French. You are beginning to hear it a lot more on recordings and in small intimate live performances. My theory is not just because of fashion or nostalgia, but the easier access of affordable instruments. Often, you'll find a bassist who brings a couple of the same basses (or similar basses) one with rounds, the other with flats.

 

[FretNoMore]

I agree that for these particular basses and only these particular basses, they should absolutely use period correct strings, which would have been flats. (Right? Did they actually ship with flats? I think they did but I'm not sure.)

Maybe it would be interesting to a small number of buyers, but I would guess these instruments are mostly used for other music than they were when they were new, so roundwounds are probably a better choice.

 

[Kukulkan61]

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....

Wow really,I'll bet you I can play any genre of music with flats,I can even slap with flats and if you lose the bet ,which you will,you will need to put flats on all your basses...

 

[jamro217]

Because, other than on TB, most people don't use them, and wouldn't like the additional tension, and because the bass would need a new setup. Also, because they are strung with rounds at the factories, and it is silly to change them for minority players. You play for the odds, and way over 90% of bassists use rounds. Mostly, though, it's money. Whenever a question starts with, "why don't they..." The answer is almost always, "money." In this case, rounds are a ton cheaper, especially when they are purchased in bulk, and you only need to do one setup instead of having every bass strung differently, and thus needing a different setup.

Right you are. How silly is it to set up basses in preparation to sell them to bassists? No. Better jack the prices through the roof so that Mom and Dad won't know little Johnny is getting porked out of hundreds of bucks for a student instrument at Big Box Basses, Inc. Seriously, retailers don't really care enough for details to cater to their customers. Doesn't matter what the product is. The customer is just some annoying turd you have to put up with in order to obtain the Almighty Dollar.

 

[Kukulkan61]

I just don't see how flats are expensive as a lot of people are saying here,I get Chromes for 21.00 a set and you save money in the long run because you rarely change them,put a set of flats on and your golden for years,try that with rounds,you'll be changing them as soon as their dead,flats get better as they deaden....

 

[jamro217]

It's not just basses. When was the last time you saw a new car come with a full sized spare tire instead of a donut? The cost is all that matters, screw the customer.

 

[organworthyplayer337]

i played one with flats at GC

 

[Dluxe]

I'm old enough to remember wishing more basses in stores came with rounds! My 1976 Gibson G-3 came stock with Gibson Monel Flats. Wish they still made them. Came in a sturdy orange box!

 

[Joshua Pickenpaugh]

Interesting thread. Nearly every fretless bass that had an non-coated FB, that I've played in a music store in the past several years, has had flats. I guess the price of a set of flats offsets the price of repairing a notched-up FB.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I just don't see how flats are expensive as a lot of people are saying here,I get Chromes for 21.00 a set and you save money in the long run because you rarely change them,put a set of flats on and your golden for years,try that with rounds,you'll be changing them as soon as their dead,flats get better as they deaden....

A set of Fender 4 string rounds is $15, and that's the consumer price. Fender flats are $26. That $11 difference adds up over a lot of basses shipped, of course their difference will be less. If they can save $5 per bass, they will. But I think the deeper reason is that there is no real advantage to shipping with flats. People who like flats know what they sound like. People auditioning basses are going to end up slapping and rounds sound better when slapped. The brighter string will win just like they max out the brightness and contrast when selling TVs in the electronics section.

 

[Camaro69]

You all realize the primary store involved in this thought process for most is GC.

You know, the store that will steal a $1 knob off an American Standard and put the bass back on the hanger, sans knob.
Not going to spend an extra $5 anywhere...

 

[MultiScaleMale]

You all realize the primary store involved in this thought process for most is GC.

You know, the store that will steal a $1 knob off an American Standard and put the bass back on the hanger, sans knob.
Not going to spend an extra $5 anywhere...

I've never seen flats on a bass at *any* store with the exception of the occasional used bass. Most of those knobs and batteries are stolen by customers.

 

[wmhill]

I ran a mom & pop music shop back in the 90s. The first thing I'd do when getting a used bass in was a fresh set of round wounds on it (and a set up). That sold more basses for me than anything else. In fact, a pretty good local player traded his bass in towards another one, and a week later came in and heard his old bass with fresh strings, bought it back. In 5 years of operation, I never sold a set of flats or was even asked about em.

 

[Kmonk]

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?

Most bassists use rounds. The vast majority of basses are shipped to stores with rounds already on them. Why would a music store cut into their profit margin by changing the strings to flats? When you consider what the store pays for strings, plus the labor to change them and multiply that times the number of basses in the store, it would cost them thousands of dollars per year. These additional costs would then be passed on to the consumer and people would be complaining about higher prices.

 

[groovatron]

I love the sound of flats just like I love the sound of a pbass.........about 10% of the time

Seriously, if I was in a successful national touring act with a tech and tractor trailer, I'd have him run a 60s Pbass with flats on it out to me at least once a show.

If there was a switch on my bass to turn the strings flat, I'd flip it from time to time for sure

If I was in a Meters cover band, then I could get away with flats 100% of the time