dmc79

This is a cheap experiment for now, Dunlop flats are £80 !

Thanks. Looks sound & has great feedback, should be fine

My curiosity has got the better of me. Ordered some Fender 9050L flats, cheaper than Pressurewounds at just £35 with postage from a music shop on eBay. Any tips for stringing flats, as I’ve never done them before? I believe it’s worth cleaning them all with an alcohol wipe before first play, does this sound right?

Thanks for the tip off about the EB Group sets and their prices. I'll add these to the shortlist (3 or 2.5), they are on that shootout video I posted, and sound quite similar to the Fenders. If they are bright and smooth then I imagine I'd like them. It's news to me that some flats are smoother than others, I kind of thought they'd all feel ultra smooth, and that was sort of the point of them. Apparently the Roto 77s are not very smooth at all. In that video I'm a little surprised how dull and dark the (slightly worn in) Chromes sound - I always thought these were meant to be some of the brighter flats. Maybe they are for a while but die off quickly? Actually the Groups sound a bit more well rounded - bright & with some character, but not quite as grindy & middy as the Fenders. May end up trying both.

Thanks for this detailed summary. I rarely go above the 12th fret, so I doubt that would be an issue really. It's most likely that I will try the Fender 9050L first, based on what I've heard in demos and read about them.

One last video for now. I keep coming back to this one. This has La Bella DTB but not LTF. Again the Fenders sound good to me (1:06 & 2:47):

Well I really love the 9050 here. They’re in the blind test results at 1:48 (sorry for revealing!), and with tone wide open with pick at 7:24 where they sound exactly like what I want. He states that these are all slightly worn in flats. This also features La Bella LTF but not DTB.

Many thanks for the detailed reply. The more videos I watch, the more I like the Fender 9050. I guess this isn’t the cup of tea of many flat users, but the sound of these with tone fully open, with both fingers & pick, is the closest so far to the kind of sound I’m wanting, kind of growly but without the finger noise of rounds. 3:43 (after he removes the foam!) - 5:00

Hi all, I'm considering my first foray into flats after playing rounds for about 25 years. In the last year or two, I got sick of the zingy break-in period, cheese grater feel & finger noise of nickel plated steel rounds, and have been playing rollerwound GHS Pressurewounds since. I'd say they are the best strings I've played to date - I love the considerably reduced finger squeak, and smoother than NPS rounds feel, but I'm wondering if they will become a gateway into proper flats. My 'E' is rather dead, and I'd like to reduce (well, more remove really!) the string noise even on these and go even smoother. So I figure it's as good a time as any to try some flats. I play a 4 string Precision (top load bridge), through a Tone Hammer DI (AGS on), into IEMs. I play 2/3 pick, 1/3 fingers. I don't gig in the traditional sense, I mainly play in a church worship band. More contemporary than traditional - the usual Hillsong / Bethel / Elevation type stuff for those who are familiar - the bass on which can be quite gritty on many songs. I like to have a touch of grit from the THDI, but minus the finger screech that gets worse with every slight clockwise turn of the gain knob, that is anything past 9 o'clock. I don't bother with effects, I just want a great driving tone with a little grit. I've always liked playing with the tone fully open. This may be sacrilege to some, but any time I roll the tone knob back, I just don't like the muffled sound that comes out. So I like a fairly bright sound. A mellow, motown, dark, dull thump is most certainly not my thing, and I won't be putting foam anywhere near my strings. For this reason the demos with tone at 0% and 50% don't interest me. Fortunately I've been able to see some demos with both pick & finger play with tone wide open. I realise that what I don't like is what a lot of people do like in flats, but I'm sure there will be others (show yourselves!) who also want a bright-ish, grindy, growl yet with smooth feel and no finger noise, if such a thing exists. I'd like a sort of happy medium in terms of stiffness, I certainly don't want anything floppy, I guess I will veer towards the stiffer side, yet without wanting anything too bridge cable like. Tension wise, I guess something down the middle again - I don't want anything too crazy that'll need me adjusting my setup majorly. I've heard of sets of flats lasting years, but honestly I'm not too bothered about longevity, I'm happy to change a set once a year. I'd like them to remain reasonably bright anyway, so if they mellow out too much I'll only want to replace them anyway. I've been reading a bunch of threads and watching demo videos, and will order a set soon, but am hoping to get some opinions on these, especially from those who use flats for similar reasons to what I'm thinking. There are others of course (such as GHS Precision, Dunlop, Ernie Ball Group 2/3, DR Legend), but my research has led me to believe that these seem to be the most popular. I'm most likely to pick from the top 3: Fender 9050 I'm quite impressed with these from various demos. Seems to be a good all rounder, and is a fair bit cheaper than others at £40, where most other flats range from £50-£80. I've read that it has decent low-mid grind/growl and is a bit similar in tone to TI Jazz, but less flappy. They seem fairly bright and less dark than chromes. Right now this is the front runner for me to try, it would be a relatively inexpensive experiment. D'Addario Chrome XL I had some briefly on a used Mustang, I thought they felt pretty good, yet still replaced them with rounds before I even had chance to play it properly with the flats on, then sold the bass soon after anyway. This seems to be a real 'Marmite' string - people either seem to love or hate them. I'm sure I've read more negative comments than positive ones. It seems those who like them really like them. I've read that they have good clarity & punch. They are bright, yet a little dark sounding. I've also read that they have a long break-in period, need some patience, then just die rather quickly. They have a hi-mid metallic clank / zing, and are quite scooped. It seems they are not as smooth as other flats, and can be sticky / grabby. I like some of the demos, but they are little dark compared to the Fenders. Apparently they have a bridge cable stiffness, and for this reason I'm not sure about them. La Bella Deep Talkin' Bass These seem to be perennial faves - smooth and well balanced. I had some very briefly on a bass which I passed on so quickly I'm not even sure I gave the strings a proper go plugged in, but they felt amazing to play acoustically. I'm just not entirely sure they're what I want based on demos. La Bella Low Tension Flats I'm ruling these out based on them not being the sound I'm after at all. Probably too flappy for me as well. TI Jazz I like the sound of these in demos more than some, but not as much as others. The fact they are meant to be very flappy, along with the price, has me pretty much ruling these out. Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt I've read that these feel like flats, but sound like rounds. This interests me, but I've also read that some have had issues with fret wear, rust, and stickiness. They are at the more expensive end too. Rotosound Jazz Bass 77 These sound quite bright, but reading that they have very high tension, are tiring on the fingers & have low output, puts me off trying them. Thanks in advance for replies.

Well I didn’t think I’d ever spend this much on a strap, but I caved in and ordered a Heistercamp custom strap. Not that I should feel guilty treating myself, but I sold something on an eBay auction that I didn’t need, and got twice as much I expected, and three times what I paid for it. I basically made £100 out of nowhere. So it was a no brainer to get myself a nice luxurious strap. There were a lot of choices on the custom order form, I was really stuck between suede and smooth leather backing. I’m used to suede, and like it mostly, but it can be a little annoying how grabby it is, and having to lift it off my clothes to adjust the angle of the bass even slightly. So, I thought I’d try smooth leather for a change. Pics will follow when it arrives, but I’m very excited

Thanks. I’m really drawn to Heistercamp. They look amazing, I may end up pushing the boat out on my budget to get one of these. £65 for standard 2.5” wide, custom order is £80 for 3” wide, then £90 for same but with padding. The custom order also lets you choose smooth leather as a backing (suede is the default), as well as picking the colour of the backing & colour of the stitching. One more question to those who have one, how thick are these straps either without or with extra padding, as I can’t see this mentioned on their site? Thanks. @franzbassist I wish I’d seen this at the time - it looks awesome!

Looking at the Heistercamp options just now, the standard leather front / suede back option is 2.5” wide, with no padding, including the long size, is £65. A custom order with 3” wide strap and padding takes it to £90. These prices include postage. Just wondering if they are comfy enough already without the extra padding. Question to those who’ve used their straps, did you go for them with or without padding? I’m torn between their basic £65 long one and the Leathergraft ‘Comfy’ XL which is £37 plus postage. I’ve also been looking at the Levy’s M4GF XL which is £50-£60, but I keep thinking that the 3.5” width might be a bit too much near my neck. Levy’s have hardly any longer options which is a shame. Mine is actually closer to 2 & 1/4” wide than 2 & 1/2”, so both the Heistercamp & Leathergraft would be slightly wider, which was the main reason for wanting a new strap. But neither of them (unless I pay more) have foam padding. I wish I didn’t overthink this stuff so much!

Thanks Matt. I suppose the leather top is not essential. The Leathergraft 'Comfy' extra long does look pretty good. Whilst I don't like the sound of 'minimal padding', I guess it would have to be comfy to be given that name! Maybe I will go for a suede top & back one after all. I'll have to see if Levy's do one between 3" & 3.5" in extra long, or just take a punt on the Leathergraft 'Comfy' model. I also don't like the thought of metal buckles on a strap. Same goes for plastic buckles & the plastic pieces that hold different bits of some straps together. A one piece strap with ladder adjusting piece locked in place is essential for me. I guess that technically makes it a two piece strap, but you know what I mean!