Ou7shined Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 [quote name='benebass' timestamp='1324597725' post='1476221'] Status flats are really good value, but are pretty old school & thumpy (they're probably the Picato ones repackaged actually). Might not be what you're looking for if you're new to flats, but I like them. La Bella or Thomastik tend to be the best all-rounders I've used. Chromes are much brighter - they sound like roundwounds at first, but they mellow with age. Unfortunately, all of these sets cost a lot more than rounds - I've found it an expensive business trying out flats! Cheers, B. [/quote] I've always found TI's to be mid focused while the Status flats have an open quality with plenty of top. I am using both at the moment - the TI's for old school and the Status for a more contemporary sound. I recommend the Status Hotwire line to everyone, they are fantastic... oh and they are made by Status themselves btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 (edited) I used to love Tomastiks, but the longer I used them, the more I found the tension (lack of) annoying. I also had a bad habit of snapping A strings - about 4 over 18 months, whilst not snapping the others. Not had the same problems since swapping brands. Edited February 1, 2012 by bigjohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 [quote name='benebass' timestamp='1324597725' post='1476221'] Status flats are really good value, but are pretty old school & thumpy (they're probably the Picato ones repackaged actually). Might not be what you're looking for if you're new to flats, but I like them. [/quote] Status Flats. Indeed ALL Status strings are wound by them in house. Not other makes repackaged. They make a point of clearly stating this on their website. the only reason they are cheap is because they make their own so dont need to charge extra on them to make a proffit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon1964 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I've tried several types of flats over the years. In a nutshell my thoughts are: Chromes are excellent, although a bit brighter than some. But they do mellow after a week or two. The Fender flats are surprisingly good given that they are cheaper than a lot of brands. I thought the Rotosounds were aweful. They had an inconsistent tone across the set, and just didn't feel right to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Transaxle Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) [quote name='norvegicusbass' timestamp='1325087639' post='1479685'] Well my first set of flats came (Fender Stainless Steel 9050CL .45-.105 ) and I fitted them right away. Happy with the feel under the fingers but still a tad zingy. Does this fade with time? I am sure strings like this must mellow over a few weeks. [/quote] Certainly no zing left in my Fenders! But I suppose two years down the road that's not unexpected. Edited January 31, 2012 by Leon Transaxle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musophilr Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Picato Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I'm having a joyous time at the moment with some Laklands, that I bought direct from Lakland for about £22 posted. Lovely sound & feel... not far from my La Bella FLs but with more 'note' to them (and cheaper!). Mind you, it'll be a while before they're totally broken in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1328101621' post='1521777'] I'm having a joyous time at the moment with some Laklands... [/quote] That's very interesting - thanks for posting WoT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethFlatlands Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Looking at Status strings, I'm confused by the 'scale' option. I'd have thought medium would be fine for 34" basses but the Warwick website says that's long scale? Which do I need? And do I need high tension for flats or would standard 40 be OK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
originalfunkbrother Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Thanks for raising this issue, I too will be looking to buy my 1st set of flats and I have an idea now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I thought £31 for my fave set of EBGroup3 flats from stringsdirect was good value until I saw you guys getting sets of flats for £20 Do you guys play 3 string basses or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebass Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1325770212' post='1487366'] I recommend the Status Hotwire line to everyone, they are fantastic... oh and they are made by Status themselves btw. [/quote] Didn't know that - have edited my my original post. Still hasn't stopped me buying loads of sets though - they're one of the few companies who make 32" scale strings that I like & a lot less than the big names too! B. Edited February 1, 2012 by benebass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73Jazz Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I like the sound of TI but the low tension is difficult and i prefer more tension. Chromes are missing some mids which i love to hear, someone says he pressumes eb flats are chromes in a different package, I think they changed their production, the first ones had more midrange and the newer eb flats are really similar to chromes in my oppinion. For my sound i prefer most la bella flats, they have the lowend, the mids and fit perfect in context. You may check also d'angelico smooth rounds, these are mostly halfrounds soundwise but feel like flats, they sound really nice and would be a pretty good step towards flatwounds from rounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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