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Ordered my first set of flats.


cocco
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[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1363726259' post='2016715']
I think it will be okay, the bass can do either through or over. Depending on how it went I was thinking of putting some on my T-40, which only does through body :/.
[/quote]

Same here, I think it would definitely be an issue though, plus you'd need flats long enough to not be tapering off to the silk between the nut and 1st fret, which I can tell you D'Addario Chromes will do on a T-40.

Edited by Machines
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I've just bought a bass with Fender flats on and I'm not sure about them.

They have a great feel to them and suit the bass (feel wise) very well. It's an Epiphone Jack Casady bass.

Only trouble is, I get a less crisp sound out of them. Sort of duller and more muted ..... like the treble has been rolled off the bass.

I don't know if it's the bass itself or is that the sound of flats? Never played them before .... although there were a set of TI flats on a Precision I bought once, but I ignored them and removed them straight away without really testing them.

Might get another set of flats and put them on one of my Precisions as a test ......... or will I find that flats are just generally muted in sound?

By the way I'm a pick player with a somewhat more aggressive right hand use than normal.

Edited by The Dark Lord
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Being somewhat the same type of player, I find flats (Chromes mainly) are fine when in the mix, as I don`t really notice the lack of bite. It`s only when the bass is played on its own I find them lacking in comparison to rounds.

That said, I just can`t get on with the feel of them - after years of using Roto Rounds, I can`t handle not having that rough abrasive feel under my fingers. I have however switched to Nickels as I liked the way flats sat in the mix, and nickel rounds have a more flat-like tone than steels.

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[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1363888175' post='2019014']
Being somewhat the same type of player, I find flats (Chromes mainly) are fine when in the mix, as I don`t really notice the lack of bite. It`s only when the bass is played on its own I find them lacking in comparison to rounds.

That said, I just can`t get on with the feel of them - after years of using Roto Rounds, I can`t handle not having that rough abrasive feel under my fingers. I have however switched to Nickels as I liked the way flats sat in the mix, and nickel rounds have a more flat-like tone than steels.
[/quote]

Exactly. I love the sound of flats, but the range of sounds with rounds is hard to beat. By just playing at the end of the fretboard I can get a fatter sound, if that's wanted; but nothing bites so satisfyingly as nickel rounds.

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Heavy TI user here as well. They might be expensive but they last a long time. I use TI flats on both my fretless basses (a Jazz and a Stingray) and TI rounds on my fretted Yamaha. Somehow I never seem to get on with 'normal' rounds (too much treble for my taste) but the Nickel TI's are just right for me. And that Stingray with TI flats...what a sound !

Edited by RWijchers
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  • 1 month later...

Ive converted to being a flats only player now, I used D'Addario Nickel Wounds for years but thought I'd test the waters on flats. I got some Chromes and initially hated them, They felt cumbersome, stiff and had a tacky/resisistant feel straight out the box and were no good for sliding with, so i quickly relegated them to a practise bass, but with a 4-5 months of playing around with them, they started to come to life. The tension eased up, the tacky resistant feeling subsided and they felt and sounded great. Within 6 months they were back on a main 5 string bass. Now i've bought another set for my 4 string.

I use Thomastiks 43-100 for my fretless, they have very little tension and plenty of prominence, perfect for fretless. They're a little too low tension to put on a fretted bass for me (they just rested on the frets in tune!), i would of needed to do a lot of truss and bridge adjustments to make them playable; which i wasnt prepared to do!

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[quote name='Smythe' timestamp='1367407972' post='2065194']
They felt cumbersome, stiff and had a tacky/resisistant feel straight out the box and were no good for sliding with,
[/quote]

Giving them a good rub with an old cotton t-shirt helps to shift the tacky feeling.

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[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1367408070' post='2065198']
Giving them a good rub with an old cotton t-shirt helps to shift the tacky feeling.
[/quote]

Thanks, I'll do that with the 4 string set when i get around to putting them on . :)

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Last year I had the chance to a/b my Lull PJ5 (with the J switched off) with Happy Jack's Lull P5. They are identical basses and even though they both sounded fantastic; Jack's sounded better!

I couldn't let that situation continue, so after a lot of emails to various people I discovered that the difference we were hearing was down to the strings.

I changed my DR Lo-Riders to Lakland Flats and the whole bass came alive. Tonally our basses are now the same.

For me the price and longevity wasn't an issue, on this bass flats just sounded so much better.

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