Flats

[Geek99]

Just tried some on a jazz bass and they were surprisingly good under the fingers

Very surprised and very pleasantly so

[xgsjx]

I'd never go back to rounds. But it depends on the sound you want.

[uncle psychosis]

I had a brief honeymoon with flats but now pressurewounds are my string of choice. Best of both worlds IMO.

[aceuggy]

Would quite like to try some flats. Any recommendations?

[Coilte]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1393798367' post='2384524']
it depends on the sound you want.
[/quote]

+1. I like both rounds and flats. Each has their place depending on the music being played.



[quote name='aceuggy' timestamp='1393798959' post='2384538']
Would quite like to try some flats. Any recommendations?
[/quote]


I'm sure that you'll get lots of recommendations. My personal choice is TI (Thomastik/Infeld)
jazz flats. They are expensive but worth it IMO. They have very low tension though, which is not
to everyone's liking.

[ambient]

I've got some Status hotwire flats on my basses.

Quite nice, I wish they were a teeny little more flexible and bendy.

They do sound quite nice though, not at all thuddy.

Quite cheap too, £26 for a 6 string set.

I'd like to try some TI flats, but I'm put off by the price (£70 for a 6 string set !!!!!!!!! ), and the B string is enormous.

[wateroftyne]

Laklands... About 22 quid shipped direct.

Nice and warm, with clear mids.

[xgsjx]

I had TI Jazz flats, now have D'Addario Chromes.
Had I only ever had the Chromes, then they would be excellent, but the TI's are totes amazeballs!
The only reason that I changed was I successfully broke the D string whilst playing "Hit Me" & couldn't afford another set or source a single "D".

The Chromes are quite bright for flats, but they do dull down (or maybe I was used to hearing 3 1/2 year old flats).

[lee4]

Fender flats all the way.
I tried the Status strings but found that the g was twangy.

[HowieBass]

Fender flats here as well, I like their sound and feel and they're not expensive.

[alyctes]

I like the Status Hotwires. The Rotosounds I tried were OK but I prefer the Status, they feel and sound better to my ear.

[thisnameistaken]

I only have two bass guitars because I want the roundwound sound and the flatwound sound. I've got a Thumb strung with Rotos '66 and a Jazz strung with La Bella 760FLs.

I took both, and my double bass, to a band practise tonight and used all three of them. Can't imagine doing this band without all three of those sounds available to be honest.

Edit: Forgot I've now got two basses strung with rounds. I put together a bitsa P to do that English post-punk P-bass roundwound sound. Another great classic bass guitar sound.

Edited March 4, 2014 by thisnameistaken

[alyctes]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1393893408' post='2385659']
I took both, and my double bass, to a band practise tonight and used all three of them. Can't imagine doing this band without all three of those sounds available to be honest.
[/quote]

I think I'd like to hear your band

[thisnameistaken]

Imagine what a band sounds like when the guitarist doesn't turn up and you're pretty much there. :-(

[Pinball]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1393812956' post='2384648']
I've got some Status hotwire flats on my basses.

Quite nice, I wish they were a teeny little more flexible and bendy.

They do sound quite nice though, not at all thuddy.

Quite cheap too, £26 for a 6 string set.
[/quote]

[quote name='lee4' timestamp='1393874384' post='2385392']
I tried the Status strings but found that the g was twangy.
[/quote]

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1393877942' post='2385448']
I like the Status Hotwires. The Rotosounds I tried were OK but I prefer the Status, they feel and sound better to my ear.
[/quote]

Hmm thats an interesting one. I really like Status half rounds straight out of the box but wasn't as impressed with the flats. Since then I have found Status round wounds take a long time to play in but once there they are great. Maybe I didn't give their flats enough time to settle down. I'll have to dig them out and try them again.

Edited March 4, 2014 by Pinball

[chris_b]

I have Lakland flats on my passive Lull P and it sounds fantastic. I have played this set up exclusively for 3 years..... but..... I am missing some of the dynamics I used to be able to get with my active Lakland and the DR Lo-Riders.

Edited March 4, 2014 by chris_b

[Paul S]

My first choice of flats is LaBella Deep Talking 760FLs. Quite like TI Jazz flats, too, thereafter any flats at all over roundwounds. I have been gradually stockpiling them when they come up for sale here secondhand and now have all my basses strung with flats. I went through a period of thinking I needed roundwounds to get the right kind of attack for heavy rock but, now I have changed back to flats, find I can still get all the oomph I need by changing the EQ. For me, and the sound I am looking for, nothing, but nothing, quite sounds like an old school woody Precision with flats.

[jacko]

i have LaBella deep talkin flats on my kelly Dragonfly and I get a really nice 'near-upright' thump - they feel great too.
For gigging, I have Daddario Chromes on my fretless alembic and absolutely love everything about them.

[ambient]

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1393918343' post='2385698']
Hmm thats an interesting one. I really like Status half rounds straight out of the box but wasn't as impressed with the flats. Since then I have found Status round wounds take a long time to play in but once there they are great. Maybe I didn't give their flats enough time to settle down. I'll have to dig them out and try them again.
[/quote]

[size=4][font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Their flats seem to have [/color][/font][font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]improved. I tried a set a few years ago and wasn't too impressed, they were dead out of the packet. [/color][/font][/size]
[size=4][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I needed a 6 string set though, and there's not a lot of choice, so gambled a bit on them, but I really quite like them.[/font][/color][/size]

[Lozz196]

I`ve got flats on one of my Precisions and really like the sound, but for the music I do, rounds seem to fit better. I`m not giving up on the flats though, tonights rehearsal is going to consist of me driving the rest of the band mad whilst I try and get the sound I want from the flats.

[chris_b]

Don't flats just work?

I changed the strings on my Pbass, didn't touch anything else, and it just sounded great from the off.

[dave_bass5]

I keep going back and forth between flats and rounds. I love the idea of flats but rounds seem to keep winning out.
Ive got a set of Chromes and TI's (missing a D string at the moment) that have been on and off my gigging bass for the past couple of years. Each time i put them on and love the tone, but then at gigs i miss the overtones.
At the moment i have a new set of GHS Precision's on and to my ears these are what flats should sound like. More thump than the TI's and Chromes, and very smooth to play.
I do love TI''s for their lower tension but never felt they produced the thump i thought flats should produce.

[Highfox]

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1394031560' post='2387127']
I keep going back and forth between flats and rounds. I love the idea of flats but rounds seem to keep winning out.
Ive got a set of Chromes and TI's (missing a D string at the moment) that have been on and off my gigging bass for the past couple of years. Each time i put them on and love the tone, but then at gigs i miss the overtones.
At the moment i have a new set of GHS Precision's on and to my ears these are what flats should sound like. More thump than the TI's and Chromes, and very smooth to play.
I do love TI''s for their lower tension but never felt they produced the thump i thought flats should produce.
[/quote]
I find it a tease as well. I have 2 of the six now with rounds and 3 with flats and 1 with tapewound black nylon... that's my way round it for now lol.

[dave_bass5]

I limit myself to one gigging bass, so for me its all or nothing.
I can quite easily get by with either of course, and considering most of our set is songs from the 60-70's flats work well, but i also like to hear those overtones as well.
I thought Chromes would get that but i find thme very close to dead rounds, and thats not quite the same as a nice deep thump flat string.
Im hoping the GHS flats will be "the one" but i know ill eventually put rounds back on.

[risingson]

I've kept my '78 P strung with flats for a while now whilst my '74 Jazz has got rounds so I've got a nice balance of both worlds. I need flatwounds more for what I play now so I tend to lean more towards my P-Bass for basically everything when it comes to my original material, but it's nice to have my Jazz bass when I need something a little less heavy-handed, usually when I dep out for other bands.

I love La Bella 760FL's. My only slight issue with them is that they do seem to lack a bit in mid range, not loads but perhaps more than other flats I've tried. I've heard Lakland flats are good in this respect so I might take a punt on them next time I need flats... probably in a few years