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Flatwounds


la bam
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well.......you live and learn.....

im sure around 20 years ago i bought some flat wound strings. i think they were 'elites' or something.

i wasnt really any type of a decent player then, and had little knowledge of anything, but my only memory of them is them being a string in kind of a solid plastic covering. Awful sound and awful feel. So i binned them off and have been strictly round wound ever since.

I was Rotosound swing bass for years, but everything sounded the same no matter what i did, and they always seemed to lose their sound very quickly. Eventually moved to Daddrio XLs and theyre great. 

However, ive still never got that undescribable sound i want.

Anywho, we are doing some recording soon, so ive been looking at different set ups on youtube and ... wow!! There it is! There is the tone i want. Lovely and punchy and warm. P bass with flats. So much so, i want some flats asap!!

Now, to tie back to the start of the story, did i buy some really bizarre strings years ago? or do flats have a completely different texture and feel to rounds?

Also, do the Rotosound flats die quickly, like their rounds do?

Can anyone recommend a good warm punchy flatwound?

I would prefer a 40 guage if possible.

Any help appreciated.

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I like Chromes on my P. Bit of zing, plenty of thump, and they dull nicely after a week or two. Will last a good 5 yrs or more.

I personally like TI’s - not so much on P basses but on some basses they are tonal nirvana for me. And I guess that’s the rub - it’s horses for course and you’ll find you love some and not others despite what anyone recommends.

Oh, and the Fender flats are surprisingly good for the money...

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I'm currently using LaBella flats on my Sandberg PJ bass. 

These are my first venture into the realm of flats, I like the feel of themand lack of string noise but I'm not 100% sold on the overall tone.

I'd like to try some Ernie Ball Slinky flatwounds (the cobalt ones) next which are supposed to be brighter and more roundwound sounding -they are pretty darn expensive though - around £50 a set which is holding me back.

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Well, i decided in the end to try some flats.

I went for Rotosound 77 - the 40-100 guage.

wow! what a great sound. Lovely and warm. All the warmth ive been trying to dial in over the years on various amps - and its in the strings.

Just one issue though - what IS the silky / sheen on the strings? Im not a big fan of that. Makes control a bit more difficult. Although i guess its just a case of getting used to it after 20 years on roundwounds. 

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22 minutes ago, la bam said:

Well, i decided in the end to try some flats.

I went for Rotosound 77 - the 40-100 guage.

wow! what a great sound. Lovely and warm. All the warmth ive been trying to dial in over the years on various amps - and its in the strings.

Just one issue though - what IS the silky / sheen on the strings? Im not a big fan of that. Makes control a bit more difficult. Although i guess its just a case of getting used to it after 20 years on roundwounds. 

The Jazz 77 strings are a monel coated string. Is that what you dont like?

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1 hour ago, la bam said:

Just one issue though - what IS the silky / sheen on the strings? Im not a big fan of that. Makes control a bit more difficult. Although i guess its just a case of getting used to it after 20 years on roundwounds. 

I don't know about the coating but I when I first tried flats (D'Addario Chromes) I found my articulation was poor until I'd got used to the feel, which took a couple of weeks. I think it was the difference in friction between fingers and string, compared to rounds.

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Flats should feel very smooth to the touch, especially after being broken in. The coating will probably wear off after a couple weeks of playing. Unlike roundwounds, flats get better with age and will last for years. I've heard many players with flats have them on for 10 years or more.

I tried every brand of flatwounds as I like the punchy warm tone with some articulation, and I found Chromes gave me what I was looking for. They are slightly bright at first, but once they are broken in, they sound amazing. The tension is perfect as well, not floppy like some flats, and not high tension like Fender flats.

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Another here who has tried pretty much every flatwound out there on my tonal quest, much lighter bank balance later I settled on Elites Detroit Flats.  Perfect tension, great mix of old school thump with a little bit more going on in the mids without being Chromes/Fender roundwound like tone.  Perfect for me

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Gonna throw in a suggestion for Ernie ball group 3 flatwounds (not the dreadful cobalt flats which are really more of a roundwound that feels like a flat) they are nice and warm but have a good growl to them. Roto flats are ok but seem to go dead quickly and a bit stiff, also (as per the below) Roto's are rougher than most flats

 

 

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