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Flats and tension?


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Now I'm over 50, I thought I should try some flats 😏

My only previous experience was of some Steve Harris signature ones, which felt like playing with welding rods rather than strings and so they didn't last long. So, I just picked up a cheapy set of Olympia flats for a tenner to try on my BB.

Have to admit I quite like the feel of these (not a stiff as the SH ones, but still stiffer than rounds), so I'm wondering about trying a set on my Sandberg (5 string J/MM.)

I've had a look and see some flats described as high/medium/low tension but that's a bit subjective. Has anyone got any steer on brands and gauges that would be similar in tension/flex to rounds? My Sandberg is currently strung with a 120-40 set.

Want to keep the growl, don't mind losing a bit of 'ching.' 😎

Cheers all!

 

Edited by redbandit599
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14 minutes ago, redbandit599 said:

Now I'm over 50, I thought I should try some flats 😏

My only previous experience was of some Steve Harris signature ones, which felt like playing with welding rods rather than strings and so they didn't last long. So, I just picked up a cheapy set of Olympia flats for a tenner to try on my BB.

Have to admit I quite like the feel of these (not a stiff as the SH ones, but still stiffer than rounds), so I'm wondering about trying a set on my Sandberg (5 string J/MM.)

I've had a look and see some flats described as high/medium/low tension but that's a bit subjective. Has anyone got any steer on brands and gauges that would be similar in tension/flex to rounds? My Sandberg is currently strung with a 120-40 set.

Want to keep the growl, don't mind losing a bit of 'ching.' 😎

Cheers all!

 

I love the La Bella LTF. Had them on 4's and 5's and they're brilliant

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18 minutes ago, redbandit599 said:

Great thanks - so is a 'low tension' flat about the same as a round, or less 'tense'? 😀

Ive tried a few different ones and these play and sound right. Sometimes come up in the for sale section so a cheap way to try

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I too am a labella LTF user, for many years I used deep talkin flats and then about a year ago I tried the LTF’s and liked the sound , tension and feel   ,  I’ve now got 4 jazzes and 1 P bass with them .

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2 minutes ago, andytoad said:

Another user here that is very happy with LTF's

I'm about to give these a whizz too on my P.

15937195355512589722440722424787.thumb.jpg.d00e05f0ef011ca6605dbc06a18b38e1.jpg

That’s what I use, and I love ‘em! The tension is just right for me (I.e low). I’d be interested to hear how you like them compared to the LTFs

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2 minutes ago, andytoad said:

Another user here that is very happy with LTF's

I'm about to give these a whizz too on my P.

15937195355512589722440722424787.thumb.jpg.d00e05f0ef011ca6605dbc06a18b38e1.jpg

I’ve got those andy on another 2 jazzes,    they are  nice, they take a while to play in then  the sound and feel just gets better and better 

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Just now, Stub Mandrel said:

I just read a YT comment that "I put olive oil on my flatwounds because in a few days it will congeal and make them super smooth'....

So now you know what to do.

I like to rub raw chicken on mine

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8 minutes ago, ped said:

That’s what I use, and I love ‘em! The tension is just right for me (I.e low). I’d be interested to hear how you like them compared to the LTFs

Sure Ped, I will reply to this thread when I compare them.

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I had a set of Fender 9050M (55-105) on my P Bass for a while and they were far too stiff for me. I swapped them for a set of 9050ML (50-100) and they certainly had more give, but the D and G strings in particular made fretting a bit of a chore. I stuck a set of Dunlop 45-105 flats on yesterday, and the difference is like night and day. The Dunlops have far more flexibility and makes playing much easier. The Dunlops also seem to have some sort of coating on the silks at either end, so hopefully there won't be any fraying.

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9 minutes ago, Jono Bolton said:

I had a set of Fender 9050M (55-105) on my P Bass for a while and they were far too stiff for me. I swapped them for a set of 9050ML (50-100) and they certainly had more give, but the D and G strings in particular made fretting a bit of a chore. I stuck a set of Dunlop 45-105 flats on yesterday, and the difference is like night and day. The Dunlops have far more flexibility and makes playing much easier. The Dunlops also seem to have some sort of coating on the silks at either end, so hopefully there won't be any fraying.

+1 for the Dunlops.  I used to be a D'Addario fanboy, but since buying a bass with Dunlops already on I am a convert.

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Over the years I’ve probably tried most flats at one time or another and the fender flats were not for me, they were too stiff and seemed to lack warmth, if you like a stiffer string with brighter mids, they would be good.

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7 hours ago, lownote12 said:

+1 for the Dunlops.  I used to be a D'Addario fanboy, but since buying a bass with Dunlops already on I am a convert.

 

5 hours ago, pineweasel said:

Another vote for Dunlops. My recent flats experience has been Chromes (too stiff), TI Jazz Flats (too floppy), Dunlops (just right)

Got some Dunlop's arriving in the post tomorrow. Used chromes recently and currently have Ti flats on (a bit wet noodly, I've used them in the past and don't know why I expected any different.) I liked the sound of both so hopefully the Dunlop's are a nice middle ground. 

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41 minutes ago, Jonse said:

 

Got some Dunlop's arriving in the post tomorrow. Used chromes recently and currently have Ti flats on (a bit wet noodly, I've used them in the past and don't know why I expected any different.) I liked the sound of both so hopefully the Dunlop's are a nice middle ground. 

Seems to be Dunlops and La Bella LTFs that get the most positive comments - I wonder how the two compare?

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57 minutes ago, redbandit599 said:

Seems to be Dunlops and La Bella LTFs that get the most positive comments - I wonder how the two compare?

Yes, the Labellas are on the list to try. I'll see how the Dunlop's are for a few weeks though! 

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Well I had to choose between Dunlops and the La Bella LTFs and went for the Dunlops in the end- mostly because the B is a 125 and closer to what I'm used to on the Dunlops and it drops down to 118 on the LTFs.

Fitted and sounding and feeling great - so thanks all for your input. 😀 Very much appreciated!

Only thing I found that worried me a bit was with the B string, it stays thick well past the nut and much further than any other string I've had. I had to strip off some of the silk to get the end of the string into my tuning peg and It was a very tight squeeze. I could have done with cutting the string 3/4" shorter but that would not have fitted - with a bit of jiggling though the string has seated correctly around the peg.

Edited by redbandit599
grammar
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Thomastik Infeld (TI) flats! I love them but a few players I know have described them as too low in tension. Very similar to rounds tension-wise, but with the smooth texture of flats.
 

Great feel and great tone IMO.

Edited by CameronJ
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On 08/07/2020 at 16:34, redbandit599 said:

Well I had to choose between Dunlops and the La Bella LTFs and went for the Dunlops in the end- mostly because the B is a 125 and closer to what I'm used to on the Dunlops and it drops down to 118 on the LTFs.

Fitted and sounding and feeling great - so thanks all for your input. 😀 Very much appreciated!

Only thing I found that worried me a bit was with the B string, it stays thick well past the nut and much further than any other string I've had. I had to strip off some of the silk to get the end of the string into my tuning peg and It was a very tight squeeze. I could have done with cutting the string 3/4" shorter but that would not have fitted - with a bit of jiggling though the string has seated correctly around the peg.

It's possible they're designed to accommodate through-body stringing, which is why the string doesn't taper where it meets the post. The Fender flats are the same; on the E string, it makes almost a full wrap of the tuner post before it starts to taper. I find it odd that the JMJ Mustang comes with Fender flats as standard if the E is too long for a 34" scale bass, given that the Mustang is a short scale bass.

On the Dunlops, I've had mine on a week, and I'm very happy with them. They’re far smoother than the Fenders, and although some of the Dunlops are a heavier gauge than the Fenders (45-105 vs 50-100), the flexibility makes them feel a lot lighter.

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16 hours ago, Jono Bolton said:

It's possible they're designed to accommodate through-body stringing, which is why the string doesn't taper where it meets the post. The Fender flats are the same; on the E string, it makes almost a full wrap of the tuner post before it starts to taper.

Yes, I did worry that I'd ordered the wrong length, but the head end silk starts just past the nut by about an inch or so. They were the 37" Long Scale ones (my bass is 34") - the silks at the bridge (not strung through body) also stop just before the saddles - so it's a tight fit. I do like them but the sizing and taper does seem a bit iffy on the B and E.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just bought these. Tested for the first time and to hear for my self what all the fuzz is about. Did NOT much care fot it I must say.

Sounded cold and felt awquard to play, but maybe its just a matter of preference and getting used to. Thinking Im a round kinda guy

flats

Edited by zoid
relevans
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