Flats are off

[walshy]

11 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

My band played in Malta earlier this year and because I hate flying they got our new guitarist to play bass. He has his Aerodyne Jazz strung with Fender flats, and through his Sansamp it sounded great. So flats can work well in garage punk/rock, it just seems that I can never manage it myself. What I liked was the solid low end but without booming and overtones.

I use TI flats in a Foo Fighters tribute, absolutely works wonderfully. Flats can 100% rock hard with nice lows and the mids really cut with the TI's. I use Daddario Half Rounds on my Rippers with a Nirvana Tribute too.

Edited June 4 by walshy

[Rich]

I love the sound of flats on a P and I wish I could get that tone on mine, the problem is that I absolutely hate the way flats feel. For me they feel almost slimy, they make me want to wash my hands. Hard to describe, but there's no way I could play them for any length of time. Maybe I'm just weird, but eucchhh. No.

[BabyBlueSound]

33 minutes ago, Rich said:

I love the sound of flats on a P and I wish I could get that tone on mine, the problem is that I absolutely hate the way flats feel. For me they feel almost slimy, they make me want to wash my hands. Hard to describe, but there's no way I could play them for any length of time. Maybe I'm just weird, but eucchhh. No.

 

Interesting how different we all are. I played rounds all my life and just constantly hated the squeakig strings, the rubbing against my fingertips, the cheesegrater feel, the accidental sliding metallic overtones (yeah, that's mostly my crap technique's fault but still).

 

I do love the touch of a flat, and these days there are more hybrid-sounding strings which tends to be my choice, like the cobalt flats from EB.

[RichT]

10 hours ago, TheGhostofJaco said:

I have one Pbass currently with rounds, and it's great but sometimes I think about having a P with rounds and one with flats. May be overkill. I think I will just throw flats on and see how I like them again. I used them for so long and they recorded so well for Neo soul tunes, but sometimes would sound too thick and thuddy for other genres like french house style bass, or funk/disco..etc.

 

Have you tried EB Cobalt flats? I spend half my life playing various kinds of dance music and for me they're the best strings by far for those kinds of genres, albeit I'm playing it mostly on Stingray (and other MM pickup basses) rather than a P bass. They have the solid punch and bite of roundwounds but do away with all the metallic clank and fret noise, which I find works well for emulating basslines that are often synth or sequenced to start with. They can also get pretty dark and mellow for the soul stuff with the tone rolled back.

 

[Terry M.]

43 minutes ago, BabyBlueSound said:

 

Interesting how different we all are. I played rounds all my life and just constantly hated the squeakig strings, the rubbing against my fingertips, the cheesegrater feel, the accidental sliding metallic overtones (yeah, that's mostly my crap technique's fault but still).

 

I do love the touch of a flat, and these days there are more hybrid-sounding strings which tends to be my choice, like the cobalt flats from EB.

Have you tried DR rounds at all? 

[BabyBlueSound]

2 hours ago, Terry M. said:

Have you tried DR rounds at all? 

Nope

[Obrienp]

I don’t blame anyone for changing away from LaBella flats. They sound the business on a P bass: pure Motown but they feel horrible to me. Sticky is the best way of describing them. I have heard others say that they can be cleaned up with lighter fluid, rubbing alcohol, meths,, etc. I have tried all of these and it doesn’t work for me, they still feel sticky.

 

The best flats for me are D’Addarios but each to their own and they are quite bright. As to the original question: rounds sound great on a P bass and I would have thought would fit in very well to your band situation. Personally, I don’t get any issues with the strings squeaking but then other people don’t find LaBella flats sticky.

Edited June 4 by Obrienp

[TheGhostofJaco]

6 hours ago, RichT said:

 

Have you tried EB Cobalt flats? I spend half my life playing various kinds of dance music and for me they're the best strings by far for those kinds of genres, albeit I'm playing it mostly on Stingray (and other MM pickup basses) rather than a P bass. They have the solid punch and bite of roundwounds but do away with all the metallic clank and fret noise, which I find works well for emulating basslines that are often synth or sequenced to start with. They can also get pretty dark and mellow for the soul stuff with the tone rolled back.

 

Not sure if I have. How is the tension on them?

[Marvin]

I've only ever had D'Addario Chromes or Fender flats. Neither, thankfully, have felt sticky, just smooth 😎

Edited June 4 by Marvin
Grammar

[Terry M.]

4 hours ago, BabyBlueSound said:

Nope

You may be pleasantly surprised. I'm specifically referring to Sunbeams.

[RichT]

8 hours ago, TheGhostofJaco said:

Not sure if I have. How is the tension on them?

From my limited experience of flats (never played a LaBella set) the EB Cobalts are less stiff than D'Addario Chromes, but not as flexible as TI Jazz flats. I switch back and fore between two almost identical basses with EB Cobalt flats and EB Slinky rounds with no problem at all. The Slinkys are certainly more flexible but my arthritic fingers are still capable of bending the flats. 

[HeadlessBassist]

On 04/06/2025 at 09:53, Rich said:

I love the sound of flats on a P and I wish I could get that tone on mine, the problem is that I absolutely hate the way flats feel. For me they feel almost slimy, they make me want to wash my hands. Hard to describe, but there's no way I could play them for any length of time. Maybe I'm just weird, but eucchhh. No.

 

Same here. I have very dry hands (they never seem to get sweaty), but after playing flats for a few minutes it feels like they’re sticking to my fingers. Again, Yukl The only thing worse is those latex strings you get on U-Basses. They are truly weird. 

[BabyBlueSound]

38 minutes ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

Same here. I have very dry hands (they never seem to get sweaty), but after playing flats for a few minutes it feels like they’re sticking to my fingers. Again, Yukl The only thing worse is those latex strings you get on U-Basses. They are truly weird. 

 

I only ever tried the EB Cobalt flats yet, but those never ever stuck to my fingers (I got hands that are normally dry but very suddenly can get very sweaty, so I'm all over the spectrum).

[Rich]

5 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

Same here. I have very dry hands (they never seem to get sweaty), but after playing flats for a few minutes it feels like they’re sticking to my fingers. Again, Yukl 

 

Oh thank god, I thought it was just me. 

[Stub Mandrel]

I've got one bass set up with Fender flats. They are like steel rods. Not enough flex to feel the frets under my fingers and string bending is horrid.

 

Going to try the Harley Benton 40-100 set which is supposed to sound good and be supple for silly money.

[Geek99]

On 05/11/2024 at 09:38, neepheid said:

The only person who needs to be happy with your string choice is... you.

Get … out of my head ! Every time I read one of these threads and have decided what I’m going to write in reply , I find you have already done it 😳

[80Hz]

I’ve been on a bit of a flats mission over the last few months and have likewise come back to rounds with a couple of exceptions.

 

Overall I feel it very much depends on the instrument and the pickup pairing. I play with amp models and headphones (Sennheiser HD 600s) so I’m basing this off DI tones and how they mix. Can’t comment fairly on live scenarios.
 

A few months ago I bought a Paulman copy of a 1960 P bass from a forum member that came strung with Dunlop flats. These sound really excellent to my (admittedly noobish) ears. The play/polish feel is smooth but not quite LaBella DTF smooth. Tension feels quite low. But they have a good mid range which, to my ears, differentiates them a bit from DTFs, while retaining a bit of DTF thump. They’re keepers for sure.

 

I wasn’t as impressed with TI flats, they do have a very mid focused sound, but did not pair well with the bass I tried them on (Ibanez SR). I also am not a jazzer so I’m probably not doing them justice.

 

I made the noob error of trimming them down for the Ibby SR, so now they won’t fit a Fender style headstock. Anyone care for a cheap set of lightly used TIs for this size of bass? 🙄

 

I found Fender flats to be good value to dip one’s toes in the water. Yes they are high tension but I thought they sounded great with a pick (on another P bass). Good choice for classic rock. I had great fun playing along to Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benetar with this combo. 😆

 

I’m mostly back to Fender, D’Addario and LaBella nickel rounds.

 

The other learning is that neutral or slightly treble boosted DI tones/amp models work best for me. No need to do much low passing IMO. And depending on the cab IR it can become very dark and woofy very quickly. So I can appreciate why a Sansamp would be a satisfactory combo. All genre and taste dependent of course.

[Marvin]

On 08/06/2025 at 22:38, Stub Mandrel said:

I've got one bass set up with Fender flats. They are like steel rods. Not enough flex to feel the frets under my fingers and string bending is horrid.

 

Going to try the Harley Benton 40-100 set which is supposed to sound good and be supple for silly money.

I agree that Fender flats are very high tension. I'm thinking of switching to a set of rounds or some Harley Benton flats on my P bass.

I've struggled over the past few months with it and I'm beginning to think the Fender flats maybe part of the issue.

[Stub Mandrel]

4 minutes ago, Marvin said:

I agree that Fender flats are very high tension. I'm thinking of switching to a set of rounds or some Harley Benton flats on my P bass.

I've struggled over the past few months with it and I'm beginning to think the Fender flats maybe part of the issue.

 

I put the bass with flats on thecdtand by my desk (where I keep my current 'practice' bass). I find I'm hardly picking it up, almost dreading it. That says it all to me.

[Geek99]

Adagio flats (ebay and Amazon) are, to me at least, very acceptable giving huge bang per buck 

 

I didn’t like fender flats, but the guy who bought my p bass, in a different galaxy to me talent-wise messaged me after to ask what they were (adagios) as he really liked them

Edited Tuesday at 18:45 by Geek99

[Terry M.]

1 hour ago, 80Hz said:

I wasn’t as impressed with TI flats, they do have a very mid focused sound, but did not pair well with the bass I tried them on (Ibanez SR). I also am not a jazzer so I’m probably not doing them justice.

Jazz is just a marketing term as the company also make strings for upright basses.

[Marvin]

I restrung the Squier P bass last night. I replaced the Fender flats with some Ernie Ball Super Slinky rounds.

 

There is a change in tension, not huge but noticeable. I've always used D'Addario in the past, but I really like these EBs. For rounds you don't seem to get a lot of finger noise and they feel quite smooth for. 

 

For what I'm doing now, I think I'll stick with rounds.

[Terry M.]

44 minutes ago, Marvin said:

I restrung the Squier P bass last night. I replaced the Fender flats with some Ernie Ball Super Slinky rounds.

 

There is a change in tension, not huge but noticeable. I've always used D'Addario in the past, but I really like these EBs. For rounds you don't seem to get a lot of finger noise and they feel quite smooth for. 

 

For what I'm doing now, I think I'll stick with rounds.

Currently using the Super Slinkys on my Fender 5 string and like them very much.

[Lozz196]

I love the playability of Super Slinkys but I just kill them in a few days, really irritating as prob my fave string for comfort & playability. Sound really good too - before their imminent death of course.

[Terry M.]

10 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I love the playability of Super Slinkys but I just kill them in a few days, really irritating as prob my fave string for comfort & playability. Sound really good too - before their imminent death of course.

Very true. They don't last ever so long.