Flatwound suggestions sought...

[Beer of the Bass]

On a whim, I decided to try out the Thomastik jazz flats that I use on my fretless on my fretted bass. I'm really digging the sound, but I can't quite get on with the low tension on this bass. I like the Thomastiks because they're nice and mellow sounding, with a distinct flatwound sound to the attack, but not too dead and thumpy. Are there any flats that have these properties with a little more tension? Or should I just stick with them for a while and see if I get used to it?

[StevieD_FenderP2009]

Rotosound SH77 Steve Harris Signature Flatwounds
Heavy gauge, very high tension
I use them all the time and i love them!
£25 a pack, not to bad

[redstriper]

I thought the TIs were more similar in tone to rotosound flats than the other makes I've tried, (GHS, Fender, E Ball & DRs) when I tried them recently.
They have a similar richness to the sound, but the rotosounds are more ridged and higher tension.
I have some old well used ones you can have if you want to try them for feel and tension, only 3 though because I gave the G to someone else.

[dannybuoy]

Try D'Addario Chromes, bright and snappy but mellow out after a while, higher tension than TIs, but not too high.

[Beer of the Bass]

Are rotosounds still as rough feeling as they used to be? I had a set on my fretless about 10 years ago, and the roughness is all I can remember about them. I might give Chromes a try - if I like them I'll swap the TIs back to my fretless.
Are things like LaBellas and pyramids at the thumpier end of the spectrum?

[GreeneKing]

I would say that the Pyramids have less zing but wouldn't say they were too thumpy, more mellow and old school.

They have a great flexi-feel to and seem consistent for a long time.

I love them and have tried nearly all.

[redstriper]

I find the rotosounds too rough in feel and too rich in tone for my taste, but they are the most similar in tone to the TIs that I have found.

I haven't tried pyramids or labellas, but I would highly recommend GHS 3050s for a very smooth feel and an old skool mellow tone similar to a double bass.

[Beer of the Bass]

Hmm, so many choices! Thanks for the input. I'm enjoying the Thomastiks at home, but just know that with the band I'll end up digging in too hard and getting that lovely rubber band effect. I've used Rotosounds, Chromes and Ernie ball flats in the past, but all on different (and fretless) basses, so it's hard to equate that to how they might sound on my fretted bass.
I reckon I'm not quite ready to spring for the full Jamerson sound (foam mute plus well matured flats?), although that can be great in context. But with my bright sounding bass (heavy walnut body plus Darkstar pickup), I guess I can keep reasonable definition as long as there's some sustain there.

[The Burpster]

I've settled out on on D'add chromes and GHS....


Tried most of the others they suit me best.

[franzbassist]

[Clarky]

+1 for D'Addario Chromes

Have been a long time user of TI flats but bought a set of Chromes off BC's Essential Tension a couple of weeks back. Compared with TIs, the feel is smoother out of the packet (I usually find TIs are not totally slippery until they have settled down) and the extra tension helps in my band's style of music (fast, pick-driven) but also feels great when I try my hand at finger-style.

[s]I am a convert already and will be swapping over my other basses to Chromes[/s]Edit: a couple of weeks later and I miss the slipperiness and ease on the fingers of old, worn-in TIs so now I've swapped back one of my Ps to TIs. Both are great strings.

Edited August 17, 2009 by Clarky

[Beer of the Bass]

As it happens, I was rummaging through a drawer, and realised I still had the old set of Chromes I'd used a couple of years ago. I wasn't blown away by them when I had them on before (they were last on my fretless), but they're pretty good on my fretted bass.
The feel is exactly what I'm looking for, and they're thick and meaty sounding with a bit of definition. I'm reserving judgement until I've used them with my band though - I always find it hard to judge how a sound will work live when I'm playing at home.

[thisnameistaken]

I've got LaBellas on my Jazz (can't remember what gauges, 104-40-something I think), they're pretty substantial-feeling, definitely a lot stiffer than rounds. With the tone off they do a nice thumpy soul sound, with the tone up it's more jazzy, especially picking up by the neck. I set that bass up mostly for playing old rocksteady stuff and it sounds bang on.

There's decent sustain to be had, but I've a slice of 1/4" neoprene wedged under my bridge so I get a more thumpy sound than I ought to.

[rhino]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' post='541775' date='Jul 15 2009, 10:55 PM']On a whim, I decided to try out the Thomastik jazz flats that I use on my fretless on my fretted bass. I'm really digging the sound, but I can't quite get on with the low tension on this bass. I like the Thomastiks because they're nice and mellow sounding, with a distinct flatwound sound to the attack, but not too dead and thumpy. Are there any flats that have these properties with a little more tension? Or should I just stick with them for a while and see if I get used to it?[/quote]


I recently had a set of Fender Heavy gauge (50 - 110) flatwounds fitted by Jim Fleeting to my Aerodyne bass followed by a perfect set up.
No rattles, but a very solid bass noise - Duck Dunn etc., etc.,.
However, they didn't record too well, too much depth for the engineer to cope with, so he said.
So I fitted, all on my own, a set of Elite Stadium , heavy gauge 50 - 110 Roundwounds - excellent.

Rhino.