Calling on bass players - need a recommendation for flat wounds.

MichaelW

Well-known member
Hey PedalPCB bass players!

I am a new bass owner (not player....haha). My bass came with round wounds but I'm thinking about experimenting with some flat wounds.
But I'm getting sticker shock at some of the prices and also overwhelmed with all the options.

Is there like an equivelant to "Ernie Ball Slinky's" in a flat wound bass set that I don't need to spend $50 to try out?

TIA!!
 
Welcome to why bass players don't change strings very often. I do not have a recommendation for flats though I used them almost exclusively for years. Maybe that means that one set was much like another to my hands and ears?
I would say just pick whether you want heavy or medium gauge and then choose a price point that doesn't hurt (the price variation is minimal from what I have always seen). I imagine there is minimal difference after a few weeks between those advertised as bright vs. those that are not. You just learn to thwack the tone out of flats with your right hand position and attack intensity.

A long post with no answers for you. You are welcome. HA!
 
Bass strings in general are more expensive, and flats even more so. The benefit to flats, though, is that they'll last you a decade or two.

I think that Chromes are a good place to start. Chromes are still relatively bright for flats. I used the same set of medium Chromes for nearly a decade on my Precision. La Bella flats are kind of the go-to for many and may be close to the sound you imagine when thinking "flats." The last few years I've been switching around a few pairs and am currently settled on TI flats, which I really like. I don't think you'll get around paying $40-$50 for a decent set of flatwounds, though.

Honestly you get so much character and different feel for flats that you really do kind of need to try them all out to see what works for you.

The good news is that many people buy used flats, so if you cut them long you may be able to recoup a few bucks of the expense.
 
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Labella are middle. There are cheaper sets available (Chromes, Jazz '77), but unless you are looking for that specific Rotosound '77 tone, I would at least start with Labella. There are better options, but they are expensive...and mostly German-made, which means Oktoberfest, and beer, and brats, and kraut, and kindereggs and...what?...

Labella flats are, as described above, the generic/typical "flatwound sound." If you want a tad less warmth, and a bit more plucky bite, the Jazz '77's will fit the bill. Chromes are strange: they feel like flatwounds, but sound more like roundwounds...
 
I have always been primarily a fretless player and coming from that perspective would recommend pressurewounds over flats. SIT Silencers and GHS Pressurewounds are currently on my two fretless fours. The Silencers are smoother feeling, have more top end, and are fairly inexpensive, the GHS have more low mid grunt. Both last a very long time with pretty consistent tone after the break in period.

One of my my basses came with T-I Jazz Flats and I used them pretty happily for many years. On a lark I tried Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats and greatly preferred them due to slightly higher tension and a brighter top, but QC issues have been reported so often that I'm loathe to recommend them. Not a fan of Chromes at all, the play feel is way too stiff for my taste. Both those and the EBCFs sound more round than flat to me, which I consider a bonus, but YYMV.
 
I have always been primarily a fretless player and coming from that perspective would recommend pressurewounds over flats. SIT Silencers and GHS Pressurewounds are currently on my two fretless fours. The Silencers are smoother feeling, have more top end, and are fairly inexpensive, the GHS have more low mid grunt. Both last a very long time with pretty consistent tone after the break in period.

One of my my basses came with T-I Jazz Flats and I used them pretty happily for many years. On a lark I tried Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats and greatly preferred them due to slightly higher tension and a brighter top, but QC issues have been reported so often that I'm loathe to recommend them. Not a fan of Chromes at all, the play feel is way too stiff for my taste. Both those and the EBCFs sound more round than flat to me, which I consider a bonus, but YYMV.
Well this is exactly what I'm trying to avoid.....buying a fretless hahaha.
Ideally, I'd leave the current bass with round wounds for that sound.
And get (or build) a fretless but use round wounds on them a la Jaco.
 
I have always been primarily a fretless player and coming from that perspective would recommend pressurewounds over flats. SIT Silencers and GHS Pressurewounds are currently on my two fretless fours. The Silencers are smoother feeling, have more top end, and are fairly inexpensive, the GHS have more low mid grunt. Both last a very long time with pretty consistent tone after the break in period.

One of my my basses came with T-I Jazz Flats and I used them pretty happily for many years. On a lark I tried Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats and greatly preferred them due to slightly higher tension and a brighter top, but QC issues have been reported so often that I'm loathe to recommend them. Not a fan of Chromes at all, the play feel is way too stiff for my taste. Both those and the EBCFs sound more round than flat to me, which I consider a bonus, but YYMV.

I really am loving my TI's but have been thinking about trying out different A strings as I'm not the biggest fan of it. I can take some noodle-ish-ness but the A string is noticebly lower tension than the other strings, which are already noticeably lower tension.
 
I really am loving my TI's but have been thinking about trying out different A strings as I'm not the biggest fan of it. I can take some noodle-ish-ness but the A string is noticebly lower tension than the other strings, which are already noticeably lower tension.

Yep, that always bugged me too. And TIJFs only come in one gauge, unlike most of the others. The lightest Cobalt Flat set is just a tiny bit more tense and was much better balanced on my bass. But when I put new pickups and a new preamp in that bass I went down the rabbit hole with DR Sunbeams (nickel rounds) and now the GHS Pressurewounds, both of which are pretty great for fretless. I might give LaBella Low Tension Flats a shot eventually too, but since I'm currently using this bass for preamp R&D I want to leave things as-is for good while to minimize variables.

I should mention that slide bass is a big part of my thing, but so is emulating an upright feel. Kind of a tricky balancing act there! :cool:
 
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Aye, just pointed out how he likely kept the balance. easier with 2 than 4+ I'm sure some guys were goofing off in a MS juke joint 1 night and the bassist grabbed the steel player's slide after, 'partaking of the glaucoma meds' and it stuck around 😉
 
I've got chromes and will not recommend them.

I've finally got my hands on a set of Cobalt flats, so we'll see about their long term quality ... in time.
On paper, they sound perfect, brighter sound with a flat feel without the tension ... which might be a good reference point for you coming from guitar. Tape-wounds, for instance might sound so flat as to be lifeless to you.

As Deperduci pointed out, just buy online, don't be like me and insist on getting strings at a brick and mortar store or like me it'll take you 5–6 years to find a store that stocks flats and longer if you're after a specific set of flats such as Cobalt. I ordered some flatwound GEETAR strings from the local L&M and when they arrived they were ground-wound — what part of FLAT did they not understand? $%^&* idjits. I'm so done with buying strings at brick & mortar it would make your browser's URL-bar spin... Same thing with many B&M stores, they simply don't understand "COBALT FLATS", you either get cobalt roundwound, or non-cobalt flats... "Oh yeah, our southside store has them in stock" NO they DON'T, I was just there after phoning them and asking and being told yes and driving from the north to the south and find it was a wasted trip. It would've been easier to find a patch-eyed black unicorn in glitter disco boots, than to find Cobalt Flats at a B&M store.





Oh, and the feller from Disney After Dark, Stig Pedersen, only needs two strings...

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Aye, just pointed out how he likely kept the balance. easier with 2 than 4+ I'm sure some guys were goofing off in a MS juke joint 1 night and the bassist grabbed the steel player's slide after, 'partaking of the glaucoma meds' and it stuck around 😉
Roger that, and I'm definitely a fan of anyone who finds a niche it works in. I have some fairly different takes, from Robert Randolph/Derek Trucks/ Jerry Douglas feels at my Bluegrass/Americana jams to, ermmm, I'm not sure what:

 
One note on the long-term use of one set of flatwounds is that they do eventually start to pull on your intonation as they loosen up beyond what you want. Just like any dead strings but they do take considerably more time to do that rather than just sounding limp like guitar strings. you can rock em forever.... but recording with the same set forever could get difficult.
 
I haven't tried every brand of flat wounds out there (I'm not made of money and haven't been a gigging bassist in a few years at this point), but I like Dunlop flatwounds; they've got the tension and feel of flats but they still have some brightness and snap to the tone.
 
I don't think I realized how polarizing Chromes were until this thread. I used them for a long time and kind of thought that they were good middle of the road flats because they can get very bright but mellow out and sound more traditional when you roll the tone off.

I tried the heavy gauge La Bella Jamerson flats (the bridge cables) for a few months. I couldn't get a really good idea of them because they did wonky things to my bass - they kind of made the entire bass resonate and ring out. I liked the feel but I'm not even sure I fully broke them in before having to change them out.

I've been thinking of trying GHS Precision Flats as I've read some good things about them. Anyone here have experience with them?
 
Flats are a buy it for life purchase so the price is a moot point IMO.

Some of my observations:

Ernie Ball Cobalts are the brightest of 'em all. Some issues with rusting in the past that I believe have been resolved. Joe Dart probably plays those with his MM basses.

Fender 9050 are very good if you like a ton of mids. They are clacky at first but mellow out after a couple of months. I think they are muddy with a P bass but they perfectly complement the Natural mid scoop of a Jazz bass.

Labella DTF are the perfect strings for a P bass if you dig that vintage tone. Add foam to taste. 43-104 is the standard gauge with balanced tension.
The Low tension flats are quite hot at the moment with prominent players like Nick Campbell and Donny Benet using them on P bass and Stingray.

Chromes are great if you like a bit of mid scoop with some high end. Great with a P bass. They suffer from uneven tension, the G is too tight and the E is too floppy.

Thomastik Infelds have a rabid fan base. Very light gauge. I've never bought them because in every demo they sound like mids and nothing else, like they disappear. I also can't stand low tension. They are very high quality however. Pino uses them with his P. Don't know if that's the tone on Voodoo but it should be the tone with the live Mayer band. Works for him!

Stepping off the soap box now.
 
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