Flats - what type of music do you use them for?

[4 Strings]

Well? Old time Motown and soul, 60s rock, general studio use.

AIn these days of ringy rock bass tones and bright slappy sounds does anyone use flats for more modern music? If so, what?

[discreet]

I use 'em for rock. Lakland Joe Osborn Signature Flats.

[Happy Jack]

Modern flats are rather better than their ancestors. I use flats almost exclusively on my basses. In the last 15 months, I have played in:[list]
[*]a 4-piece pub rock band
[*]a 3-piece steam-punk folk band
[*]a 9-piece Northern Soul band
[*]a 5-piece Elvis tribute band
[*]a 3-piece hard blues-rock band
[/list]
Flats have yet to sound "out of place" at any of these gigs.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Happy Jack

[wateroftyne]

Rock, country, blues, folk, pop, acoustic, electric...

[Dingus]

The resurgence of flatwounds in the last ten years or so has really benefitted from the improvements in modern bass amps and their improved clarity and definition in comparison to most of the amps from the era when flats were the standard for bass strings rather than the novelty they are now . With the exception of the formiddable Ampeg SVT , most vintage amps would struggle to make basses with flats cut through the mix in a rock group , whereas modern hi-fi high- tech amps and cabs have given a new lease of life to flats with their improved clarity , detail and definition . I personally still find flatwounds can struggle a bit in situations with loud guitars and dense keyboard textures , but other people seem to manage fine so what do I know ? . I think the overtones you get from roundwounds really help you get heard in a different way to flats , but ultimately you have to record the results , play them back and see what you think . I am currently toying with the idea of stringing a bass up with flats again myself , and if the other musicians complain that they can't hear me I will shrug and say that they always complained before I played to much and too high in the mix so I am just giving them what they want .

[krispn]

Gigging with a three piece 'rock/punk' band (all our own stuff) a while back the sound guy compliments my tone saying thats the way a bass should sound (P bass/Chromes).
The headline band who weren't punk but a modern kinda 'cool' band had the worst, clankiest bass tone anyone in the room had heard and made me realise why I got props from the sound guy!

I use flats for everything but sometimes the bite from round wounds can't be beaten as I'm discovering with some down tuned covers stuff I'm playing at the minute.

[Twigman]

My tone on Flats

Warmoth P body/ Jazz neck
XL Chromes and a John East P-retro.....
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6OJxHVRqVA[/media]

I only ever use flats - easier on my fingers. Rounds are just too clangy

[thisnameistaken]

They're good for reggae. They're also good if you use pitch-tracking effects - you will typically get better performance from your pedals if you play flats. My last band had one tune that I literally couldn't play on a bass with roundwounds because my OC-2 wouldn't sustain long enough.

[wateroftyne]

The main enemy of flats is sound guys / producers who don't know how to mix 'em.

[4 Strings]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1362502228' post='2000302']
The main enemy of flats is sound guys / producers who don't know how to mix 'em.
[/quote]

And those who mix the bass drum to have depth charge type sounds regardless of the music type and so operating at the same frequencies.

Actually, that aggs me regardless of the subject matter at the moment!

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1362503126' post='2000327']
And those who mix the bass drum to have depth charge type sounds regardless of the music type and so operating at the same frequencies.
[/quote]

That drives me NUTS.

[bassicinstinct]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1362503244' post='2000329']
That drives me NUTS.
[/quote]

Amen to THAT!!

I've been using flats pretty much exlusively for years now and I just wish I'd discovered them earlier.

[Cat Burrito]

I echo the comments on improvements in bass technology these days. I don't own a bass with roundwounds on at present and play Americana, classic rock, rockabilly, folk and blues. Plenty of gigs are out there for old school players

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1362500447' post='2000257']
I can't understand how Steve Harris gets such a bright sound from flats. I struggle to get such a sound from round wounds!
[/quote]
He uses a fresh set every gig, that's how

[redstriper]

I started on flats when all basses came with them as standard and I've never felt the need for rounds in any style of music and I don't find any great difference in tone from modern amps that changes my view.
I know some players think the opposite and some like both, which is fine by me, I don't like bright sounding bass - for me bass means bass and I leave the bright stuff to someone else.

I do try rounds occasionally and immediately remember why I don't like them - they're horrible

[risingson]

I could use them for basically anything right now, old or new material, original or cover work, I'm really starting to come round to the idea of using them all of the time. I still like rounds though as well.

[stoker]

I use flats for everything! Just love the fat thumpy sound, find rounds to 'clanky' and tinny.
I must be doing something right, my tone is always getting complimented.

Edited March 5, 2013 by stoker

[discreet]

All good, but flats don't [i]have[/i] to be thumpy and fat. They can be clanky, buzzy, boingy and toppy as well.
D'Addario Chromes sound more like rounds than flats to me.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1362508885' post='2000486']
All good, but flats don't [i]have[/i] to be thumpy and fat. They can be clanky, buzzy, boingy and toppy as well.
[/quote]

Amen.

[Myke]

Doesn't Pino use them? When he's grooving with the R&B peoples?

[4 Strings]

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1362509485' post='2000508']
. So do I mate !
[/quote]

You use a fresh set of flats for each gig?

[cocco]

I think you can use them for anything. It's a personal preference thing. Steve Harris uses them for shredding faces. Others use them for being mellow. It's up to you.

[discreet]

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1362512366' post='2000610']
I think you can use them for anything. It's a personal preference thing. Steve Harris uses them for shredding faces.
[/quote]

[size=4] Sorry, but I read that as 'shredding faeces'.[/size]

[cocco]

What's the consensus on flats by the way? What are the most widely used ones? I fancy trying some on my Bob Glaub. My preference of rounds are rotosound swing bass 45-105.

[EssentialTension]

Anything and everything.

[Dingus]

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1362512541' post='2000619']
What's the consensus on flats by the way? What are the most widely used ones? I fancy trying some on my Bob Glaub. My preference of rounds are rotosound swing bass 45-105.
[/quote]

As a dedicated roundwound player myself , Thomastic Jazz Bass flats are the only ones I can tolerate in terms of tension and feel , and luckily they also sound great .