What flats?

[cocco]

Hi everyone. I've recently taken possession of a lakland Bob Glaub (p-bass) and I quite fancy putting some flats on it. I've never used flats before, I'm more curious than anything. Just wondering what people would recommend? My preference of rounds are Roto Swingbass 45-105 if that matters.

[dannybuoy]

You will get a ton of different answers and mine is TI Jazz Flats!

[iiipopes]

Rotosound Monel 77's are very stiff strings. Too stiff, in my view. What tone do you want? If you want Macca tone with some flexibility, as the above post, then the TI flats. They are rather "floppy" compared to other sets. Also in this category are the new Optima flats, which are supposedly as close to the original '60's Maxima flats as possible. If you want Early Fender tone ('50's & early '60's), then LaBella. If you want R&B, then D'Addario Chromes. If you want some growl and major flexibility for most styles, the new Fender flats 9050CL set in 45-105. If you want straight forward round tone, some of the other brands will do.

[Lozz196]

Being a Rotosound Rounds man, when I`ve had flats, the ones I`ve got on best with are D`Addario Chromes. They still sound and feel like flats, but have a bit of twang & bite to them.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Lozz196

[Emanew]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1362526718' post='2000988']
You will get a ton of different answers and mine is TI Jazz Flats!
[/quote]
I agree , each player has his choice.
I used GHS and now Thomastik (much expensive). d'Addario are not too expensive, i will try next time.
The good thing with flats is that you can keep them a century....

My only advice would be to take care of your hands and your bass neck : the flats increase the tension (compared to the roundwounds) so choose a lighter set than your roundwound set.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Emanew

[xilddx]

I really liked LaBella Black Nylon tapes. They have a sort of dark brightness, and nice comfy compliance.

[risingson]

I highly recommend Status Hotwires. Not at all interested in their basses (graphite = wrong!!) but their strings are superb, I've got my P-Bass strung with them and they're excellent. If you're looking for/used to lower tension, stick with Thomastik. Expensive, but then you'll never actually need to change them.

[Wylie]

GHS flats are good, and inexpensive. D'addario Chromes are also a favorite.

[EssentialTension]

Try some Lakland Joe Osborn Flats, available cheaply and quickly from Lakland's website.

[franzbassist]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1362553118' post='2001102']
Try some Lakland Joe Osborn Flats, available cheaply and quickly from Lakland's website.
[/quote]

+1, these are great strings, although last time I checked they were out of stock..... WoT has been stockpiling !

La Bella FS are also very nice.

Edited March 6, 2013 by walbassist

[Clarky]

My favourites are Pyramid Gold (as used by Grateful Dead etc in the late 60s/early 70s). They feel worn-in from the moment you open the packet whereas I find TI Flats and others need time to sound and feel their best. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/pyramid_gold_flatwound_ebasssaiten.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/pyramid_gold_flatwound_ebasssaiten.htm[/url]

[peety]

Another vote for Lakland Joe Osborn flats my Bob Glaub is strung with these excellent strings at a good price

Cheers Steve

[ead]

I'm going to lob the Fender CL9050s into the mix. Nice strings, not too stiff, in the gauge range you want and good value at £20 or so a set.

[Highfox]

I now have 5 different basses all strung with different flats...
... after all these years I think I have discovered that getting flats in the right gauge with the right tension has been the key issue for me.. as well as which bass they suit. A complex issue lol.

From now on it's Fender 9050 - 45-100 on all my P- type basses that's one thing I have found out.
The TI's seem to suit jazz type basses at least in my hands.

[wateroftyne]

I thought I'd posted in this one already, but I can't see it. I must have dreamt it.

Anyway, Laklands. Lovelier than the already lovely LaBellas, cheaper, and more definition in the mids.. very little clank and clatter. And let's face it - flats are about mids, not clank and clatter.

They're out of stock but I can sell you some from the big box of them that I have in my shed that Walbassist referred to earlier.

Only joking.

Maybe.

[Evil Undead]

I love D'Addario Chromes, I use the custom light gauge 40-100.

If I had the money though, I'd love to try TI Jazz Flats.

[Beer of the Bass]

One thing to mention about the Chromes is that they're quite stiff feeling and high in tension. If you're coming from 45-105 gauge rounds, it might be worth trying the 40-100 Chromes. I've had one bass where the truss rod didn't have enough adjustment to bring the neck straight with the 45 gauge Chromes.
Also, as Silddx says, tapewounds can also be worth a shot if you like flats. I'm using D'Addario tapes at the moment - they sound like a flatwound but with a slightly different, crisper attack and they feel great.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Beer of the Bass

[6v6]

+1 for TI Jazz flats, but be aware they are much *lower* tension than many other strings - switching from the stock elixir's which came on my SR500 to TI's resulted in a much lower string tension - I had to slacken off the truss rod quite a bit, raise the action, and adjust my playing style to play nearer the bridge, otherwise you risk noise from the strings hitting the frets.

Might go for something slightly higher tension next time, but they do sound and feel very nice.

[Edenburgh]

Thomastik Infeld (TI) Flats now on my recently acquired '77 P-Bass. Previously had Rotosound '77 flats on a MIM Roadworn Jazz.

The TI's are better to play (smoother, slicker) than the Rotosounds but they are also more expensive. The Roto flats on my Roadworn Jazz always made me want to play Dazed and Confused by Zep (I hope that helps paint a picture of the sound). However, the additional cost of the TI's, spread over the life of these things may be deemed negligible (go without a couple of takeaway meals and you will break even!)

Previously, I always thought that flats = dull sound and 'jazz'. No not so. I'm about to do a series of rock gigs with these TI strings on the P-bass. Finger style you can do anything from Motown to ....ok I can't think of anything else right now. But picked, you can do all the Lynott, Dirnt agressive stuff without issue. Also, flats feel nice. And the TIs are a light gauge so tension is less of an issue.