mike 110 Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 I'm going to try Labella flats for the first time and just wondering which set are top load and which set are through-body ? I've got Chromes on one of my Basses so I'll be looking for the same or closest to their gauge ( 50-105 ) though not the Jamerson set , I've tried the Steve Harris set and they're just to much for my dainty little pinkies They're for a Precision but I've not decided whether to go TL or TB … Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 [quote name='mike 110' timestamp='1480575304' post='3185467'] I'm going to try Labella flats for the first time and just wondering which set are top load and which set are through-body ? I've got Chromes on one of my Basses so I'll be looking for the same or closest to their gauge ( 50-105 ) though not the Jamerson set , I've tried the Steve Harris set and they're just to much for my dainty little pinkies They're for a Precision but I've not decided whether to go TL or TB … [/quote] AFAIK, no La Bella flats are suitable for TB stringing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 I've just been corrected by a pal - you can! Apologies for the duff info :-) See here... http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/LaBella_Flatwound_strings.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 110 Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1480581162' post='3185506'] I've just been corrected by a pal - you can! Apologies for the duff info :-) See here... [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/LaBella_Flatwound_strings.html"]http://www.bassdirec...nd_strings.html[/url] [/quote] Great thanks WoT Though I still can't decide .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 I've got 760FL gauge La Bellas on my precision (top loading bridge) and they're great tension. I'd normally go for 105-45 in round wounds, and the 760FLs are 104-43 i think. They don't feel as stiff or heavy as i'd been led to believe (i.e. you can still string bend on them pretty easily) so you'd probably be ok with a slightly heavier gauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 110 Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 [quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1480608148' post='3185820'] I've got 760FL gauge La Bellas on my precision (top loading bridge) and they're great tension. I'd normally go for 105-45 in round wounds, and the 760FLs are 104-43 i think. They don't feel as stiff or heavy as i'd been led to believe (i.e. you can still string bend on them pretty easily) so you'd probably be ok with a slightly heavier gauge. [/quote] Thanks bb , am I right in assuming that the L in 760FL stands for Long ( scale ) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 [quote name='mike 110' timestamp='1480758038' post='3186892'] Thanks bb , am I right in assuming that the L in 760FL stands for Long ( scale ) ? [/quote] The L in FL stands for ‘light gauge’ compared with FM ‘medium gauge’, FS ‘standard gauge’ and FX ‘extra light gauge’ etc. The FS are substantially more tense or less compliant than the FL, in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivansc Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 Not cheap but Thomastik!!!!! Supple as a very supple thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottastopbuyinggear Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 The first flats I tried were Rotosounds, and I was quite surprised at how different they were to similar gauge D'Addario rounds I normally use, though I do tend to go for medium or light gauge. I spent quite a bit of time trying to find info on relative tensions and feels of flats and eventually settled on a set of FLs for my precision, and they've been great. I've since put FSs on my jazz and can't really tell any difference to the FLs. The only problem now is that I need two more basses for when I fancy playing rounds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 La Bella 760FL the closest to 40-100 Chromes, I think. The gauges are almost identical. Thomastiks too supple in my experience. The .70 A string is just too soft (to get the octave accurate, you need to push the saddle waaaay forward). Shame, because they sound great. I replaced the A on my set with a Chrome in .80. It's almost as good sounding as the E, D and G, but not quite (although better than the soggy Thomsatik A, which sounded a bit limp to my ears). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 [quote name='mike 110' timestamp='1480758038' post='3186892'] Thanks bb , am I right in assuming that the L in 760FL stands for Long ( scale ) ? [/quote] Hi Mike - sorry i only just spotted your reply. Yes as the others have said, the L stands for light. They're certainly not overly lightweight tho, and nothing like as light as TI flats which I have on my Epi Jack Casady bass. I used the La Bellas on a P bass that i often need to tune to E flat for depping work, and they hold up fine. I think they're the best gauge for me. Strangely they feel less stiff to me than the 40-100 gauge Rotosound Monel flats i used previously, even tho they're heavier gauge. I like them, a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1480763011' post='3186934'] The FS are substantially more tense or less compliant than the FL, in my experience. [/quote] [quote name='Gottastopbuyinggear' timestamp='1480842817' post='3187394'] I've since put FSs on my jazz and can't really tell any difference to the FLs. [/quote] ... and that's why it's necessary to try them and decide for oneself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 110 Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 Thanks everybody , for all info and opinions , good stuff as usual seeing as Ive decided to restring 2 basses - 1 TB and 1 TL I'll try them both ….. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottastopbuyinggear Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1480952120' post='3188343'] ... and that's why it's necessary to try them and decide for oneself. [/quote] Aha! I'm normally pretty good at reading threads before I reply to them, but I'd missed your comment on finding them substantially different. I wasn't trying to contradict you, and I don't think you took it the wrong way anyway, but I've seen wars start over on TalkBass for less! I checked and the Rotosounds I tried were 45-105s, and I can definitely say that both the FS and FL sets feel much easier to play than they did. To be fair, though, my playing style is pretty agricultural and I'm not particularly discerning! [quote name='mike 110' timestamp='1481036364' post='3189181'] Thanks everybody , for all info and opinions , good stuff as usual seeing as Ive decided to restring 2 basses - 1 TB and 1 TL I'll try them both ….. [/quote] Let us know how you get on. It's not a particularly cheap experiment at the best part of 40 quid a pop, so I hope you like them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 110 Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 [quote name='Gottastopbuyinggear' timestamp='1481119346' post='3189845'] Aha! I'm normally pretty good at reading threads before I reply to them, but I'd missed your comment on finding them substantially different. I wasn't trying to contradict you, and I don't think you took it the wrong way anyway, but I've seen wars start over on TalkBass for less! I checked and the Rotosounds I tried were 45-105s, and I can definitely say that both the FS and FL sets feel much easier to play than they did. To be fair, though, my playing style is pretty agricultural and I'm not particularly discerning! Let us know how you get on. It's not a particularly cheap experiment at the best part of 40 quid a pop, so I hope you like them! [/quote] Yep , no worries , I'll do that It'll be after Christmas now as we're in the process of moving house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 [quote name='Gottastopbuyinggear' timestamp='1481119346' post='3189845'] Aha! I'm normally pretty good at reading threads before I reply to them, but I'd missed your comment on finding them substantially different. I wasn't trying to contradict you, and I don't think you took it the wrong way anyway, but I've seen wars start over on TalkBass for less! [/quote] I didn't take it as contradiction - not that contrdiction would be a problem anyway - but just that [i]sometimes[/i] there is a subjective element to things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drake Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 The big fat Tamla Motown ones for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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