stef030 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 so here I am throwing myself at the great fountain of knowledge that is bass chat, as long as I can remember I have used ernie balls on all my basses the only change is that as I have got older I use lighter gauge strings so now I want to try some flats on my fretless jazz, and would like to know roughly how different it will sound as to having roundwounds on, cost is not a issue, more of a how will it feel on my fingers I am looking for that alan thomson type sound he that playied with john martyn ect ect thankyou in advance sfef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Strings will feel smoother...think you mean Danny not Alan (who played football)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Well flats will instantly take you in that direction, and make both slides and (ahem) note correction much easier. What you will lose is the exaggerated growl that you get from playing rounds on a fretless. On the other hand, you'll also do far less damage to your fingerboard. Bear in mind that there's just as much variation between different brands & styles of flats as there is with rounds. La Bella FLs (my own favourite) are very stiff and very expensive; Thomastik make strings which are far more compliant and need a much lighter touch, but sound really lush when played well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 i tried some of those black nylon coated flats once ... dull as ditch water bring on the rounds i say and growl away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highfox Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 I'm also back to rounds on my fretless, seems to give it more bite and life at least in my hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Yuk...I hate flats period, especially on my fretless...but that's just me. Give it a go, it's the only way you'll know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef030 Posted December 17, 2016 Author Share Posted December 17, 2016 [quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1481993652' post='3196860'] Strings will feel smoother...think you mean Danny not Alan (who played football)! [/quote] aha now I did mean alan thomson who played on the piece by piece tour, danny played double bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 I love flats on a fretless - lots of growl and mwah a little further down the spectrum than with the rounds. Get them on there, lose any smiley EQ, and see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Yes, correct now you mention it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Try Status Hotwire half-rounds. Just as smooth as flats but with more growl, great for fretless. I just tried to look them up on their site, you might have to call them... They are mentioned as being for sale but I cannot seem to find where to click to buy a set! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1481993766' post='3196862'] ...and make... ... (ahem) note correction much easier. [/quote] I think what you were trying to say was "...beautifully expressive vibrato...", Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1482000805' post='3196925'] Try Status Hotwire half-rounds. Just as smooth as flats but with more growl, great for fretless. I just tried to look them up on their site, you might have to call them... They are mentioned as being for sale but I cannot seem to find where to click to buy a set! [/quote] +1 I like those, unfortunatel;y they don't have them for sale on at the moment. Hopefully they will get some more soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 I tried ordering from them in September to be told they were changing suppliers...from other comments on here before and after then, they would appear to have been in this state of flux for some time? TBF they did sell good strings very cheaply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 Buy some used sets on here and try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trueno Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 Most of my gigging was done on a fretless. I hated both the feel and the sound of flats. I tried half round but didn't like them either. However, if you have the itch to try them, you'll have to try them out... may be perfect for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 I really like the Ernie Ball Cobalts as they are more in the roundwound camp tonally than trad flats. There is a thread on them somewhere and a hardly used set for sale too IIRC (I would've bought them if they'd been my preferred gauge). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yank Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 I love flats. Labella on my fretless violin bass and Fender on my fretless Jazz. Both stainless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 (edited) also depends on what type of bass the fretless is? if its a high end high value type of thing you might want to keep it as pristine as possible so flats or halfs would be the sensible choice to minimise damage to the board - however if tis something at the lower end then try with rounds and see what you think - personally my fretless is only a squire vmJ so not too bothered about the board wear to be honest - i have sanded it down once but there is 'minimal' string marking from the rounds on there now after about a years worth of occasional playing and even that is so slight as to be not noticable from more than three feet away and certainly doesnt affect the sound - if you do get some marks and you want to get rid of them you can always attack it with some light grade papers on a radius sanding block once you get drummed in to your head to NEVER BEND THE STRING and only use the sideways vibrato technique you shouldnt have too many issues hope this helps Edited December 18, 2016 by steve-bbb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 I think flats lend themselves particularly well to both Precision basses and especially fretless basses. Any jazzy or dub or early rock n roll tone and you are virtually 90% there. I appreciate they have their haters but try them for yourself, I say. I use rounds on my Gibson because they don't suit every situation but they do have a place in modern music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 [quote name='Burrito' timestamp='1482055580' post='3197177'] I think flats lend themselves particularly well to both Precision basses and especially fretless basses. Any jazzy or dub or early rock n roll tone and you are virtually 90% there. I appreciate they have their haters but try them for yourself, I say. I use rounds on my Gibson because they don't suit every situation but they do have a place in modern music. [/quote] not hating on flats - they have a certain timbre which lends itself perfectly to certain situations BUT those situations are often very limited - so for the sake of versatility unless you have the luxury of having two fretless basses then rounds or halfs are probably the more versatile option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 I use flats on my Fretless - tried lots of different types. The first thing to watch out for is string tension - bear in mind some of those flats designed for use in the 60s have tension which would challenge even a prize arm wrestler.... great if you're a double bass player who occasionally plays an electric - or as occurred in the 60s where bass guitarists were mainly ex double bass players. its unlikely you'll be playing 16th note grooves with these IMHO. If you use these they will be hard on your fingers. I have settled on using low tension flats - Thomastik, Rotosound Solo Bass (ground wound), Ernie Ball Group 3 have all been good but I am absolutely sold on Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt flats and have them on my Stingray Fretless. They feel as smooth as anything (a little sticky for the first couple of days, but this goes), have similar tension to roundwounds, and the sound is fabulous. A great compromise between thump, fundamental sound and a bit of zing if you want it. They've been on the bass for 12 months now and are still great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 I can't say I am taken with flats on my fretless basses but as others have said damage to the board can be an issue, I have a maple necked precision copy I think I may just put some rounds on it and see how it goes, when I used to gig all the time with my old Bass Collection SB602 I ended up having the board replaced with Ebony, not cheap even back then but made a huge difference to wear....so why did I bloody sell it and where is it today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 Nylon tapewounds on a Precision fretless give you a very nice 'woody' type of tone, but it can also give you a nice low growly sound (Model P pickup on mine)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBike Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 No mention of specific strings but he has a [url="http://alanthomsonbass.com/equipment/"]website[/url] and Facebook page so I guess that you could ask him I saw him play with John Martyn a couple of times in the 1980's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 If the Status strings are hard to get hold of, GHS Brite Flats are very similar (and also hard to find last time I tried!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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