Flats on a T-Bird?

[Painy]

I'm just wondering if anyone here uses flats on a Thunderbird?

It's actually a 2013 Gibson EB5 that I'm thinking of putting flats on but it sounds very much like a T-Bird which I figured are a bit more commonplace so thought I'd be more likely to get a response.

Basically my sound is normally very bright and aggressive (fresh Dunlop Steel Superbrights on a precision and a jazz) but I got this because I wanted a contrasting sound and it is naturally much darker. I put my normal Superbrights on it initially but the bass doesn't really seem to produce the zingy highs anyway so I'm wondering if I should just embrace the dark side altogether with this bass and chuck some flats on it so I get a more complete contrast with my other basses.

I just wondered how other people had got on if they'd tried it?

Edited February 4, 2018 by Painy

[FinnDave]

I'm seeing a bloke on Tuesday who has fitted flats to one of the new Epiphone T Birds. I'll let you know what he thinks, and if i get a chance, what I think too.

[Painy]

That would be great if you can.

Thanks Dave

[dannybuoy]

I had La Bellas come with the Epi Classic Pro I bought, couldn’t whip em off quick enough! I like flats on my P-Bass, but it was just too dark for my liking with the ‘bird.

Edited February 4, 2018 by dannybuoy

[Painy]

Yeah I do worry if it might be a step too far.

On the other hand I do like the idea of spending a couple of pounds extra on a set of flats to begin with but then making them a family heirloom to be passed down to future generations .

[T-Bay]

I use roto66s nickel, they are bright for the first hour or so until they bed in and then are perfect. They don’t have the longest life though.

[Painy]

Well I eventually got around to trying it after getting some LaBella Deep Talkin flats from @krispn .

At first it did sound a bit too dark and lacking in clarity for my normal tastes straight into the amp but I normally use this bass through a Lomenzo Hyperdrive on a low gain setting to bring out the mids anyway. Increased the blend on the pedal a touch more than my previous settings and it sounded lovely in the mix at this week's band practice. Very much that flatwound thump and no zing on the top but still plenty of articulation.

Lovely feeling strings too so all in all a very successful experiment!

 

[krispn]

Flats tend to sound 'duller' but have more going on in the mid range so a Lomenzo pedal sounds to me anyways as a perfect compliment to what you are trying to achieve. I'm really tempted to put a T bird pick up in a p bass but with a Lull costing £250 it'd nearly be wiser to pick up an Embassy bass for what they cost new!

Edited March 22, 2018 by krispn

[EssentialTension]

I've got GHS Precision Flats on an Epiphone Embassy PRO with T'bird pickups and it sounds great to me. I do use a VT Bass pedal with the mids boosted slightly.

[EssentialTension]

Anyway, for what it's worth, I expect the original Thunderbirds and Embassies were factory fitted with flats.

[dannybuoy]

1 hour ago, krispn said:

Flats tend to sound 'duller' but have more going on in the mid range so a Lomenzo pedal sounds to me anyways as a perfect compliment to what you are trying to achieve. I'm really tempted to put a T bird pick up in a p bass but with a Lull costing £250 it'd nearly be wiser to pick up an Embassy bass for what they cost new!

Try these!

http://www.eyguitarmusic.com/Thunderbird-Bass-Pickup-Vintage-Style-for-GibsonChromeNickel_p_2287.html

[krispn]

Cheers👍🏽

[Grahambythesea]

Why not? Thunderbirds are old enough to have only been able to be fitted with flats back in the day! Bear in mind that generally the strings are thicker so you may need to file out the nut a bit. However faced with a similar problem I found that La Bella Low Tension Flats are much thinner than most and fitted without alternation to a bass set up for roundwound strings. Give them a try.

Edited March 22, 2018 by Grahambythesea

[lojo]

It's always mentioned that flats where the only strings available in times gone by so does anyone know what the first albums with rounds on where ?

[FinnDave]

17 minutes ago, lojo said:

It's always mentioned that flats where the only strings available in times gone by so does anyone know what the first albums with rounds on where ?

I'd hazard a guess it was something by The Who.

[Cat Burrito]

I used flats for 20yrs but when I bought my T-bird a couple of years back I found the zing of the roundwound offset the incredible low end of the Thunderbird. My feeling is it would be too much, unless you went for the brightest sounding flatwound you could find & regularly changed them.

[Lozz196]

Yeah good call, or choose flats that are known more for their mids than lows, such as TIs. Maybe Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats, as they`re quite near in sound to roundwounds.

[EssentialTension]

On 27/03/2018 at 08:34, Lozz196 said:

... Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats ...

Just put a set of Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats (50-70-85-105) on my Epiphone Embasssy PRO - they work well.

Nice purple silks too.