Which flats are on your Stingray?

[drTStingray]

6 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

I've now got the low tension LaBellas on the Ray, I'm liking them a lot. 

The Chromes were great too, but I had an old school vibe in mind and the LaBella nail that. I suppose the Chromes are more hifi, they have more volume, punch and top end. My other Ray has roundwounds so the LaBella are a better opposite for me.

The Chromes tension doesn't bother me on my other basses but just didn't feel right on the Ray, too stiff for that particular bass. The LaBella are just like Thomastiks, and suit the bass. 

Its an Old Smoothie Stingray, and the LaBella definitely make it a smoother bass to my ear, and exactly what I had in mind when I heard it with rounds and bought it. 

Sounds great - the Old Smoothies are fine basses eh? I concur with you on string tension on Rays - the tighter flats really don't work as well (for me at least - and I've heard other people say this). I really think the tighter flats on P basses were probably because the early players were ex double bass players who were used to it. 

The original Old Smoothie as an early production 76 bass would probably have had flats fitted from new unless Sterling Ball was experimenting with rounds as well as the 'Smoothie' pick up. 

[Delberthot]

I love Chromes and have used them on loads of basses. When I bought my Sterling 2 years ago the first thing I did was buy a set and absolutely hated them.

The sound through the pa was all bottom and clackety clack sounding and no amount of tweaking could remedy this. There was no definition and needless to say I took them off and have been using D'addario nickel round wounds since and love them.

[Chiliwailer]

My LaBella love/hate relationship continues, took them off the bass this morning.

The old school vibe was excellent but the lack of volume and weight was bothering me. Will probably put them up on the for sale section soon. 

 

[FinnDave]

1 minute ago, Chiliwailer said:

My LaBella love/hate relationship continues, took them off the bass this morning.

The old school vibe was excellent but the lack of volume and weight was bothering me. Will probably put them up on the for sale section soon. 

 

Which LaBellas were you using? I recently put a set of 760 FX (extra light) on a Jazz Bass and was surprised at how well they suited it, better than the FS I have been using on other basses. 

[Chiliwailer]

19 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

Which LaBellas were you using? I recently put a set of 760 FX (extra light) on a Jazz Bass and was surprised at how well they suited it, better than the FS I have been using on other basses. 

I had the low tension set on, but in the past have not clicked with the regular tension sets either. 

It’s annoyingly as they are great strings, I still use them on my Steinberger Spirit, they just don’t suit me on other basses. 

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, Chiliwailer said:

My LaBella love/hate relationship continues, took them off the bass this morning.

The old school vibe was excellent but the lack of volume and weight was bothering me. Will probably put them up on the for sale section soon. 

 

Try the white nylon tapewounds (copper version, or standard). I think those will do the trick. They can do old school vibe, but only when you want them to. They are very versatile and unlike any other tapewounds. Highly flexible too (or 'low tension') which I like too.

[Chiliwailer]

1 minute ago, mcnach said:

Try the white nylon tapewounds (copper version, or standard). I think those will do the trick. They can do old school vibe, but only when you want them to. They are very versatile and unlike any other tapewounds. Highly flexible too (or 'low tension') which I like too.

I think you’re on to something there...

[TheInfectedDonut]

On 4/6/2018 at 03:53, Chiliwailer said:

My LaBella love/hate relationship continues, took them off the bass this morning.

The old school vibe was excellent but the lack of volume and weight was bothering me. Will probably put them up on the for sale section soon. 

 

Coincidentally enough I took my La Bellas off too. I wasn't digging the cloppy sound I was getting, not enough zing and bite for my taste. I ended up putting extra light gauge D'addario chromes on my P bass and GHS pressure wound strings on my Sterling Ray. I'm content with this set up. I'm getting the sounds I want and I prefer the sound of chromes a lot better. I can deal with the tension on the chromes with the extra light gauge set. I've never tried nylon strings before. I'm curious about the results you'll get if you decide to go that route. 

[Chiliwailer]

5 hours ago, TheInfectedDonut said:

Coincidentally enough I took my La Bellas off too. I wasn't digging the cloppy sound I was getting, not enough zing and bite for my taste. I ended up putting extra light gauge D'addario chromes on my P bass and GHS pressure wound strings on my Sterling Ray. I'm content with this set up. I'm getting the sounds I want and I prefer the sound of chromes a lot better. I can deal with the tension on the chromes with the extra light gauge set. I've never tried nylon strings before. I'm curious about the results you'll get if you decide to go that route. 

You’re absolutely right about the lack of zing, or treble, for the LaBella’s, the EQ became much less versatile when those strings were on. That said, I like that type of string, and quality,  just on a different bass. 

For the moment I’m seeing how the Chromes break in. They sound great on my Fenders, and after the LaBella’s actually felt like a welcome relief in an odd way. If flats weren’t so expensive I reckon there’d be a good few sets I’d like to try. 

[Sweeneythebass]

Having just acquired a Old Smoothie with flats I can now join in 😁

 

‘She’ arrived wearing EB Cobalts Flats which sounded lovely - very musical, lots of clear overtones. Not for me though as much higher tension than I’m used too and I could tell with much more playing time I’d end up with RSI. So I switched in a set of Dunlop Flats, which are my go to on my other basses, lower tension and plenty of top end when compared to most flats. With the lower tension I’m able to pluck at the bridge and bend/vibrato with much greater ease. Like an old pair of shoes. 

[Chiliwailer]

12 minutes ago, Sweeneythebass said:

Having just acquired a Old Smoothie with flats I can now join in 😁

 

‘She’ arrived wearing EB Cobalts Flats which sounded lovely - very musical, lots of clear overtones. Not for me though as much higher tension than I’m used too and I could tell with much more playing time I’d end up with RSI. So I switched in a set of Dunlop Flats, which are my go to on my other basses, lower tension and plenty of top end when compared to most flats. With the lower tension I’m able to pluck at the bridge and bend/vibrato with much greater ease. Like an old pair of shoes. 

Know exactly what you mean, love my Smoothie with flats, amazing tone. I settled on EB Group IV after trying a fair few other flats and gauges, still amazes me the difference the ‘right string for you’ can make. 
 

BTW, smoothed off the lacquer on the back of the neck too, now it’s even smoothier 😂

[DiMarco]

I tried flats only once. Couldn't get along with the feel of them - my fingers felt sticky playing them.

If I were to try flats again, which ones won't feel sticky? Currently using rounds on all my basses but the Stingray 5 might just sound amazing with flats.

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by DiMarco

[Reggaebass]

19 minutes ago, DiMarco said:

I tried flats only once. Couldn't get along with the feel of them - my fingers felt sticky playing them

Was they new flats, only some can feel tacky out of the packet but once they are played in they are silky smooth, maybe buy a lightly used set from here, they come up quite often 🙂

[FinnDave]

39 minutes ago, DiMarco said:

I tried flats only once. Couldn't get along with the feel of them - my fingers felt sticky playing them.

If I were to try flats again, which ones won't feel sticky? Currently using rounds on all my basses but the Stingray 5 might just sound amazing with flats.

 

I tried D'Addario Chromes a few years ago, they had that sticky feel. Later, I bought a used Precision with LaBella flats and they weren't sticky at all, neither were the new set I later replaced them with. 

I don't really get on too well with flats, though, they feel strange to my fingers and there is very little grip for adding vibrato, so all but one of my basses are now strung with round wounds.

[Sweeneythebass]

1 hour ago, Chiliwailer said:

Know exactly what you mean, love my Smoothie with flats, amazing tone. I settled on EB Group IV after trying a fair few other flats and gauges, still amazes me the difference the ‘right string for you’ can make. 
 

BTW, smoothed off the lacquer on the back of the neck too, now it’s even smoothier 😂

I’ve thought about doing that as the laquer makes my fretting hand sweat, not sure if I will tho as I tend to like to keep things stock. An even smoothier smoothie indeed 😁

[Sweeneythebass]

11 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

I tried D'Addario Chromes a few years ago, they had that sticky feel. Later, I bought a used Precision with LaBella flats and they weren't sticky at all, neither were the new set I later replaced them with. 

I don't really get on too well with flats, though, they feel strange to my fingers and there is very little grip for adding vibrato, so all but one of my basses are now strung with round wounds.

In my experience Chromes = sticky which is a shame cause they actually sound quite good in my opinion.

All other flats I’ve tried = smooth; almost as smooth as a smoothie but not quite as smooth as a smoothie 😁

[Reggaebass]

I’ve found labella flats break in fairly quickly , I’ve had them more or less since I started , but the fender ones I tried once seem to take ages before they started to feel any good ,and they had a higher tension, which might not be a good idea on a stingray as they would be stiff at the bridge 

[uk_lefty]

On 30/03/2018 at 06:20, Chiliwailer said:

TI’s - I’ve had them before on my P and J’s, great strings but I just prefer Chromes these days. I’d love to try them on the Ray, but it’s a gamble. 

Having heard great things about TIs I had them on my 70s P bass to replace the Steve Harris signature Rotos. Did not get on with them at all. I didn't like the sound or feel. I put them on my Ray and they did not last long there either. I'd like to put some decent flats on my Ray to see what the fuss is about but to me the Ray needs bright zingy rounds... I've used Chromes, Fender flats and EB flats that come in the blue packet all on other basses but never on the Ray, and there's nothing about those strings that makes me think they would work for me. Maybe I just need two Stingrays! 

[Chiliwailer]

3 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

Having heard great things about TIs I had them on my 70s P bass to replace the Steve Harris signature Rotos. Did not get on with them at all. I didn't like the sound or feel. I put them on my Ray and they did not last long there either. I'd like to put some decent flats on my Ray to see what the fuss is about but to me the Ray needs bright zingy rounds... I've used Chromes, Fender flats and EB flats that come in the blue packet all on other basses but never on the Ray, and there's nothing about those strings that makes me think they would work for me. Maybe I just need two Stingrays! 

Funny seeing that quote of mine you quoted - I’ve gone right off Chromes, but they still sounded great when i put them on a Ray for a mate recently. 
 

TI’s are proper marmite.

 

2 Rays is logic, I got rounds on one and flats on the other. Just depends if that Ray & flats tone does it for you? 

[MattM]

I’ve got a set of what I presume were factory original rounds on my ‘Ray Classic and TBH never felt the need to switch them for flats, as I can get pretty much almost there tone wise with judicious muting, hand position and use of tone controls.  Conversely, I love Labella flats on Precision’s, think I had them on an old Limelight and USA P and they were brilliant - could get them reasonably zingy with a pick and again judicious tone control usage, particularly on the Limelight.

[Chiliwailer]

6 hours ago, Sweeneythebass said:

I’ve thought about doing that as the laquer makes my fretting hand sweat, not sure if I will tho as I tend to like to keep things stock. An even smoothier smoothie indeed 😁

I felt the same, but some scratches I needed to get out kind of forced my hand though - game changer though, for me it’s way better, I’m chuffed. 

[Paul_S]

When I bought the bass originally I used coated DR Black Beauties or Roto Nexus which looked cool with the all black and ebony. But soon went through that stage.

 

For the last 3 or 4 years I have used EB Group 1V 40-95 on my ray and on my precision and fretless aria

 

Rounds have too much zing for me and soon change their tone after a couple of gigs. I guess it depends on what you are playing and how often you want to change your strings, but the advantage of flats is they get better with age and last a lot longer.

 

Flats are also kinder to my fingers especially my picking fingers so I get less blisters.

 

Lastly, Ernie's strings are reasonably priced compared to some others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by Paul_S

[gareth]

Ti flats

[miles'tone]

Can't comment as yet but I have a set of EB Group flats that I'm putting on my SR5 this weekend. 

I felt they'd be a safe bet because, after trying all the strings I like best on Fenders, I've found EB rounds work best on my Stingrays 🤷

I'll let you know how I get on...

 

[andruca]

Even tho' LTFs are my flat of choice for fretless, I bought this some months ago to try these Magma Ultra Flats (.040"-.120") strings in one of my SR5s. Overall soft and warm, probably a bit brighter than my beloved LTFs.

 

https://www.magmastrings.com/1_1_2_ultra_flat_process_stainless_steel_round_wound.html#

 

You can hear them here...