Precision and flats

[Guest]

Hi everyone.

I went watching "Bootleg Blondie" last night who were excellent but their bass guitarist had flats on his precision. It sounded fab and I'm just wondering if anyone can give me some guidance as to what might sound great on mine

cheers

Mike

[yorks5stringer]

Fender flats work for me, around £25 a set, there are cheaper brands on eBay and many recomend Labella which I think are nearer £50 too.

[paul_5]

I love Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on my Precision; lovely thumps and still got enough to to bite when I need them too.

[chris_b]

I initially put GHS Precision flats on my P bass, which I thought sounded good. Then I lucked into a set of TI flats for a great price, which IMO sound even better.

I have no need to change my strings for the next decade, but if I did I think Labella's look interesting.

[Maude]

It's not just 'what sounds great' but what sort of tension you like. Some flats are very stiff, others aren't. 

[Coilte]

8 minutes ago, chris_b said:

 Then I lucked into a set of TI flats for a great price, which IMO sound even better.

 

Love TI flats. A bit pricey, but well worth it IMO. Some people find the tension  too low. This never bothered me.

[Cat Burrito]

Flats on a Precision bass was my default sound for about 15yrs. I agree it's probably worth getting the Fender flats as they are amazing value for money and streets ahead of other Fender strings. People rave about Labella flats and some of the other more costly brands but I thought the Fender ones were amazing and would have paid a lot more for them.

[Reggaebass]

I’m loving the labella LTF’s 🙂

[howdenspur]

Never used flats before putting Labellas on my Roadworn P. They are lovely👍

[Shambo]

I myself am a Labella Jamerson fan. The TI flats sound really really good but I can't comfortably switch between the two having gotten used to that heavy Labella stiffness.

I'm not a Fender flats fan but I think I might have gotten a set with a duff A string.

[RossHetherington]

I have La Bellas Gold flats on my P bass that I have just put onand although they sound good they are a bit of git the strings are inconsistent and the tension annoys me. But if you want a set of a couple of week old La Bellas to try for your p let me know. 

Just about to put on some new Dunlop flats which I have heard good things about. 

Edited October 26, 2019 by RossHetherington

[dmccombe7]

I've not had flats on a bass since early 80's with my P fretless.

Always seems to be a P bass with flats. 

I'm quite curious to see where this goes but also curious as to whether they sound good on other types of basses like Sandberg VM4 or even a Jazz bass

Dave

[JapanAxe]

On My '73: D'Addario Chromes

On my '63 AVRI and Dingwall PZ5: Ernie Ball Cobalts

Here's the '63 AVRI recorded via the DI of my Ampeg PF-50T

[Deedee]

I know nothing about flats and I too would like to give them a whirl on my P bass. Interesting that there is some love for Fender flats.

 

EDIT - Scrap that. Looking at what's available it appears that the lowest gauge is 45 anyway

Edited October 26, 2019 by Deedee

[dmccombe7]

28 minutes ago, Deedee said:

EDIT - Scrap that. Looking at what's available it appears that the lowest gauge is 45 anyway

Didn't know that either. Bit heavy for me too.

[Merton]

LaBella are my favourite flat wounds. Starting to really dig their rounds as well atm

[dmccombe7]

46 minutes ago, Deedee said:

I know nothing about flats and I too would like to give them a whirl on my P bass. Interesting that there is some love for Fender flats.

 

EDIT - Scrap that. Looking at what's available it appears that the lowest gauge is 45 anyway

Just found Rotosound do 40-100 flats. Strings Direct

[ped]

I like light strings so I use Labella 760FX flats on my P which have a .0.39 G string - they feel and sound great.

 

[theplumber]

Cheap option,works for me at the moment, Adagio Flatwounds 45 -100, E bay price £14.99. Nice bright sound,no issues so far. Fitted to my Spector NS-2000/4 and Yamaha BB1100s. Using in classic punk rock covers band and rock covers band.

Edited October 26, 2019 by theplumber

[Maude]

8 minutes ago, theplumber said:

Cheap option,works for me at the moment, Adagio Flatwounds 45 -100, E bay price £14.99.

Another cheap option if you want to try flats. 

 

[RedVee]

TI Flats on a P Bass is a match made in Heaven. Leave them on for around 20 years and you won't look back!

[Soledad]

1 hour ago, Deedee said:

Interesting that there is some love for Fender flats.

I think flats suit the P really well. Currently using EB Cobalts and they are good but pricey. Then had some Fender flats on a Jazz fretless (45-100s) and I'd decided ages ago I didn't rate them, but these are really good - all the depth, the flat mid-punch and a nice crunch on top. And sensible money.

We need user feedback on those Adagios and Olympias - I mean a few months and proper sweaty gigging. But I'd get the Fender 45-100s again for sure.

[Samuel Burns]

I first tried the GHS precision flats on my p-bass. Dead right from the start, glass like smooth, but extremely high tension for my taste even though I opted for the medium set. 2 months after that I tried and stayed with the EB cobalts. Sticky at first, bright and barky, but 3-4 months into playing them they mellowed down but nothing like the GHS's.

[hooky_lowdown]

5 hours ago, Mike Byrne said:

Hi everyone.

I went watching "Bootleg Blondie" last night who were excellent but their bass guitarist had flats on his precision. It sounded fab and I'm just wondering if anyone can give me some guidance as to what might sound great on mine

cheers

Mike

Are you sure the bass player had flatwounds? As far a I remember Nigel Harrison didn't play with flats, so unusual a tribute band would use something different.

[Roger2611]

I saw Bootleg Blondie last week with Clem Burke on drums, excellent gig and following that I have just put a set of Fender flats on a Precision and have recorded our latest track with them, not 100% certain yet I like what I am hearing as I usually record with as new a set of strings as possible so it has given me a different sound, I will see how it pulls together in the final mix.