Mike Bungo Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Hi all I've bought a Warwick Alien and I'm condering fitting flats. The question is what type... I have Fender 9150's on my electric basses but would these work on this acoustic bass? Cheers Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 IME flats don't project on an acoustic like rounds, so it depends on what you're using it for. I had TIs on an old Ovation acoustic bass and they sounded lovely, but only when plugged in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Fender 9150's are high tension, something you don't want on an acoustic. You probably want LaBella low tension flats. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 10 minutes ago, Mike Bungo said: Hi all I've bought a Warwick Alien and I'm condering fitting flats. The question is what type... I have Fender 9150's on my electric basses but would these work on this acoustic bass? Cheers Mike I tried flats off my jazz on my acoustic and they sounded really dull acoustically, but ok when plugged in, so I bought acoustic bass strings and they are great 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Bear in mind the 4 is 32” (medium) scale. I’ve got an Alien 4 and am considering flats. As I posted previously, the standard 45 gauge bronze medium scale Warwick strings won’t intonate on it, suggesting it’s maybe previously had the bridge moved. Unfortunately they don’t do medium scale 40s; it has medium scale bronze 40s on currently which intonate fine, but I’ve no idea what they are and can’t find anyone who makes them, and they’re very old. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Following some love displayed on here I fitted La Bella white nylon tapewound flats to mine and they sound bloomin' luvverly. Got more bite than the black ones. Not everyone's cup of tea, granted, as they do feel slightly odd at first. Not to mention the price. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 (edited) I’ve had Fender flats on my acoustic bass since 2006, love them. Maybe not as loud acoustically, but the natural tone suits me better. I cringed everytime I tried bronze strings since. Edited March 14, 2020 by Chiliwailer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 I had TI Flats on a Michael Kelly Dragonfly - low tension and sounded great amplified but I never used it at a gig, only noodling at home and an occasional jam. For about six years I regularly gigged an amplified archtop Takamine B10 on which, after much experimentation, I always used La Bella 760FS flats - high tension but much more double-bassy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Following on from other comments, pretty much the only significant factor here is whether or not you want to play it as an acoustic bass. If so, then best forget flats, whatever the brand and whatever the colour. If you want an acoustic bass to compete (i.e. be audible) against even a couple of nylon-strung acoustic guitars, then you either need rounds or you need a very big body (e.g. a DB) or you need something designed to do this and not a lot else (e.g. a Guitarron). Against a couple of steel-strung acoustic guitars, my experience is that you need amplification. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickD Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 As above, if you intend to play fully acoustic with other instruments (except maybe a Kazoo), forget it. Amplified though... My acoustic wears D'Addario black nylon tapewounds, and I love both the sound and feel. They seem to improve with age too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 I recently put a set of the new GHS Bronze Pressure wound strings on my acoustic and I'm VERY impressed! Perfection actually. No horrible scrapy finger noises either! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazed Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Tried bronze acoustic strings from Ernie Ball. Not for me. Put some black nylon tape wounds on. Much happier. No scratchiness and the volume was usable unamplified. As with most acoustic basses though if you want to play with anything else it’s really going to need to be amplified. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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