Does anyone use Flats on a SR5? If so, which ones?

[Old Horse Murphy]

I'm looking to put Flats on one of my Stingray 5 Strings and am wondering what other folk are using? I really don't like D'Addario Chromes (too high tension) but am interested to see what other suggestions they are which don't make the B string too floppy or too "off" in terms of intonation, especially further up the neck.

 

Any ideas at all?

[Drax]

From expensive trial and error - personally found best low B for the mix of good intonation, agreeable ‘tension’ (ie playing flexibility), and tone is LaBella 760FL-B. 

Like you found Chromes too stiff, and also 760FS the same. Dunlop came a close second to FLs, feel great but not quite the LaBella thump.  

The .128 B is tapered. Previously not a fan of tapered but it does what it’s meant to - clarity and intonation.  

String tension/flex is subjective - one man's stiff is another man's floppy (sorry) but the 760FLs (LaBella 'light') had a decently playable B - neither wet noodle of TI's , nor the bridge cable of 760FMs.

The articulation on 34 scale, was more in line with the variance between strings you'd expect with good roundwounds . That is - the sound of a fretted F on B string, sounds vs fretted F on E string. With some flats they were miles apart. 

Whatever you pick, a low B on flats is going to mean a compromise somewhere. 

 

Edited July 29, 2020 by Drax

[fretmeister]

Dunlops on mine. 40s.

I've never really found an excellent low B as a flat but these are as good as I've found.

[Drax]

2 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

I've never really found an excellent low B as a flat but these are as good as I've found.

Yeah that's it really. Noone has nailed it 

[chris_b]

I've a set of TI's on my PJ5 and they sound very good across all strings.