Old flats

[diskwave]

Just put a set of tatty really old D'Darrio flat wounds on my new P bass....flippin eck thump city!. I could not get any sort of authorative tone out of the rounds it came with in fact they sounded way to clangy and scooped, pretty awful, but now with the tone almost rolled completely off the thing sounds huge and great fun playing thru a Motown compilation cd.....

[ped]

There’s something about old flats that gets better over time. 

Not quite the same but I changed the Cobalt flats on my stingray recently. The originals are a very old set that have been on a few basses. Pretty chewed up at the pegs but stable. They sound incredible on the MM but curiosity got the better of me so I changed them and out the old ones in the bin. 

I’m not sure if the strings have changed but they didn’t sound anything like as good as the old ones. The old strings have tons of top end still despite their age and sound more like dead rounds. The new ones look and feel different. 

As my wife came home from work she found me fishing them out of the bin! Put them back on - perfect!!

[diskwave]

1 minute ago, ped said:

There’s something about old flats that gets better over time. 

Not quite the same but I changed the Cobalt flats on my stingray recently. The originals are a very old set that have been on a few basses. Pretty chewed up at the pegs but stable. They sound incredible on the MM but curiosity got the better of me so I changed them and out the old ones in the bin. 

I’m not sure if the strings have changed but they didn’t sound anything like as good as the old ones. The old strings have tons of top end still despite their age and sound more like dead rounds. The new ones look and feel different. 

As my wife came home from work she found me fishing them out of the bin! Put them back on - perfect!!

I never really believed it but u might be onto something. I probably last played them 20 years ago, trouble is I kind of got fed up with a lifetime playing flats and fancied another bass so unlike before decided to leave the factory rounds which look and feel like d'darrio's and  "learn" to play rounds, but they just don't give me the feedback that these old wires give. Once the music begins they just dominate the sound spectrum with a fat swathe of lower mid, its really fat but not mushy...seems great minds.... etc etc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Reggaebass]

Yep old flats for me too the older the better, I like the sound and the feel , no top end zing for me 😁, if I need more strings for new basses I buy used flats 

[hooky_lowdown]

17 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

if I need more strings for new basses I buy used flats 

Same here. Old flats are like comfortable shoes, there's no way I'm breaking them in - let someone else do that. 😉

[Reggaebass]

Don’t know if you’ve ever seen them but Anthony vitti forgotten groove yard has some great videos, this one is with Danny Morris , the flats on his bass are over 15 years old 

 

[Matt P]

my '77 Fender Precision came with a set of flats when i bought it about 10 years ago, they were a used set that the previous owner found in the cupboard, they sounded perfect, they're still fitted and i have no intention of changing them (although i did get them identified as Ernie Ball group flats by the experts on here so i know what they are should i ever need to find another set)

I also fitted a set of Chromes to my Letts 5 string when i bought it 8 years ago, they won't be changed until they break as they sound fab.

 

Matt

[Grahambythesea]

While we’re on the subject of flats, which brands come with no silks at the bridge end? I have some La Bella LowTension flats on one bass which don’t, but I’ve just acquired a bass with a 3 point bridge and the flats have silks which sit on the bridge pieces which I always understood was not good. I tried trimming them back without much success. Other suggestions gratefully received.
 

[diskwave]

8 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

Other suggestions gratefully received.

Split the wrap with a Stanley blade..no idea what they are but not a good idea.

[Reggaebass]

18 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

which brands come with no silks at the bridge end

Labella deep talkin have no silk at the ball end and red silk The other end, I can’t find the pack so I’m not sure what number they are , edit , 760 FL I think 🙂

Edited February 21, 2021 by Reggaebass

[Grahambythesea]

57 minutes ago, greavesbass said:

Split the wrap with a Stanley blade..no idea what they are but not a good idea.

Tried that, the picture is the result.

[PaulThePlug]

Can the silks be burnt, singed off, without heating the string too much?

Maybe worth a try with an old unwanted string.

[hooky_lowdown]

15 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

Tried that, the picture is the result.

GHS Precision flats have no silks at ball end.

There are two things you can do with a 3 point bridge, and silks over saddles - search "eb0 mod bar" (expensive option but looks and works great), or the cheap option is to thread small but wide 'nuts' (a la nuts and bolts), all the way to the ball end, you may need two or three per string, so the 'nuts' sit against the bridge, thus extending the string,candidate the silks away from the saddle.

[hooky_lowdown]

Just now, PaulThePlug said:

Can the silks be burnt, singed off

No, the silks turn into a plastic mess. Don't do this.

[AndyTravis]

6 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

GHS Precision flats have no silks at ball end.

There are two things you can do with a 3 point bridge, and silks over saddles - search "eb0 mod bar" (expensive option but looks and works great), or the cheap option is to thread small but wide 'nuts' (a la nuts and bolts), all the way to the ball end, you may need two or three per string, so the 'nuts' sit against the bridge, thus extending the string,candidate the silks away from the saddle.

or this 😂
 

hang on...not the picture I meant...

Edited February 21, 2021 by AndyTravis

[Grahambythesea]

I have a Babicz on my Gibson, totally brilliant bridge. In the long term I think that would be my choice but having just spent out to but the bass, I feel I ought to hold back on further large-ish outlay. What do you think of GHS Precision flats, I’ve only ever used their Brite Flats which I liked, but I recall they had silks at ball end.