LaBella flat E-string sounds...dead.

[BassAgent]

So I've been having an old set (approx 10 years old) of Labella flat wounds on my '71 which have served me pretty well over the years, but recently I've found the E-string to sound way more dusty than all the other strings. A, D and G are fine, E sounds like it's lost all life. Is this a known thing for LaBella? I really want to replace the strings, thinking about getting a new set of LaBellas but if this is the case with the next set too... Might switch to Thomastik.

[franzbassist]

I think it's quite a common thing with flats that the B and E strings in particular can sound dead and thuddy.  Mind you, ten years service isn't a bad return on the investment!

[BlueMoon]

I've experienced pretty much the same issue with most E/B flatwounds. Thomastik-Infeld being the exception though.

[Reggaebass]

A 10 year old set of labella’s with a thuddy E string sounds perfect to me 😁

[wateroftyne]

This has never been a thing for me..?

[Rothko]

Much as I love my La Bella DTB FLs, the low E does sound deader and thuddier than the rest. But only through an amp - acoustically they're still well balanced. Adjusting the P-bass pickup makes no difference to the electric imbalance. Puzzling.

[Rayman]

Thomastik flats, for me, are the king of strings. I've never had any issue with dead or unbalanced tone at all with them. I have a 5yr old set on a Yamaha, and they're still going strong and clear across the board. 

[Horizontalste]

Have you had them off for any reason? I had a similar thing with a B string, turned out to be a slight twist between the bridge & nut/tuner.

I wound all the tension off, made sure it was in line at the bridge then tuned it back up & it solved the problem.

Edited March 31, 2022 by Horizontalste
Crap grammar