Flatwound Advice Please

[Andy_L]

Bit of background: I've always had just one bass, but after it simply stopped working at a rehearsal on Sunday I'm going to get a backup. Most basses seem to come with roundwood strings, but I'll want to change these to flats as soon as possible. But which ones?

 

I know the strings on my current bass are 45 - 105, but have no idea what make they are as they were already fitted when I got it. The silks are red but that's as much as I know. I'd happily get another set if I knew what they are.

 

I did try a set of La Bella Deep Talking Flats, but they were very low tension and I didn't get on with them at all. They're still sitting around somewhere but I'd prefer not to use them.

 

So, what would you recommend for a higher tension set of flats? It's for country rock on a precision.

 

Thanks for persevering through my ramblings. Andy

[Lozz196]

Red silks on non-floppy flats says Rotosound Jazz 77s to me. 

Edited May 17, 2022 by Lozz196

[Geek99]

Just list the labella strings here and make your money back 

[Andy_L]

Wow that was quick! Many thanks 👍

[NHM]

Fender flats are great for country rock, and not too expensive.

[Munurmunuh]

4 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Red silks on non-floppy flats says Rotosound Jazz 77s to me. 

 

The 45-105 Roto 77s, lovely

 

[Andy_L]

Thanks everyone, much appreciated 

[jay bass]

what gauge are the La bella strings? la bella deep flats are usualy very high tension.

Steve Harris rotosound 50 / 110 are a heavy guage flatwound if you prefer a higher tension.

[Andy_L]

41 minutes ago, jay bass said:

what gauge are the La bella strings? la bella deep flats are usualy very high tension.

Steve Harris rotosound 50 / 110 are a heavy guage flatwound if you prefer a higher tension.

Good question. I've just checked and they're 45-105 too, so I wonder if I have a rogue set

 

Maybe not fair to try selling them

[Reggaebass]

Fender flats as mentioned above ,I found to be quite mid focused, they are also high tension, they wasn’t for me but it depends what your looking for 

[Munurmunuh]

1 hour ago, jay bass said:

what gauge are the La bella strings? la bella deep flats are usualy very high tension.

Steve Harris rotosound 50 / 110 are a heavy guage flatwound if you prefer a higher tension.

 

The tension figures for the 45-65-85-105 set are pretty frightening themselves, the 50-75-95-110 is beyond my comprehension. If your expectations have been set by 45-105 Rotos....

 

Heavier than the 45-105, LaBella do a 49-109, and then there's the "Original" 52-73-95-110, which I think I read are significantly stiffer as well as heavier.

 

My fingers found a set of 45-60-80-105 Chromes quite enough of a challenge, and are wincing at the thought of any of these sets 😅

[Munurmunuh]

15 hours ago, Andy_L said:

did try a set of La Bella Deep Talking Flats, but they were very low tension and I didn't get on with them at all.

 

I wonder what you would make of La Bellas Low Tension Flats!

[Andy_L]

9 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

I wonder what you would make of La Bellas Low Tension Flats!

Indeed!

I suspect the set of La Bellas I have is defective given what others have said on here.

[Reggaebass]

It would be good to have some kind of flatwound tension chart as this gets mentioned quite a bit , I took this a long while ago when someone asked me about my strings , these are LTF’s

Edited May 18, 2022 by Reggaebass

[jay bass]

The La Bella Flats originals Original 52-73-95-110 are very high tension as mentioned by Ricky above

i have used these on p basses for 50's 60's genre music and they sound great .

but they are very stiff if your not used to high tension flats.

[Reggaebass]

10 minutes ago, jay bass said:

The La Bella Flats originals Original 52-73-95-110 are very high tension as mentioned by Ricky above

i have used these on p basses for 50's 60's genre music and they sound great .

but they are very stiff if your not used to high tension flats.

I tried those , light blue silks I think, and yeah they are very stiff feeling, maybe ok if you play with a pick but they wasn’t for me, they are still in my string drawer 

[lownote]

Dunlop flats... buying these will instantly give you bass superpowers and guarantee a lottery win. I love em

[Reggaebass]

On 17/05/2022 at 17:11, Andy_L said:

what would you recommend for a higher tension set of flats

Hey Andy, I’ve just remembered that I had these in my string drawer, I’ve been through so many strings but I’m fairly sure they are labella originals and high tension, the silks are a bit frayed but you can have them for nothing if they are any good to you 

[Andy_L]

39 minutes ago, lownote said:

Dunlop flats... buying these will instantly give you bass superpowers and guarantee a lottery win. I love em

I think it would take more than that to make me even a mediocre player!

[Andy_L]

26 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Hey Andy, I’ve just remembered that I had these in my string drawer, I’ve been through so many strings but I’m fairly sure they are labella originals and high tension, the silks are a bit frayed but you can have them for nothing if they are any good to you 

That's really kind of you 👍

 

I'll drop you a message 

[ped]

52 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Hey Andy, I’ve just remembered that I had these in my string drawer, I’ve been through so many strings but I’m fairly sure they are labella originals and high tension, the silks are a bit frayed but you can have them for nothing if they are any good to you 

I always think you sound like a really nice bloke when I read your posts. This confirms it! 

[Reggaebass]

10 minutes ago, ped said:

I always think you sound like a really nice bloke when I read your posts. This confirms it! 

Thanks ped, there’s some nice people here, I’m glad to help out when i can 🙂

[jay bass]

Dont forget to check your truss rod adjustment if changing the tension of your strings as this will  change the action on your bass.

[Andy_L]

36 minutes ago, jay bass said:

Dont forget to check your truss rod adjustment if changing the tension of your strings as this will  change the action on your bass.

Good point, thanks

[Supernaut]

On 18/05/2022 at 09:03, Reggaebass said:

It would be good to have some kind of flatwound tension chart as this gets mentioned quite a bit , I took this a long while ago when someone asked me about my strings , these are LTF’s

In my experience, lowest to highest tension:

 

TI Jazz Flats, La Bella Low Tension Flats, Dunlop Flats, GHS Precision Flats, La Bella Deep Talking Flats, D'Addario Chromes / Fender 9050s, DR Legends, Roto 77s.