LaBella flats - differences?

[Pea Turgh]

Hello chums.

 

At the SWBB I played some lovely instruments, two of my favourites were both fitted with LaBella low tension flats.  Decision made - I need them.

 

Hang on though - there are Low Tension Flats, and Low Tension Flexible Flats.  What’s the difference?  Cost is one I can see - £65 vs £43 respectively.

[Sibob]

Where are you looking? La Bella only sell one 'type' of Low Tension flats: https://www.labella.com/product/ltf-4a/
Almost certainly just a difference in wording/ old packaging or similar.

 

Si

[Reggaebass]

I’ve used these for years and have them on about 7 basses and as Si mentioned, I’m pretty sure there’s only one type, they did change their packaging a few years back 

[Pea Turgh]

Well that’s good news, as I am easily confused!  Google playing with me…

[Sibob]

7 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

Well that’s good news, as I am easily confused!  Google playing with me…

 

Yeah just Google and images of old packaging doing you dirty.

The image to the left is their new packaging. They only do one guage of LTF's as well, so all you have to do it pick 4 or 5 string....nice and easy haha.

 

Cheers
Si

[jrixn1]

Crap website and complete pot luck on customer service - but in their favour Bass Direct generally have good prices on strings.

 

"LTF 4A Low Tension Long scale - £40"
https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/LaBella_Flatwound_strings.html

[Pea Turgh]

Boom!  Glad I asked!

[wrinkleygit]

I use low tension Labella’s on all my basses except the Jabba fretless which has the lightest gauge Deep Talkin Labella flats on, if this is bass you were thinking of at the Sw bash. Bass Direct were out of stock of nearly all their medium gauge Labella’s for ages so in desperation I thought I would try the lightest DT flats and I absolutely love them on that bass, Bassdirect are by far the best supplier of Labellas, good luck in your quest, Mike.

[Linus27]

Just a quick question regarding the LaBella Low Tension Flats, for a regular Fender Precision, is it the standard long scale set I need to purchase? I really fancy trying a set on my fretless Precision after all the great reviews.

[Reggaebass]

30 minutes ago, Linus27 said:

Just a quick question regarding the LaBella Low Tension Flats, for a regular Fender Precision, is it the standard long scale set I need to purchase? I really fancy trying a set on my fretless Precision after all the great reviews.

Hi yes , long scale for jazz or precision, you can double check the measurements here if it helps 

[Linus27]

@Reggaebass Perfect, thank you very much, you're a star.

[Quilly]

I just put a set of these on my Sandberg Basic (German stingray basically) I really like the tone . Had them on a Sandberg California VS (p bass) so I kinda knew what to expect but on the Basic the tone is less woody and more punchy , focussed. I’ll see how they get on at rehearsal .

[ossyrocks]

I’ve not tried the LTFs, and lots of people rave about them. I have 760FL’s on my AVRI Precision, and the heavier 760FS’s on my Jazz. Also Thomstiks on my vintage P. If I tried a set, what could I expect in terms of the difference in tone and feel? 
Rob

[lee650]

1 hour ago, ossyrocks said:

I’ve not tried the LTFs, and lots of people rave about them. I have 760FL’s on my AVRI Precision, and the heavier 760FS’s on my Jazz. Also Thomstiks on my vintage P. If I tried a set, what could I expect in terms of the difference in tone and feel? 
Rob

The Labella's LTF have a very warm/dark smooth sound (The Labella tone) and are really smooth to the touch.They are lovely to play, I found the tension on par if not a little less than Tomastiks, I recall not liking the feel at the time.

 

The Tomastiks have a more pronounced mid range tone and a sweet treble when new, which later dies off leaving a warmer thump. I've had these on a few of my basses, before I realised the feel wasn't right for me. You can feel the wraps on these strings, but not a harsh feel at all, and for want of a better description, they felt "plasticky" 

 

Both great sounding strings, very easy to get about on, but I think next tine I get flats, it'll be light standard Labellas, they seem to have the classic tone.

[Reggaebass]

Everything as Lee says really, they are in my opinion the warmest sounding labella’s especially when played in, the tension is fairly low but not low as in floppy, about the same as TI’s , I’ve got 760FL’s on another precision and they are definitely brighter sounding, I’ve got a worn in set on my 71P for that classic P with flats sound and it’s a perfect match, on my jazzes you have the pickup options for more varied tone if you need it , I play reggae so they are good for my sound, I don’t have a spare set at the moment or I would send you them to try, I’m looking for some more myself 

[ossyrocks]

56 minutes ago, lee650 said:

The Labella's LTF have a very warm/dark smooth sound (The Labella tone) and are really smooth to the touch.They are lovely to play, I found the tension on par if not a little less than Tomastiks, I recall not liking the feel at the time.

 

The Tomastiks have a more pronounced mid range tone and a sweet treble when new, which later dies off leaving a warmer thump. I've had these on a few of my basses, before I realised the feel wasn't right for me. You can feel the wraps on these strings, but not a harsh feel at all, and for want of a better description, they felt "plasticky" 

 

Both great sounding strings, very easy to get about on, but I think next tine I get flats, it'll be light standard Labellas, they seem to have the classic tone.

Cheers Lee. When I put the Thomastiks on my vintage P is was the mids that immediately struck me, and I really like the way they sound. I do feel the difference in the wraps between those and the LaBellas, and I do prefer the feel of the LaBellas, so smooth. Hmm.

Rob

[ossyrocks]

29 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Everything as Lee says really, they are in my opinion the warmest sounding labella’s especially when played in, the tension is fairly low but not low as in floppy, about the same as TI’s , I’ve got 760FL’s on another precision and they are definitely brighter sounding, I’ve got a worn in set on my 71P for that classic P with flats sound and it’s a perfect match, on my jazzes you have the pickup options for more varied tone if you need it , I play reggae so they are good for my sound, I don’t have a spare set at the moment or I would send you them to try, I’m looking for some more myself 

That’s nice of you to offer that Tony, thanks, but I know you’re looking yourself. I may just have to try LaBellas on my ‘73 P. So it’s a toss up between 760FLs which I’m familiar with, or LTFs. I think LTFs just to give them a go. 
But then I’ll have to play them in for an age again! First world problems! 
Rob

[Reggaebass]

11 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

But then I’ll have to play them in for an age again

I found that they start to feel good after about 2-4 weeks of regular playing, a lot quicker than the 760FS I’ve got as they took ages, if you’re ok with the TI tension I think you might like them 

[ossyrocks]

Caved. LTFs ordered from Bass Direct. £40 is a real bargain, probably the cheapest strings I’ve bought since  my first set of PIcatos on my first bass.

[Reggaebass]

1 minute ago, ossyrocks said:

Caved. LTFs ordered from Bass Direct. £40 is a real bargain, probably the cheapest strings I’ve bought since  my first set of PIcatos on my first bass.

Nice one ☝️ 

[lee650]

48 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

Caved. LTFs ordered from Bass Direct. £40 is a real bargain, probably the cheapest strings I’ve bought since  my first set of PIcatos on my first bass.

Yes! I'm quite tempted by that myself fir my BB1024

[Reggaebass]

31 minutes ago, lee650 said:

Yes! I'm quite tempted by that myself fir my BB1024

I’ve got them on my 1024 too but they seem to sound brighter on that bass with the amp on the same settings, maybe it’s the pickups, but could also be the age of the strings, I think they are the newest ones I bought 

[ossyrocks]

LTFs fitted to my '73 Precision last night. No truss rod tweaking required.

 

These are great! Similar tension to the Thomastiks that were previously on there, but maybe slightly less. Great feeling strings, with that lovely LaBella wrap under your fingers.

 

I'm getting a set for the Jazz now, which is having a major upgrade anyway.

 

Cheers everyone!

Rob

[Reggaebass]

22 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

LTFs fitted to my '73 Precision last night. No truss rod tweaking required.

 

These are great! Similar tension to the Thomastiks that were previously on there, but maybe slightly less. Great feeling strings, with that lovely LaBella wrap under your fingers.

 

I'm getting a set for the Jazz now, which is having a major upgrade anyway.

 

Cheers everyone!

Rob

They get better with time as well, maybe a bit warmer sounding but nothing drastic, they really matched my precision’s well 

[TheGreek]

The link: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/LaBella_Flatwound_strings.html

 

However: 

La Bella Strings

Guide: Finding the Right Scale Set for Your Bass Knowing your bass’ “scale length” is not enough information to purchase the

correct set.

 

Figuring out your bass’ required “string wound length” is key BEFORE you purchase a set from ANY string manufacturer.

 

How to Figure out the “String Wound Length” your Bass Requires:

On your bass, measure the distance from the ball-end to just past the nut (you may have to remove the string if the string goes through the body).

Then use our key to figure out the correct set for your bass:

La Bella Short Scale Set: 32 .” Wound Length

La Bella Medium Scale Set: 34 .” Wound Length

La Bella Standard/Long Scale Set: 36 .” Wound Length

La Bella Extra Long Scale: 38" Wound Length

 

STRING WOUND LENGTH

Note the Following:

• Make sure the string wound length clears the nut.

• For flat wounds, make sure the wound portion of the string does NOT wrap around the tuning post (or else they will break).

• Do not use standard flat wound bass sets on basses that require stringing through the body of the bass (or else they will break). We have Through-Body “-TB” models for those basses e.g. 760FL-TB, 760FS-TB, etc.

• La Bella Beatle Bass sets can ONLY be used on Beatle basses (and very similar models). Do NOT try them on standard basses or they will break.

 

Please email [email protected] with specific questions about your bass. Thanks for playing La Bella!