Flatwound string advice

[javasound]

As someone moving from Upright (double) bass to electric, I have bought a second hand bass, and the strings are really bright and 'squeaky'. I have been advised that I would get more of the sound that I am looking for with Flatwound - so I would appreciate some suggestions or guidance :)

[Geek99]

Try adagio pro flats from Amazon or eBay 

cheap as chips and very good value 

[fretmeister]

Flatwounds vary massively.

 

Some are super bright, almost like roundwounds like the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats, and then at the other end you get the thuddy old fashioned tone of La Bella Deep Talking Flats. Everything else is somewhere in the middle. Apart from plastic / tape wound things which are different again. They also vary massively in tension. La Bellas are quite high tension, Thomastik TI Flats are super low tension and very flexible. La Bella also do a Low Tension string, but I haven't tried them.

 

Some flats are ruinously expensive so trying a lot is not always practical. However you will find that people sell their old flatwounds on here so at least you can try a bunch that way.

 

As per the last video in this post, Ed Friedland came from an upright background and though the La Bella Deep Talking Bass was what he was looking for.

 

I'm a big fan of flats, and I have different ones on different basses.

 

Shortscale Sandberg Lionel passive PJ: Fender Stainless flats. 

 

Then I have 2 shortscale Jim Deacon precisions - one has proper old La Bella Deep Talking Flats and the other has Dunlop Flats.

 

Medium Scale Ibanez 5 string - Dunlop Flats

 

Sandberg TT4 (active Jazz type) usually has Ernie Ball Group 2.5 flatwounds.

 

From memory so you can listen to examples:

 

La Bella Deep Talking Flats: Duck Dunn / James Jamerson. Both famously liked their strings very old to the point they would grease up new ones to remove any twang a new set had!

 

Dunlop Flats: Michael League of Snarky Puppy is a fan. Very expensive though.

 

Ernie Ball Group Flats (different from the Cobalts): Joe Dart of Vulfpeck / Fearless Flyers / The Ollam always has these on his passive stringray bass.

 

Pino Palladino - Thomastik TI Flats are on his signature model. Also expensive.

 

 

 

 

Comparison of La Bella Deep Talking Flats and their Low Tension alternative

 

 

 

Dunlops, DR, Rotosound, and or course La Bella. Do note that the Rotosounds are a nickel alloy called Monel. It has a very high nickel content so if you have any sort of nickel allergy (as I do) then they are not the best choice.

 

 

 

 

and finally - Ed Friedland talking about his favourite and that some of his La Bella's have been on for 20 years on his old green P bass near the end of the vid.

 

As Ed says - he's an upright / DB player and he found the La Bella's to be just the thing he was looking for.

 

 

 

 

Prices are all over the place. Stings Direct tend to be really expensive for many of them. Bass Direct is usually the cheapest for La Bella. Dunlops come up cheap on Amazon occasionally - stick some in your "Save for later" and keep an eye on the price. Everytime have a look everywhere for the best deal.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

[chris_b]

GHS (about 11 years old) and TI (about 9 years old) are the flats currently on my basses. Both sound good to me.

 

My next set will probably be Labella Deep Talking Flats. I'm interested in some vintage thump.

 

I also put foam under the strings at the bridge.

[Linus27]

I really like Rotosound Flats, I find then very musical and a joy to play. I also have the LaBella Deep Talkin flats on a P-bass and I want initially keen on them but I've really warmed to them. I've no plans to change them.

[Schnozzalee]

2 hours ago, Linus27 said:

I really like Rotosound Flats, I find then very musical and a joy to play. I also have the LaBella Deep Talkin flats on a P-bass and I want initially keen on them but I've really warmed to them. I've no plans to change them.

 

I like Rotos for fretted and TIs for fretless - Rotos are more musical and TIs are more traditional/upright sounding.

 

I'm currently trying D'Addario half rounds, but I have another set of Rotos in reserve.

Edited October 17 by Schnozzalee

[fretmeister]

I really like the Rotos, but with my nickel allergy they give me blisters after a couple of hours.

It's most annoying. TI Flats are nickel too so I can't use them either anymore.

 

I really must try some of the La Bella low tension ones at some point.

[Huge Hands]

I have Labella Deep Talkin' flats on most of my basses, but as other have alluded to, they are getting very expensive these days.  As a DB player, you may be used to expensive string prices though!

 

If you want to dip your toe into the flatwound world, I did buy some really cheap Harley Benton Flats from Thomann last year (about £13) and they seem quite good for what they are.  I put a 4 string set on my HB 51 Precision copy and they seem fine, although feel a lighter gauge than the Labellas.  (That could equally be me just being used to playing 5 strings nowadays)  I did buy a 5 string set too, but they are still in the packet at the moment.

 

Even with Thomann's £10 delivery charge from Germany, they still worked out quite cheap (although I had bought the guitar and strings together, so I passed the free delivery threshold).

 

Just a thought if you are not sure you want to fork out that much as a trial.

[fretmeister]

La Bellas are often £20 cheaper at Bass Direct than everywhere else.

760FS (45-105) flats are £65 at Strings Direct and £42 at Bass Direct!

£23 difference! Strings Direct are taking the piss.

 

Dunlop flats start at about £95 (RRP) and go up to about £120 for a 5 string set.

I only buy them when I spot a blowout somewhere. Fortunately they do last donkeys - but so do the La Bellas.

[Linus27]

Why are Dunlop flats so expensive? Surely they can't compete with LaBella or are they so superior?

[fretmeister]

Why are Dogal's even more expensive? They make the Dunlops look cheap!

 

Who knows? Perhaps the construction is unusual to the point that the manufacturing overhead is just a lot higher? Maybe the factory they are made in is in an expensive location? Fodera basses could be half price if they were built in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere rather than being in New York state.

 

I really like them but I don't think they are necessarily superior to La Bella - they are quite different in feel and flexibility though. I find they suit different basses. I do find they play far nicer out of the packet though. I find La Bella to be quite grabby on the finger tips - especially when it's hot and I'm a bit sweaty. The Dunlops don't have that problem for me.

 

Ultimately though - they've been around for donkeys years so if they are a high overhead item they are clearly selling enough of them at that price to make it worthwhile making them.

[fretmeister]

Mind you - as expensive as electric bass strings can be - we are so lucky compared to our Double Bass playing friends. Rinat Ibragimov's string of choice....

 

https://www.thomann.co.uk/pirastro_eudoxa_kontrabasssaiten.htm?__cTr=0920827a-eab1-4693-a96a-ab4df40cce85

 

Thomann must have an offer on. They retail at over £1000

[Linus27]

On the video above that compares the Dunlops, DR, Rotosound, and or course La Bella, to my ears I preferred the Rotosound and the La Bella's but they were all similar but different. The Rotosound was warm but have that noticeable P-Bass clank so were quite musical. The La Bells's were nice and thumpy but also articulate, they had a lovely tone to them. The Dunlops also sounded very nice and in some ways very smooth and round but didn't grab me as much musically. The DR's were the thinnest sounding and were brighter and a bit more aggressive sounding.

[fretmeister]

I've never tried the DR flats. I do like their rounds though.

[Rodders]

I used to use GHS but then moved to La Bella 760FM and 760M. I'd definately recommend them. 

Tried other brands, Pyramid were really smooth but not quite the right tone, others were too bright even after break in. 

[uncle psychosis]

On 17/10/2024 at 12:29, Linus27 said:

Why are Dunlop flats so expensive? Surely they can't compete with LaBella or are they so superior?

They didn't use to be.

 

I bought a set for £35 a few years ago. During covid the price went nuts and then never came back down.

[hooky_lowdown]

2 hours ago, Rodders said:

I used to use GHS but then moved to La Bella 760FM and 760M. I'd definately recommend them. 

Tried other brands, Pyramid were really smooth but not quite the right tone, others were too bright even after break in. 

GHS Precision and Pyramid's are very, very similar, both high tension and thumpy. Surprised if you liked GHS, then you didn't like Pyramid's.

[Rodders]

57 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

GHS Precision and Pyramid's are very, very similar, both high tension and thumpy. Surprised if you liked GHS, then you didn't like Pyramid's.

 

Not sure to be honest, I put it down to the Pyramids being pure nickel and the GHS being Stainless Steel. 

I couldn't get on with La Bella's at first, they sounded very scooped to me but tastes change and I learnt more about how to use EQ etc so they are now my flats of choice. 

[Jack]

The Olympia 45-100 ones are bloomin' fantastic. And only £18 last I looked. 

[PaulThePlug]

Adagio also do 45-100 flats, standard tension in Nickel...

Olympia Strings (The Harley B Flats are re-bagged Olympia's, check out the packaging and save the £10 postage!) in Stainless Steel, handy(!) if you have a nickle allergy.

 

Give Adagio as a try at £18

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332636490116

👍Colin and Amy @ AdvMusic / Olympia Strings. Almost everything Guitar or Bass, Electric or Acoustic in the house.. 20ish! is strung with Flats or Wounds from Adagio or Olympia

 

What Bass? Check your Bridge to Peg length... run a little close on my T'Bird at 37.5" Ideally 38" Min.

Edited October 21 by PaulThePlug

[police squad]

13 hours ago, Jack said:

The Olympia 45-100 ones are bloomin' fantastic. And only £18 last I looked. 

I had a set but they were too stiff for me, switched to Fender flats 45-100

[fretmeister]

Fender Flats definitely need more love.

They are really nice, and not too expensive.

[Jack]

23 hours ago, police squad said:

I had a set but they were too stiff for me, switched to Fender flats 45-100

 

22 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Fender Flats definitely need more love.

They are really nice, and not too expensive.

Completely agree but they cancelled the best set with the heavier outers and lighter middles. I'm a sucker for balanced tension.

Edited October 23 by Jack

[fretmeister]

20 hours ago, Jack said:

 

Completely agree but they cancelled the best set with the heavier outers and inner middles. I'm a sucker for balanced tension.

 

I wish they'd do a 45-105 as on the 45-100 set I find the 100 to be just a tiny bit too flexible for the way I play.

 

EB Group flats used to be like that too 45-100 or 40-95, but they have finally released 45-105, so the E and A are just a little stiffer. They are spot on for me now. I suspect Joe Dart is part of the reason as his signature bass comes with 45-105 of those strings but were described as a "custom" set of strings at the time.

 

They are now called the "Group 2.5" set. 

 

I used to buy the 45-100 and then buy a separate 105. Was a bit annoying money wise but they do last a long time. 

I've got a set incoming today as it happens. Then I'll have to put up with a few months of being too bright before they settle in and dull down a bit.

 

After a year of playing they are about perfect. Bit more mids than a similarly worn in set of La Bella. A little less thumpy. Probably my favourite all rounder flat.

[Jack]

Even those aren't quite perfect for me. The now-discontinued 9050cl had 45 60 80 105. A 'normal' set would either be 40 60 80 100 or 45 65 85 105. I liked having the slightly heavier E and G with the relatively lighter A and D, made for some great flats IME.