Flatwounds - 5 String

[Musicman20]

Hi

I use TIs, and they are great!

But, what are your recommendations for a 5 string bass?

I have seen these:

[url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/1595-thomastik_jr345_jazz_roundwound_bass_5_string_43_118"]http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/15...5_string_43_118[/url]

[Gareth Hughes]

Hey Gareth -

Check out the Overwater site - they do flatwounds for a 5.

g

[dave_bass5]

I used to have Chromes on my P5 and DJ5. They seemed a good compromise between TI's and Nicks.

[benebass]

Hi - had TI flats on an OLP 5 string a while ago and, although I really like the four string sets, I found the low B was really flappy & undefined. I've always wondered what the La Bella 5s are like - the 4 string sets I've played have been great & preferable to the TIs.

Mind you, the Status flats are relatively cheap & might be worth a go - anyone had any experience of them?

Cheers,

B.

[alhbass]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='791410' date='Mar 31 2010, 12:55 AM']Hi

I use TIs, and they are great!

But, what are your recommendations for a 5 string bass?

I have seen these:

[url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/1595-thomastik_jr345_jazz_roundwound_bass_5_string_43_118"]http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/15...5_string_43_118[/url][/quote]

Never tried the Thomastiks myself, but I've used D'Addario Chromes, La Bella flats and Rotosound Tru-Bass nylon flats on my five string instruments. The Rotosound nylons are my personal faves, and I continue to use them now I've switched to playing a 4 string instrument. But I thought the La Bellas made a great sound too - rich and warm, but characterful - not just fat and smooth. I generally found the Chromes a bit bright for my liking, but I liked the sound when I played them with a gentle fingerstyle (I'm habitually rather more heavy handed and excitiable tho!).

Try the Tru-bass if you haven't already is my recommendation.

Would be interesting to hear from anyone who might have tried a five string set of DR Black Beauties (they are flats aren't they?) - I believe Alan Gorrie of The Average White Band uses them and I love the sound he gets.

[benebass]

Hi - I have found low Bs can sometimes be a bit lacking on a lot of 5s strung with rounds, so was wondering if anyone has found a flatwound low B to be better? My experience with the TIs were a bit disappointing, but was wondering about other brands - it's an expensive process trying out sets of flats so any help is appreciated!

Cheers,

B.

[Clarky]

In my recent brief dalliance with a 5er (a Precision 5; actually Dave's old one) it came with Chromes on and I also tried La Bella's. Both were good, actually, but I would say the slightly higher tension of the Chromes suited the low B better IMHO

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='791410' date='Mar 31 2010, 12:55 AM']I have seen these:

[url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/1595-thomastik_jr345_jazz_roundwound_bass_5_string_43_118"]http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/15...5_string_43_118[/url][/quote]
But... them's rounds! The flatwound version of those has much heavier gauges (43-56-70-100-136). That said, even a 136-gauge B still felt a bit flappy to me, so although I loved the TI flats on my Squier VMJ fretless, I swapped to La Bella flats on my fretless SR5. The high stiffness of those was fantastic, and the B was awesome (fat, round, thick), but they sounded just a bit "dead" on fretless.

So I thought I'd give Status halfwounds a go... and I haven't looked back since. Literally half the price of a set of La Bellas, smooth feel, great stiffness, and adding in a bit more of that top end I needed to get the growl back. But it might be a different story on fretted.

(In terms of flats on fretted 5ers, I had Chromes on my old Ibanez, and they were great. Stiff again, and pretty bright, but smooth through the mids. [i]Acres[/i] of bottom too.)

Actually, Gareth, I've still got the old La Bella and TI 5-string sets knocking around somewhere. They're cut for a Stingray 5, but IIRC that's what you're going for (hard to keep up with you ), so I'd be happy to at least lend them to you to try out. Neither set's had heavy use.

[Musicman20]

Cheers chaps! I'll be in touch about those Ray 5 flats. It is indeed a ray 5 I'm going for over the next few days...just making decisions on colours. It's going to be a 4 ish month wait though for the build.

Tested one out and loved the neck and b string. Plus the whole look and shape is what I'm after.

Edited April 17, 2010 by Musicman20

[BigBeatNut]

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='809246' date='Apr 17 2010, 10:58 AM']So I thought I'd give Status halfwounds a go... and I haven't looked back since. Literally half the price of a set of La Bellas, smooth feel, great stiffness, and adding in a bit more of that top end I needed to get the growl back. But it might be a different story on fretted.[/quote]
I ordered status halfwounds to go on my first fretless (a Status S1 5er). Great string. I can also vouch for Labella Black Nylons (on my RA deep 5) ... distinctive sound but it's a distinctive bass too, so I'm not sure where the strings are contributing. Status black nylons also work well on my Status electro (contributes the acoustic tone, more so than status half-rounds), but I've tried them on other basses (Lakland HB) and not been so keen. Hmmm ... seems I like black nylon strings on piezo pickup basses .

Just starting on the flats-on-fretless route again myself, so I'll be watching this thread.

Andy