vincentw Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Hey guys, I am going to put flats on a P-bass (sorry I know) and after using roundwound strings forever what can I expect? I am doing this because my new gig is more of an old-school rockabilly thing and I'm playing electric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Hey Vince, Flats will usually give a good bottom without the higher end. Good mids, and a bit more of a mellow sound. I use D'addario ETB92 Nylon Tapewound for the same sound as a flat, but they last longer, and are very mild on the fretboard. Have a good set with the flats partner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 That's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 That's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks! I'm waiting on the D'addario ETB92S Nylon Tapewound (short scale) to be released, for my SG Std. That should be a dynamic sound with the Marshall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lungimsam Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I use LaBella or Fender flats on both my pbasses. Now I have the LaBella Deep Talkin 109 sets on them. I love them. Big, warm sound. Less bright than the roudwounds, but full power tone! They have the best tone IMHO. sgbass likes Tapewounds, but I haven't tried them yet. I have been told tapewounds sound great too. I want to try them someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 Well one of my friends is bringin me a set of flats tomorrow. Can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaolee Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I like Chromes on both the EB-2 and P-Bass. The P still has plenty of growl, snap, and pop with them, but it tones it down just a bit. The guitarist I play with a lot only occasionally tells me to get that thing under control with the flats. With rounds, he would shudder a little when I picked it up. I love the P! The EB-2 sounds very much like a stand-up bass with Chromes. I love the EB, too, but for different reasons. No need for chicken grease on either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 I like Chromes on both the EB-2 and P-Bass. The P still has plenty of growl, snap, and pop with them, but it tones it down just a bit. The guitarist I play with a lot only occasionally tells me to get that thing under control with the flats. With rounds, he would shudder a little when I picked it up. I love the P! The EB-2 sounds very much like a stand-up bass with Chromes. I love the EB, too, but for different reasons. No need for chicken grease on either. Chicken Grease! Haha. I think I'm gonna like the flats for this gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 D'Addario ETB92 Nylon Tapewound strings on a Fender American Deluxe Precision. They sound great live or in the studio. A great flat sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 check this good video out by the great Dave Pomeroy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb nice Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 I've tried a bunch of different types of flatwounds, mostly on shortscale basses. One of my first basses had some super-high tension flats on it, and I hated them. They probably were the Jamerson Labella set. That lead me to only play rounds for a long time, but I'm over it now. I'm about 50/50 flats:rounds on my basses these days. I just put some TI Jazz Flats on my SG bass this weekend, which are really low tension and fun to play, and sound pretty good. I've also had rotosound 88s (nylon tapewound) on that bass for a year or so. The roto 88s are my favorite sounding string for that bass. So thumpy and warm, booty-shaking- almost organ-like tone. Good feeling, too, but they do take a bit of getting used to (and a bit of work to install if you are on an SG). There's a very good chance that I will put the 88s back on, but first I wanna give the TIs a chance and see how they do at the next show. I have D'addario Chromes on my super shortscale practise bass- they are similiar to the TI Jazz Flats, a bit higher tension, and perhaps a bit more balanced string-string. They sound very similar, maybe a hair brigher than the TIs. I've tried the GHS brite flats, they were higher-tension yet, pretty good tone, a bit more growl- but nothing outstanding, and i like the Chromes better. I also tried the Fender tapewounds, but they were cheap feeling and nothing compared to the rotosound tapewounds. I had one of the Fenders unravel on me pretty quick, too. If you are looking to try a set of flats, Chromes are definitely a good place to start as they are cheap and good and easy to find... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassilisk Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Chromes are a good set overall. They are my go-to set. I find they work better on some basses than others because for a flat they're pretty aggressive. Strong midrange bump and they can be pretty bright, but that all really helps when you roll the highs down a bit. They sit in the mix very well. I also like the higher tension they provide and that you can get them in different scale lengths. I currently have them on my Triumph and it sounds great. Another good flat is the LaBella's but they're a little pricey. Still, a nice even fat sound. I've tried DR flats and I find them problematic - pretty good on some basses, not so much on others. Though TI's are the most musical sounding flat (IMO) I find their super low tension their biggest disadvantage. I have a heavy touch and it's like playing rubber bands. If you have a light touch they do sound great. Another option is to go with half-rounds. You can get some pretty good thump out of them and the partial round aspect gives a nice edge to the amount of definition. Your mileage may vary. There is definitely a flats buffet to pick from and each brand/version can make for variaitons in the results you seek. Like everything else, you'll just have to try them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Just an update...I LOVE the Flats!!! The texture took a little bit to get used to and they put the brakes on my fingers initially but now they slide great and sound great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaolee Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Brakes on your fingers? Flats? Hmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 yeah...not sure if it was the brand or what but it felt like a coating of some sort was on them. After a month they are great though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb nice Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 That's great to hear that you like flats. I love them too. I've left the TI Jazz Flats on my SG for a couple of months now. After the first show, I was concerned about their floppiness, as I tend to dig in on stage and felt a lot of buzz. I almost went and bought some Chromes after that show. Instead, I opened up the truss rod a quarter turn or so to raise the action, and they play WAY better. With such low tension, a bit more height than normal isn't an issue at all. Feels really good, No more buzz. The raised action gives them a bit of that bounce i was missing, too. They've been aging well, I just listened to the recording from our last show, and damn, they sound great. Everything people say about giving them time to settle is true. They've warmed up nice, still aren't as dark as my beloved roto 88s, not as much fat fundamental, but still a nice round bottom. The notes are more defined with more mids. They have a bit of interesting phaseyness to their sound, you can hear it when they aren't even plugged in. I think I will keep them on for a while yet. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morkolo Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I used flat wounds for a short while and found them great for old school finger funk, but they also limit the range of your playing. Playing slap style on a bass fitted with flats just doesn't seem to work, not for me anyway. In all fairness though I've always been a roundwound guy and just used the tone knob and my fingers, it gets me there. Glad to hear your happy with them though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ad9000 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I have about 12 basses (I know, overkill) and I find some of them work better with flats and some like round wounds. I have a late '60's Eko violin bass that really sings with TI Jazz Flats, but otherwise I use GHS flats. It takes a while to get them to mellow out, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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