woody
Wholenote
Posts: 245
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Post by woody on Jun 6, 2021 12:20:28 GMT -5
I have three basses, all of them tend toward the growly end of the tone spectrum. I decided to try flatwounds on my G&L Tribute LB-100. It’s basically a p bass with the G&L heavy bridge. It was pretty growly for a p bass so it was a prime candidate for flats. I chose Rotosound 77’s. These really tamed the beast and now it’s all warm and thumpy. I can’t put it down.
Now I need to find a Guild Starfire II...
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tmc
Wholenote
Posts: 893
Formerly Known As: tmc
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Post by tmc on Jun 6, 2021 18:41:47 GMT -5
I really like the sound of flats. I use TI flats which, to me, have the thump of flats and a bit of the round wound punch if needed. I haven't tried the Rotosound 77's...yet.
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ilan
Quarternote
Posts: 11
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Post by ilan on Jun 7, 2021 4:32:31 GMT -5
I started with "lets try flats on one bass" and ended up with "let's keep at least one bass with rounds since all the other 21 have flats".
After years of Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats, now my preferred strings are Ernie Ball 2808 Group IV 040's on long-scale basses and Pyramid or LaBella Low Tension Flats for short scales.
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Post by morrow on Jun 7, 2021 9:38:37 GMT -5
The majority on mine have flats on them , but a couple sport ancient rounds that are only capable of thumping . I keep fresh rounds on a Stingray for the roink . TI’s and LaBellas seem to be the most favoured . I ‘ve been moving to short scales , and prefer LaBellas on them .
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jun 7, 2021 12:05:49 GMT -5
I have TI flats on my Gretsch bass and Pyramid flats on my Lakland. In my case, it's not so much the tone, but more about the necessity to reduce finger noise because I'm a terrible bass player and my technique is wanting on multiple levels.
I like the smooth feel.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jun 8, 2021 8:48:05 GMT -5
They can be wonderful in a band mix, too. You stop having to fiddle with EQ all day long, and it just sort of sits in the mix without fighting it. It is especially helpful if mic'ed acoustic instruments are involved and you don't want to just blast them out.
At some point I realized I don't play any style on bass that would require rounds, and every bass I own will have flats on it here on out most likely.
I agree on the TI flats description. It is the flat wound most like a round wound. They're great for fretless.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2021 8:48:23 GMT -5
I've settled in on LaBella deep talkin' jazz flats 45-105 for a few years. TI's are a close second. I haven't used round wounds for decades.
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Post by hushnel on Jun 8, 2021 15:03:14 GMT -5
I’ve been using flats for years, the first set of strings I put on the old ‘81 P-Special were flats. Changed the whole character of the Precision. The rest of my fretted bass’ are round wounds, Guild Starfire, Jaguar, Bronco and the Ibanez ABG. They give these bass’ the widest range of tones. All the other basses are fretless with flat wounds.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Jun 8, 2021 19:10:22 GMT -5
I prefer the thump of flats on my Jazz bass.
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Post by Laker on Jun 8, 2021 19:58:54 GMT -5
I put a set of Rotosound flats on my Stingray 5er and honestly can’t stand the sound of the bass; very dead and lifeless. I’ve played Rotosound Swingbass 66 round-wounds on it for 30 years and it totally lost the sound/response I’m used to. I have Rotosound rounds on my two Fender four-bangers and Lakland rounds on my Deluxe 55-94.
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Jul 19, 2021 19:09:26 GMT -5
Flats on my P (18 year-old LaBella Jamersons), low-tension light gauge rounds on my mudbucker Tele bass.
The vast majority of my playing was done with heavy strings with low action many years ago. That seemed fine at the time and I developed a gorilla grip to match. Nowadays I play that P and it seems a bit weird.
The old LaBellas can produce a surprising amount of brightness when needed. The mudbucker bass really needed lighter gauge bright roundwounds to shake the muddiness and produce better tonal range.
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Post by LTB on Nov 9, 2021 22:30:58 GMT -5
I used to use Rotosound 77’s on a 64 P in 1974. Loved the tone. Only issue I had was longevity. Got about 3 weeks out of them. I now use TI Jazz Flats on Jazz bass and just put a setvof D’Addario Nylon Tape wounds on my P bass and like them so far.
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Post by Taildragger on Nov 10, 2021 11:11:25 GMT -5
“If once you start down the Flat Path, forever will it dominate your destiny.” ---Sincerely, Bass Yoda I have flats on everything. Easier on the frets, easier on the fingers and great sound (at least to my '60s throwback ears). And yes: Guild Starfire + flats constitutes a match made in Heaven, IMHO.
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Post by LTB on Nov 10, 2021 17:10:59 GMT -5
“If once you start down the Flat Path, forever will it dominate your destiny.” ---Sincerely, Bass Yoda I have flats on everything. Easier on the frets, easier on the fingers and great sound (at least to my '60s throwback ears). And yes: Guild Starfire + flats constitutes a match made in Heaven, IMHO.
Those are seriously nice basses!
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Post by LTB on Nov 28, 2021 2:54:23 GMT -5
I have TI flats on my Gretsch bass and Pyramid flats on my Lakland. In my case, it's not so much the tone, but more about the necessity to reduce finger noise because I'm a terrible bass player and my technique is wanting on multiple levels. I like the smooth feel. Yeah, finger noise on rounds is something I am having to work through. Typically play flats for that reason but my new G&L SB-2 sounds better with rounds so I am working on it. We'll see
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