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May Birthdays
Bass Strings...Flats, has this ever come up before?
Joined: Jul 03, 2007 Posts: 149 Flower Mound, Texas |
Posted on Oct 21 2008 06:13 PM
I tried a search but came up with nothing. I am using Pyramid flats on my Jazzmaster and love them but I have not heard great things about the flats they make for a bass. Anybody using bass flats that they like? Suggestions? They will be for a 57 reissue P bass. Anyone try flats for surf on a bass and decided they are not the way to go? — |
Joined: Jun 21, 2007 Posts: 3909 San Diego, CA 
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Posted on Oct 21 2008 06:26 PM
Well, I'm not a bass player, but our bass player Steve tried some flats about a year ago and hasn't switched back to rounds again. The flats sound sooooooo much better to my ears. He broke out some rounds a couple of months ago and it sounded like a chain saw. So harsh. I think he's currently using RotoSound flats. Not sure this helps Ryan |
Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 12159 Seattle
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Posted on Oct 21 2008 06:48 PM
This is exactly why you own two basses. Flats on a Jazz bass and I like rounds on a p-bass. However, not truly being a bassist this is just based on liking how other bassists sound with these strings. Also, p-bass with rounds... not so much for the surf music. You might want to get a third bass for tape wounds though. Just a thought. And then you will want a Bass VI. Great to double up bass lines in the studio. This is how one ends up with 8 basses in the studio. |
Joined: Feb 11, 2007 Posts: 591 Encinitas, Ca |
Posted on Oct 21 2008 07:01 PM
Another vote for RotoSound Flats. I use the RS77's on my Jazz Bass. |
Joined: Mar 12, 2008 Posts: 1237 Bay Area
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Posted on Oct 21 2008 07:33 PM
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Joined: Aug 08, 2008 Posts: 89 |
Posted on Oct 21 2008 10:13 PM
I prefer the sound gotten from sliding on flat wounds. |
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Joined: Oct 18, 2008 Posts: 36 |
Posted on Oct 21 2008 10:53 PM
ive got round wounds on my american deluxe pbass and jag bass i usually use the 78 for reggae, blues, and jazz when im not playing my upright. they sound awesome imo but one bass with flats is enough for me i wouldnt put them on my other two |
Joined: Apr 05, 2006 Posts: 1548 Bethlehem, GA
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Posted on Oct 21 2008 11:01 PM
Bass strings, like guitar strings, guitars, amps, picks, cars and women...are very subjective things. With that said and for playing surf music, I much prefer the sound and tone of flatwound strings to roundwounds on a Fender Precision or Jazz bass. I've tried several bass string brands over the years and the best-playing and sounding ones I've found so far are Thomastik-Infield Jazz Flats, .043-.100. They are fairly low tension strings and work equally well in the studio or on stage. The bass flatwounds I liked the least were the highly-touted Labella "James Jamerson" flats. They were like playing bridge cables and I didn't care for the tone at all. But some guys love 'em. Jack Booth The Mariners (1964-68, 1996-2005), 2025 |
Joined: Sep 15, 2008 Posts: 110 Melbourne, Australia 
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Posted on Oct 22 2008 08:29 AM
My two favourite basses for Surf style stuff are a P-Bass with rounds and an early Jerry Jones Longhorn with flats. The P sounds great with flats too, but it's much more versatile with the rounds (I can get a similar sound to the flats by altering playing style). On the other hand, the Jerry Jones/Dano Basses seem to come to life with flats; nice round bottom end & a lovely percussive snap on the top (if that makes sense...) For rounds, I use D'Addarios. For the flats, I'll use whatever I can get my hands on - short-scale flatwound strings are like hens teeth over here!!
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Joined: Oct 22, 2008 Posts: 35 
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Posted on Oct 22 2008 09:14 AM
I only own short scale basses. I tryied flats on my Musicmaster Squier but didn´t like it. I wasn´t able to get the sound I wanted. I have a Longhorn bass too, and on this one it was another story, it sounds great, perfect for the style. I just tryied D´Addario flats at the moment. |
Joined: May 17, 2006 Posts: 657 Buenos Aires
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Posted on Oct 22 2008 11:10 AM
eh.....GATO ! —El Papu & los Fantasticos Reverberantes |
Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 1683 Georgia
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Posted on Oct 22 2008 03:54 PM
I used Labella flats, a light/medium scale set, on my Squier Vista Musicmaster and loved the sound. I also used Labellas on my full scale P-basses back when I played bass. I tried Rotosounds but wound up sticking with Labellas. —The Mystery Men? |
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Joined: Oct 22, 2008 Posts: 35
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Posted on Oct 22 2008 07:08 PM
Could you give us more details about the difference between Rotosound and Labella's flats? Im intrested in trying another brands of flats but I live in South America, and it take a lot of work to get strings at US (payment, shippment, and then pray). I found D'Addario Chromes (ECB81M) a bit inconsistent on the Squier Vista Musicmaster. Sometimes you get a wall of bass and then nothing (with the EQ flat) or a metalic sound. I didn't have this problem with GHS rounds. BTW, if anybody have a Mustang or a Musicmaster Vista Series and want to use D'Addario Chromes on it, get a Medium scale set, because with strings through body you need an extra inch of length. |
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Joined: Mar 30, 2007 Posts: 6 |
Posted on Oct 22 2008 08:11 PM
Not a big fan of D'addario chromes. I'm just not crazy about the way they sound. Positive things about them is the price and the fact that they last forever. D'addario also makes many scale lenghts for their strings, which really helps when faced with non-Fender type basses. I also tried the La Bella Jamerson set a long time ago and remember not being thrilled with them either. However, i'm almost tempted to give 'em another shot. Right now I'm using regular La Bella flats on one of my basses and I really can't complain. They sound like old-fashioned flats, whereas d'addario's do not. |
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Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 524 Bay City (Michigan) |
Posted on Oct 22 2008 09:04 PM
They need a bit of a breaking in, but after a week or two, they sound amazing. —I am super sweet |
Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4567 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
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Posted on Oct 22 2008 10:04 PM
That's good information to have, I learned it the hard way myself. I have a Mustang bass and a short-scale fretless Warwick Corvette. The Warwick, as well as the Mustang, requires medium length (32" scale) strings. The Mustang has the string-thru-body design and the Warwick has a separate bridge and tailpiece which adds to the string length required. I found this out at the cost of a set of short-scale flatwounds which would fit neither of my basses. —The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. Last edited: Feb 14, 2009 12:13:38 |
Joined: Aug 18, 2008 Posts: 373 Orange, CA
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Posted on Oct 23 2008 11:40 AM
I prefer Fender medium light (50-105) stainless steel flatwounds for my P Bass. They are more warm sounding than the D'Addario's. I've heard the LaBella's are good as well. Round wound strings are great for all post-1966 styles of music but definately not for surf. |
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Joined: Apr 12, 2008 Posts: 4 |
Posted on Oct 23 2008 12:18 PM
after having flats on my guitar for a while, the rounds on my bass have been slaughtering my fingers. the only thing stopping me from putting flats on my bass is the thought of how much my fingers will die when i play other people's instruments, if my fingers are all soft from flats. this might not even be an issue for a surf bassist, because you probably won't be playing super aggressive, complex bass parts with a million notes. |
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Joined: May 16, 2006 Posts: 91 Florianopolis SC Brazil |
Posted on Feb 14 2009 11:24 AM
I like Fender Flats better than D´addario chromes. And one of the brazilian string manufacturers, NIG, is currently making flats. Not great, but way cheaper than any imported brand. That might be an alternative for our hermanos from Argentina. http://www.myspace.com/cochabambas |
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Joined: Sep 24, 2007 Posts: 2728
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Posted on Feb 14 2009 11:28 AM
This post has been removed by the author. Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 22:07:09 |
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