I finally managed to get a bass and it came with roundwounds and tbh - I don’t really like the sound. I really like the sound of flatwounds, any recommendations?
@PamPurrs is our resident flatwounds aficionado, I’m sure she’ll have some recommendations for you
I have a set of Ernie Ball Slinky flats that I use occasionally, and I do like the sound but don’t care for the way they feel. My go-to strings, and the ones that I use for my covers are the LaBella Deep Talking Bass flats. They are as smooth as glass (great for sliding) and have a nice rich sound to them.
Thank you very much, since I like sliding, I’ll probably go with the LaBellas. Have a nice day!
I also have the LaBella Deep Talking flats on my Hofner.
Did you get the ones that are specific for the Beatle Bass?
Yes I did.
+1 on the La Bella Deep Talking flats. I have them on my P bass and my Gretsch Junior Jet and couldn’t be happier with both sound and feel.
They finally arrived! I ordered these LaBella 1954 vintage strings weeks ago, and I finally have them. These will be the fattest strings I’ve ever played.
You may notice, this is a 4 string set and not a 5 string set. That’s because (oddly) the B string on the 5 string set is 128, which is exactly what I have now, so I’m just going to change the E,A,D, and G strings.
Beatiful! Enjoy
Also: Can you record the sound of the strings? I’m just really curious (Only if you want)
I will
Thank you very much!
@MiroslavB I am frantically working on a 1950s sounding cover with these vintage strings, and hoping to have it finished and posted in the “Post your Covers” thread before the end of the year.
Thank you very much!
Rotosound Steve Harris Monel Flatwound Bass
Fender 9050L flats 45-100. For me, right amount of punch, tension and balance across the strings in feel and tone. I did try the LaBella’s Deep Talking 43-104 set and found the E string too thuddy and the G and D strings too bright. Plus Fenders are only $28. Cheapest of the bunch for flatwounds. But don’t equate that to quality.
For the first time since I started playing bass a year and a half ago, I purchased strings that I absolutely hate. I thought I would love these Vintage 1954 LaBellas, but I just hate them. I hate the tone, I hate the way they play, I hate everything about them.
Fortunately, I bought them on Amazon, so I’m taking advantage of their return policy. I put my regular LaBella Deep Talking Bass flats back on and I’m smiling again.
Sorry to hear that, @PamPurrs!
It might be educational for the rest of us if you could describe a bit more how those two types of strings differ and what exactly turned you off. I know this is not always something really tangible, but it could be good to hear a bit more details
I’m curious too. Was it the heavier gauge and higher tension? Or did they just sound dead?
@joergkutter and @howard They had a very flat and lifeless thud to them, with hardly any sustain. Also, because of their thickness, I had to put a lot more effort into plucking and fretting. I tried playing “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” with them and had a difficult time keeping up with the 160 bpm tempo.