They’re very bright, clanky, bassy with tons of bite and growl. I mostly play it into my Nembrini Audio Blackice Beta Gamma Bass & it sounds fantastic. My favorite Darkglass emulation for sure.
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Totally the same @howard Howard. Made no changes to anything other than the volume knob on the P which had to be turned down a bit to control the clipping during recording.
For recording, I do prefer the rounds, but for playing open amp, those flats really kicked ass… I can really tell the difference when I play open amp, and they really do sound good.
Having played round wound for so long, I have become so familiar with how to use, manipulate and control them that it’s kinda second nature when it comes to fretting, plucking, and muting… The flats are much easier to manipulate and you just can’t beat that deep boomy low end when you really wanna hear it…
Like I mentioned, looks like I’m gonna need another Fender strung with these for playing open amp. Maybe a PJ???
Keep on Thumpin’!
Lanny
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I liked them both for different reasons.
I LOVE Labella Flats (GO NEWBURGH!!) and nothing beats their boom, however, I did like the mids and upper harmonics that rounds brought.
@howard, would one be able to EQ more of the round sound out of the flats and get closer or is the divide simply always there?
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Totally agree Toby @T_dub… It’s that growl and bit of nastiness that those rounds bring that make them shine…
I do believe that (for me), the bottom line depends on what’s being played and what you wanna express when playing… Some songs may require rounds, others flats… Knowing and learning the moods and tones that different types of strings can create is just another piece of the bass playing puzzle…
Keep on Thumpin’!
Lanny
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Yeah, I agree, especially after hearing your 2 covers. Had I only heard the rounds, I would have thought, yeah, that sounds great, but after hearing the flats, in a song that actually benefited from the lack of the growl, IMO, it really is an eye opener…
Absolutely, and hearing them side by side sure helped, Thank you very much for your excellent work to display this difference in a way we can see them clearly.
Question: Do I string a bass with flats
Verdict: Probably not, but I can see where I would want to, if the song really would sound better. I do have one strung with flats, but I am hoping to sell it. For now, if I need flats, I can go to it.
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For the Testbed Bass I bought Labella Flats and Labella RX SS rounds, so can do lots of pickup string combo comparisions.
I put the RX SS rounds on my five string and really like them. They are supposed to be ‘bright’, but that B string had other plans for them. I didn’t really get bright out of the upper strings, just liked what I heard.
The other rounds I have on 2 basses are the MJC Ironworks rounds. I am leaning towards swapping them out with the RX SS strings as well, but not yet, need more time with them.
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You could do wonderful things with EQ to a bass with flats, but the difference here is that the rounds are brighter kind of harmonically. or sound that way to me. So it’s not all about the EQ here; the rounds are making sounds the flats are not.
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Two great performances Lanny! Even though I have two basses with flats, there was something about the sound of rounds that caught my ear. I couldn’t figure out what it was until I read @howard 's post when he mentioned harmonics. That was it! It added something to the mix that appealed to me. Granted, both sounded exceptional.
Jerry
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Such as? I’m just curious.
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Good stuff, Lanny - no wonder you get asked to sit in with band 
About the strings: yes, I am also a bit biased as my ears are mainly “trained” on rounds, but I feel that indeed the flats sound a bit… uhm, flat compared to the rounds.
Still, horses for courses and personal taste - so, all good! (I actually ordered my first set of flats the other day, and will test them on the fretless!)
I am not sure I understand what is meant by “open amp” (you used that expression a few times in later replies). Could you elaborate a bit!? Thx!!
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Ha… could be…
I thought perhaps it had to do with the sonic performance of an amp with an open back vs. one with a closed back!?!
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Exactly like with rounds or other strings. EQ (on its own) is a great tool for shaping tone. But it can’t put in tone that wasn’t already there; it can just boost or cut frequencies of what’s there, which was what I was getting at.
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@PamPurrs Pam was pretty close on her interpretation @joergkutter Joerg… I use the term quite a bit here at home when I’m letting Connie know if I’m gonna be playing with my headsets plugged into my amp (closed amp) or playing with them unplugged (open amp). Letting her know that I’m planning to play “open amp” kinda gives her a “heads up” to expect all the shit on the walls in the house to start rattling!!. I’ve used the term for many years when I was playing my Tele’s and Strat’s… However, none of those instruments can shake pictures off walls like my bass’s can when I’m plugged into my 15” Ampeg!! Hell, I’ve already shaken plaster off the ceiling in the kitchen when I was plugged in and playing bass to RHCP’s Readymade with one of my grandsons who was here on leave from the Army and brought his Strat so we could jam…
Keep on Thumpin’!
Lanny
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Thanks @joergkutter… I’m no better than anyone else here… I have passed on a few opportunities though… Had one a couple months ago where I was contacted by a (pretty solid) band out of Macon, GA who wanted me to play base for a Luther Vandross tribute they were asked to put together… The band was huge,… several backup singers and a three piece horn section along with two guitarists and a keyboardist… First class really… Thing is, I kinda wouldn’t have fit in too well on stage… visually… When I explained that to the band leader, he giggled and totally understood where I was coming from… He did mention that if he and his band were ever in the market for a recording bassist, he’d give me a shout… Apparently all he had to go by was the music I had posted on the “Bandmix” website… Most of which is old school Motown… He had no idea I was a German/Irish Caucasian… His band… 100% African American…
Keep on Thumpin’!
Lanny
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Nice cover Bill,
I left comments on your website,
Cheers Brian
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Totally agree @howard Howard… This is why it is easier for me to hear the tones and harmonics of different strings when I’m playing through my amp (open - no headset)… Granted, the area’s acoustics will play into the mix, but the difference when I’m playing open amp in an open area using different strings is totally obvious to me… I never realized how much difference strings could make in a live performance until I had the chance to try it out… When I was playing at that open air dive bar on the beach in NC last weekend, the singer was a big Amy Winehouse fan and had that killer voice… Although I am not a fan of Amy Winehouse, the genre is a bit of soulful blues/jazz that I could match the tonal harmonics of the LaBella flats that were on the Fender PJ that they let me use to the music and it just friggin’ worked… Even though I had never heard and Amy Winehouse music before, they’re still pretty simple three chord songs that all I needed to do was play some root/fifth/octaves to in order to make it work at my end… Hell, that gal’s voice was so powerful that me and the guitar player coulda been playing rhythm and bass to “Smoke on the Water” and the crowd wouldn’t have known the difference!!. One powerful voice!!
Damn!! A bit off topic… Anyway, I have to believe that when it comes to “recording”, string choice (might not) make as big of a difference as it does when playing “open amp live”… At least thats where I’m at right now… As such, I will be removing the LaBella flats from my MIM Fender P and putting them on my Fender Squire P that has all of the electronics and PUP’s installed in it from my Fender P. I’ll put my original round wound strings back on my MIM Fender P because I like them on it… Especially with the upgraded electronics and Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder PUP’s that I’ve put into it…
Keep on Thumpin’!
Lanny
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ive been playing only flats and ground wounds for the last 6 weeks or so and i picked up my jazz bass last night with rounds and between them feeling like a cheese grater and the noise… yikes 
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Way to go, Lanny - that is how you get to work on renovating the kitchen next!!
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