@Lanny Lanny Bill, they both sounded great, and you did a fine job on the cover. However, I must say I liked the boomier tone of the LaBella DTB flats. Y 'all know, I’m partial to flats, but I did keep an open mind while listening to both of them.
One vote for the flats here.
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I do know that oils & sweat can degrade strings faster but I’ve never heard it done that fast so that is a pretty crazy story.
I always just was my hands before I play no matter if I practice, jam or record. I love the D’Addario NYXL 6 string set I have on my bass now. Had it on for almost a month now and they still sound great.
My 6 piece Slinky set got lost in the mail so that was a huge blower for me because that was the last set in stock from the shop that had them so cheap.
I had GHs Boomer roundwounds last time and liked those but not as my as my NYXL bass strings. I have NYXL’s on my guitar atm too and I absolutely love them.
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I somehow knew you would @PamPurrs Pam…!!!.. personally, I do love that “boomy” tone too - especially for the right genre playing open amp… THAT is where I really noticed the difference… I’ve never played on a set of LaBella DTB’s before, and now that I have, I can certainly see, hear, and feel how they could fit in to my playing - especially when playing open amp to some Motown or a little Blue Eyed Soul… What I did notice was that it was much easier for me to “feel the tones” on my slides which made it a bit easier to play the cover song…
Anyway, a cool and fun experiment for me… Will probably keep the DTB strings on my Fender P for the time being since I have a couple old Country and Motown songs that I’m working on…
Keep on Thumpin’!
Lanny
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I think NYXL’s will be my next strings. I love their normal nickel rounds.
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They both sounded great to me for that song. I did prefer the rounds (seemed more harmonically rich to my ear) but the flats worked well too, and they were really in their element there on the P and for that style.
The difference was smaller than I would have expected though. Tone knob the same on both?
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I knew you would 
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They were actually pretty close for that song and really both sounded great to me.
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Great covers as always Bill, I enjoyed them both.
I must say, I really like the sound of the Rounds better, HOWEVER, I do see how the flats fit this song better, and If it were me, I would probably play this song with flats, if I were to play it.
That growl from the rounds is hard to want to give up tho.
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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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