Hi all, I’m looking at buying a classic vibe 60s P bass and would like to put some flat wounds on it for a deeper tone. Has anyone got some good brand recommendations
many thanks
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tons of good ones on the market. LaBella Deep Talking Flats are the classic. But they are very stiff and some people find them sticky, so LaBella Low tension Flats are good.
The Cadillac of flats are Tomastek Infeld flats, but they cost a lot of money. They feel great and have great sound, and you don’t have to change them cost over lifetime is good.
I also like Ernie Ball 2805
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I totally agree that Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats are the smoothest feeling and definitely more costly flats than the majority of the other brands’ offerings.
But they last forever, so their relatively higher cost can be viewed as an investment in enjoying a really fine flats-playing experience.
I’ve had mine on for well over two years, and they feel and sound killer.
But, of course, if the budget doesn’t allow, there are others available.
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Thought about putting them on mine. Follow up if you do with your opinion or message me directly.
Thanks 
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I have D’Addario Chromes on my Squier Fretless Jazz bass. They feel smooth and have a warm tone.
I was big on flatwounds until I tried GHS black tapewounds…IMO, better than anything, including TI flats.
Smooth as silk, perfect tension, amazing tone, and they look great!
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I have enjoyed these on my Lakland 44-64 Custom PJ:
Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Flatwound Bass Guitar Strings, 45-105 Gauge (P02813)
I took nearly the entire B2B course with these strings and enjoyed the sound.
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Only flats I’ve had experience with is Ernie Balls (not the Slinky’s). I thought they were very stiff and had a strange texture to them. Very grippy to the point of annoying. Not to be gross, but I would rub my fingers on my nose to transfer oil to the strings for a few sessions until they felt smooth enough to play. I eventually started using tapes to get a deep, warm tone instead. Very flexible and smooth to glide on.
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My friend, you are going to get lots of different opinions on this subject.
I bought ten different sets of flat wounds to try on my new bass.
They were all different, some really so.
I settled on LaBella Low Tension flats. They’re the sound / feel I want but that might not be what you want.
So unfortunately it’s a process of trying and working this out for yourself.
But there are worse ways to spend your money 
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Like @JBMotorrad, I”ve also been using the Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Flatwounds. They go some distance to bridging the gap between flats and rounds, as in they’re a little darker than rounds, but a little brighter than most flats, at least IMO.
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This is my experience with flats too, strongly dislike the ones I have tried.
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I’ve got LaBella Deep Talking Bass flats on my short-scale P Bass. Definitely high tension. I don’t get the stickiness mentioned. Very smooth to me. I’m learning to play Crazy Little Thing Called Love right now and while they sound good, I’ve just been having a hell of a time with the tension of them to get a good swing going.
Which lead me into the D’Addario ECB81 chrome flats I have on my 5 string Stingray. Not quite as smooth as the LaBella DTBs, brighter sounding (I wanted that to keep some of the Stingray tone), and definitely lower tension. I can play the song a LOT easier, even having to deal with the extra string.
I have a set of Ernie Ball Cobalt flats ready to put on my 4 string project bass when it gets to that point so I’ll try those out, I guess. Although I may stick with the Ernie Ball Slinky rounds I also have just to have something with rounds. Undecided. I’ve thought about trying the LaBella Low Tension or TI jazz flats also. Basically, like Barney, we each need to just try stuff out and see what we like.
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Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats are not the same as others. You have to feel them to experience the difference. They are truly apart from the standard fare.
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100% agreed!
I am quite happy that @MikeC briought the Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats so often.
I have the on all my basses now and couldn’t be happier.
Easy to play, great tone!
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Really glad you dig them.
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Yeah - in fact this was one of the two most important improvements I made to my bass tone (and playability), by far!
So I’m really grateful to you…
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Picking out strings is kinda like picking out a mattress, in that reviews will only get you so far because everyone is different. You might absolutely love those strings that everyone seems to hate, or vice versa.
Just pick something semi-popular and give it a try. I know the idea of getting it “wrong” sucks at $50 or so per set, but it’s the only way to know.
I got a set of DR Black Beauties for my SBMM Stingray, which lots of people complain feel “sticky” but they’ve never given me any trouble. And I recently put some Labella Deep Talkin’ Flats on my p-bass, didn’t have any real trouble adjusting to those either.
Apparently I’m either not very picky, or not good enough to tell the difference. 
There is no way around it, people need to get used to the idea that you will have an ongoing expense with strings. Rounds deaden over time and need replacing; flats last a long time but as I have disliked the ones I tried so far I would have to budget a few hundred bucks to find ones I did like (if they exist at all).