Are Flatwounds wasted on an Active Bass?

Neon Blues

Neon Blues

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May 9, 2012
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#1
I have long been a Flats user, and mostly on Passive basses. After a 12 month bass break, I returned and have come to love rounds for the first time really in 20 years.

I recently bought a bass with an 18v Preamp, Piezo, Jazz and Musicman pickups and strung with GHS Brite Flats (I think).

Whilst the bass itself played and sounded amazing. The changes in tone across the different pickups was very subtle and could barely tell the difference especially live.

I'm not saying they don't sound good but more a comment on the range of tonal options across the pickup settings.

I put on a new set of GHS Bass Boomers and the tonal range was stunning.

I guess I just wondered if others had a similar experience with flats on Active Preamps and particularly different Pickup combinations.
 
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#6
They (EB Cobalt Flats) sound great on my active (Audere) Jazz. Maybe ditch the GHS Brite Flats & try a different brand of flats. I tried several rounds and flats but as soon as the EB Cobalts went on.............I found the strings for that bass :thumbsup: I've got Kent Armstrong Lipstick single coils pups.
 

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#8
Neon Blues said:
I have long been a Flats user, and mostly on Passive basses. After a 12 month bass break, I returned and have come to love rounds for the first time really in 20 years.

I recently bought a bass with an 18v Preamp, Piezo, Jazz and Musicman pickups and strung with GHS Brite Flats (I think).

Whilst the bass itself played and sounded amazing. The changes in tone across the different pickups was very subtle and could barely tell the difference especially live.

I'm not saying they don't sound good but more a comment on the range of tonal options across the pickup settings.

I put on a new set of GHS Bass Boomers and the tonal range was stunning.

I guess I just wondered if others had a similar experience with flats on Active Preamps and particularly different Pickup combinations.
Click to expand...
One could argue GHS Boomers are a waste of a good active bass, since they're darker than other rounds... :)

Couple assorted thoughts:

- as pointed out by @Kevin Hailey above, if one only applies minimal onboard EQ corrections (depending on how truly flat the preamp is with controls at noon), there is not much difference between an active and a passive bass, or at least a passive where the tone control is not, or seldom engaged; if you consider flats not wasteful in general (for many players they're a no-no) and a viable option on a passive bass, it ensues that they must also be on an "underutilised" active bass

- on the contrary, at least in theory there's a good chance utilising the whole range of settings available on an active bass could yield novel flatwound tones that wouldn't be accessible on a passive.
Now, I know you essentially said the opposite i.e. you did your fair share of experimenting with settings and results were subtle at best; however, is it possible you were wary of turning the knobs past a certain point? Could things have been different with different pickups, preamp, specific strings? I know, I know: duh muchly

- similarly to how bright-sounding flats are generally (but not universally) preferred on Jazz basses, exploring that particular end of the flatwound gamut (as @HowieD72 has) may turn out more fruitful.
Then again, GHS Brite Flats (assuming that was what your bass was wearing), though not true flats but groundwounds, do also fall in that general tone area, yet you didn't like them anyway. Were they fresh, though? This might change things
(as might unashamedly darker, yet more characterful flats, instead; also, let's not forget there's a world of options in technique - foam mutes/palm muting; pick playing - and/or, as I said, more radical EQ settings to take advantage of)

- another thing to consider is, quite frankly, how many basses one owns. If the active in question is to be your main bass, I absolutely understand not wanting to put flats on it. Should it not be the case, it might instead prove to be a potent, specialised arrow in your quiver.
 
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#10
Are flats wasted on an active bass? Absolutely not.
Will there be more tonal options with a fresh set of rounds? Absolutely.

Flats give you the flatwound sound. Which has less overtones. Therefore, you can't exactly shape what is not there.
If you're after that sound, you don't need to shape a lot since you're already there.
If you're after a lot of tonal options ... well, then you're better off with rounds.
 
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#13
GHS Brite Flats aren't flatwounds. They're groundwounds. They don't sound like flats and they don't feel like flats. They more like stiffer, worn roundwounds (once they get past their initial sticky/clanky phase).

But to answer your question: No, I've never felt flats to be wasted on an active bass. Of course, if you want an "old school" flatwound tone you would probably be better off with a passive tone control (as well as actual flats...) but that's not what you're asking about.

I've personally never experienced what you're describing, although if your desired tonal range includes "zingy" highs you will of course experience a more limited tonal range with flats (or groundwounds...). This would also be the case with a passive bass, but the high boost on an active will perhaps make the rolled off highs you get with flats more noticeable. Or to put it another way: There won't be any "zing" to boost, only noise.
 
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#14
Nope, flats or rounds or whatever, active or passive, mix and match as you please, that's been my experience. Have D'Addario Chromes on my Sire V7 fretless 5 and love 'em.
 
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#15
S.F.Sorrow said:
GHS Brite Flats aren't flatwounds. They're groundwounds. They don't sound like flats and they don't feel like flats. They more like stiffer, worn roundwounds (once they get past their initial sticky/clanky phase).
Click to expand...
IME, they're also not bright. I think they're much less bright than flatwounds, actually (contrary to the ghs packaging).

I've done some experimenting with different string construction on the same bass at the same time, and to me (compared right alongside other string types) they have an interesting and very dry tone that is also extremely dead and thumpy. Going by conventional wisdom and the ghs chart, I expected stainless rounds to be brighter than pressurewounds, then brite flats, then precision flats. But I found that (1) I think of stainless rounds as more..crispy..not exactly "brighter", (2) pressurewounds are higher output so the highs and mids don't seem exactly "less bright" than stainless rounds (just different), (3) stainless flats have a kind of sweetness to them that bright flats don't have, and (4) brite flats have a dry kind of tone that's not really close to anything else in my opinion.

Although different, I kind of like brite flats, and I'm planning to put them on one of my basses (when a string change comes up on the priority list)—which also happens to be an active bass, and tends to be way too bright. I also seem to recall someone recently gushing about how much they loved brite flats on a stingray.

Anyway, OP, I bet you'd have more success with regular flats on that bass.

Also, lack of high frequencies seems to matter much more in different circuits compared to others, and the eq of different strings and basses and pedals and amps can interact in different sometimes unexpected ways. I recently put a new speaker in a combo that I haven't played much, and the eq seemed really unresponsive until I turned the eq way up closer to the top of its range. On most amps and preamps, I like to keep the eq in the cut range or low side of the knobs because it almost always sounds better to me. Kind of like the OP described, before I turned up the eq, the tone knob and pickup adjustments on my bass hardly did anything (compared to my other amps). So it could be that with the dead brite flats you might just need more eq (especially highs, but maybe all around). And with a different string type (since brite flats are kind of the deadest and dryest out there imo), you'd probably still be fine on that bass with regular flatwounds (and lighter gauge or cobalt flats might help too).

(Oh, but also, if you are loving the ghs boomers on this bass, then go with it!)
 
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#16
TL;DR:
No. Not wasted.
It's the same as asking "Is the gain and EQ on the amplifier wasted on flats?"

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Active electronics are just an onboard pre-amp with an EQ, just like on your amp before the power amp. Doesn't matter what type of strings you have on the bass. The active electronics just apply gain and any EQ settings to whatever signal the strings and pickups are creating. If you have rounds and want to boost the lows, you can boost the lows and now you have more lows. If you have flats and you want to boost the lows, you can boost the lows and now you have more lows. Same thing for any other frequency range, boost or cut.

You've just moved the EQ from the amp to the bass. Do you EQ your amp with flats? Doing it with active electronics is doing the same thing at the bass, instead of at the amp's pre-section. Are you EQing on the amp AND the bass? That could be the problem.

--

Same goes for active pickups. They're just pickups with a built-in gain circuit. They don't care if they're picking up and outputting flats or rounds or tapes. They just do their job, and you either like how they sound with your strings or you don't.
 
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#17
The feature that sets active basses apart is a preamp eq on board, just like an amp you’d play through has eq on board. The question could be extrapolated to amps as well since all we’re really talking about is the presence of powered equalisation. Are flats wasted on an amp? The questions seems ridiculous but there’s not much difference to the outcome wherever the eq comes from so the answer is no.
EDIT: Written before I read the previous comment #16.
 
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#18
absolutely not a waste. I have had flats for 15-20 years on active basses. I love it and I think you should try it. As for the subtle tonal changes you mentioned, I found living with them for a bit your ear get more in tune with their tonal profile. I can make my flats thump, cut, pop, tap ect...
 
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#20
I personally care a lot more about finding the set of strings that brings out the best possible sound in a bass than I do about having a "range of tonal options." If I get the best sound on a particular active bass from a set of flats and it turns out those flats don't respond as well to the bass' active EQ (which has never been my experience, BTW), then so be it.
 
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