Recommend Replacement for Sadowsky Black Label Flats

[fourstringbliss]

I'm going to resurrect this here thread. I love the old Sadowsky black labels and always used the light gauge. I have the blue label flats on another bass and they're different in a not good way for me.

Are the Dunlop's smooth like the black labels? Good roundish overtones and sustain?

What about the Labella LTF's?

 

[GIBrat51]

A little off-topic, but can anybody say if the Labella Low Tension flats are much lower tension than the new Sadowsky Blue Label flats? ( I can't find the numbers on them...)

Working from memory here, but.. The TI's package says 144lbs. +/-, and the LTF's say 136lbs, more or less. So, just slightly less than the TI's. And, as an aside; I don't think the low tension has much to do with the "limp noodle" nature of the TIs. More to do with how they're made. There's a very thin core wire in there, along with 2 very thin flat windings; and, there's a silk wrap in there, too. The La Bellas are pretty much just a flat outer wrap around a (probably) round core... I have sets of both, and the LTFs seem notably more stiff than the TIs...

 

[Luckydog]

Longtime Sadowsky Black Label flats user here. I have regrets about not buying up a bunch of 2 particular string sets before they were discontinued/replaced. Those sets are- the original Fender flatwounds, as well as the Sadowsky Black Label flats. No current strings IMO have the same attack and classic tone as those Mexican-made Fenders (made by VC Squier, I believe). Also, no current strings exactly duplicate the nearly perfect combination (also IMO) of articulation, clarity, richness, and versatility of the “old” Sadowsky Black Label flats. I cant imagine the considerations that were factored into their discontinuance, but I’m sure they had good reasons. I have one used set of the old Fender strings left, and perhaps 4 used sets of the Sadowsky Black Label flats. As I said earlier, my choice for replacement flatwound strings has been Labella. Specifically the 760FL. Have used the TIs many many times and they are very nice, but a different flavor, and definitely requires a change in setup and adjustment in playing.

 

[Sparkdog]

The Sadowskys were made by La Bella IIRC and they had all the same good AND bad traits about them (I have no idea if I used the "originals" or a later version of them). I went through at least 6 sets of them.

They had nice surface feel and tension to them, but weren't particularly well balanced to my ears. The E string was always quite dead and thuddy, A and D considerably brighter, and G was just crazy bright and twangy.

Try the Ernie Ball traditional flats...Group I, II, III & IV. Those feel lovely and have the most consistent balance across all 4 strings that I've heard. I wish I had tried them sooner, would have saved me many hundreds of dollars searching for the ideal flats.

Note: Not to be confused with the Cobalt flats. Those are among the "grabbiest" sticky feeling strings I've tried.

 

[Selim]

Another long term Sadowsky black label flat user here. And also regret not stocking up on a few sets. And still searching for a suitable replacement.

Currently using 45-125 Dunlops, which I like, but as the topic of string balance came up in the posts above, I’ll report that the G, at least on this particular set of Dunlops, is way tighter, brighter and twangier then the other 4 strings. They’re on a new bass, so I don’t have a previous reference to compare against on this bass.

I’ve heard enough talk about the EB flats that I will try them. I also have a set of Labellas FL in the drawer. Used the bigger gauges a lot in the past before the Sadowskys came along.

 

[Sparkdog]

That bright G string is a problem on virtually every set of flats I've tried and I bought every brand I could find. I did not experience that with TI Jazz Flats, but I simply could not get any low end out of the A string and the tension was too low for me.

The Ernie Balls are nice, they are somewhat bright when new, but because they are well balanced, all 4 strings mellow out at the same rate over time.

 

[mojomike001]

I've got one bass I bought which came with a nice set os Sadowski Black Lables on it. Very nice strings, but to me, they feel the same as LaBellas in texture. if it wasn't for the color of the silk on the ends, I doubt I could tell the difference.