Rounds vs. Flats

#61
floatingaxe said:
I went through a similar journey. I liked the tone of rounds but the feel of flats.
I settled on Elixirs.
Treats my fretless board nicely too.
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Madhouse27 said:
I just put on a set of LaBella Deep Talkin' Bass 760FLs that I got for Christmas. It's been a long time since I played any flats. I did a complete set-up and was able to dial my action down incredibly low. I'm loving them. Not sure if it's the brand of strings or my better rig, but these sound much more musical and alive than I remember flats being. I'm going to do some recording with them tonight, which will be the final call on whether they stay on, but man they are fun to play.
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oh! broke an .065 labella stls rnd at end of night last night. not really into flats but happen to have unopened set of thru-body 760fls sitting here. guess it's time to put 'em on. i hold you responsible!
 
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#63
The bass will tell you what strings to use....For some unknown reason, Flats, rounds, ground-rounds. If I get a new bass I try all three types on it. One string always sounds much better. I have two P-basses.
One love flats, the other love rounds. Is it the pickup? neck? weight of bass? fingerboard? Who knows.
 
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#64
I seem to be the only guy on TB that likes SR2000 from dean markley.

That being said....

I suggest SR2000 for what you are describing. They are like Rotosounds, only better.

IMOHO, of course.

I should note, I have never tried them on a Rik, which is what the OP is referring to, I think.
 
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#65
G On Bass said:
I have basses with flats and rounds. Though I am a flats-whenever-possible guy, there are occasions I need rounds. FWIW, I only own 5 string basses...

I am still searching for my ideal flats. Chromes are good so far, though I am evaluating Cobalts at the moment. TI's are nice, but expensive and I have had issues with string balance. I love love love the sound and feel of the Sadowsky flats on the E-G strings. Their tapered B is not good for me and does not seem to match the rest of the set tonally. If you were looking for 4 string flats, Sadowsky's would be my first suggestion. They can get growly and angry but can still sit back and be a flat when needed.

For nickels, I use nothing Pat Wilkins Road Tested Nickels and I love 'em.

For stainless, it's the Dunlop Marcus Miller. They can be had cheap and they play and feel nice.

Note: all the above are light gauge, as that's what I likes...
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I would encourage you to try the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats. They are my flat of choice, they have a much brighter tone than any other flat I've used and seem to last for a reasonable amount of time. The ones I have on several basses are over a year old.
 
#66
I encourage you to try the GHS Pressure Wounds. Thick--great lows, very present and pleasant mids and highs but not raspy and zingy. And they last. They are much nicer than any ground wound I've tried, which always seem grabby. I've got two sets of those I'd like to unload! The Pressure Wounds are special it seems for most who try them.
 
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#71
thorne_92 said:
just switched from rounds to flats, got sadowsky black label. I'll never go back to rounds
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wonder who makes them? sadowsky does not have their own string factory. i suppose they could spec a certain thing they want to preferred vendor, but i doubt they do that - bet it's just a straight re-badge. strictly packaging.
 
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#73
Played my first show with flats last night. I can say I'm not used to the sound yet, but it sets in our mix a little easier than my Black Beauties or the Dunlop Super Brights. I used them on my ESP Vin4 PJ. I'm a fan of Chromes for sure.
 
#74
slagheap said:
wonder who makes them? sadowsky does not have their own string factory. i suppose they could spec a certain thing they want to preferred vendor, but i doubt they do that - bet it's just a straight re-badge. strictly packaging.
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pretty sure la bella makes them, I've seen someone here comment that.
thats rad, I'm from sydney myself
 
#75
slagheap said:
wonder who makes them? sadowsky does not have their own string factory. i suppose they could spec a certain thing they want to preferred vendor, but i doubt they do that - bet it's just a straight re-badge. strictly packaging.
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The BLACK label flats are in fact made by La Bella, but to Sadowsky specs.

I've tried both the Sads 40-100 and the LB 760FL on my P bass and find them to be quite different in terms of tonal characteristics, although they do share the same silky smooth feel. While the LBs are for the classic thump, the Sads have richer mids for more punch and clarity.
 
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#76
For those of you using Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats, have you experienced rust???

In 20 years of playing bass I've never had a string rust. Only on a month on one of my basses, played it a couple days and then pulled it back out and saw it when I wiped them down. They weren't as slick as originally when playing.

I then found all sorts of threads for these cobalt strings rusting.

Guessing cobalt is a weird oxidation enhancer.

Crazy.
 
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