Same here but brighter tone than most flats. Labella, ghs, fender flats all have a flatter , darker tone more associated with flats. All that being said, chromes are still My favorite. In my mind chromes cover the widest range of tone than all the other flats I’ve tried.
I want to try labellas but my 2 year old TI flats still sound amazing…
I will say these flats are really supple and easy to fret so if you want to dig in super hard these won’t be ideal.
The best strings ever spun for this instrument. The only strings I've ever had that make me want to practice more. Playability is different but wonderful once you adjust to them, and the tone in the mids is addictive.
TIs are my favorite flat and round string overall, but I also have La Bella on one P bass and Dunlops on the Nordstrand Acinonyx. Always use the string that best suits the bass I say.
I got thomastic for my jazz bass and fucking hell they're good, have som rotosound flats on my p bass and the tension in those strings are obnoxiously stiff/tense in e-standard tuning.
These were the first flats I tried and they are great. I spent a bunch of money trying a few other brands over the last couple of years and ended up right back at the set of deep talking flats I bought at the start of my hunt. They sound great and feel even better.
I’ve been enjoying the Ernie Ball Cobalt flats! They have a lot more zing to them than I expected to get, but that could be because they’re the only set of new strings I’ve tried since I replaced the worn out round wounds on a used P bass i bought that may have been the original stock strings. With that said I find slapping and popping especially feel and sound much better than I thought I would get out of flats.
This. COBALTS! I love them because it does give you a bit more ‘zing’ but it’s easier to eq that away, if you so choose, than to try and add zing when it wasn’t there to begin with.
Hey!! This is the first time I've seen them mentioned on this sub. I have them on my Sterling Stingray 4HH and I can get away with playing anything from basic old-school country all the way to distorted metal and slap funk. They're my first flats, and I want to try more, but I also feel very satisfied with them so far!!
I’m a huge fan of the cobalt series. The zing isn’t imagined. Granted its a small portion of your sound in the grand scheme of things a lot of the time, but they do sound quite good.
I wonder how many people commenting have tried more than one type. The great thing about flats is they stay clean/and are easy to clean so don’t need replaced as often as round. Oh and they feel and sound great. I’ve only went rotosound and I like them a lot.
La Bella's Low Tension Flats are for sure the comfiest strings I've ever played. My only warning is that once you try them, you'll never want to go back to anything else...
The LT flats are brighter with more attack due to the lower tension, the Deep Talking have way bigger body and bottom and less top. I've used the same set of LT flats for 6 years and the same set (!!) of Deep Talkin strings for over 10 years. Either way they're phenomenal strings. You could easily play one set for your whole life.
How long do you typically go before changing strings with these bad boys?
E:for some reason I thought expensive was gonna be $100+. Glad it's not! ~$45
The daddarios are just the crème of the crop for me. I love labella but only really buy tapes from them these days since daddarios are so plentiful at music shops.
For fretted basses, LaBella DTFs for me, exclusively, but they have a ton of tension so be prepared to adjust your truss after you throw them on. Smooth as silk, warm and rumbly. 👍
Depends, why are you considering them? Do you want that warm mellow tone? Do you enjoy that brightness that round wounds bring but hate the sound of your fingers sliding?
Personally I use Half-Rounds they’re not as common and I have to order them since most shops don’t carry them. But I love the bright yet mellow tone they offer
Edit: I use D’Addario medium Gauge Half-Rounds, on my 5-string I order a Tapered .130 Half-Round for the B-string and pair it with the Medium Gauge 4-string set
I love the Rotosound Tru Bass 88 Black Nylons. I have had them on my Fender P Bass for about a year and have already bought them in advance for my backordered and yet to arrive Yamaha BBNE2
I have these irrespective of sound, but because my bass is black and it yearns for black strings.
Plus, they’re the same strings Sir Paul played on the rooftop
I’ve played a bunch of different flats over the years. I’m an experienced player, and have very high standards. Here’s my take on different brands of flats:
D’Addario Chromes - kinda dull sounding, and there are gaps in the windings which make them slow and uncomfortable under fingers.
Rotosound - noticeably unbalanced tension, and unremarkable tone.
Fender - a decent all-around flatwound. Lots of reggae players favor these.
DR Legend - these are super smooth, feel great under finger. Higher tension than the other flats I’ve tried. A bit bright until they settle in.
GHS Precision Flats - a great balance of tension, feel, and tone. Very smooth, warm, and musical. Probably my favorite flatwound.
LaBella Deep Talkin’ Bass - these are legit. Vintage feel and tone. I’ve had a set on my old P Bass for 5 years, they’re still kicking.
You’ll probably get different takes from others, we’ve all got our own experiences and preferences. Hope this helps, though!
I second GHS Precision Flats. I have them on my 30" scale and they are perfect. I actually use GHS on all my guitars and basses. Great company and great strings.
Weird... DR Legends are pretty low tension compared to most flats. Ive tried around 15 different flatwounds (none that are advertised as low tension) and DRs were the lowest of them all.
Interesting. I last played them probably 10 years ago, a 45-105 set. I remember them as being much stiffer under fingers than most other strings I’ve tried. Wasn’t a bad thing for me, I like higher tension.
I played them about a year and a half ago. They were just a tad too low tension for me, actually lol. Then I got GHS P flats, and those nailed what i was after. I heard they changed them at some point, so maybe that's why?
I made the switch to flats a couple of years ago, and man I love them!
I rock the D'Addario XL Chromes and tapewounds on my fretless.
Don't forget you NEED to setup yer bass for flats as they are allot more tension specific and you'll need to adjust yer neck/intonation for them.
I use D'Addario Chromes on my G&L L2000 and have nothing bad to say about them, but the only other flats I've ever used were Rotosound Steve Harris flats on my Peavey Millennium when I first started playing about 20 years ago
I started out with D'Addario Chromes and switched to Thomastik-Infield jazz flatwounds. I found the Chromes are brighter at the start but loose that brightness more quickly than the Thomastiks. I also find the Thomastiks easier to play. Less sluggish and can do Geezer Butler-like bends much easier.
My favorites are GHS Precision Flats, Labella Deep Talkin' Flats 760FS, and DR Legends. I also use the Rotosound Steve Harris flats on my Harris p bass, but I don't like Rotos for anything else.
They're a favorite on talkbass of people that want a vintage fender mastersound flats tone. They're the closest thing to that that's available today. Definitely my favorite flats.
LaBella deep talkin flats.
Have you a bass in mind for them? Tell me its a P bass. Oh, and once they are on they are staying on, for ever. So yeah, that's gonna be your flats bass now.
I started my flats journey with D'Addario Chromes. They're decent, and will give you a good idea of what playing with flats is like.
But trust me. Once you upgrade to a more expensive brand like LaBella, you will not go back.
I wish I liked the LaBellas, but I’ve had bad experiences with them every single time. Weird overtones, dead E (and especially B) strings, tuning issues, intonation problems… Only bass I like them in is my violin bass. On all the other basses I’ve changed to Rotosounds. Old Fender flats used to be great too.
So if you are going all out then la Bella are the top of the list.
If you want to give them ago I think the fender ones are actually a lot better than their price would suggest.
I would always recommend fender 9050 CL. But They are discontinued. They have excellent string to string balance and tension. Good mid and punchy sound. After them i would recommend chromes, They are a good place to start!
The smoothest I ever had were Sadowsky Blue Label flats but man they have gone up in price. I have chromes on 2 basses, a fretless Yamaha P and a Peavey Fury (super ferrite model) but I ordered a custom balanced tensiom set for both. Used to have GHS flats on my Dano and thought they were a great fit. I'd probably try them again for a more classic sound than Chromes, which seem to be a bit more modern in tone.
Yeah, my first set of flats on 2 basses now are Sadowsky Blue Label flats. Feel nice, great fundamental on the p and active 5 j. I’m. It rough in strings so they should last a while.
I prefer D’addario chromes, I like that they have a tiny bit of brightness to them. They are not the best pure example of a traditional flat sound though.
Watch some youtube videos, see what you think you like most.
Roto 77's. La Bella is better (thomastik is best) but expensive. Get some fenders if you just want to try em out to see how you like em. (Spoiler, you will)
Chromes might be best for those genres. That's a guess.
But in general...
Check out La Bella Low Tension Flexible (LTF) flats -- see below.
It can take a while to break in flats and experience what flats are really about. (OK, that's an my opinion -- some people do prefer new flats but I think that's a minority.)
My instructor has some basses with years (perhaps decades) old Fender flats, Thomastik-Infeld flats, DR Legend Flats, and maybe some others. Those all sound amazing. The TI flats are kind of their own thing.
I have some brand new DR Legends on a bass and some older DR Legends that came on a used bass. My new Legends are "getting there". I also have some LaBella Deep Talking' flats -- 45 to 105 -- after breaking them in they also sound great but the tension is high.
I'd heard that La Bella LTF flats sound like broken in flats right out of the box. So I gave them a go. IMO, they are like some kind of cheat code where you get all of the good stuff right away. The tension is a bit lower than the DR Legends, Fender Flats but the tension suits me well.
After hearing my bass with the LTFs my instructor put them on the bass he's been gigging with. I think they will stay on that bass.
The TI flats (which are also low tension) have a really amazing reputation but I the LTFs make me wonder why I would want to string a bass with TI flats and wait for them to break in.
FWIW, it's claimed that an influential bass builder sent some TI flats to La Bella so explore and the result was the LTFs.
Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats sound so incredibly good. And especially if you’re playing rock and funk, you don’t want to lose that punch. Seriously, try them out.
P style or J style bass? You could slow step your way over and try 'pressure wounds' to help transition your string sound from round to flats. I like LaBella 45-105
Fender flats sound nice, play nice, and don't break the bank. I think they're a great "dip your toes in" flats to see if you want to invest further in that journey.
I think Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwounds are a good jumping off point for flats. I use the Extra Slinky variant on my PJ bass and love 'em. They have a relatively bright sound for a flat, but if you roll the tone off you can still get a classic thump.
I also have a set of LaBella Low Tension Flats on a P bass with 60's voiced pickups. They really turn it into a thump machine.
I've tried D'Addario Chromes, DR legends, Fender flatwounds, Labella Deep talkin flats, and Labella Low tension flats. DR are go to for roundwounds, but they were my least favorite of the flats. Of the flats I've tried my favorite are the Labella Low tension. The deep talkin flats are a close 2nd, but I found the low tensions much nicer to play on.
I'd recommend LaBella 760FL or DR Legend FL-45 for "old school" style flats that don't have crazy high tension.
For "new breed" style flats you can't go wrong with D'Addario Chromes.
Keep in mind that most flats sound kinda unexpectedly bright for at least a few weeks before they're broken in.
Sean Hurley: Labella 760fl
Pino Paladino: TI Jazz flats
James Jamerson: Labella Jamerson signature
If you want bright-ish sound try the EB Cobalt and Daddario Chrome
I use chromes on my p bass. It’s surprisingly perfect for everything, even punk sounds, and just everything. They’re not muffled at all, but they can go mellow, or bright, with a really nice body. I’ll never use a different string unless they stop producing them.
I’ve had chromes on a Strat and it sounded so good. It adds a bit to the low side of the mid that gives a different very tasty character to a classic SSS and with HH. I’ve had my ‘06 Am Deluxe strung with them and changed out the electronics with chromes on both versions and boy oh boy it’s dreamy. The feel too. It’s another level of pleasure, for sure.
I went with LaBella for my first set of flats and I've never looked back. Spendy but worth it. A good set of flats will last you years and I only replaced that one because they finally started feeling a little too bendy. I am of the opinion that flats sound better when well broken in.
I have one bass with DR Legends flats and another with D’Addario Half Rounds, really like them both and very reasonably priced. I’m not ashamed to admit I first picked out the DRs because the yellow wrap on the strings would look nice with my two-tone sunburst P haha. They sound and feel great too. The half rounds really are a great in between of round and flat, if I only had one bass I’d probably have to go with that, though I’ve also recently been curious to try Pressurewounds from GHS.
Switched my P Bass to flatwounds like 8 years ago and never looked back. Love the LaBella's just like anyone else, but yeah they're a bit pricey. Helps that you can leave em on for years tho so you don't have to constantly change
You have to think about tension with flats. To me, the best and classic choice is La Bella deep talkin. If you play a pair of them and think the tension is too much for you, looking at something easier to play would be like... their labella low tension or thomastik flats.
The only strings I have even broken (or for flats, unraveled) are flat wounds. Sometimes they go bad and unravel. This, for me, has only been from using thomastik. They're super expensive and two seperate packs eventually unraveled on me. You want a flat wound that you can keep as long as possible because the dead sound is part of the vibe.
I'll also say this... part of the cool flats sound (like Jamerson) is that they kept their action pretty high and not very clicky, and with the tone down. In my opinion, it's not super fun to play with that tone live for all songs. I like to have a bass with flats and rounds and bring whatever makes sense to the gig. -Carson
Flatwound strings are going to be much heavier and harder to play right off the bat so your immediate enjoyment/playability during this transition really depends on your strength in both hands.
Most of the brand recommendations you're seeing on this thread are about subtle nuance, tone and feel, brand to brand. The most important thing is to actually be able to enjoy playing the instrument when you add something new to it, which is why I recommended this:
LaBella Low Tension flats are great to transition to the feel and tone the flatwound world without the massive physical dexterity curve required to play a much stiffer and higher tension string.
As far as some of the other brands I'm seeing recommended on this thread go, the D'Addario Chromes are decent sounding but a bit too high tension for my taste... they just don't seem to loosen up even after years of playing. Used the Rotosound Flats for a year and absolutely hated them, to me they sound really mushy and don't have good string to string definition and the tension seems way too high for my taste (similar tension issue to the D'Addarrio Chromes, they just didn't seem to loosen up even after a year). Any LaBella (non Low tension) string is also going to be very high tension but not as tight as the Chromes. Personally I prefer LaBella either low tension or Deep Talking' flats. Lately LaBella has been issuing limited runs of tapewound strings through their Roadie Club which are also very cool and definitely a little brighter than the flats with a very similar silky feel. Those are definitely worth exploring, if you don't feel like waiting till those limited runs you can always just try there black and white nylon tape wounds both of which are quite different from each other, but that's a whole different thing.
One of my first professional based teachers required that I used LaBella Deep Talkin' flats (52's) and let me tell you... those strings are extremely heavy especially coming from the roundwound world where I was coming from (and a pick player to boot!). It took me a year of solid daily practicing right hand index and middle finger alternating technique to be able to play those properly. Over time I've grown to love these strings very much and would highly recommend them but the uphill incline learning curve is extremely steep and not to be underestimated. I wish I knew about the LaBella low tension strings when I first used flats. These days I'm almost exclusively using LaBella tapewound strings because they have the silky feel of a flat and a more extended top end like a round but without the thin bottom end of a roundwound so you can slap and get the nice brightness or fingerstyle and get the nice fatness. They're unique and as I mentioned above definitely worth trying.
I'm gonna go against the grain a bit and say try half-rounds. I won't buy any other strings tbh... They are fairly expensive but if you're used to rounds and want some of the feel and tone of flats, IMO they are the perfect balance
I play mostly indie rock with a tiny bit of funk and Americana blended in. I didn't really dig the zing of roundwounds on my P Bass and was only using about 1/3 of the range on my volume knob. I was curious about flatwounds but wasn't quite ready to take the plunge. I was worried I'd lose *too much* high end and wouldn't be able to cut through the live mix. My band's songs are pretty bass-forward -- like for a lot of the songs the bass is the hook so I need it to be prominent.
I opted to go for halfround strings as kind of a in-between. And for me, I think it was the right choice. I use the full range of my tone knob to go from full dark to just bright enough. Slap, even though I rarely use it, sounds much better on these strings than on flats. They get some of that plunky pick attack that you can't get with roundwounds. They're also in-between flats and rounds in terms of price. If you're on the fence and not sure you want to go full flat, I highly recommend giving them a shot.
I tried some dunlop 45-105 stainless steel on my mim J.. not my cup of tea to be honest, but they got a nice deep thump to them (i feel like theyre more in labella territory)
did not fancy, new set of EB cobalt flats arrived today (tried these on a P i tried a couple of weeks ago) and they felt and sounded amazing when i tried them on the P so excited to set my J up with these.
If the bass you use has frets then don’t bother, too much money, if you use a fretless (and you have to use flatwounds because otherwise you damage the fretboard) use the ernie ball ones
La Bella flats, my dude. Those strings almost *are* the sound of electric bass, because so many of the greatest recordings in history feature a bassist using them. You’d be surprised at how often they’re the go-to choice.
I cant get on with TI flats. Something about the middy character just doesnt work for me, but the feel is great. When I put flats on I want a bit of vintage thump and 760FL give me that. TI Jazz rounds are hands down my favourite string though
I loved the labella gold alloy flats I ran for a while. Watch your break angle over the saddle though. If you have to have a super steep angle for proper intonation flats may break. This is also why the oven taper the ends and only the core wires go though the tuning machines. Because if the flatwound section can break in the bends from a tuning machine.
I slap a lot and slapped a low e string till it broke around 3 months haha. It broke right at the saddle because of the issue I described. Good life for the set though anyway. Sounded pretty good, low and warm. Lower output than roundwounds so you'll need mire gain to trigger some effects.
I like my chromes from D’Addario
+1 Absolutely transformed a Squier Jazz bass I never played into a wonder to play.
I also put them on a jazz after only using rounds before, and they’re amazing
+1 I have a set that are getting on for 12 years old, they have a great thump
Wow! Mine’s only been on for 4 years. 12 is something to strive for!!
These are good, easy to find. Bright and high tension
It’s funny, I actually bought these to tame down the brightness on my Ibanez sr305e
They’re bright for flatwounds, much less bright than rounds.
That’s good to know, that explains why my bass still has some good treble (just more controlled). I dig em!
I did the same for a cole clarke. Great strings and very versatile. i love my la bella DTBs but the chromes are more practical
I never looked back after I found my D'Addario flats.
Great flats!
Same here but brighter tone than most flats. Labella, ghs, fender flats all have a flatter , darker tone more associated with flats. All that being said, chromes are still My favorite. In my mind chromes cover the widest range of tone than all the other flats I’ve tried.
That’s what I have on my bass too. 25+ years playing the bass and I had no idea what I was missing. Sounds great, feels great.
I've got then on my Squier P, really love them. They play like a dream.
P + flats = magic
Thomastic Infeld Jazz Flat Wound I've got them on my P bass. Wonderful!
I love TI strings on my Ibanez SRSC. Definitely more on the expensive side, but definitely worth it!
The TI flats on my P are about 23 years old. They’re still excellent.
They are soooo great! Hope OP gets a setup too to go with them. So worth it
I want to try labellas but my 2 year old TI flats still sound amazing… I will say these flats are really supple and easy to fret so if you want to dig in super hard these won’t be ideal.
The best strings.
The best strings ever spun for this instrument. The only strings I've ever had that make me want to practice more. Playability is different but wonderful once you adjust to them, and the tone in the mids is addictive.
The thomastik are the best ones My closest seconds are chromes
No contest for the best flats. A bit expensive for someone looking to try flats for the first time, but they’d be starting with the best!
I also have these on my p-bass, nothing else feels as good as them!
TIs are my favorite flat and round string overall, but I also have La Bella on one P bass and Dunlops on the Nordstrand Acinonyx. Always use the string that best suits the bass I say.
I got thomastic for my jazz bass and fucking hell they're good, have som rotosound flats on my p bass and the tension in those strings are obnoxiously stiff/tense in e-standard tuning.
I like the Rotosound flats.
Jazz 77 flats for me
Never tried Labella but I’ve tried many other brands and Rotosound are the only ones that sound and feel right to me
LaBella. Expensive-ish and worth it.
They are a bit more expensive but they will pretty much last a lifetime. I have them on two of my basses and love them.
La Bella 760FL Deep Talkin Flats are my favorites
These were the first flats I tried and they are great. I spent a bunch of money trying a few other brands over the last couple of years and ended up right back at the set of deep talking flats I bought at the start of my hunt. They sound great and feel even better.
Cries in TI.
I’ve been enjoying the Ernie Ball Cobalt flats! They have a lot more zing to them than I expected to get, but that could be because they’re the only set of new strings I’ve tried since I replaced the worn out round wounds on a used P bass i bought that may have been the original stock strings. With that said I find slapping and popping especially feel and sound much better than I thought I would get out of flats.
I love my cobalt flats.
This. COBALTS! I love them because it does give you a bit more ‘zing’ but it’s easier to eq that away, if you so choose, than to try and add zing when it wasn’t there to begin with.
Hey!! This is the first time I've seen them mentioned on this sub. I have them on my Sterling Stingray 4HH and I can get away with playing anything from basic old-school country all the way to distorted metal and slap funk. They're my first flats, and I want to try more, but I also feel very satisfied with them so far!!
These are the best.
I’m a huge fan of the cobalt series. The zing isn’t imagined. Granted its a small portion of your sound in the grand scheme of things a lot of the time, but they do sound quite good.
I wonder how many people commenting have tried more than one type. The great thing about flats is they stay clean/and are easy to clean so don’t need replaced as often as round. Oh and they feel and sound great. I’ve only went rotosound and I like them a lot.
I’ve tried them all. Overall my favorite were the Dunlop Flats.
I've tried a lot too and also were my fav!
Plus 1 for Dunlop flats. They’re low tension and have great tone.
I use La Bella Low Tension Flats and really love them, but you might what something a little thumpier with funk.
La Bella's Low Tension Flats are for sure the comfiest strings I've ever played. My only warning is that once you try them, you'll never want to go back to anything else...
What's the difference between them and the deep talkin flats?
Low tension is easier to fret/have less resistance. But deep talkin have a greater attack sound and probably a little brighter
Hrm, tough choice. I'm coming from the Fender Player Precision ones so the Deep Talkin would be closer in thickness but the Low Tension are intriguing
The LT flats are brighter with more attack due to the lower tension, the Deep Talking have way bigger body and bottom and less top. I've used the same set of LT flats for 6 years and the same set (!!) of Deep Talkin strings for over 10 years. Either way they're phenomenal strings. You could easily play one set for your whole life.
How long do you typically go before changing strings with these bad boys? E:for some reason I thought expensive was gonna be $100+. Glad it's not! ~$45
I play labella deep talking. Put them on there, and left them there. It's been about 5 or 6 years now
I have those on all five of my basses.
Hell yeah! Do you know the difference between that model and the low tensions everybody is suggesting?
Change em when they break
Love it
I haven’t had my bass terribly long (a couple years) so I haven’t changed them but I know some people seriously keep them on for 5+ years!
10 bucks a year sounds fair to me!
I've heard that a new setup is required when switching to flats to reduce the tension, did you find that with the La Bella Low Tension Flats?
Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwounds or D'Addario Chromes
The daddarios are just the crème of the crop for me. I love labella but only really buy tapes from them these days since daddarios are so plentiful at music shops.
For fretted basses, LaBella DTFs for me, exclusively, but they have a ton of tension so be prepared to adjust your truss after you throw them on. Smooth as silk, warm and rumbly. 👍
Depends, why are you considering them? Do you want that warm mellow tone? Do you enjoy that brightness that round wounds bring but hate the sound of your fingers sliding? Personally I use Half-Rounds they’re not as common and I have to order them since most shops don’t carry them. But I love the bright yet mellow tone they offer Edit: I use D’Addario medium Gauge Half-Rounds, on my 5-string I order a Tapered .130 Half-Round for the B-string and pair it with the Medium Gauge 4-string set
Seconding half rounds, I switched to them years ago and they're all I buy now.
I just bought a set of half-rounds for mine. Haven't changed them out yet. I've only had rounds before.
I love the Rotosound Tru Bass 88 Black Nylons. I have had them on my Fender P Bass for about a year and have already bought them in advance for my backordered and yet to arrive Yamaha BBNE2
I put these on my P-bass too. They’re great!
I have these irrespective of sound, but because my bass is black and it yearns for black strings. Plus, they’re the same strings Sir Paul played on the rooftop
Those are great on a fretless PJ
I’ve played a bunch of different flats over the years. I’m an experienced player, and have very high standards. Here’s my take on different brands of flats: D’Addario Chromes - kinda dull sounding, and there are gaps in the windings which make them slow and uncomfortable under fingers. Rotosound - noticeably unbalanced tension, and unremarkable tone. Fender - a decent all-around flatwound. Lots of reggae players favor these. DR Legend - these are super smooth, feel great under finger. Higher tension than the other flats I’ve tried. A bit bright until they settle in. GHS Precision Flats - a great balance of tension, feel, and tone. Very smooth, warm, and musical. Probably my favorite flatwound. LaBella Deep Talkin’ Bass - these are legit. Vintage feel and tone. I’ve had a set on my old P Bass for 5 years, they’re still kicking. You’ll probably get different takes from others, we’ve all got our own experiences and preferences. Hope this helps, though!
I second GHS Precision Flats. I have them on my 30" scale and they are perfect. I actually use GHS on all my guitars and basses. Great company and great strings.
Weird... DR Legends are pretty low tension compared to most flats. Ive tried around 15 different flatwounds (none that are advertised as low tension) and DRs were the lowest of them all.
Interesting. I last played them probably 10 years ago, a 45-105 set. I remember them as being much stiffer under fingers than most other strings I’ve tried. Wasn’t a bad thing for me, I like higher tension.
I played them about a year and a half ago. They were just a tad too low tension for me, actually lol. Then I got GHS P flats, and those nailed what i was after. I heard they changed them at some point, so maybe that's why?
I made the switch to flats a couple of years ago, and man I love them! I rock the D'Addario XL Chromes and tapewounds on my fretless. Don't forget you NEED to setup yer bass for flats as they are allot more tension specific and you'll need to adjust yer neck/intonation for them.
I use D'Addario Chromes on my G&L L2000 and have nothing bad to say about them, but the only other flats I've ever used were Rotosound Steve Harris flats on my Peavey Millennium when I first started playing about 20 years ago
I started out with D'Addario Chromes and switched to Thomastik-Infield jazz flatwounds. I found the Chromes are brighter at the start but loose that brightness more quickly than the Thomastiks. I also find the Thomastiks easier to play. Less sluggish and can do Geezer Butler-like bends much easier.
My favorites are GHS Precision Flats, Labella Deep Talkin' Flats 760FS, and DR Legends. I also use the Rotosound Steve Harris flats on my Harris p bass, but I don't like Rotos for anything else.
GHS Precision Flats are my favorite too. I’m surprised that I don’t see more people using them.
They're a favorite on talkbass of people that want a vintage fender mastersound flats tone. They're the closest thing to that that's available today. Definitely my favorite flats.
LaBella deep talkin flats. Have you a bass in mind for them? Tell me its a P bass. Oh, and once they are on they are staying on, for ever. So yeah, that's gonna be your flats bass now.
I started my flats journey with D'Addario Chromes. They're decent, and will give you a good idea of what playing with flats is like. But trust me. Once you upgrade to a more expensive brand like LaBella, you will not go back.
I wish I liked the LaBellas, but I’ve had bad experiences with them every single time. Weird overtones, dead E (and especially B) strings, tuning issues, intonation problems… Only bass I like them in is my violin bass. On all the other basses I’ve changed to Rotosounds. Old Fender flats used to be great too.
Try GHS Precision Medium Flatwounds for a very solid price/performance ratio.
So if you are going all out then la Bella are the top of the list. If you want to give them ago I think the fender ones are actually a lot better than their price would suggest.
What bass do you play? On a P bass it's Labellas. On a Jazz I like Fender flats
I would always recommend fender 9050 CL. But They are discontinued. They have excellent string to string balance and tension. Good mid and punchy sound. After them i would recommend chromes, They are a good place to start!
I've only tried Rotosound 77s and Ernie Ball Cobalt flats. Of the two I prefer the Cobalts.
The smoothest I ever had were Sadowsky Blue Label flats but man they have gone up in price. I have chromes on 2 basses, a fretless Yamaha P and a Peavey Fury (super ferrite model) but I ordered a custom balanced tensiom set for both. Used to have GHS flats on my Dano and thought they were a great fit. I'd probably try them again for a more classic sound than Chromes, which seem to be a bit more modern in tone.
Yeah, my first set of flats on 2 basses now are Sadowsky Blue Label flats. Feel nice, great fundamental on the p and active 5 j. I’m. It rough in strings so they should last a while.
Ken smith slick rounds have been what I’ve enjoyed the most after trying all the main ones suggested here already this past year or so
I prefer D’addario chromes, I like that they have a tiny bit of brightness to them. They are not the best pure example of a traditional flat sound though. Watch some youtube videos, see what you think you like most.
Labella low tension flats are the way to go for me..
Roto 77's. La Bella is better (thomastik is best) but expensive. Get some fenders if you just want to try em out to see how you like em. (Spoiler, you will)
Chromes might be best for those genres. That's a guess. But in general... Check out La Bella Low Tension Flexible (LTF) flats -- see below. It can take a while to break in flats and experience what flats are really about. (OK, that's an my opinion -- some people do prefer new flats but I think that's a minority.) My instructor has some basses with years (perhaps decades) old Fender flats, Thomastik-Infeld flats, DR Legend Flats, and maybe some others. Those all sound amazing. The TI flats are kind of their own thing. I have some brand new DR Legends on a bass and some older DR Legends that came on a used bass. My new Legends are "getting there". I also have some LaBella Deep Talking' flats -- 45 to 105 -- after breaking them in they also sound great but the tension is high. I'd heard that La Bella LTF flats sound like broken in flats right out of the box. So I gave them a go. IMO, they are like some kind of cheat code where you get all of the good stuff right away. The tension is a bit lower than the DR Legends, Fender Flats but the tension suits me well. After hearing my bass with the LTFs my instructor put them on the bass he's been gigging with. I think they will stay on that bass. The TI flats (which are also low tension) have a really amazing reputation but I the LTFs make me wonder why I would want to string a bass with TI flats and wait for them to break in. FWIW, it's claimed that an influential bass builder sent some TI flats to La Bella so explore and the result was the LTFs.
Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats sound so incredibly good. And especially if you’re playing rock and funk, you don’t want to lose that punch. Seriously, try them out.
Heavy gauge la Bella’s
P style or J style bass? You could slow step your way over and try 'pressure wounds' to help transition your string sound from round to flats. I like LaBella 45-105
I’ve been rocking Ernie Ball cobalt wounds for the past year and I don’t know if I’ll ever switch. Such an amazing sound.
LaBella 760FL on the P, Fender 9050M on the J. Both are excellent.
Labella deep talkin flats baby
Fender flats sound nice, play nice, and don't break the bank. I think they're a great "dip your toes in" flats to see if you want to invest further in that journey.
I think Ernie Ball Slinky Flatwounds are a good jumping off point for flats. I use the Extra Slinky variant on my PJ bass and love 'em. They have a relatively bright sound for a flat, but if you roll the tone off you can still get a classic thump. I also have a set of LaBella Low Tension Flats on a P bass with 60's voiced pickups. They really turn it into a thump machine.
I've tried D'Addario Chromes, DR legends, Fender flatwounds, Labella Deep talkin flats, and Labella Low tension flats. DR are go to for roundwounds, but they were my least favorite of the flats. Of the flats I've tried my favorite are the Labella Low tension. The deep talkin flats are a close 2nd, but I found the low tensions much nicer to play on.
I really like the D'Addario Chromes I have on my P Bass. I get that midrange and some of the punch of roundwounds, but they're so much smoother
SIT Power Flats
LaBella 760FLs are sooooo good
Chromes
I'd recommend LaBella 760FL or DR Legend FL-45 for "old school" style flats that don't have crazy high tension. For "new breed" style flats you can't go wrong with D'Addario Chromes. Keep in mind that most flats sound kinda unexpectedly bright for at least a few weeks before they're broken in.
Don’t play flats but rotosounds are hand wound in UK and surprisingly affordable, recommend
Labella low tension flexible flats
Opinions on Höfner's flats?
Sean Hurley: Labella 760fl Pino Paladino: TI Jazz flats James Jamerson: Labella Jamerson signature If you want bright-ish sound try the EB Cobalt and Daddario Chrome
I've only used rosounds, I think they're great. Definitely expensive though, the set I have cost $70 CAD
U got taken for a ride bro
Yeah probably. They were literally the only flats within like an hours drive from me, I live in the middle of nowhere
You don’t get amazon where you are?
I had a gift card for the store in question that I wasn't going to use for anything else
Well spent, then!
I use chromes on my p bass. It’s surprisingly perfect for everything, even punk sounds, and just everything. They’re not muffled at all, but they can go mellow, or bright, with a really nice body. I’ll never use a different string unless they stop producing them. I’ve had chromes on a Strat and it sounded so good. It adds a bit to the low side of the mid that gives a different very tasty character to a classic SSS and with HH. I’ve had my ‘06 Am Deluxe strung with them and changed out the electronics with chromes on both versions and boy oh boy it’s dreamy. The feel too. It’s another level of pleasure, for sure.
I went with LaBella for my first set of flats and I've never looked back. Spendy but worth it. A good set of flats will last you years and I only replaced that one because they finally started feeling a little too bendy. I am of the opinion that flats sound better when well broken in.
Colbalt flats are decent. DR legends are my favorite
My all-time favorite strings are La Bella Low Tension Flats.
D’Addario chromes are life changing. Went from Slinky rounds to flats and I’ll probably never go back.
I have so far always bought the cheapest ones available lololol.
Rotosound Monel Flats or Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats
I have one bass with DR Legends flats and another with D’Addario Half Rounds, really like them both and very reasonably priced. I’m not ashamed to admit I first picked out the DRs because the yellow wrap on the strings would look nice with my two-tone sunburst P haha. They sound and feel great too. The half rounds really are a great in between of round and flat, if I only had one bass I’d probably have to go with that, though I’ve also recently been curious to try Pressurewounds from GHS.
Switched my P Bass to flatwounds like 8 years ago and never looked back. Love the LaBella's just like anyone else, but yeah they're a bit pricey. Helps that you can leave em on for years tho so you don't have to constantly change
LOVE flatwounds. They're the best and they get better with age. LaBella is great, GHS Precision Flats are excellent as well.
You have to think about tension with flats. To me, the best and classic choice is La Bella deep talkin. If you play a pair of them and think the tension is too much for you, looking at something easier to play would be like... their labella low tension or thomastik flats. The only strings I have even broken (or for flats, unraveled) are flat wounds. Sometimes they go bad and unravel. This, for me, has only been from using thomastik. They're super expensive and two seperate packs eventually unraveled on me. You want a flat wound that you can keep as long as possible because the dead sound is part of the vibe. I'll also say this... part of the cool flats sound (like Jamerson) is that they kept their action pretty high and not very clicky, and with the tone down. In my opinion, it's not super fun to play with that tone live for all songs. I like to have a bass with flats and rounds and bring whatever makes sense to the gig. -Carson
Flat wounds all day
Ok if you play rock and funk you may not like them
Flatwound strings are going to be much heavier and harder to play right off the bat so your immediate enjoyment/playability during this transition really depends on your strength in both hands. Most of the brand recommendations you're seeing on this thread are about subtle nuance, tone and feel, brand to brand. The most important thing is to actually be able to enjoy playing the instrument when you add something new to it, which is why I recommended this: LaBella Low Tension flats are great to transition to the feel and tone the flatwound world without the massive physical dexterity curve required to play a much stiffer and higher tension string. As far as some of the other brands I'm seeing recommended on this thread go, the D'Addario Chromes are decent sounding but a bit too high tension for my taste... they just don't seem to loosen up even after years of playing. Used the Rotosound Flats for a year and absolutely hated them, to me they sound really mushy and don't have good string to string definition and the tension seems way too high for my taste (similar tension issue to the D'Addarrio Chromes, they just didn't seem to loosen up even after a year). Any LaBella (non Low tension) string is also going to be very high tension but not as tight as the Chromes. Personally I prefer LaBella either low tension or Deep Talking' flats. Lately LaBella has been issuing limited runs of tapewound strings through their Roadie Club which are also very cool and definitely a little brighter than the flats with a very similar silky feel. Those are definitely worth exploring, if you don't feel like waiting till those limited runs you can always just try there black and white nylon tape wounds both of which are quite different from each other, but that's a whole different thing. One of my first professional based teachers required that I used LaBella Deep Talkin' flats (52's) and let me tell you... those strings are extremely heavy especially coming from the roundwound world where I was coming from (and a pick player to boot!). It took me a year of solid daily practicing right hand index and middle finger alternating technique to be able to play those properly. Over time I've grown to love these strings very much and would highly recommend them but the uphill incline learning curve is extremely steep and not to be underestimated. I wish I knew about the LaBella low tension strings when I first used flats. These days I'm almost exclusively using LaBella tapewound strings because they have the silky feel of a flat and a more extended top end like a round but without the thin bottom end of a roundwound so you can slap and get the nice brightness or fingerstyle and get the nice fatness. They're unique and as I mentioned above definitely worth trying.
Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flatwound. Feel great, sound fantastic.
Labella deep talkin Pricey but you only need one set every 20 years or so
Love them
LaBella Deep Talkin' steel flats have always been my go to
LaBella for life.
I got Labella Deep Talkin Bass strings on my Fender Bass VI…I bloody love them!
I'm gonna go against the grain a bit and say try half-rounds. I won't buy any other strings tbh... They are fairly expensive but if you're used to rounds and want some of the feel and tone of flats, IMO they are the perfect balance
Big fan of TIs here. I haven’t tried the La Bellas yet, mind you
labella deep talkin, have had them on for years and years and still sound/feel great
I play mostly indie rock with a tiny bit of funk and Americana blended in. I didn't really dig the zing of roundwounds on my P Bass and was only using about 1/3 of the range on my volume knob. I was curious about flatwounds but wasn't quite ready to take the plunge. I was worried I'd lose *too much* high end and wouldn't be able to cut through the live mix. My band's songs are pretty bass-forward -- like for a lot of the songs the bass is the hook so I need it to be prominent. I opted to go for halfround strings as kind of a in-between. And for me, I think it was the right choice. I use the full range of my tone knob to go from full dark to just bright enough. Slap, even though I rarely use it, sounds much better on these strings than on flats. They get some of that plunky pick attack that you can't get with roundwounds. They're also in-between flats and rounds in terms of price. If you're on the fence and not sure you want to go full flat, I highly recommend giving them a shot.
DR flats. Don’t be a dummy.
I tried some dunlop 45-105 stainless steel on my mim J.. not my cup of tea to be honest, but they got a nice deep thump to them (i feel like theyre more in labella territory) did not fancy, new set of EB cobalt flats arrived today (tried these on a P i tried a couple of weeks ago) and they felt and sounded amazing when i tried them on the P so excited to set my J up with these.
If the bass you use has frets then don’t bother, too much money, if you use a fretless (and you have to use flatwounds because otherwise you damage the fretboard) use the ernie ball ones
Flatwounds will change your life. I’ll never go back
Rotosounds are good
Another question, how does It feel to play flatwounds? Are they more... slippery? Is it easier or harder in any way?
La Bella flats, my dude. Those strings almost *are* the sound of electric bass, because so many of the greatest recordings in history feature a bassist using them. You’d be surprised at how often they’re the go-to choice.
I cant get on with TI flats. Something about the middy character just doesnt work for me, but the feel is great. When I put flats on I want a bit of vintage thump and 760FL give me that. TI Jazz rounds are hands down my favourite string though
I loved the labella gold alloy flats I ran for a while. Watch your break angle over the saddle though. If you have to have a super steep angle for proper intonation flats may break. This is also why the oven taper the ends and only the core wires go though the tuning machines. Because if the flatwound section can break in the bends from a tuning machine. I slap a lot and slapped a low e string till it broke around 3 months haha. It broke right at the saddle because of the issue I described. Good life for the set though anyway. Sounded pretty good, low and warm. Lower output than roundwounds so you'll need mire gain to trigger some effects.
La Bella Deep Talkin flats. I use the ones specifically for the Mustang bass. They feel gorgeous and are a pleasure to play on.
I absolutely love La Bella’s