Flatwound strings for bass guitar

Cafe Society
1

I’d like to buy flatwound strings. I’ve heard that they’ll give me a more round and less piercing tone. Also, I like the smooth feel of playing on them (I’ve played upright basses and guitars that had flats.) I’d like to know a few things before I spend the money on them though:

  1. How radical of a difference will they make to my sound? (I have a Fender J-bass with Fender strings on it.)

  2. What are the best kind (in your opinion?)

Thanks in advance for the input.

2

  1. Pretty radical. You don’t get any of the zing, the wiry sound you get from rounds. The sound isn’t completely dark, there is still some texture and sustain. Some of the bassists in the old days not only used flats, they also damped the strings with foam or other things. If you skip that, you don’t get a tone that’s completely thumpy like an upright.

  2. I liked La Bella more than any others. D’Addario were a little stiff. Thomastik makes “jazz flats” in strange, light gauges. They’re more flexible and some people like them as less dead than other flats, but I couldn’t get used to them. The light gauge made them seem a little sloppy and out of tune for me.

A company called Pyramid makes some “Gold” flats that are supposed to be really good, normal gauge but more flexible than most. I got a set, but I couldn’t use them because the silk-wound parts were too long and they came down over the nut of my P-bass, deadening the sound.

I definitely think it’s worth getting a set if you’ve never used them before. They can last a lot longer than roundwounds, since there’s no “zing” for them to lose and the smooth surface probably doesn’t attract as much crud. I’d generally go for a light gauge since flats are stiffer than rounds.

3

Wait a minute, you and I did this same thing a year ago, almost to the day.

Just buy some already, while we’re both still young. I think these are the Labellas I liked: La Bella Electric Bass Guitar Deep Talkin' Bass Stainless Steel Flat Wound (38" Wound length), .043 - .104, 760FL La Bella 760FL LAB_760FL

4

Heh.

I asked my favorite local guitar shop to order the La Bellas for me. They should be coming in about two weeks, I think. I could have gotten them faster online but I’d rather support the local place.