Members ryanstanley Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 cause i really, really hate them no attack, no resonance, no tone at all.... is it just cause i use a pick? are flats only better for fingerstyle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaulyWally Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 They're not for everyone... and certainly not for every style of music. I have them on my fretless cause... 1.) they won't damage the fingerboard like rounds do... and 2.) cause they have a nice muddy, dark tone that I like when I play jazz and some acoustical music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thumper Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 If you like rounds, you're going to hate flats. I use flats and rounds, depending on the bass and the tone I'm looking for. I've got flats on my Harmony H-22 hollowbody and my defretted Jazz, and I think they sound just fine. You also have less fret wear, and flats are easier on the fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mike fitzwell Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Originally posted by ryanstanley cause i really, really hate them no attack, no resonance, no tone at all.... is it just cause i use a pick? are flats only better for fingerstyle? I'm in the same camp. Tried 'em and hated the feel and blah tone. Different strokes and all that happy horse{censored}... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members james on bass Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 I hate them as well. Both my basses came with them, and they stayed on the bass just a few minutes longer than the packaging did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super_Donut_Man Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Meh, never really got too much experience with them. I thought they sounded fine on a fretless Jazz that I played, not stellar, but they were alright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Adrenochrome Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 You must have got some defective strings if you got no tone at all. One good point about them is that you can usually have your tone on full, so you get more sound of your bass and less string noise etc. Only downside I've found is when sweating they can suddenly grip your finger having previously being slick with sweat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lizzard Tom Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Nothing earth moving about them! Just another color on the palate. I keep two of my basses with them on. The Gibson EB-3 and The Fender 54' P RI. I like them, but like said, not for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willsellout Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 I absolutely love them. Although they aren't for every bass or for every bassplayer. I have them both on my fretless (TI jazz flats) and on the SB2. For those of you who say there is no attack or resonance to them, you obviously haven't heard an SB2 with flats. More aggressive and funky than any roundwound I have tried on it. I love the feel of them and love the sound. But they aren't for everyone and not for every situation. I keep flats on these two and when I get my Stingray HS I will have GHS Progressive rounds on it so that I can hang in with any style of music out there. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members beam Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 I like them as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 I have flats on my fretless jazz and used to have flats on my squier P/J. I put the flats on the squier because that's my main show bass, and they're way easier to play. However, I put the rounds back on because I like their sound much better. Flats are cool for some things but I like playing rounds a lot more. Just different sounds. I love using my fretless for some songs, and my fretted for most others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rodney Gene Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Until you have played TI flats, you can't comment on 'liking' or 'hating' flatwounds IMHO. Most flatwounds are stiff and tubby sounding... and I would say just flat out uncomfortable. TI Flats are growly and supple with as much punch and 'cut' as any round out there.. not to mention just heaven to to record with. Much Respect, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lizzard Tom Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Originally posted by Rodney Gene Until you have played TI flats, you can't comment on 'liking' or 'hating' flatwounds IMHO. Most flatwounds are stiff and tubby sounding... and I would say just flat out uncomfortable. TI Flats are growly and supple with as much punch and 'cut' as any round out there.. not to mention just heaven to to record with. Much Respect, +1 TI's are the only flats I use. Love em! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassgirl9 Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 I have flats on all my basses now. I used to hate them, now I love them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jannda Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Yep not for everyone. I use thewm on one of my basses and ground wounds on the other two. My schecter get flats and I love them but I've used flats that I didn't like not every mfg. flats are the same I use ROTOSOUND RS 77LD in 45-105 I believe there stainless but could be wrong but they are any thing but lacking tone and punchyness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members el_duderino676 Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 I think that they are good in different situations. Right now, I have a set of tapewound flats on the fretless and a set of D'addario chromes on the BB300. Both sound good for what I want them for, although when I go home next weekend, I'm going to throw a set of Peacock Blues on the fretless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Adrenochrome Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Originally posted by jannda I use ROTOSOUND RS 77LD in 45-105 I believe there stainless but could be wrong but they are any thing but lacking tone and punchyness. You're not wrong fella. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bd's_bass Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 I like Chromes, too. I've got them on my fretless jazz and my Casady. I also used LaBella Tapewounds for years. Those sounded particularly awesome on my G&L L2K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted September 8, 2006 Moderators Share Posted September 8, 2006 Thump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members __tony__renaud Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 When I was 16 or so, I hated flats with the heat and intensity of a thousand suns. I thought they were hopelessly old hat and part and parcel of a bygone era. Things change. I'll probably never retire the Marcus/Uncle Will sort of sound that requires roundwounds. However, there's a whole history, school of thought, sound, and playing style that accompanies the use of flatwounds. Plus, they sound much better in a band context than what most inexperienced players would expect - I've only been playing flats for a year in a 20 year affair with the bass guitar. I wish I got into them earlier, because I was missing out. There's a fella named Joe Osborne whose name means more than a J Bass copy that Lakland makes. He played bass on literally hundreds of hits in the last 30+ years using a Fender Jazz with flats, played with a pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lizzard Tom Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Listen to some Carol Kaye. She got a great sound on the Beach Boys Pet Sounds. Good example of muted flats on a P-bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassfuzz Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Flats (for me anyways) got rid of a lot of the zing to my sound.Since I don't use the tone knob on my bass (I'm sure there are others too) it was a good balance. The feel is a big thing for me as well. After using flats for a while, rounds felt awkward. But really theres not THAT much difference in the two.It all depends on if you want that bright zing, and the feel you want on your hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scottpro1969 Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 el Dude, how do you like the BB300? I had a BB1200 for a short time a while back and liked it. Neck through. The 300 is bolt on isn't it?? They seem pretty reasonably priced, I may pick one up someday. I have a set of Pyramid flats on one of my T-45's strictly for 60's and early 70's type music. I can NAIL the McCartney Rickenbacker sound of Sgt. Pepper and Revolver...especially with the Dark Strar pickup. Flats sound great but not for today's music obviously. My other 45 has DR high beams and my T-20 has Rotos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members el_duderino676 Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Originally posted by Scottpro1969 el Dude, how do you like the BB300? I had a BB1200 for a short time a while back and liked it. Neck through. The 300 is bolt on isn't it?? They seem pretty reasonably priced, I may pick one up someday.I have a set of Pyramid flats on one of my T-45's strictly for 60's and early 70's type music. I can NAIL the McCartney Rickenbacker sound of Sgt. Pepper and Revolver...especially with the Dark Strar pickup. Flats sound great but not for today's music obviously.My other 45 has DR high beams and my T-20 has Rotos. The BB300 isn't a bad bass, but it has its quirks. I actually bought it as my second bass because my other bass "knockoff P bass" had a badly warped neck at the time. When I bought it, the previous owner had swapped the bridge for a BAII and installed an on/off switch. I love the neck, not as much as the T-40 necks, but I'll take the baseball bat that it has over a Jazz neck anyday. My only real gripes about it are that you have to completely remove the neck to adjust the trusrod, and I think that the pickup is going microphonic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members johnnybassman Posted September 8, 2006 Members Share Posted September 8, 2006 Flats are great, though I don't use them regularly. I have a set of Rotosound flats for my Jazz bass with the Dimarzio humbuckers that I'll throw on for a couple of months or so. Gonna put them back on soon for some accoustic stuff that my band is working on. The only thing I don't like about them is the tension and I get some serious finger drag unless I use some FastFret on them. Perhaps that's just Rotosounds, since I've heard that TI flats have less tension. But the tone! I love the tone of flats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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