This is a subject I come across often online and the most important thing with flats, as with any string but I think a little more in this arena, is that it’s almost entirely subjective. I’ll set out my views and experience below but bear in mind these are just my encounters and what I got from them.
To start the ball rolling, much advice has been given online to “get a P bass and throw on a set of flats” and while this was standard for the great players of the era like James Jamerson, Carol Kaye and many others, there was likely little choice then either and it’s important to understand replicating ‘that’ sound is not as easy as just doing the above. Technology has moved on enormously in the fifty plus years since those artists created the iconic bass sounds with huge improvements to amps, recording media and particularly strings. I first tried flats in the mid eighties, made by a company called Veritas, and they were awful – uneven response, poor magnetic output and short but uneven decay, and expensive. Why? Probably because the round wound was king at that stage and the bass guitar had stepped forward in the studio mix as well as on stage, particularly with the popularity of slap bass so flat wound development was probably at a standstill while round wound strings started to appear everywhere. Even the manufacturing methods and materials have improved so in some respects, some of us are trying to go backwards here, nothing new in that.
Trying to obtain such retro strings is difficult these days but I did come across a set a while back made by UK based Rotosound company (formed by James Howe, inventor of the round wound string plus other string innovations) and called Monel wound flats. I’ve fitted their Monel strings on double basses for the Rockabilly/slap fraternity due to the percussive quick decay those players need so the bass guitar set seemed a logical choice. Seeing English session ace Mo Foster advocating them sealed the deal, more below. As the only long term experience I have with flats is on my double bass I can only report what I felt during theses fittings and perhaps this might be a guideline, but only that. I also have a liking for lower tension strings, they seem to have a rounder bottom end and growl a bit (all my bass guitars are fretless but the DB also growls).
For reference, I have 3 acoustic basses all of which are used as test beds for various electronic, build methods and other R&D. The main one is a four string with Ebony bridge and finger board. The pickups are a Highlander sensor under the Ebony saddle, my own design piezo disc array under the sound board/bridge running into my own dual channel buffer and then a D Audio 2 band shelving preamp (an excellent high end buffer preamp no longer in production). The next is also a four string that started life as a jumbo acoustic, is now semi solid. Currently wears a Pau Ferro finger board, a Cedar bridge with a Cherry saddle. Under the saddle is the Highlander sensor and under the bridge is my own piezo setup. There is also a MM magnetic pickup that can be split into a single coil. Electronics as above except the final preamp which is a Retrovibe Stinger (Stingray clone). No. three is a 5 string semi solid (converted jumbo acoustic) with a Kent Armstrong humbucker and a Highlander sensor under the floating Ebony bridge into buffer preamps and a D Audio two band. The fingerboard on that is Madagascar Rosewood. I also have a Stingray type solid bass. My complicated piezo arrays are to remove/reduce the so called ‘quack’ and harshness associated with under saddle piezo strip pickups.
Strings
D’Addario Chromes – Often used by players who want to reduce fretted hand noise but maintain the brightness of a round wound. Personally, the brightness is what put me off them and if using a piezo, the finger to string noise is more pronounced even though the surface is polished smooth, but ok with the mag. Medium tension with good magnetic output and balance Good sustain, same as a round wound.
Ernie Ball flats – I disliked these because of the very high tension but, if that’s your thing then these might be good for you. Fairly bright if slightly harsh tone that works fine with magnetic pickups but again, a bit gruff with the piezo. Balanced across the strings with decent output.
Fender flats – I found these very disappointing overall, stiff, rough surface, not great string to string balance and unremarkable tone however, they are less expensive too.
LaBella Deep Talking – A medium to high tension string (although the maker said they were light) with claims of heritage back to the 60’s. At the time these were costly and I found them hard work but perhaps a lighter set would have worked better for me. I see that now this company offers a fairly wide range on the Deep Talking lineup on this side of the Atlantic so one should be able to find a set that feel good. With a little top end attenuation they had that rather ‘popping’ bass with quick decay prevalent in the 60’s.
LaBella Low Tension flats – These are peculiar for a low tension string. They are not flexible to the touch but a couple of turns on the tuner and they are at pitch. On the mag pickup they had a good balanced tone, output and feel, ok on the piezo. Based on truss rod demands, I agree these are low tension but not as slick as the Thomastik AB344s. Interestingly, on the five string set the B is a 118 although that’s a discussion for another day – B strings do not necessarily have to be heavy to convey the real low down clearly.
Pyramid Gold Beatle Bass – No, just no. These are the most ridiculous unbalanced strings I’ve ever come across. I bough and fitted them to a Hofner President bass I renovated but they sounded so awful I put a set of D’Addario short scale nickle wounds and it worked fine.
Rotosound Monel flats – Initially I thought there was something wrong with the mag pickup on my Stingray after fitting these. The tone of the E and A were ok but the D/G was like a different set of strings. Overall output level was uneven and very low causing me to check the electronics. It was only when I transferred them to the piezo equipped 4 string that I was able to ‘see’ the low magnetic output, somewhat like putting acoustic strings on an electric guitar. On the piezo they definitely had that 60’s sound, quick attack with short decay and dark tone but again, unbalanced but not as bad as on the mag pickup. Tension wise, they were what I would call medium.
Rotosound Tru Bass – These have been around for a very long time. A heavy gauge set of tape wounds that will require the E slot in the nut to be adjusted if you don’t want to split it. Heavy thuddy sound with little definition in the mid or upper ranges once any other instrument is playing, might be good for Reggae or Dub. Decent magnetic output, medium to heavy tension.
Thomastik AF344. These are the flats I’ve used on my bass guitars for years on and off. They have excellent balance across the neck, low tension, high magnetic output and the closest sound to the 60’s I’ve come across in a usable string. Unlike some flats though, they do have definition and clarity with the tone control open while giving the thud if you knock off some top end. For this reason, I rate them highly as they will cover many tone styles whereas a lot of flats are a “one trick pony”. They also work very well on the piezo pickup. If the old school sound is desired in a balanced playable package, then these are well worth a look but make sure to buy them in Europe, US prices are up to 75% higher.
This is just a sample of what’s out there. Going for a test drive will unfortunately be costly (at the time of writing, these fit in the €40-60 category) compared to round wounds but feel for the upright bass players, to do this can cost from €180 a decent set up to perhaps €400+.
Tony Thompson Guitars 