Come on Flats! Break in already dammit!!!, How long do yours take to work in?

[Deathshead]

Hey guys, this coming from a guy who would wear nothing else but Rotosound stainless rounds or the piano string designs, But I just cant afford to shell out $25 a month for new strings when flats last forever.

I got so sick of that Boingy springy sproingy tone that just make me nauseous now, idk to me that clean fresh out of the pack roundwound with super low action and a pick tone is just so overdone...

I have been running nothing but 45-105 roto flats on ALL my basses for the last 2-3 years now. I used to use the Steve harris 55-110 set but they are soo god damm stiff, I also used to be a big fan of very high tension strings too.. but now im even finding the 45-105's a little stiff, I like the sound of flats dugg in very hard with the right hand, and a string with a little bit lower tension would really give me that old school percussive rubberyness..


Anyways I have had these fresh roto flats on the lp std bass now for about 3 weeks now, about 1-2 hours of nightly play on them and they just wont give up the harshness yet,...
I find it weird that this set in particular just keeps hanging in there...ushally in about a week im good to go I notice the G settling down.   

Im still constantly turning that tone knob down.....


Have any of you guys noticed how long your strings take to settle in?

I dont know if its because Im getting older or what, I hated flatwounds with a passion, they used to feel so lifeless, now its nothing but the tube gain up 3/4, neck pup full blast, tone a about a quarter up...
From there its all in your hands!, no fancy preamps, effects etc..  I can go from a slow 60s/70s ballad to a punch you in the face and knock your teeth out punk sound...

Having a great time right now, just me a few beers, and playing along with some good tunes...

[birdie]

It truly is still all in the fingers. But flats really bring out that fact! I use lighter gauge La bellas on one bass( 6yrs old at least) well worn sadowskys on another, thomastiks on the 3rd, and pyramids on my 65jazz....I let the individual instrument tell me which it likes best. I would say try the thomastiks and go from there.

[Deathshead]

Hey Birdie, how are those Pyramids? can they still get a little versatile in tone or a 1 trick pony?  Im looking for something that can be every bit as versatile but just a C-hair lower tension,the tiniest bit.
I dont want anything to do with TI's though, I could never get into those, like floppy noodles!

one tone i cant even get close to is Pauls "silly love songs",

I think its in the fact that he used a dead lower tension string and a that rick bridge mute just a tad.. and alot of compression...

[birdie]

Pyramids are wonderful. Smooth as silk in feel and sound. Fat as hell played over the fingerboard, and thick/percussive nearer to the bridge. I use them on a 2 pick-up bass obviously, so a bit of a toss-up as to how versatile they may sound to your ears, as each pup gives a distinctly diff. timbre. They are quite pricey though. It would be good to try someone else's instrument strung w/ pyramids first, rather than chancing it and then not liking it...
A good set of lite La Bella flats might be the way to go if you are not partial to TI.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

They're kind of hard to find, but Ernie Ball Group III flats are low tension and really fun to play. They're what I have on my homemade JPJ Fender. They're also cheaper than most other flats, too, but they don't have that "cheap strings" sound.

[uwe]

In my ears, the Rotosound Flats never give up their steely nuance no matter how long you play them, there is a sharp tone to them quite different from the,say, D'Addario Chromes' general brightness. Another thing typiocal of the Rotos flat set is that E and A sound quite a bit crisper than D and G, no doubt a conscious move by Roto to perhaps attain a more even sound as the strings age with E and A generally deteriorating earlier in sound. Not sure if the result works though.

[Dave W]

Don't kid yourself. Flats don't last forever, it just seems that way. They don't have that roundwound brilliance to lose.

If they're played regularly, they get metal fatigue and gradually lose intonation, just like rounds. They're not exempt from the laws of physics.

As for Roto flats, Uwe's observation is right on. They don't really settle into smoothness the way some other flats do. It's just the way they are, and it's intentional.

[Aussie Mark]

They're kind of hard to find, but Ernie Ball Group III flats are low tension and really fun to play.

Ernie Ball flats are quite easy to find, since they are actually D'Addario Chromes in different packaging.

[Deathshead]

Ernie Ball flats are quite easy to find, since they are actually D'Addario Chromes in different packaging.

Really? Wow I always wondered who made the ernie ball strings.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Ernie Ball flats are quite easy to find, since they are actually D'Addario Chromes in different packaging.

I didn't know that. That's funny, especially since the Ernie Ball's cost about half what D'Addario rounds cost and 2/3's less than their flats. You can find Group II flats everywhere, but Group III's, the 'low tension gauge,' are extremely rare, at least in music stores locally. I've never bought strings off the internet because I haven't had the need. My skin ph doesn't react to the strings much and it usually takes years of heavy play for me to kill a set.

[Lightyear]

I like chromes - IRC they are 45-100's.  I was always a Rotosound 45-405 RW player in my younger days and I pounded the snot out them as well.  I guess I've mellowed with age

[Dave W]

Really? Wow I always wondered who made the ernie ball strings.

Ernie Ball makes Ernie Ball strings, except for flats. And flats are a tiny percentage of their market.

[rahock]

Deathshead,
Everything you said about your change in taste and the way you currently set your tone control is something I can relate to. I used to play Roto and GHS rounds for years , then I mellowed to half rounds, then I went to D' Addario Chrome flats and dropped from a 110 E to a 105. I'm happy
They take a little while to set in, a few days of playing and they're comfortable and they stay that way for years, untill  they get difficult to tune up.
Rick

[nofi]

fender flats break in quickly and sound good to me. they are also the only flats i can find locally just a few miles from the house.

btw rick after decades of flats i put some rounds on my kramer and like it.

[Deathshead]

Deathshead,
Everything you said about your change in taste and the way you currently set your tone control is something I can relate to. I used to play Roto and GHS rounds for years , then I mellowed to half rounds, then I went to D' Addario Chrome flats and dropped from a 110 E to a 105. I'm happy
They take a little while to set in, a few days of playing and they're comfortable and they stay that way for years, untill  they get difficult to tune up.
Rick