Oh no, another string thread.............................

[TBird1958]

I'd say you're lucky Bill 



I remember having a two week old set of DR's on my black 'Bird, played our usual three, one hour sets with it, and next day they were just dead - too much acidic sweat I guess.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

My sweat ph must be pretty neutral too because I get an average of 7-10 YEARS out of a set of roundwounds, and I have yet to change any flats I own. As Dave alluded to earlier, when they're not dead by corrosion, it's plain outright metal fatigue that gets them; they either break or keep going flat. I'm amazed I get the life out of them I do because I beat the CRAP out of my basses when I play.

[SKATE RAT]

i had the same set of GHS Boomers 45-105 rounds on my Les Paul bass since 2008. 2 bands. 2 or 3 practices a week. lots of gigs. dirty places,out doors etc. playing raw thrash hardcore punk. and playing hard jumping around sweating like a motherf***er. i cant belive how clean they look. i've had the same strings for my last four apartments. i only change strings when they get rusty looking. mine are still good but with my new band i'm gonna play the Aria 4001.

[Aussie Mark]

Don't know I'm lucky or not, but my hands don't sweat at all and my bass necks are pretty ckean and squeaky.   

Same here

[drbassman]

Put the GHS flats, light on my NRTB and they sound really good.  Not as floppy as TIs and the E string has same good definition, not all mushy.  I like em!

I'll probably will try the Chromes on a newer TB.

[iamthatguy32]

I like very low tension (I come from a background of playing in stonerdoom metal in C standard tuning, so very low tension is what I've been used to for 10+ years, but now I only play in E,) and I also like the bright sound that steel strings give. I've tried every set of steel, taper core, exposed core, etc. that I can get a hold of over the years, and I've found that the best combination of low tension and brightness has been GHS Contact Core Super Steels in light gauge, but I tend to swap them out every one to two weeks because they lose their 'zing.'

Dr. Strings High Beams sound almost as bright, and feels just as low tension, but also tend to last longer. I find myself using High Beams and switching them every month or so, and using the GHS strings when I know I have an important gig coming up.

Of course, most other bassists I know tend to keep their strings on for months to years on end. I just like that crisp sound of new strings and find it worth the money to keep restringing.

[bobyoung]

Dick Dale requires his bass player to change strings daily - Dean Markley Blue Steels.  He likes "bright".

I used those on a Rick for years, and changed them regularly but always found Rotosounds to be much brighter, in fact i ALWAYS thought Blue steels were one of the more mellow RW's. I was a flat wound player for years and just recently changed back to Blue Steels. I think RW's and flats sound different when dead, Flats are nice and thumpy after a few years and dead rounds? Well they just sound kind of like dead RW's to me.

[drbassman]

I put the GHS flats on my 2003 TB and they really sound great!  I might use them on more of my basses.

[patman]

The GHS flats remind me of the older RIC flats...

[drbassman]

The GHS flats remind me of the older RIC flats...

I loved those older Ric flats.

Say, does anyone use Fender flats?  Cheap and a throwback to what I always used as a kid.

[patman]

I use them on my Dean electric upright...sound good, last forever...really high tension...the tension is a good thing with the upright cause when I slap rockabilly stuff, they have sort of the feel of an upright with steel strings, and kind of thunk against the fingerboard with just about the right tone (not exactly right but close).  I've had the set on my upright for a couple of years now, and they keep getting better sounding.  Good growl and mwah for finger style too.  I would probably not like them on a traditional electric bass.

[nofi]

i have used fender flats forever on bass guitars. yeah they are high tension but the tone, longevity and price more than make up for it.

[lowend1]

Fender flats are on one of my J-Basses - I prefer them over the GHS and D'Addario sets that I had previously tried. I also like the tone of the Fender 7150 nickel roundwounds, but my current all-around favorite strings are DR Sunbeams. Normally, I don't go near anything with an E bigger than .100, but the Sunbeam 45-105s feel lighter.

[rahock]

I know it's been mentioned before, but who makes Fender Flats?
Rick

[lowend1]

I know it's been mentioned before, but who makes Fender Flats?
Rick

On TB - Neither proved nor disproved, apparently...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/fender-vs-ernie-ball-flatwound-strings-786906/