I have been using flatwounds for a couple of years now, aftertrying to figure out how to subdue the "ring" of roundwounds.I finally realized that roundwounds would not give me thesound I was looking for, although I could get close. At thesame time, I thought that flats would sound flabby andindistinct. I posted a message on the Fender Discussion Page,and was nearly inundated with replies, the result of which wasthat I tried a set of Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flatwounds. Theseare truly excellent strings, and, emboldened by thisexperience, I have tried several other brands of flats.

This article is called "Flatwounds Part I," because there areseveral brands that I haven't tried yet that I would like totry. I hope to do a follow-up after I have tried La Bella,Dean Markley, and some others. At this point, I have triedCarvin, Ernie Ball, Fender, GHS, D'Addario, Thomastik-Infeld,and Rotosound flats.

Before I give you my impressions of these strings, I shouldprobably make a disclaimer. First and foremost, your mileagemay vary. I have definite opinions on each string to bediscussed, but your experience may lead you to choosedifferently. Choosing musical equipment is a highlysubjective matter. Secondly, I have no financial interest inany of the brands discussed. And finally, these are allfour-string sets. So, without further adieu, here are myimpressions:

I have the most experience with Fender 9050 StainlessFlatwounds. I have used the 9050 L set (.045-.095), and the9050 ML set (.050-.100) fairly extensively. These are highlypolished, very smooth, shiny strings with high tension andstiffness. I find them to be the "thumpiest" of all thestrings listed. Even the .045-.095 set feels stiff. The G onthe 9050 L set sounded pretty twangy to me, limiting itsusefulness. The .050 G of the ML was much better in thisregard, but still a little brighter than I thought it shouldbe. The general character of these strings is uprightbass-ish, but with more sustain. I like them a lot, becausethat's the sound I'm looking for from flats: strongattack, with good sustain.

The Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flatwounds have gotten quite a bitof press lately, and have been discussed a lot on the internetas well; and for good reason. They are truly unique inthe string world. They are very flexible compared to mostflats, and they look a little funny, too. The D and G areshiny, smooth strings, while the E and A almost look likehalf-rounds. The feel at first is a little off-putting; the Eand A feel sticky and a little rough. Also, if you're a bitof a klutz like I am, you may pull the G off the side of thefingerboard occasionally until you learn to use a lightertouch. These strings have a midrange presence unlike anythingI've ever heard. Some bassists say the "cut through the mix"better than roundwounds. I'm not sure about that, but theycan make you heard without excessive treble. When I first putthese strings on, they seemed pretty bright for flats.However, I was advised that this soon fades, and they thenhave more of a flatwound sound. This is correct. Within acouple of weeks, they were sounding fat and thumpy, and aftera couple of months, they sounded even better. The G acquiresa marvelous "deadness" that makes it fit well with the otherstrings. These strings are also somewhat unique inconstruction, in that there is a silk layer between the coreand the windings. TI says that this dampens odd-orderharmonics. Suffice it to say that these are unlike otherstrings in construction and feel, but have a very solid sound.I'm going to have to try them again.

I currently have Ernie Ball Flatwounds on my Fender Precision.These are in some ways similar to the Fender 9050's, but thereare some significant differences. They are not as smooth asthe Fenders, either to the eye or hand. They have a littlestickiness, which will hopefully wear off eventually, as itdoes with the TI's. They also have a little rougher sound,although they seem to be settling down. I've only had them onfor about two weeks, which isn't very long for flats. Theouter wrap of the Ernie Balls is chrome-plated steel, whilethe Fenders are stainless. The G string of the Ernies isshiny and smooth, much shinier and smoother than the otherstrings. It is also less twangy than the Fender G. I havethe .050-.105 set right now, and they're plenty stiff. Thefeel is similar to the Fenders. I find them a bit less thumpythan the Fenders, but you can still feel it when you pluck astring. All in all, a good, traditional flatwound. I'veplayed them out twice so far, and I'm told that the notes canbe heard as well as felt. I see no reason to change them anytime soon.

They say that if you can't say anything good, don't sayanything at all. I guess I won't have much to say aboutCarvin flatwounds, then. Carvin flats are, without a doubt,the worst bass strings I have ever used. The Carvin guys havetold me that GHS makes them, and they've told me that LaBellamakes them. I don't know who makes them, but both companiesdenied responsibility when I called and/or e-mailed them. TheE was muddy and indistinct, the G was twangy with little bassresponse, and the A and D fell somewhere in the middle. ToCarvin's credit, they gave me my money back.

I am also less than highly impressed with GHS PrecisionFlatwounds. On my Precision, they sounded close to the Fenderflats, but weren't quite as consistent. The E and A tended abit toward mud, and the D and G were a tad bright for mytaste. I will say, however, that on a project fretless Ihave, they sounded somewhat better, so I wouldn't necessarilycount them out altogether. Their finish is smoother than theErnie Balls, but not so smooth as the Fenders.

Rotosound 77 Jazz Bass flatwounds are some of the mostbeautifully crafted strings I've seen. They are highlypolished, shiny strings with impeccably applied silk. Theyhave a nice, smooth feel as well. Sonically, though, I wasunderwhelmed. 77's are not typical flatwounds, having a muchbrighter sound, almost roundwound-ish. I tried the SteveHarris set, and yes, they are big, fat strings, but they don'thave a big, fat sound compared to other flats. They don'thave the thump I associate with flats, either. If you're anIron Maiden fan, you might want to try a set. Or if you wantsomething really different, well, here you go.

I'm probably the only person in the world who has had anegative customer service experience with D'Addario. Iordered a set of Chromes, figuring that with that name, theywould be smooth, shiny strings. Not so. They looked almostlike half-rounds, and were a lot brighter-sounding than Iexpected. This was at the time when D'Addario was having someheat-treating difficulties, and P.J. D'Addario had postedinstructions on Talkbass about how to heat-treat his strings.So, I tried it, and of course the silk turned black, but thesound improved a little. They still sounded inconsistent tome, so I e-mailed Peter D'Addario (several times) with mycomplaints. He finally e-mailed back and said that now mystrings sounded fine, and the black silk was just cosmeticanyway. So I threw the strings away and gave up on D'Addario.So I'm still not sure what Chromes are supposed to sound like,and I'm certainly not going to try them again. That said, Igather that my experience with D'Addario was not typical, asthey have many devoted customers, and I've mostly heard goodstories about their customer service.

There are a lot of flatwounds to choose from. In addition tothose listed above, there are Lakland Joe Osborn flats, DeanMarkley Flatwounds, La Bella Deep Talkin' flats, D'Aquistoflatwounds, Pyramid Gold flats, Guild flatwounds, and maybesome others. Of these, I really want to try the La Bellas,since I've heard so many good things about them, but I'm notin a hurry, because I've found some that can do the job prettywell already.

So, lots of strings, lots of sounds. I can't narrow thislist down to a personal favorite, but for traditional soundand feel, I really like the Fenders and Ernie Balls. Bothhave advantages and disadvantages, but either will do the job.Both have enough mid and top to be heard, and both havesufficient thump to be felt, even at relatively low volumes.On the other hand, if you can handle (or prefer) low-tension,flexible strings, by all means try the Thomastik-Infeld JazzFlatwounds. They are very high quality, unique (but stillflatwound) sounding strings that will last almost forever. TIcustomer service, handled in the USA by Connolly and Company,is nearing legendary status.

Mark Wikholm is a BGRA Editor