Looking for opinions on Deep Talkin' Flats

[jglunt2112]

Looking for some string opinions...I'm mostly a roundwound guy, having been drawn over to the round side by Ray Boatright, one of the Mosrite guys, many years ago. However, these days I'm switching some of my basses over to flats and have been thinking of trying a set of Deep Talkin' Flats on one. I've steered away from DTFs because they're stainless steel wound, and other stainless steel flats I've tried through the years sounded thin. Currently, I have a set of TI Jazz Flats on one bass and a set of Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on another. Of those two, I'm partial to the EB Cobalts. They have real punch while still maintaining a solid low end. The nickel-wound TIs are pretty mellow. Neither of those basses has MFD pickups. I have two questions regarding the DTFs: (1) How would you describe their sound? Closer to the punchy of the EB Cobalts or the mellow of the TIs? (2) What's with the Deep Talkin' Gold flats? How do they differ in both sound and appearance from the regular DTFs? If somebody out there had an audio file of a bass with DTFs on it, that'd be great, too.

[One Way]

I recently put a 45-105 set of Labella DTF’s on my MIM p bass and they are pure magic (this time), clear and articulate with beef in a flatwound way.
This bass has a Lindy Fralin standard wind pickup, CTS pots, and an orange drop 47 cap.

Several years ago I installed the Jamerson spec set, didn’t care for the sound, and couldn’t get that set off fast enough.
On this particular bass I’ve previously had a set of EB Cobalt Flats on it. They were nice however the space between wraps tended to be rough on my fingertips when sliding to and from notes. Mind you, this was an early set and I understand EB has modified the design to correct this characteristic.

I have not installed flats on my L or M series G&L’s so I can’t comment on how they will work with MFD pickups however I really like the sound of the 45-105 set on my MIM P bass.

For an audio comparison, if you go to to your favorite music streaming service and search for the band “Quantum Creek”, I play the song Down That Road and Father Forgive Me using the P Bass with DTF flats. Paradise, Destiny, and Quantum Connection I play using my G&L JB Tribute with DR Pure Blues 45-105.

[Ricky Rioli]

I tried the LaBella 760FM 49-109 set on my SB-1. A big characterful sound, and the strings seemed very happy, but ultimately I found that the woody / husky nature of the DTFs and the MFD pickup weren't a great match.

On the other hand, the short scale 760FM set sounds fantastic on the Bass Whisperer demos of the Fallout.

Something worth mentioning about La Bella flats - no matter what gauges they are, they seem to require a fair amount of physical input to bring out their tonal qualities. As someone who merely tickles the strings, I've sadly concluded that they aren't for me. Love the feel. Love the tone that others can get out of them. Don't like the frustration of listening to the dull noise I get out of them.

[Ken Baker]

Something worth mentioning about La Bella flats - no matter what gauges they are, they seem to require a fair amount of physical input to bring out their tonal qualities. As someone who merely tickles the strings, I've sadly concluded that they aren't for me. Love the feel. Love the tone that others can get out of them. Don't like the frustration of listening to the dull noise I get out of them.

I've not tried the La Bella flats, but this is good to know. I tend to play with a fairly wide range "dig in", and at that it's mostly light touch. The TI Flats put up with me.

Ken...

[jglunt2112]

Something worth mentioning about La Bella flats - no matter what gauges they are, they seem to require a fair amount of physical input to bring out their tonal qualities. As someone who merely tickles the strings, I've sadly concluded that they aren't for me. Love the feel. Love the tone that others can get out of them. Don't like the frustration of listening to the dull noise I get out of them.

Yes indeed, thanks for this info. I tend to have a lighter touch on the strings, which in turn allows me to have better action on the neck. I had a set of the LaBella DTFs on a 5-string Jazz fretless I had many years ago, but it's really hard to draw comparisons from a fretless bass to a fretted bass. In addition, that bass had a set of EMG active pickups on it. Thanks for this info.

[bigtone23]

I really like how Labella flats feel--smooth and slick. Once fully broken in, they do thump nicely. I don't find they need 'digging in' to 'sound out.'
However, EB Cobalts have the snappy tone that comes with friction in the feel. They take a long time to break in and thump. Also a dynamic string.
D'addario Chromes have the thump sooner, and have a nice smooth feel and dynamic touch.

[jglunt2112]

Thanks for the opinions/reviews/.critiques. You folks on this forum are always very helpful. Don't you wish the rest of the world worked that way?

[jglunt2112]

@OneWay, I finally got a chance to listen to a couple of the songs you listed. That's a great sound. As far as strings go, I find myself liking the bass best with the DR Pure Blues. From what I heard in reviews, the Pure Blues are really excellent strings with nickel wound around a round core. I'll plan on trying some. I'm personally fond of Elixir Nanoweb nickel wounds. Though I know that grounding can be a problem, I have personally never experienced that issue with them. They're also more comfortable to play than many other roundwounds and have slightly less finger noise. I guess I'll continue to try to adapt to flatwounds on a bass or two, but I'll probably always be mainly a nickel roundwound kinda guy. Thanks again to all. Sorry, BTW, for putting this in the wrong category. I like driving the wrong way down one way streets, too. It's just my nature.

[One Way]

Ahh, those songs. In addition to Pure Blues strings, are played using my G&L JB Tribute. It’s a 2022 sunburst w/ maple fretboard poplar body w/ ash cap and really sounds amazing. The back story on it is I went to Atlanta Discount Music (bought each of my G&L’s there) with the intention of trying some light weight practice amps to take to open jam nights. I tried several amps while playing an LB-100, L-2500, and Kiloton Tributes. I then grabbed this JB Tribute and it sounded amazing! A unicorn bass! I didn’t buy a practice amp that day and kept thinking about just how good that JB Tribute played and sounded. Went back and bought is several days later. DR Pure Blues work really well with it.

[jglunt2112]

Stories like that are really enjoyable to hear. I have similar stories about my Fullerton Kiloton, which I bought used from the GC in Katy, TX, and my Epiphone Jack Casady bass, which I discovered was a refurb after I purchased it. It had already been shipped to me when I discovered that, and I was prepared to send it back. But then I played it and was blown away at its sound and playability, so I kept it.