Kiloton + Flats = ?

[jglunt2112]

My favorite of the (too-many) basses I own is my emerald green USA Kiloton. But the bass I've wanted for five years is actually a Tribute Kiloton in Irish Ale. Back then, I didn't buy one to avoid having duplicate basses, then G&L discontinued that color a few years ago. Since then, those Tribute IA explosive devices have become scarce. I recently stumbled across a used one at a good price whilst window shopping online, and I bought it. (Pics coming once it arrives at its new home.) I've always avoided duplicate basses, but I couldn't resist. So now I need a way to differentiate the sound of my two Kilotons. My USA has nickel roundwounds on it, so I was thinking that at some point, I might put flats on one. Have any of you used flats on a Kiloton and liked them? Conversely, have any of you tried flats on a Kiloton and hated them?

[bigtone23]

Haven't tried them on a Kiloton, but on a Stingray. It's not the same, but sort of in a similar space.
It's a great sound. The extra bite and punch of the bass design is nice with flats.

[jglunt2112]

Thanks Bigtone23. I can see how that would be in the same tonal range as the Kiloton. I know many here have expressed their appreciation for TI Jazz Flats. I have never tried them on an MFD-equipped bass, but I played them on a bass with a Lace Alumibar pickup on it. They were smooth and mellow--comfortable to play, but not to my taste tonally. I thought it was probably the pickup, which was a new experience for me, but when I put a set of GHS Pressurewounds on it, it woke right up. I play Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt Flats on my Jazz Bass, and they maintain punchy lows while still having nice bite on that bass. But MFDs are a different breed of cat--a whole new species, if you will--and the pickup position on the Kiloton creates a whole new sub-species. Thank you for your input. Anyone else care to chip in?

[bigtone23]

Picking flats is like picking an amp! so many options, vintage, modern, smooth, rough, high tension, low tension... I have tried many and still have a set of Roto 77 waiting for a turn.
-Cobalt flats on my Peavey Foundation. Very bright when new, nearly round wound, as I'm sure you experienced. Took them something like 30 hours of play to mellow out and start really sounding flat. I do like these, though. They are now starting to show wear and tear after nearly 9 years of play.
-Chromes on the passive Precision and Carvin BB75 fretless. Not as bright as the Cobalts, but smoother feeling. These break in much faster the Cobalts and get thumpy, but are still not super vintage-y and retain some top end. Smooth feel. The catch is that I like 45 65 85 105 with these, and have to buy two sets to make this hybrid gauge. These are what I had on my Stingray, too, which sounded great. I like them thumpy, but still have that Stingray punchy bite. I'm sure the Kiloton would be similar.
-Fender flats on my active P. These are old, pre D'dro ones, like from 15+ years ago. Not smooth feeling, but do have a nice thump to them. They offset the extra zing of the electronics.
-LaBella Deep Talkin' flats on my Danelectro Longhorn. These are very vintage sounding and very smooth. Probably not what you are looking for. However, I'll get these for the Foundation when the strings have to be changed. I like how they break in fast and thump.

[jglunt2112]

Thank you, bigtone23. Many years ago, I played flats when that was about all you could find for bass. I played Fender flats and liked their bright but thumpy sound. Then Ray Boatright, the "rite" of Mosrite (don't know why the spelling change), saw me playing a Mosrite Celebrity bass and gave me a few sets of Mosrite bass strings. I don't know who made them for Mosrite, but they were roundwounds. I loved that sound so much that I didn't go back to flatwounds for 45 years. I'm still just reacquainting myself with flats. This time around, I started with Fender flats, and they were too thin-sounding for my taste. TI Jazz flats were unbelievably smooth in both texture and sound--too smooth for my taste. I like the Slinky Cobalt flats on my current fretted Squier Jazz Bass, but I'm getting ready to sell it. Your critique is a great help to me in deciding what to put on this new-to-me Tribute Kiloton I bought. I have a USA Kiloton with Elixir nickel roundwounds on it, though I might switch it to GHS Pressurewounds sometime in 2025. Using flats on my Tribute Kiloton would be a nice change in sound and feel. Your help is appreciated.

[soulman969]

FWIW since this question may already have been answered I've found GHS Pressurewounds and GHS Brite Flats work very well with MFD pickups. Since I'm already playing the Pressurewounds on my M2000 and my Jazz Bass I opted to switch to the Brite Flats in the Kilo. I didn't want to go any darker or more thuddy than that if only because that bass is so mid forward to begin with. TI Flats might work well too but I wanted to stay away from flats like GHS Precision Flats and La Bella DTFs. YMMV

[jglunt2112]

Thanks @soulman969 for pitching in. I ended up putting Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt Flats on my new-to-me Tribute Kiloton. They sound amazing there, probably because I'm normally a roundwound player. They have plenty of lows, plus a solid mid-range punch. I can roll-off the treble a touch and still get the punch and drive I want. I put a set of Roto 77s on my MJ-4, which has DiMarzio Sixties pickups, not MFDs. They sound remarkable also. In fact, to me, they sound much like the EBs. Thanks to all who shared.