Flatwound guitar strings: anyone using them?

[ragamuffin]

The internet convinced me that I should try them on my jazzmaster, so I got some Daddario Chromes and slapped them on. I normally use 11s on my JM, so I got the Chromes 11s

The results: mixed.

• They look cool!
• The string feel is smooth and really nice!
• The tone is good. Slightly reduced treble (which works well here as my JM is plenty bright) and a subtly different feel to the attack. I'm not really sure how to describe it other than "different" but it's nice.
• The string tension is bad! Way higher tension/stiffness with the Chromes 11s than roundwound 11s. I've heard that other brands of flatwounds (Thomastik) don't have this problem as much, but damn! Maybe I should have gotten the Chromes in 10s. I'm tuning down to D standard to compensate.

I've heard that they also last much longer than roundwound strings, but the stiffness/tension is a dealbreaker for me so I won't be keeping them on long enough to find out.

I could try Thomastiks or Chromes 10, but they're expensive and I'm not exactly flush at the moment so I'll probably be going back to roundwounds

What's you experience/opinion on flats?

 

[rockandroller]

I have a strat with reverse headstock Birdseye tele neck, and EMG pups... It's had Rotosound flatwounds on it since day one, and its still on the original set.
I consider it my "blues" guitar and its kind of a Wedgewood blue in color (including neck and fretboard). I guess its about ten or twelve years old now... Changed the battery a few times but never the strings!!

 

[rockandroller]

PS if low tension is your aim, maybe try tapewounds... Labella Gold or copper are super brite sounding with low tension... (Going by their bass strings, not sure if they do a guitar set). My roto flats are not high tension but I built a balanced set up from single strings, .009 thru .044 if memory serves...

 

[Spud]

The internet convinced me that I should try them on my jazzmaster, so I got some Daddario Chromes and slapped them on. I normally use 11s on my JM, so I got the Chromes 11s

The results: mixed.

• They look cool!
• The string feel is smooth and really nice!
• The tone is good. Slightly reduced treble (which works well here as my JM is plenty bright) and a subtly different feel to the attack. I'm not really sure how to describe it other than "different" but it's nice.
• The string tension is bad! Way higher tension/stiffness with the Chromes 11s than roundwound 11s. I've heard that other brands of flatwounds (Thomastik) don't have this problem as much, but damn! Maybe I should have gotten the Chromes in 10s. I'm tuning down to D standard to compensate.

I've heard that they also last much longer than roundwound strings, but the stiffness/tension is a dealbreaker for me so I won't be keeping them on long enough to find out.

I could try Thomastiks or Chromes 10, but they're expensive and I'm not exactly flush at the moment so I'll probably be going back to roundwounds

What's you experience/opinion on flats?

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You are going bananas!

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I only Flatwound on bass, that’s just me though. Even then, that’s been occasional, otherwise my go to is the DR Black Beauties.

 

[Cheery Zeery]

I use TI Flats (14s) on my Esquire build that I've had for just about 2 years now. The Esquire itself has a Bigsby B16 on it and is tuned to C#. All of these factors combined make tuning stability a total non-issue. Flats don't hide any of my mistakes, and any misplacement of my fingers is duly reflected back at me. I imagine they do dull overtime, but it's a plateau in my opinion. Once it hits a certain level of 'dullness', it doesn't get duller at the same rate anymore and sort of settles in.

It took me a long time to figure this out, but I don't really enjoy the sound of a pick on that guitar. It was only this year that I realized that the best way to play it is with my thumb, which lends it a beautifully woody tone akin to a the first Precision Basses, no doubt thanks to the thickness of the flats and the low tuning. It has been my go-to guitar to play at home; I can't use an amplifier, so I thoroughly enjoy feeling the guitar reverberate through my body. Plus, flats make moving around the fretboard is super easy...so long as I don't bend.