What flatwound string do you use/prefer?

[kawa]

I using my stock of Gibson Flat Wires SEG - 1040ML(discontinued) , very nice sounds

[TommyD]

Among the variety of flat-wound strings, I would choose the same as I would from among the variety of solid state amps: none.
I can't get over people using flat-wound strings because round-wounds hurt their fingers, an excuse I have had to stomach from faint hearted beginners.
If you want strings that sound dull right out of the box choose flat wounds.

The majority of players don't reject round-wounds because they "hurt their fingers". They choose flat wounds because round wounds whistle when you slide. Can you imagine Joe Pass playing round wounds with his glissando technique? If he were forced to play on round-wounds we would not have had "Joe Pass".

[jzucker]

I can't get over people using flat-wound strings because round-wounds hurt their fingers, an excuse I have had to stomach from faint hearted beginners.

If you want strings that sound dull right out of the box choose flat wounds.

I guess benson and rodney jones are just faint hearted then.

[Flyin' Brian]

I guess benson and rodney jones are just faint hearted then.

Wes too.

For me D'Addario Chrome 11-50 work fine and are always easy to find. Sometimes I like to exchange a 12 and 16 for the top strings, but I really don't care for anything over a 50 on the bottom.

[TommyD]

Reading through this thread is interesting! One thinks D'addarios are too bright, another thinks they are "dead". Some like TI's because they last long, someone else thinks they need to be replaced too soon. "TI's have the best sustain." "TI's have a flat sound."
"Pyramids are wonderful." "I don't care for Pyramids."
Here's my $0.02. I don't think that Pyramid strings are that much better (if they're better at all!) to be worth $26 bucks a set plus shipping. Same for TI's. I bought a set of famous, "best-in-the-world" Hannabachs for my nylon guitar. As my sainted mother used to say, "mBeh!"
I think I'm a bread and butter man. For jazz, I like D'addarios, LaBellas, and Gibsons (too bad about them!)
But you know what? Who gives a damn what kind of strings I like! And your right!
Tommy/

[Norman931]

Well, if you look at the poll results you get a pretty clear picture: the overwhelming winners are D'addarrio and Thomastik-Infeld.

[life_with_a_song]

I bought a set of famous, "best-in-the-world" Hannabachs for my nylon guitar. As my sainted mother used to say, "mBeh!"
Tommy/

. . .speaking of Hannabachs--it is well-known that they are one of the highest-tension strings on the market. Thicker trebles--even in their low-tension set, and, yes, I agree with your sainted mother--"mBeh!"

Of course (as a disclaimer), someone else will love them, YMMV, etc. That's fine.

[jazzuki]

Played D'Addario for years and I mean years! Tried all similar types but always back to D'Adds.They retain their brightness and playability and are good value.Bought some last week @£8 deld.Thought a good price for a quality product.

[peejay]

I changed the round wounds on my Godin Kingpin for D'A 12-52 Chromes when I bought it and it improved the amplified tone a lot. Put on a set of 13-56 yesterday and it's even better.

[Jim Soloway]

I'm using round-wound these days. I like GHS... I'm going to try GHS bright flats 11's. Might be Goldilocks.

I just posted a mini-review of the GHS Brite Flats. I tried them this weekend and ended up ordering a case this morning.

[victory12]

I answered D'Addarios, 'cause that's what I'm currently using; but I want to try some of the TI's, since y'all rave about them so much!

I've used both D'Addarios and TIs most of the time, but a friend whose opinion I value highly has just raved to me about Pyramids. So even though they're 25 buck at just strings, I'm gonna give them a try.

[oldskoolchop]

I play DR, and have used the same selection of DRs for years on my 2 solid-bodies that I play mainly for rock.

They stay in tune take alot of abuse and last a while, not to mention gave me a sound i like. So when i was looking for a set of flats to put on my semi, i stayed with DR and just have not been disappointed enough to want to try something else.

Some would say i didn't know better cause I didn't shop around, but DR has always done me good over the years as a brand and they are not overly expensive.

[mr. beaumont]

I didn't even know DR made flats!

I used DR's exclusively back in the day when I used round wound strings and played rock-ish music...had really good luck with them..I might have to check out their flatter offerings...

[rNeil]

But then, I like the dark sounds of the late-40's/50's club-style ... sort of similar to Oscar Moore, and also played by the man I worked for in his music store, who'd been a jazzer afore getting married back about the early 50's. Incredible player.

When I first put the 'chromes on, I was disappointed, it was such a DARK sound, and they felt almost sticky. Played them for a bit, put it down ... came back the next day, the uber-darkness wasn't as bad, and after playing a while, they lost the 'sticky' feel and became very smooth to slide up and down ... and moved into a great blend of dark/bright for my taste, guitar, and little amp/speaker.

Neil

[backliner]

I like Pyramids when I can find them. I think they're slightly brighter than T.I. "Swings," which are cheaper anyways.

Not every guitar I've had can withstand flatwounds and not get muddy in the bass when I'm trying to get the trebles fluffy.

My Gretsch with single coils does well with flatwounds.

[hans halmackenreuter]

I use chromes, since they have a long lifetime and i like how they feel and finaly I like the sound of this strings. I switching between 13. and 12. , but lately I realize that 12. are sounding better with effects.

on my 2 solidbodies I have TI bebop 12. and other nickelwound rounds 11.

But the TI flats don't work at all for me.

[kris]

TI Swing 13 are great for arch-top jazz boxes.
...but if I like to sound more moderne I use TI Be-bop 13's.
All TI 13's are perfect for my style of playing on arch-top jazz guitar.
:-)

[ah.clem]

After a few weeks of using TI Swings on my 5th Ave, I really like how they sound and feel. The initial brightness settled down after a few days and they sound quite mellow. I have ordered a set of TI Bensons to try on the Imperial.

[MarkRhodes]

I'm now using TI Swing .011s and I prefer them to D'Addario Chromes (-which is the only flatwound string I've used repeatedly). Spent a while playing slinky .009s, and while they have their place, it's no longer on my guitar!

[ah.clem]

I replaced the D'Addario Chrome flats on my Peerless Imperial with TI George Benson flats and they sound and feel great. They don't seem a lot different from the TI Swings on the 5th Ave. As my playing is almost all acoustic, I can't comment on how they sound amplified yet, but I'm not anticipating anything too drastic. I will continue to use the TI strings.

[Reg]

There great... just a little thin and don't last. I just went back to TI's, was mixing sets, but now just settled with swings. Did have to order a bunch of 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings, I change those at least every 5 to 7 days sometime quicker... the wrap on the 3rd splits and trashes fingers, the 1st and 2nd just break or lose intonation. But lately I've been using my AER 60 and they sound better, with the polytone I liked the Chromes. But the AER is much better amp... back to TIs.
Reg

[mangotango]

Well, although I have preferred TI Swings for a long time now, I'm not afraid to experiment - so first of all I tried the GHS Brite-flats. They weren't flats (half-rounds)...but they were definitely bright. However, the string balance was very inconsistent, notes jumping out all over the place. I was not keen.

After reading about certain posters' liking for LaBella Black Nylon strings, I thought that I'd try them. First off, put a set on my Epi JP. Really nice vintage sound with the P90's, nice feel to them, so I thought that I'd try them on the Vestax D'angelico as well. Sounded just OK in the quartet rehearsal, but when I got to the duo with the double bass player, problems showed up big-time. I play mostly fingerstyle there, as opposed to the more percussive plectrum style with the 4tet. When I played any notes on the 5th or 6th strings in the duo setting, the bass notes were so strident that I spent the entire evening changing my technique to stay away from low notes that sounded like depth-charges. EQ'ing the bass down took the warmth out of the rest of the guitar, even with my Henriksen. Put some TI's back on and....no more problems.

I'll leave the LaBellas on the EPI for now and use that in the other duo with the trumpet, where I have to provide the bass end. For the rest of it, it's back to Thomastik.

Strings and picks are the cheapest ways to experiment with your sound, I guess....

[zigzag]

You guys are out of my league, but I do have an opinion on this. I recently bought an Ibanez AFJ91 and put D'Addario Chrome 12s on it. Sounds good. I've got T-I Swing 11s on my ES-335, and I just love the sound. jzucker mentioned the '50s vibe from T-Is, and that is exactly what I hear with my 335. I'm not always looking for that traditional jazzbox sound, and I much prefer the feel of the lower gauge strings on certain guitars (11s and 12s); I can manipulate the strings a little more easily. The Chromes and T-Is are the only two sets of flatwounds I've tried, and I will stick with T-Is. I love the sound and feel of those strings. Nothing against the Chromes, just like the T-Is better.

So you'll know, the tension on the Chromes generally run a little higher than T-Is in the same gauge.

http://www.thestringguy.com/tension.html

[oldane]

I too have used D'A Chromes for many years. Either 12s or 13s (the latter with 13 and 17 replaced by 14 and 18).

I have also tried TI flatwounds, but I don't know. There's nothing wrong with the balance across the set, they are well made etc. so it's just a matter of my ideosyncratic taste.

In the last couple of years I have used LaBella 15-56 stainless steel flatwounds which has exellent balance across the set with respect to tone and volume when amplified. Unfortunally, something happened with this particular set a couple of years ago and the new batches are much more dead sounding than the older batches. Really a shame because they may well be the best flatwounds I have ever used. I only have two more sets lying around of the old batch, but they do last for a very long time. I also have twelve sets of the new batch in a drawer and I doubt I'll use them. LaBella answered to an email from me that they were in the process of revamping their flatwound line and they would send me twelve sets free of charge when they were ready. That is quite some time ago, so maybe I should email them again. One can tell the two batches apart by the dark blue silk wrapping on the old batch and the light blue wrapping on the new batch.

Back in the 1970s, I was able to buy two boxes of Gibson 14-58 nickel flatwounds for next to nothing from a local dealer. That was the days when everyone wanted super slinky strings, so they had collected dust on his shelf for a decade and he was happy to get rid of them. It was the exact strings Wes used and they wee also good strings. They have ben out of production for many years.

[jazzbow]

Wow, this ole' thread has still got legs!

Funny though, my hollow guitar has still got the same old TI's on it that were a year old when I started this thread! So at least three year old strings, yikes!

The sound of them is a kind of 'Thunk' with no sustain.

Nice!