Put some Labella low tension flat wounds on my new P-Bass.... Here are my overall impressions, as well as some soundclip comparisons of the flats versus rounds.
Great demo Steve, thanks for posting. I especially like how you gradually increased the tone knob. That gives the whole picture of what to expect with these strings.
Definitely a very cool tone with the envelope filter. I’ve always loved flatwounds & bought a set of these for my first 5 string a few years back. Lesson learned, a 118 gauge low tension B string will flop around like a wet noodle on a 34” scale 5 string 🙁
I completely agree with you that there's nothing appealing about old roundwounds. They're good for a couple months, then they got to go! Great job putting this video together.
Thanks. And a great review. I recently strung my Fender made in Japan 60s Traditional Precision bass with these LaBella's, and it's fitted with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound pickups and a Hipshot KickAss bridge. They are nice strings, but lack clarity I was hoping for. They sound like my tone knob is fully dialled back. Maybe in time, they may brighten up a little.
I wonder if they are just calling them "low tension" because they are light gauge, or if they are somehow engineered to actually be looser than normal light gauge strings. If anyone is curious about what low tension really feels like, you should go play around on a short scale or a Pocket bass. Definitely a different feel and vibe that makes you play with a different touch.
Currently, I have LaBella Deep Talkin' perfectly balanced flats on my Yamaha Pulser P-bass. Now after watching your video, I wanna try the LTFs out. Great demo and cool funky basslines, especially the Bootsy outro. Thanks man! :)
Great review! Reminds me of my 70s Precision and sounds alot like it. I agree, I may need to get the low tensions to make it sound like it should. Thanks!
Have you ever tried La Bella's black Tape Wounds? I recently got some for a cheap Peavey ($15) that had terrible string buzz. I upgraded them to Seymore Duncan Quarter Pounds p-j and it sounds better than my $949 Schecter Riot. It's kinda awesome and heartbreaking at the same time. Really low tension, nearly no string noise or buzz, and no finger stickiness that flat wounds give. La Bella's are awesome.
I've been thinking about getting these for awhile. I had always used rounds but decided to try halfrounds and I really like them. I'm ready to go all in now. I've got an active USA EBMM sterling. It is a hot rod. Crazy powerful preamp. The halfs helped calm it down a bit. I also just got a mustang bass and la bella's deep talkin bass are gonna be my first set I put on it.
Nice job! These seem to have more bottom and les middle than TI Flats which as you know are also low tension, and maybe what LaBella is emulating. I use Labella deep talkin flats 45-105 on my 70's P, and TI JF344 on my 65. I like both. Might have to try these.
Normal flats are so tight and smooth I couldn’t get used to them went back To roundwounds for the feel of the stings. I migh try the Low tention flats though. I want that rubbery old school 60s 70s tone
Are these significantly more flexible than Chromes or GHS Precicions in 45-105? I have a busted up little finger that’s giving me trouble with those two. Roundwounds are much more comfortable to me but I hate the string noise.
After I got my '58 reissue P-bass in 2014, I put on Tapewounds and they've been there ever since. Recently, I was looking at these strings and wondered if they'd be worth it in order to try something new. When you put them on, did you need to adjust the truss rod perchance? There is usually a decent difference with the effect on the neck when flats are put on. The Tape Wounds didn't need it since there isn't a metal outer cover but all metal flats would put more stress on the neck so I was just curious. Everyone's mileage varies, of course.
Cigar Dave the outer covering has little to do with tension. I have 11 different flat sets on 11 different basses, and the LaBella LTFs are my 2nd favorite, behind TI jazz flats. If I recall correctly, the TIs and LaBella LTFs pulled LESS (not more) than my usual sets of D'addario steels (107-43). Both (TIs and LTFs) are a real pleasure to play: easy to fret and pluck. The LTFs are so smooth they look like liquid chrome! So silky!!
Thanks for your review of the La Bella LTF’s. I just brought a G&L Fallout bass and I think I’m gonna try a set of them as long as they make them in short scale. Peace🎸
Lots of people play old rounds, dude. They're the best and a nice compromise between flats and zingy new rounds. People just like buying new things, having something different than the next guy, something 'real musicians' use. etc.
I've wanted to try the LTFs for a while now, and would be curious to hear your thoughts about how these sound after breaking them in. I currently have Dunlop flats on my Pbass and love them - thumpy and warm like good flats should be, but they've kept a bit more top end than other flats I've tried, which I like. +1, thanks for the video!
I have a set of the Dunlop flats on one of my Precision Basses. I like the bit of extra top also. Having that, I ordered a set of LTFs as an experiment. You never know. My guess is that I will find them too dark but so many people love the LTFs that I thought I would take a chance. That fat low end is seductive.
I couldn't find a video with these on a J bass, but nonetheless ... I'm an Elixir coated rounds guy and decided to try these after seeing this video. I strung these on my Fender Vintera Jazz last week as an experiment. I've tried flats in the past, namely Chromes and also the Cobalts ... HATED BOTH! I played a gig this past weekend and couldn't be happier with these flats. They're smooth and not gummy. I can get the bright punchy tone or the warmer Motown tone with these. Long term, we shall see
I bought a used Mustang bass that came with tape wounds. There are some thing I like about them: the big one is that they are "low tension" and I can easily do whole step bends, something that is really hard to do on regular roundwounds (let alone flats). I can get guitar like bends and vibrato. I will replace the tape wounds with La Bella flats for Mustang, we'll see if I may eventually transition to low-tension flats...
Try some ti jazz flats they are expensive as all hell but if you want flexible flatwounds it's probably your best bet.just be careful buy them from a reputable company there are alot of counterfeiters out there I would avoid amazon. If the price seems to good to be true it is.
Nice playing and good demo for these strings. I have to say though, that's got to be the ugliest bass guitar I've ever seen. What the hell happened to it?
Lol!!! It's a relic'd P-bass body by MJT... I actually bought it because its that ugly I guess (yes it's ugly, but plays like a DREAM!!!). I just like the relic'd, road worn look, and with the gold color it gives that extra ugliness to it. Your question did make me laugh though, thanks for that!