Convince me to make the leap to flats

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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Tele295
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Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by Tele295 » Fri May 21, 2021 5:09 pm

I’m on the fence, help push me over?

What would I be gaining in terms of sound and sustain if I put them on my L-series Jazzmaster? There’s a buzz stop on there now, too
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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by Telliot » Fri May 21, 2021 6:42 pm

This has been discussed quite a lot on this forum. Here are a couple threads you can read to give you an idea of what some members think.

Flatwound string options
Offset with flatwound strings?

I personally love flats, and have them on my bass, acoustic guitar, and my JM. (Not a fan of buzzstops, but that's a whole discussion in and of itself. ;) ) Ultimately, they're just strings. I'd suggest trying some and seeing what you think. If you've never played on flats they'll feel weird to you at first, but it's good to leave them on for awhile and settle down. You'll also probably finding yourself adjusting the settings on your amp. I find flats to have more bass and less treble.

Hope that helps!
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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Fri May 21, 2021 6:58 pm

I can’t convince you. I played them for a while with my mustang. It did help tame the snap and brightness of it. However, I put some on a strat and really missed the dynamics that regular strings had.

Just try for yourself. If you don’t like it. Change it back. Simple and no real risk there
Last edited by Unicorn Warrior on Fri May 21, 2021 6:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by Pepe Silvia » Fri May 21, 2021 6:58 pm

You have to try it for yourself, no words on the internet will sway you either way

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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by mgeek » Sat May 22, 2021 1:22 am

Tele295 wrote:
Fri May 21, 2021 5:09 pm
What would I be gaining in terms of... sustain
Absolutely nothing, that's not what flats are about.

RE: Sustain, that's a weird concept that guitarists love to chuck around in the assumption that 'the most you can get = the best toan', but that's kind of an over simplification, like just about everything else generally fetishised by the online guitar community. It does feel good when you pick up a guitar and it rings forever, but that doesn't necessarily translate into something great sounding beyond the person playing it. Loads of classic sounds on record were actually done with fairly dead sounding guitars/ancient strings/foam dampers on etc, which can work really well, because the last note gets out of the way, without overstaying it's welcome, taking up space.

Anyway, flats tend to have a lot more ATTACK in my opinion. The thing you gain is a more assertive front end to the note.

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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by Beebe » Sat May 22, 2021 3:49 am

They don't break. They don't dull with time. I'm not sold, but I've been convinced to try them. I'm planning on throwing out the low E string, shifting all the other strings towards the top, and putting a 10 on for the high E to get close to a gauge I'm used to. I'm building an all mahogany mustang that I'm doing this on and will build the nut, set intonation etc. for the flatwound gauges. I play through a dual showman amp, the brightness of which may suit this... in theory. Maybe I'll be able to turn my treble up past 3!

Steeling the idea discussed here around 5:50

https://youtu.be/hr7ScpVj1QY

Edit ... I'm actually calling it a Gib-stang because of the mahogany body, 12" radius mahogany neck w/rosewood, and Goldo bridge hole inserts that allow me to swap between a 52mm Jazzmaster bridge (12" radius mod) and a Tune-o-matic. It's also getting Kinman P90 buckers:
https://youtu.be/YtJTFPPkfGI
Last edited by Beebe on Sat May 22, 2021 4:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by Beebe » Sat May 22, 2021 4:00 am

mgeek wrote:
Sat May 22, 2021 1:22 am
Tele295 wrote:
Fri May 21, 2021 5:09 pm
What would I be gaining in terms of... sustain
Absolutely nothing, that's not what flats are about.

RE: Sustain, that's a weird concept that guitarists love to chuck around in the assumption that 'the most you can get = the best toan', but that's kind of an over simplification, like just about everything else generally fetishised by the online guitar community. It does feel good when you pick up a guitar and it rings forever, but that doesn't necessarily translate into something great sounding beyond the person playing it. Loads of classic sounds on record were actually done with fairly dead sounding guitars/ancient strings/foam dampers on etc, which can work really well, because the last note gets out of the way, without overstaying it's welcome, taking up space.

Anyway, flats tend to have a lot more ATTACK in my opinion. The thing you gain is a more assertive front end to the note.
Yes! Sustain is way overrated. Just play / listen to a Gretsch / Filtertron guitar to see how rad low sustain can be.
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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by N0_Camping4U » Sat May 22, 2021 7:10 am

If you dig old Fender 60's guitar sounds, that's flats. they shipped with flats. for me it's flats or nothin'.
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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by Mondaysoutar » Sat May 22, 2021 2:45 pm

Maybe try those half round strings D’Addario do, or even the Thomastik Infeld Bebop which I just switched to myself man. The Bebops are round wound but pretty close to flats. Tried flats, a bit too flat for me and I don’t like a wound G, the Bebops seem great so far man.

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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by Beebe » Sat May 22, 2021 4:20 pm

Doing the trick of throwing out the low E that I mentioned above also gets rid of the wound G string as you move it to the D location.
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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by jvin248 » Sat May 22, 2021 4:27 pm

.

... Haunting Mids.

Short sustain is caused by excessive string length beyond the nut and saddles that can stretch and lose energy to friction at the nut and saddles. Either change to a new guitar (headless stop tail) or make the nut and saddles super low friction.

What is required to make this van stop 'sustaining'? Same mechanics for guitar sustain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5r64v4Yr2M

.

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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by bterry » Sat May 22, 2021 7:30 pm

Flatwounds will typically be more percussive and have added attack compared with rounds, though string gauge and how your guitar is set up will determine a lot.

Buzzstop - why? Do a proper setup and shim the neck, instead.

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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by simonhpieman » Mon May 24, 2021 1:38 am

Flats sounded terriffic on my old AVRI Jaguar. Had to record some Beatles stuff for a session and that guitar absolutely nailed it. The bright Jag with the more restrained flats was a match made in heaven sonically.

It's fair to say the wound G won't help with bending and solos etc. but the sound is 100% 60s and is truly glorious.

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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by Tele295 » Mon May 24, 2021 6:20 am

So it’s all about the attack. I get it
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Re: Convince me to make the leap to flats

Post by andy » Mon May 24, 2021 10:17 am

Flats are great. Changing strings is the cheapest/easiest mod ever.
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