EB 5 String Flatwounds are nice

**shakinbacon** · 09-02-2009, 01:28 PM

I've had these on for a few days and am impressed - the piezo on my Bongo5HHp comes in really handy now for subtle accents to hi mids and attack... in a different way than with Slinky roundwounds.

I'll keep you posted but so far so good.

What I like about them:
1) Tone - even across strings and G string probably best I've heard on the Bongo
2) Tone - zinginess dies quick compared to Chromes which seem to take a while
3) Tone - Low notes are thick and have good sustain
4) Tone - Notes have "wooliness" and not "woofiness"... hard to describe
5) Tone - Nice low mids. The Bongo's mid control can be put to good use
5) Tension - on the high side but about the same or slightly higher than Slinky's
3) Feel - not sticky, very smooth. No string noise.
4) Looks - I think the flats just look great. Blue silk ends if that matters to anyone.

Did I mention I like the tone?

I highly recommend them if you want to try flats on a fretted bass especially if you have a piezo option.

IME and IMHO
I'm curious if these are hex or round cores... I could have checked but forgot to.

P.S. This is the set 2810 - the only five string flatwound I'm aware of.
P.P.S. I didn't put this in the strings forum as I think this invokes the Bongo and piezo combination as an important factor.

**bassmonkeee** · 09-02-2009, 01:35 PM

Yeah, I love the piezos with the EB flats. It sounds like your HHp 5 from 2004 is a litter mate to mine. A great combination, to be sure.

**MrMusashi** · 09-02-2009, 02:17 PM

bongos and flats... mmmm

i love it!

MrM

**tiffles** · 09-02-2009, 03:45 PM

I'm a HHp-er aswell and I love flats on him!

**shakinbacon** · 09-02-2009, 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by bassmonkeee

Yeah, I love the piezos with the EB flats. It sounds like your HHp 5 from 2004 is a litter mate to mine. A great combination, to be sure.

litter mate... he he he I like that

Maybe made from the same lumber, who knows?

SHp??? do you mean HSp on your signature?

**TSanders** · 09-02-2009, 04:46 PM

I feel you.

Ive got EB flats on my 2 band Ray and its quite nice.

**EdFriedland** · 09-02-2009, 06:27 PM

I'm waiting for some to come in, I put Lakie Joe Osborn flats on my 25th, I like them, but they are very dark and don't really take advantage of the full tonal spectrum the bass offers. My big concern as always is: How is the B string. The JO B string is pretty good,a little slow to develop, and dark, but not clunky. The Chrome B string has worked well for me, so I'm hoping the EB will be similar. I'm glad to hear reports that they die out a little quicker than Chromes - those strings take years to mellow.

**shakinbacon** · 09-02-2009, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by EdFriedland

I'm waiting for some to come in, I put Lakie Joe Osborn flats on my 25th, I like them, but they are very dark and don't really take advantage of the full tonal spectrum the bass offers. My big concern as always is: How is the B string. The JO B string is pretty good,a little slow to develop, and dark, but not clunky. The Chrome B string has worked well for me, so I'm hoping the EB will be similar. I'm glad to hear reports that they die out a little quicker than Chromes - those strings take years to mellow.

Ed,
Great to have you comment here! I love your reviews ("...I think it looks grey, in an Egyptian Smoke kind of way" he he he)

I actually think the EB B string sounds better than the Chrome's... but the Chrome B was on only for a couple of weeks, so you can imagine it was still zingy. The B sounds very substantial to me - thick, burpy, defined, lots of fundamental with just the right amount of overtones. Again, adding a hint of piezo signal was very important to me in dialing things in. This could be approximated with some hi mids and highs I guess.
I'll do some listening on it tonight to see if my opinion would change any.

I've read that broken in Chromes and EB flats are similar, although I cannot comment based on my experience.

I look forward to your review.

bacon

**HeavyDuty** · 09-02-2009, 07:25 PM

I run Group I flats with a .130 B on all three of my fivers - great tone!

**tkarter** · 09-02-2009, 07:58 PM

Is there a 6 string set of Group I?

tk

**EdFriedland** · 09-02-2009, 09:12 PM

Wow, Group I with a 130? You must have hands of steel. I imagine that puts a lot of tension on the neck. I put the Group IV on a bass and found them to be almost like a TI in terms of feel and tone, certainly cost less. Well, I'll try the Group III for tension first. With Chromes, I was using the 50-105 set and found them tight but workable.

**shakinbacon** · 09-02-2009, 10:09 PM

Originally Posted by EdFriedland

Wow, Group I with a 130? You must have hands of steel. I imagine that puts a lot of tension on the neck. I put the Group IV on a bass and found them to be almost like a TI in terms of feel and tone, certainly cost less. Well, I'll try the Group III for tension first. With Chromes, I was using the 50-105 set and found them tight but workable.

The 5 string set 2810 is 45-65-80-100-130 just like the regular Slinky set that comes shipped with the 5 string basses. I like the tension of the flats - little higher than the Slinkys but feels good to me.

**bassmonkeee** · 09-03-2009, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by shakinbacon

litter mate... he he he I like that

Maybe made from the same lumber, who knows?

SHp??? do you mean HSp on your signature?

SHp, HSp. Same thing. I was just going from the neck to the bridge with the pickups. Single coil, humbucker, piezo on the fretless. Double humbucker and piezos on the fretted.

**shakinbacon** · 09-04-2009, 01:06 AM

The more I play these the more I'm impressed. Got to play through my rig at a bit of volume... SOLID tone. Can't wait to play these out on a gig

**Old_Guy** · 09-04-2009, 05:28 AM

Originally Posted by shakinbacon

The 5 string set 2810 is 45-65-80-100-130 just like the regular Slinky set that comes shipped with the 5 string basses. I like the tension of the flats - little higher than the Slinkys but feels good to me.

Seems like the same as teh Group III flats for the 4 with the 130 for the low B at the end.