EB 5 String Flatwounds are nice

[shakinbacon]

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]

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]

bongos and flats... mmmm

i love it!

MrM

 

[tiffles]

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

 

[shakinbacon]

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]

I feel you.

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

 

[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.

 

[shakinbacon]

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]

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

 

[tkarter]

Is there a 6 string set of Group I?

tk

 

[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.

 

[shakinbacon]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[shakinbacon]

more practice = more satisfaction

Been practicing alot

Was playing another instrument and came back to this.

I have to say I'm even more impressed with the tone and feel of the 5 string EB flats with the Bongo5HHp.

Something about turning the treble knob down *increases* clarity in a strange way. Very punchy

Folks, this may be a keeper

 

[EdFriedland]

Well, did my first gig with the 25th 5HH strung with EB flats, and I'm digging them! The JO flats were great in some ways, but they are very dark and thumpy - works great for me on my Fenders. But I didn't feel like I was hearing the tone of the 25th coming through. The EBs seem perfectly matched (who woulda thought?) There is high end, but it's not overbearing. They don't "clang" as much as the D'addarios, but they cut like them. Just enough to let the pickups do their thing. It actually sounded incredibly warm and round, just like I wanted - but I could also HEAR the notes and the attack.

They stay!

 

[shakinbacon]

The EBs seem perfectly matched (who woulda thought?) There is high end, but it's not overbearing. They don't "clang" as much as the D'addarios, but they cut like them. Just enough to let the pickups do their thing. It actually sounded incredibly warm and round, just like I wanted - but I could also HEAR the notes and the attack.

They stay!

That's a pretty good description of what I'm experiencing too

Glad you're liking them and thanks for sharing Ed

 

[bovinehost]

It actually sounded incredibly warm and round, just like I wanted - but I could also HEAR the notes and the attack.

This is what happened to me the first time I strung up an EBMM with flats lo those many years ago. Just absolutely stunned. I took a lot of flak for it, too - "You've neutered it", that sort of thing, although that was of course from internet experts who had never heard me play a note (some might also call them "lucky bastards").

Jack

 

[Old_Guy]

They don't "clang" as much as the D'addarios, but they cut like them.

Always been my issue with D'ad's ...the clanging, which the EB flats (thankfully) don't do. Very underrated (and don't tell BP) underpriced strings!