Archtops and Flatwound strings...

swiveltung

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
425
Reaction score
79
Location
Pac NW
So I stopped by the music store for giggles today and played some archtops: Epi Swingster, A couple Gretches, 3 Ibanez's. They had a few of them with flatwound strings on them. I haven't had flatwound strings in probably 30 years. But YUCK! The low E on every guitar sounded more like I had a palm mute on the string. Dead dead dead... and almost like they were out of tune or something...
Didn't matter which guitar maker it was. Nature of the beast?
 

GAD

Reverential Morlock
Über-Morlock
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
22,587
Reaction score
17,806
Location
NJ (The nice part)
Guild Total
112
I've disliked every flat-wound-equipped guitar I've ever played until I got the Artist award.
 

Quantum Strummer

Senior Member
Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
2,382
Reaction score
118
Location
Michigan
I became a flatwound fan after I tried my first set of Thomastiks (George Bensons, on my Gretsch Chet Atkins). Before that I had a set of Pyramid Golds on a Ric 360…they were pretty good but there was no "Wow!" factor. Now I've got Thomastiks, mainly their Jazz/Swing sets, on a bunch of guitars. Expensive but they sound great and last a long time.

-Dave-
 

GAD

Reverential Morlock
Über-Morlock
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
22,587
Reaction score
17,806
Location
NJ (The nice part)
Guild Total
112
Oh sure, you're gonna play the AA card on me? :>) ha ha

Heh - didn't mean to do that. What I was poorly trying to convey was that I think it's very guitar-dependent. I even tried them on the X500s I had which are damn fine guitars and I just couldn't gel with them.
 

AcornHouse

Venerated Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
10,215
Reaction score
7,222
Location
Bidwell, OH
Guild Total
21
Heh - didn't mean to do that. What I was poorly trying to convey was that I think it's very guitar-dependent. I even tried them on the X500s I had which are damn fine guitars and I just couldn't gel with them.
I think it also depends on what you’re trying to play. For jazz, yes, you really need them, at least on electric instruments.
 

Walter Broes

Enlightened Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2005
Messages
5,892
Reaction score
1,962
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
Flatwounds are cool for some things - I do dislike the flatwound/humbucker combo, that's just too much mud and dark. With snappy single coils, it's definitely a cool sound, and I think flats and solidbodies are an underestimated tone. Teles, strats, jazzmasters, Jaguars, all sound really cool with good flatwound strings.
I like flats on my DeArmond equipped Starfire III too.

Partial to thomastiks or Pyramids - definitely not a fan of D'Addario Chromes.
 

Quantum Strummer

Senior Member
Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
2,382
Reaction score
118
Location
Michigan
Flatwounds are cool for some things - I do dislike the flatwound/humbucker combo, that's just too much mud and dark. With snappy single coils, it's definitely a cool sound, and I think flats and solidbodies are an underestimated tone. Teles, strats, jazzmasters, Jaguars, all sound really cool with good flatwound strings.
I like flats on my DeArmond equipped Starfire III too.

Yes, this is it exactly. The combo of a bright sounding guitar and warm strings. On a Jazzmaster in particular good flatwounds give you a proper sense of what Leo & co. were going for. The hollow low mids that some folks find off-putting about Jazzers and Jaguars fill out quite a bit. With DeArmonds you get the "dark twang" those pickups excel at.

-Dave-
 

DThomasC

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2014
Messages
1,283
Reaction score
187
Location
Finger Lakes, New York, USA
Ok. I have a Tele with DeArmonds. I guess I'll be trying flatwounds on it soon. Probably my $600 NS Aristocrat too, even though I love it like the best dog ever with pure nickel round wounds.
 

swiveltung

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
425
Reaction score
79
Location
Pac NW
BTW, the guitars I tried in my original post were tried unplugged. So my evaluation is for that. I suppose plugging in might alleviate some of that terrible sound. I don't even plug a guitar in that doesn't do it for me unplugged.
 

Walter Broes

Enlightened Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2005
Messages
5,892
Reaction score
1,962
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
BTW, the guitars I tried in my original post were tried unplugged. So my evaluation is for that. I suppose plugging in might alleviate some of that terrible sound. I don't even plug a guitar in that doesn't do it for me unplugged.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not a huge flatwound fan, and the combination of a hollowbody guitar with a wood bridge, humbuckers and flats is definitely not for me. But like Dave says above, on a bright single coil guitar, they can be fun.
 

Quantum Strummer

Senior Member
Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
2,382
Reaction score
118
Location
Michigan
Yeah, I stay away from flatwounds with humbuckers too. I do currently have a set of Jazz/Swings on my Bluesbird but IMO even with those jangle-tilted pickups (5-ishK anti hums) the result is borderline too dark/rubbery on the low strings.

-Dave-
 

txbumper57

Enlightened Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
7,577
Reaction score
58
Location
Texas
+1 for the Flats with bright single coils on Full Hollowbody guitars! I have Flats on all of my full Hollowbody single coil guitars and love them. The pickups I use them with include original 60's Dearmonds, Original Franz pickups, Duncan Antiquity P90's, Duncan Custom Shop Dynas, and a my Duncan Custom Shop Phat Staples. Love the "Fat Twang" you can get out of a good set of Flatwound strings with the Single coils. Also get some nice "Fat Dirt" out of them with the right settings.

I tried a set on my double cut Black Falcon with TV Jones classic filtertrons in it and didn't like it very much. Filtertrons and Humbuckers need round wound strings for me. I also tried a set of flats on my Semi Hollow SF5 with the Duncan Phat Staple single coils in it and while they sounded good I prefer the roundwounds on her too.

Definitely plug them in before you make an evaluation on them. It opens up a whole different world of tone.

Best of luck.

TX
 
Top