Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

For those so inclined, DR is now offering flats. I don't know anything about them except that they are available. Has anyone here tried them?

I saw that too Ted; very interesting!

Ooh, I am intrigued! I might look into a five-string set for my Tobias once I hear how they sound. My experience with DR has been quite good.

I have been tempted to try them.
I love DR High Beams.

They are the High Beam flats which, if they are like the rounds, are wound on a round core, which will make them low tension strings. If that is the case, I'm so used to the feel and sound of the Chromes that I don't know if they would work for me.

Wait, so then are Chromes not low tension strings? I've been told that my experience of Chromes as ultra-high-tension strings is very out of the ordinary . . . are they low-tension or high-tension or somewhere in between? I think that, if the Hi-beam Flats feel anything like the Hi-beam rounds, tension-wise, I will love them. Usually, the reason I switch away from flats and back to rounds is an issue of tension and playability (basically, I prefer noodles to bridge cables).

Chromes are not as bad as Fender flats but they are not exactly low tension. In my experience, anyway.

"Wait, so then are Chromes not low tension strings?"

It depends on which guage set you get.

Jeff... what do you use... the 40s or 45s?
Cheers
Sean

I use the Super Soft set 40-60-75-95 and I replace the .60 D string with a single .55.

i put a 45-105 set of chromes on my 68 tele bass-and it was VERY high-tension,almost as bad as the fender flatwounds-the lakland joe osborn flats don't seem nearly as tight,but for the money,nothing has been better for me than pyramid flats-i use dr strings on all my basses that have roundwounds on 'em...would love to try a set of dr flatwounds if i can find them. the pyramid strings,by the way,come the closest (going by memory) of the set of rickenbacker flatwounds i had used many many years ago....thomastiks,for me,just don't get it.

If you want noodles try TI's or GHS Bright flat light gauge which really sound good after they break in. I think they they also have a 0.95 E.

I use the 45-100 set straight out of the box and the tension has never been high at all. Now they are not exactly like TI's by no means, but they aren't guide wires either. They are a medium tension string. Somewhere between TI's and Fender flats.