La Bella 0760M Deep Talkin Bass

I've been playing bass about 30 years. For most of that time I've been using D'Addario Chromes flatwounds on Fender Jazz style basses, but I had started to get annoyed by the slightly metallic edginess to the sound, and after reading lots of reviews of other flatwound strings, thought I would try some out.

At first I tried the Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats but hated how rubbery and low tension they felt. The set I had also had different windings on different strings, leading to uneven tone across the strings.

Next I tried the Pyramid Golds, they sounded and felt great, and the tension was good, but in a week I had somehow managed to break the D string, something I have never done at any other time on a bass guitar. I did replace it once, but it put me off them and my interest was piqued by the La Bellas.

So I put these on, they are the largest gauge bass strings I have ever used, and possibly the highest tension, but the beautiful thing about them is that they don't really feel that high tension and are a joy to play. The strings feel lovely under the fingers, and after a couple of weeks of playing in, the tone is to die for. Very evenly balanced in tone and feel across the strings and fretboard. Just what I wanted. Very thumpy, bassy and percussive, with very few overtones and sustain.

No negatives I can think of, other than they are a little pricey, but they will probably stay on my bass forever now. Maybe not for someone looking for bright/zingy/sustained tones. Think old school thumpy Motown stuff, or Reggae bass lines etc. Highly recommended!

If you're after THAT bulky and punchy Motown bass sound, look no further...

Although I myself was slightly irritated by the "Vintage 54" and "James Jamerson" marketing gimmick stamps on the package, I have to admit I was extremely surprised how huge affect these strings just made. If one's after the authentic old school "thump", these strings will certainly produce it. So, as far as the tone is concerned, this is it.

The string gauge is also an essential factor: I used LaBella 760FL set before for a couple years, but couldn't reach that thumpy sound. 760M and 760FM nailed it immediately. So it's not all in your fingers... :)

There are a couple things to complain, though.

First, the strings, and especially the E-string, break rather easily when bent. This might be a real issue, if you prefer loading your strings thru-body, or if your bridge forms otherwise a considerably steep angle. LaBella is offering sets precisely for thru-body usage, though, and I guess that this issue doesn't plague them.

Second, the price... Yes, they are THE classic string, and of high quality. But my personal supposition is, that one is paying relatively lot just for the brand.

These strings give you exactly what you want if you're after that vintage tone. I just have a problem intonating the E-string on my bass. Because it's such a thick string, I can't get the saddle far back enough.

La Bella was even friendly enough to send me a replacement string. This because at first I, and they, thought the intonation problem was due to a faulty string. Sadly, not so much.

But I don't think anyone can really hear it's not in tune perfectly, so the strings are still on my P-bass.

These are fantastic strings, best flatwounds you can get for that old-school feel and sound. The 52-110 gauge is chunky, heavier than anything I've used up to this point, but the noticeably higher tension surprisingly makes them easier to play, for me. If you're not used to setting up your own bass, it may be an idea to get a luthier to install these for you, due to the extra pull on the neck, and you may also have to do some work on the nut to get these bad boys through the slots. The sound is like your favourite records, balanced, smooth, without sounding muddy, like many of Labellas competitors. When first installed, the high frequencies are more pronounced, you may have to reach for the tone control to pull back some of the high end, but after regular playing the high end smooths out to that 'familiar sound'. Combined with some foam at the bridge, you're transported back in time to the golden era of music. Worth checking out for sure, especially on a P bass.