KalaFlatwound 4-String Set by Gallistrings

These flatwound strings for the U-Bass are awesome! They brought my old mahogany Kala U-Bass back to life and back into regular use.I bought the bass back in 2012 and was initially very excited about it. My excitement faded quickly, however. I could never get the original black rubbery ("Road Toad Pahoehoe") strings that came on it to stay in tune for very long. And I could never get used to the way that they would roll when pressed against the fretboard. Frustrated, I put it aside after a month or two. A year or so later, I loaned it to my brother. Finding the same frustrations, he stuffed it into a closet.Then, a few weeks ago, a video about U-Basses popped up in my YouTube feed. I learned that, in the years since I had essentially abandoned my U-bass, a number of new types of strings had been developed for it. I ordered these strings, retrieved my U-Bass from my brother, and installed them.What a difference! These strings stay in tune, don't roll when fretted, are louder acoustically, and get a great upright-like tone. They were very easy to install and, considering that flatwound strings last for years, the somewhat higher cost was very much worth it. If you are frustrated with the black rubbery strings and/or would like a clearer and louder tone, give them a try!

FantasticGreat feel and toneJust what I hoped for

Coming from the rubber Pahoehoe strings, I found these flatwounds to be an improvement in several ways. 1. Tuning stability - the strings have very little stretch, so they tune up quickly and are stable after about 24 hours, compared to a week+ with the rubber strings. 2. They come with beads on the saddle end so you don't have to fuss with tying a knot. 3. The strings are easy for the fretting hand to slide along without sticking. I always had problems sliding on the rubber E and A strings. 4. TONE - *surprisingly* thick and punchy, esp. on the lower two strings. I was initially worried that flatwounds might sound too metallic or trebly for the U-Bass but it really sounds very very good and makes me want to play my U-Bass more.The only complaint I have is that the strings do not grip the tuning pegs very well and are prone to slipping off if you don't have enough windings (which you may not because the strings don't stretch much while tuning up). This makes tuning up rather fiddly, and you need to be careful to lock the string and use more windings than you might be used to with the rubber strings. Second, there is a bit more fret buzz and string noise, as is to be expected with metal-wound strings. That said, it was less than I expected and it does not detract from the sound too much. Overall I am quite impressed and feel that the advantages over the rubber strings make the cost worth it.

The media could not be loaded. The flat wound material snagged on the bridge as I put the low E string on. The little snag was enough to break the metal and the flat wound wire now slides up and down the string. I didn’t even get to fully wind the first string. I ended up unwinding all of the flat wound material from the E string. The rest of the strings went on without incident. I have a replacement set coming.Compared to the rubber pahohoe strings, these are much louder when played acoustic. They are much stiffer, and the action is higher than with the rubber. They stay in tune much better, and sound great. So a little tougher on the fingers, not as ‘fast’ or comfortable as the rubber strings, but louder, better tuning, and sound great. I’ll be happy when I get a replacement set.

These keep the ‘stand-up’ bass sound that the OEM rubber strings had, while also increasing the tension to be able to add more bounce to the sound. They don’t have the flaw of decreasing pitch when sliding up the neck as the rubber ones did. They are pricey, but I feel they turned you into real instrument.

I like the feel and sound. Easy installation

This is totally unacceptable. Strings are not long enough for the UBass and the wrap quality on the ends is very poor. I have 3 UBass (5,4, acoustic), and I bought flat wound for my 5 string as well, and they were great. These are useless, see photos. It is clear that they are several inches too short and the ends are very bad.

I have many long and short scale basses and have changed strings on all types of guitars perhaps thousands of time so I know how to do it. These strings, while they appear to be of high quality will not work on either the new Kala electric UBass (which is great by the way) or the new Fender Fullerton model small bass (which is also great as well). The black windings on the strings extend far below the nut almost to the third fret. I attempted to remove the winding to make it work to no avail. They may be fine on an acoustic Ubass but not the electric models.