Flatwounds vs. String Gauge

[mediocreplayer]

Hi all -- I bought a Marr Jaguar and it came strung with Flatwound 12s (D'Addario Chromes). I like the mellow sound a lot, but I am thinking of taking the gauge down to 10, which is what I normally play on the Jag. My question is, how should I expect the tone to change? I like how the beefiness/mellowness contrasts with the brightness of the Jag, but I don't know how much of this to attribute to the gauge and how much to the fact that the strings are flatwound. Any idea what to expect if I switch to Flatwound 10s? Obviously, I should just try it, but the prospect of taking the neck off for truss rod adjustment, bridge adjustments, etc. is putting me off. Any thoughts appreciated!

[nikkij]

The fact that they are flatwounds has the biggest effect on the tone. Will there be a slight reduction in volume and low end if you go down two whole gauges? Probably. Will it be significant enough to make a difference, or for you to even notice? Probably not.

[Hyphen Nation]

Yeah, flat wounds have a more noticeable effect on tone than the gauge. By a mile.
That being said, I've always felt like heavier gauge strings are a bit more articulate, and yet ever so slightly less bright.

[somebodyelseuk]

I have a pair of basses, one setup on flatwounds and one on rounds. The 'flats sound like a double bass and the rounds like a piano' is how I describe the difference. Flats tend to be mellow, rounds brighter and 'lively'.
Gauges and tone? I've played all sorts of gauges over the years and I've found the heavier they are the louder the guitar is, but I don't believe this 'heavier equals better tone' for a second - Brian May, Billy Gibbons and BB King all play very light gauges and they're held up as 'tone gods'.

String material makes a big difference, but gauge... nah.

[Hyphen Nation]

I've found the heavier they are the louder the guitar is.

you are right…what I was hearing as more articulate was probably more volume…derp...