Bobby K Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Hello all I'm looking for string recommendations. Don't want the dead thud of a flatwound, but want the smooth finish. I'm aware of D'Addario half rounds but are there any alternatives I should also be aware of? Basically looking for something that's got a bit of life and sustain to it, but isn't gonna chew up the fretboard cheers Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyKnees Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Hi Bob, I've spent the last couple of years trying out various half wound type strings on my piezo Tunebass fretless with much the same aim in mind. My conclusions so far are... D'Addario half rounds - a great sounding string with loads of oomph - I did stick with these for quite a while, but ultimately I found them to be too stiff for my tastes, even with the lightest guage. Status Hotwire Half wound - quite a good string feelwise, but I thought they lacked a little presence. Elite ground wound - too dull for me, almost as dull as a flatwound. Rotosound pressure wound - not bad, but not overwhelming either. Still not as good tonewise as the D'Addarios. Status tapewound - a nice sound and great feel but just not 'loud' enough - however they were quite a light gauge as far as tapewound strings go, and there are quite few other makes of tapewounds, so maybe some of the thicker gauge ones would work better. DR Sunbeams - I'd never tried DR strings before, partly due to the cost, but I really like these. They are really smooth to play and have a great tone. I tried the 40-60-80-100s first and they were a little bit too loose (they have a round core rather than a hex core), so I'm currently using a set of 45-65-85-105 and they're great. Plenty of tone, just the right flexibility and easy to slide your fingers on. Maybe a tad on the bright side but that's easily eq'd out - you can't add it, but you can take it away! String choice a very personal thing - there are so many factors that come into play, your bass, your technique, the kind of music you play etc etc, so ultimately the only way to find out is trial and error. If you are interested, I was thinking of selling some of these strings on - apart from the D'Addarios they are all hardly used, so if you want to try some out without some of the expense of buying new, let me know. Cheers, Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) IMHO Status and D'Addarios tend to to go dead pretty quickly - especially the E string (the Status ones were all round awful). Because of this, I now use LaBella 'Deep Talkin' Bass' 760FX strings (.039-.096). They've got great sustain, and stand up well to plectrum use. Edited July 19, 2011 by Jerry_B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby K Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Excellent input guys, lots of food for thought!! Thanks very much for all your recommendations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidbass Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 + for Status Half Rounds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guyl Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 This may not be the answer you're looking for, but you could just use your favourite round-wounds. IMO, getting the sound you are happiest with is the priority. At worst it may cost you a luthier trip every couple of years. You may also not even actually experience the "damage" that you were expecting if your fingerboard is reasonably hard wearing. If you are compromising your performance with the "don't-use-strings-that-mark-your-fretless-fingerboard" approach, perhaps the next step is "don't-take-the-bass-on -a-gig-in-case-it-gets-scratched/knocked over/stolen/etc" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 (edited) That's not a bad point. My old defretted Westone had worn roundwounds for years when I got it, and [i]looked[/i] pretty badly worn, but I was surprised how shallow the wear actually was. It was a fairly quick job with a sanding block to get the board looking good again, and didn't lose much board thickness, so it could be done every few years for quite a long time before the board would need replacing. Although I prefer Thomastik Jazz flats for their sound, so it wasn't something I had to worry about after the first board dressing. Edited July 20, 2011 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby K Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 Very good point gents. The bass concerned is indeed very battered looking and is a defret I did myself on an old Hohner B bass (basically a Jack bass with a headstock!) I confess, I didn't even consider that the board is already pretty scruffy after my defret job For the meantime, I'm getting some hardly used DR sunbeams on the cheap, off Jellyknees, as he lives pretty close to me. I'll see how those are. In the long run though, perhaps I will just revert back to what I use on my fretted basses anyway, we'll see... Thanks guys, you made me think... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I use elixir nanoweb. They are roundwound but very smooth to slide because of the coating, a tad mellower than vanilla uncoated roundwounds but still very bright. They sound like uncoated roundwounds after about a week of bedding in - i.e. just about perfect. Also they retain their brightness almost indefinitely (again a property of the coating). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretlessguy Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) My favorite rounds are GHS Pressurewounds, which are very similar to Ken Smith Compressors. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GcQJyHGbeY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GcQJyHGbeY[/url] Edited August 2, 2011 by fretlessguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I have used Rotosound Solo bass strings on the same bass since 1986 and have never had a problem with fretboard wear. I generally get a positive response to my sound and have never had anyone criticise it so see no reason to look for another product unless Rotosound ever cease makign them. NB I change them every decase whether I need to or not. Last string change was, IIRC, pre-Millenium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsgbass Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I go with D'Addario Nylon Tapewound. Used them on a fretless Fender as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Roto Flats are the roundiest sounding flats I've ever used. HAd them on my bass for about 10 months so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 [quote name='bassman7755' post='1321121' date='Jul 30 2011, 09:57 AM']I use elixir nanoweb. They are roundwound but very smooth to slide because of the coating, a tad mellower than vanilla uncoated roundwounds but still very bright. They sound like uncoated roundwounds after about a week of bedding in - i.e. just about perfect. Also they retain their brightness almost indefinitely (again a property of the coating).[/quote] +1 I use Elixirs on my fretless overwater. I was told by an expert luthier that the nickel rounds wouldn't have much effect on the ebony board. Only had the bass over a year now but no signs of any wear whatsoever. I had Overwater nickels before changing 3 mths ago to the Elixirs nanowebs. I find the elixirs a bit more tense although its a good trade off to keep their tone for much longer. Good luck Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Really, I think chasing the tone is the most important thing. Getting a board resurfaced is a minor job and one that is usually only done every few years on the most heavily used fretless basses! I've just got an Iceni Zoot custom fretless in the post, which is currently strung with ground wounds and it sounds very underwhelming to me. It's got the recipe right; a carbon graphite neck, a Bartolini pickup and piezos but the groundwounds are spoiling it. I can hear that burpy sound wanting to come through, but it's not quite there yet! I'm going to put some roundwounds on it to get the sound right. Much better for the tone, which will make me happier and in 10 years of playing fretless basses with roundwound strings on them I've never had to get the board looked at. Mild scuffs from the strings is just par for the course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muttley Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 [quote name='Delberthot' post='1331607' date='Aug 8 2011, 01:06 AM']Roto Flats are the roundiest sounding flats I've ever used. HAd them on my bass for about 10 months so far[/quote] Which type? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 [quote name='muttley' post='1340752' date='Aug 15 2011, 03:17 PM']Which type?[/quote] I had Rotosound Steve Harris flatwounds on my first fretless bass. They sounded dreadful and they were the stiffest strings I've ever played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balcro Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 [quote name='fretlessguy' post='1325096' date='Aug 3 2011, 12:08 AM']My favorite rounds are GHS Pressurewounds, which are very similar to Ken Smith Compressors. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GcQJyHGbeY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GcQJyHGbeY[/url][/quote] Nice. These, or Brite Flats. Send an e-mail to [email protected] and they can be yours in a couple of days. Balcro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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