Roundwound versus Flats

[PlungerModerno]

[quote name='Marillionred' timestamp='1409811165' post='2543504']
Perhaps I've got the best of both worlds:

Rotosound Trubass tape wounds on my Letts fretless - nice growly fretless sound with no finger noise, also on My Lakland 5501 for that vintage thump, but EMP round wounds on my Warwick Streamer $$ for a punchy sound that cuts through the live mix.
[/quote]

I've got D'Addario Tapewounds on a Cort that I've converted to fretless. Tapes and fretless have a sweet sound. real smoooooooooth.

[slumjacket]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1409776583' post='2543350']
I spent the last year or more playing in a blues rock band and used either my jazz with round wounds or my Precision with flats, until I had a eureka moment and restrung the p with rounds, now I have the perfect sound for the style our singer describes as 'psychedelic Nu R&B'.
[/quote]

[slumjacket]

Sorry meant to say that psychedelic nu RnB sounds fantastic!

[Mr Fretbuzz]

I've got La Bella Deep Talkin Flats on my AM P but I've just put black tapewounds on my FSR P. The tapewounds feel good but they don't sound as "dead" as the flats. I like them both. Got round wounds on my other basses. Different bases and strings for different types of music I guess. When my 59P arrives I'm going to put the Jameson 54 flats on it from La Bella. The bone nut will probably need to be cut.

I'm not going to change my flats ever :-)

[FinnDave]

[quote name='slumjacket' timestamp='1409922026' post='2544616']
Sorry meant to say that psychedelic nu RnB sounds fantastic!
[/quote]

Thanks

[paul_5]

I've tried flats, but I've always come back to rounds - they're the right string for [i]me[/i], and that's what's important.

[Beer of the Bass]

I've found in the last few years that I gravitate towards flats, though nylon tapewounds had their good points too. The clincher for me was when I stuck an old set of rounds back on my bass as an experiment, took it out to a gig and realised that I've actually adjusted my playing style to flats and sounded excessively clanky on the rounds to the point that the band were giving me funny looks. I really missed the more interesting attack/decay envelope of the flats too.
I'm not going for a Motown sound either, it can be surprising how much brightness and definition you can get out of a set of flatwounds with the right EQ, albeit with a very different character from rounds; more earthy grunt than metallic clang.

[Stompbox]

Well said/expressed, Beer of the Bass....

[ubit]

It's all down to taste, innit? I mean we can't all like the same sound because we all like different kinds of music and find different sounds fit different songs better. I have tried flats and while they are fine for our traditional material , I don't like them for our more modern songs and am quite content with dialling down the tone if I need a more retro sound .
I just happen to like the sound of rounds, especially stainless and especially when they are brand new

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1409990217' post='2545155']
It's all down to taste, innit?
[/quote]
It's also down to choice.

60 years ago there was really only one bass guitar and a couple of string (flatwounds only of course) manufacturers for the electric bass to choose from. Nowadays just like the basses they are put on the choice of strings is endless as players search for 'that sound'. It was all a lot less complicated back in the 50s.

[EssentialTension]

It's also down to [s]choice[/s] consumerist capitalism. We mostly have more money so there needs to be a lot more ways of getting your money off you.

[Coilte]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1410000672' post='2545269']
It's also down to [s]choice[/s] consumerist capitalism. We mostly have more money so there needs to be a lot more ways of getting your money off you.
[/quote]

True. Though in fairness, the two types of string are very different in a lot of ways, so the "choice" argument is a valid one.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1410011608' post='2545378']
True. Though in fairness, the two types of string are very different in a lot of ways, so the "choice" argument is a valid one.
[/quote]
Except it's not about two types/labels of string but many many more than that.

Anyway, if you read what I wrote I said 'also' so there was no denial of the so-called 'choice' thing.

[Paul Galbraith]

It is down to taste & choice : my problem is - I like tea, coffee, fruit juice, booze, elderflower cordial, sparkling water, tap water, milk, almond milk etc... some only work well in certain situations at certain times, while others are more flexible. Then the choices are sub-divided even further, you have to decide if you want : fairtrade tea, Tetley teabags, tea leaves, green tea, herbal tea, ASDA smartprice tea dust etc...

Ideal solution is - multiple basses with multiple types of strings depending on (1) what mood your in (2) what your trying to achieve (3) what the music requires... i.e. being flexible as possible, while still being aware of your own preferences

I love playing jazz walking & motown lines on flats (doesn't matter what brand), but then slap myself stupid playing funk on some steels, play some fretless on nickel half-wounds, do silly tapping & practise soloing on my piccolo strings, then do strength building exercises on double bass with the most beastly strings

Edited September 9, 2014 by Paul Galbraith

[ratman]

I switched to flats a couple of years ago, and on my P they were a revelation. For gigs they rocked, I found the sound I'd been looking for, a nice deep tone. But for recording they were severely lacking in the mid frequencies. I then tried half wounds and found the mids I needed, but with all the character of the flats. No more rounds on the P for me!

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='ratman' timestamp='1410261703' post='2547541']
I switched to flats a couple of years ago, and on my P they were a revelation. For gigs they rocked, I found the sound I'd been looking for, a nice deep tone. But for recording they were severely lacking in the mid frequencies. I then tried half wounds and found the mids I needed, but with all the character of the flats. No more rounds on the P for me!
[/quote]

I often find that engineers have a default 'roundwound' approach to EQing bass at source and in the mix, which kills the magic of flats.

[stingraybassman]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1410261826' post='2547543']
I often find that engineers have a default 'roundwound' approach to EQing bass at source and in the mix, which kills the magic of flats.
[/quote]

This^

You could also replace engineers with "garageband presets"

Edited September 9, 2014 by stingraybassman

[HowieBass]

Now I've got the fretted neck back on my Westone Spectrum LX (a PJ configuration) and got a decent set of roundwounds on it, I've been able to compare the Magnabass split P format pickup on it with my Squier VM Precision that arrived wearing a set of rounds too and they're sounding very alike (out of curiosity I happened to measure the distance from 12th fret to middle of the pickups on both basses and it's the same). This came as a nice surprise seeing as the Spectrum LX has lots of additional tone options to play with, so what to do with a set of Fender flats that I'd taken off the Westone? Well they've gone on the Squier VM P and I really, really like the sound - totally suits the instrument with its no nonsense passive tone control and not as thuddy as I've thought flats have sounded on other instruments (I'd had flats on a Jazz copy many years ago and wasn't impressed). Definitely rounds for my Jazz but flats are staying on the P bass!

[icastle]

Personally, I absolutely hate playing flatwounds on bass guitar.

To me, they feel wrong, lack the response I'm used to and just don't have the sound I am used to using.

That's not to say I don't appreciate other people wanting to use them and would never get all tediously militant about it, but I'd rather undergo elective surgery myself.

[Lozz196]

Interestingly I tried my backup bass at rehearsal last night, which is strung with Roto flats, rather than my regular bass, strung with (old) Roto rounds. Took a bit of tweaking on the VT DI, but turns out I can get the same sound. In a bit of a quandry now - do I stick with the rounds, which I`ve used for years, but do have to replace evry 6 months or so, or get flats, put them on and leave them on? No fussed about the slight extra tension, and think for depping gigs the flats are easier to tame, so much thought is going to be needed.

[TheGreek]

Gave a set of Status Tapewounds to a friend recently - he's a dyed in the wool punk - he rang me back later to tell me how much he loved the tone and feel of the Tapewounds. Not what I'd expected at all...

Edited September 24, 2014 by TheGreek

[grandad]

I put a new set of flats on all my instruments when they arrive & that's it, they never get changed again.

[Stompbox]

Hey Grandad,

What flats do you use? I'm a convert to flats - I have tried the Fender, La Bella, D'Addario Chromes and the Black Nylon wound flats.

Which are your favouri tes?

[thisnameistaken]

Flats and rounds are the reason I always have two basses, so I can have both.

People get so tribal about stuff. Strings good, humans bad.

[tedmanzie]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1411577584' post='2560872']
Interestingly I tried my backup bass at rehearsal last night, which is strung with Roto flats, rather than my regular bass, strung with (old) Roto rounds. Took a bit of tweaking on the VT DI, but turns out I can get the same sound. In a bit of a quandry now - do I stick with the rounds, which I`ve used for years, but do have to replace evry 6 months or so, or get flats, put them on and leave them on? No fussed about the slight extra tension, and think for depping gigs the flats are easier to tame, so much thought is going to be needed.
[/quote]

Hi Lozz
I remembered your advert from last year because I nearly bought the flats:

[i]One set of GHS Precision Flats up for grabs [/i]
[i]Bought last week, keep doing this, buying flats then selling them as I just prefer rounds. When will I learn?[/i]

Edited September 24, 2014 by tedmanzie