Roundwound versus Flats

[gapiro]

And of course, in between round and flats is the Ground/half round.
Personally, I found that the D'Addario Half Rounds have a great tension and great sound for my one of my basses and it works perfectly for the theatre show I'm doing at the moment.

[IzzyT2807]

Used to use flats when i played in a soul band a couple of years back, I found them to sound very dead very quickly.
I loved the feel of them but once i finished with the soul band i quickly got rid of them.
My advice would be to try a set and see if they are for you.

[Coilte]

[quote name='IzzyT2807' timestamp='1411648487' post='2561514']
Used to use flats when i played in a soul band a couple of years back, I found them to sound very dead very quickly.
[/quote]

I come across this statement quite often and it always amuses me. It seems like people are surprised that the strings are "doing exactly what it says on the tin". Of course they are going to sound dead compared to rounds or stainless steel.

They are not called "flats" for nothing. [size=4] [/size]

[Lozz196]

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1411595074' post='2561113']
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]


[/quote]

Remember that well Ted. But since the sound of Roto flats is virtually the same as dead Roto rounds, I may just well get away with it.

[tedmanzie]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1411655298' post='2561609']
Remember that well Ted. But since the sound of Roto flats is virtually the same as dead Roto rounds, I may just well get away with it.
[/quote]

let us know how you get on!

[4 Strings]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1409826906' post='2543640']
If anyone is not sure about flatwounds then just listen to the bass on anything recorded before the mid 1960s as there's a good possibility that's what you're listening to.
[/quote]

Or by Sting

[lojo]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1411593954' post='2561087']
Flats and rounds are the reason I always have two basses, so I can have both.
[/quote]

yes, but which bass do you take with you ?

[Sean]

For my needs I use flats on a P and play with a pick and stainless round wounds with my fingers on my BB. Both are just right for me.

[grandad]

[quote name='Stompbox' timestamp='1411592706' post='2561059']
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?
[/quote]

I use Rotosound Jazz Bass 77's - RS77M & RS77S, tension & tone suit me fine.

Strings are such a personal choice, I think you have to try a few out before you get the feel you like.

I quite liked the black tapewound RS88LD's on my Jazz & the SM77 on my P but I sold both & now have just medium & short scale instruments. I got old & lazy!

[JamesBass]

[quote name='Stompbox' timestamp='1411592706' post='2561059']
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?
[/quote]
I'm about to put some Thomastik Infeld JF344 on my P, I'll let you know what they are like, I've heard some awesome things about them so hoping they live up to my expectations!

[njr911]

I've been using Fender flats for a couple of years on my Roadworn J and love them.

I've just got a new Jazz Bass Special and stuck the obligatory Roto 66, tried it out a rehersals last night and it's a full on rock machine! A bit too much for the indie band I'm in but good fun. Going from Razorlight to Rage and Beasie Boys kept the band guessing

[Martin E]

I've been using light gauge Stadium Elites for years, cheap and cheerful and absolutely fine for my purposes. Always wanted to try flats but put off by the cost and increased tension.
The other week I finally I got a set of light Thomastik Infeld JF344 flats. I have to say they were a revelation for me, only a tad more tension, smooth on the fingers and a lovely fundamental bass
tone. Three gigs in and I'm still convinced this is the best thing I have done in years.
I need a range of tones in my covers band but for me with an active bass it's easier to dial in a little more treble if you need it rather than constantly having dial out inherent roundwound brightness. Fab...

[Twigman]

d'Addario half rounds are the way to go - feel of flats but brighter

[phil.c60]

I've got Rotosound 77 Monel coated flats on my Hot-Rod P-Bass and have done for quite a while, the extra tension thing is not so much of an issue as the current band tune 1/2 step down so it's easier on the fingers! It's a sound I like, so I'd use them even at standard tuning and just put up with it.

[stingraybassman]

I think we could have a personal taste sub forum, this could go in there along with....

Jazz vs Precision
Ampeg vs Ashdown
Pick vs Fingers
Originals vs Covers

Did I miss anything...

Jokes aside it's threads like this that got me to take the plunge on flats, and I'm glad I did.

[Coilte]

[quote name='stingraybassman' timestamp='1411804276' post='2562880']
I think we could have a personal taste sub forum, this could go in there along with....

Jazz vs Precision
Ampeg vs Ashdown
Pick vs Fingers
Originals vs Covers

Did I miss anything...
[/quote]


How could you forget the old chestnut....."Tabs vs Standard Notation". Comes up pretty regularly and a heated debate is always on the cards. [size=4] [/size]

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

[quote name='stingraybassman' timestamp='1411804276' post='2562880']
Did I miss anything...
[/quote]

Some say you can tell a lot about a person by their answer to the question on Danny Baker's sausage sandwich game:

You've just been handed a sausage sandwich do you ask for Red Sauce or Brown?

Robert Plant went right down in my estimation with his answer

[spoiler]Salad Cream[/spoiler]

[Paul S]

I keep wavering between the two to the point where I think I need both.

I tried TI flats a few years ago at a Bass Bash on one of Clarky's Precisions - I really loved the slinky feel of them so I bought some. Living with them for a lengthy period and they blew me away, so i changed all my basses to flats. Then I joined a heavy rock covers band and missed the extra punch from rounds so I strung a couple of basses back with rounds. When the band imploded a couple of years later I went back to flats. But over the last few months I have done a bit of recording and found that, for some tracks, the bass didn't quite sound as I wanted it to strung with flats, so I am going to try using rounds again on a couple of basses.

[discreet]

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1411896456' post='2563543']
I keep wavering between the two to the point where I think I need both.
[/quote]

Get some Status Half-Wounds - then you'd only need one bass!!

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1411900503' post='2563605']
Get some Status Half-Wounds - then you'd only need one bass!!
[/quote]

I dunno, I had some on my five-string for a while and they weren't quite what I was after. They seem a bit "neither fish nor fowl" and on my set the lower strings are darker than the high ones. They turned out to be just the job on my fretless though, so they were a worthwhile purchase in the end.

[discreet]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1411900996' post='2563624']
I dunno, I had some on my five-string for a while and they weren't quite what I was after. They seem a bit "neither fish nor fowl" and on my set the lower strings are darker than the high ones. They turned out to be just the job on my fretless though, so they were a worthwhile purchase in the end.
[/quote]

Ah well, there you go... I find them quite balanced across the strings. It takes a bit of EQ work depending on whether you want them to thump or twang, but they can do both if you spend the time with 'em. I have a couple of different patches in my B1Xon for this, which makes it easy.

Edited September 28, 2014 by discreet

[Beer of the Bass]

After spending several years trying to find the right in-between sounding strings, I've gone the other way and put on some fairly old-school sounding Sadowsky flats. I've read that they're a touch brighter than the standard LaBellas (who make these strings for Sadowsky), but they seem darker and with more thump than Chromes or similar. So they really don't cover roundwound territory at all, but it's a nice classic flatwound sound and they have something going on in the mids which I really like.
Mind you, I've found myself between bands at the minute on bass guitar, so this may all change again depending on what else I end up doing and what sound that calls for...

[discreet]

I found La Bella flats to be too 'floppy', or whatever the word is... I tried Chromes, and they [i]are [/i]bright, but not in a way I liked- and the 'tension' was so high as to be totally alarming. I've found Fender 9050M 50-100 flats to be really good though. They're bright, balanced across the strings (imho!) and feel great. The tension, or compliance, or whatever, suits me well, too. They are also very affordable...

[Paul S]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1411900503' post='2563605']
Get some Status Half-Wounds - then you'd only need one bass!!
[/quote]

Need?

[discreet]

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1411902821' post='2563654']
Need?
[/quote]

Ha! Well yes... in theory.