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Will half rounds scratch my itch?


Greggo
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I'm a recent convert to flatwound strings and particularly love the smooth feel. But I still sometimes crave the "bite" of rounds.

Are half rounds a good middle ground in this sense? I'm thinking of trying inexpensive status halfs. I know people say some flats are bright like rounds (chrome?) but it's more about keeping a flatwound feel but a rounds type of sound and not spending a lot.

Plus I'm going to be going to one bass so can't string one with flats / one with rounds.

Thanks!

Edited by Greggo
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I say leave flats to the decrepit old sods who like a dull lifeless sound. Go for rounds all the time man, 'spechilly if ya want a killer sound!
Seriously , I know this will bring out a whole load of disagreements from dudes who love flats. I have tried and I have always gone back to rounds. I just love that zingy twang from new rounds. I know its my opinion and I apologise if I offend any lovers of sh*tty, dull tones ;)

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[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1395946332' post='2408322']
I say leave flats to the decrepit old sods who like a dull lifeless sound. Go for rounds all the time man, 'spechilly if ya want a killer sound!
Seriously , I know this will bring out a whole load of disagreements from dudes who love flats. I have tried and I have always gone back to rounds. I just love that zingy twang from new rounds. I know its my opinion and I apologise if I offend any lovers of sh*tty, dull tones ;)
[/quote]

Flats are awesome in the right context, zingy bass sounds don't fit into every track.

Don't feed the troll!

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At the risk of returning to topic, I have tried both D'Addario Chrome flats and D'Addario Half-rounds, on both my Sandberg and my G&L, and I didn't find the half-rounds to be much brighter than the flats - they just felt stickier!

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Thanks for replies. Status half rounds are half the price of Chromes so may take a punt on these anyway. I struggle with the feel of rounds having used flats for past few months so hoping the smoother nature of halfs will give me what I'm after.

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[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1395963360' post='2408567']
Steve Harris uses flats, they can sound great as long as they're fresh!
[/quote]

Thats the thing mate, they have to be fresh to get anything other than a dull bassy tone. I appreciate that flats are good for some kinds of music.
I think folk are not really getting the irony I had when I typed my statement. I apologise if I have annoyed anyone who loves flats. I just love rounds....stainless steel rounds B)

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On the whole, people tend to love either flats or rounds. However, you don't often see much love for half/ground/pressure wound strings. I offer no reason for that, I can see the benefit of them, but don't go for them myself either...

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I've just transferred a set of broken-in Chromes onto my SUB and oh boy, what a tone!!!! Has plenty of bite but no zing - a different thing entirely. Has to be at volume though - doesn't really sound right turned down. I think that's where many make the error when listening to flats. You have to hear the effect up loud.

G.

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[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1395998587' post='2408734']
Thats the thing mate, they have to be fresh to get anything other than a dull bassy tone. I appreciate that flats are good for some kinds of music.
I think folk are not really getting the irony I had when I typed my statement. I apologise if I have annoyed anyone who loves flats. I just love rounds....stainless steel rounds B)
[/quote]

I agree entirely to be fair. I use coated stainless steel strings so that my bass tone stays obnoxious and offensive for months and months :D

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[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1396009758' post='2408954']
I agree entirely to be fair. I use coated stainless steel strings so that my bass tone stays obnoxious and offensive for months and months :D
[/quote]

I tried Elixir strings on my bass and was disappointed. I found them to be greasy to the touch and not as bright as I would have liked. The guitar strings are a totally different beast. They sound awesome and last for ages. :rolleyes:

I like the thought of coated strings, but aint found any that sound as good as Rotosound stainless , so will have to keep experimenting

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[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1396010086' post='2408959']
I tried Elixir strings on my bass and was disappointed. I found them to be greasy to the touch and not as bright as I would have liked. The guitar strings are a totally different beast. They sound awesome and last for ages. :rolleyes:

I like the thought of coated strings, but aint found any that sound as good as Rotosound stainless , so will have to keep experimenting
[/quote]

I like D'Addario Prosteels and found the Elixirs to sound quite similar to those. Never liked Rotos myself so it makes sense why our opinions on the Elixirs differ!

I actually quite like the slightly silkier feel to the Elixirs.... took some getting used to but it's much better than the friction burn I'm currently getting from coated DRs!!! :lol:

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[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1396010086' post='2408959']
I tried Elixir strings on my bass and was disappointed. I found them to be greasy to the touch and not as bright as I would have liked.
[/quote]

Try Cleartone strings - although these are nickel and it looks like they don't do steel sets: [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/p/921438/cleartone-4-string-nickel-plated-steel-45-105-long-scale-bass-guitar-strings-6445/"]http://www.stringsdi...r-strings-6445/[/url]

Edited by dannybuoy
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[quote name='iamtheelvy' timestamp='1396007682' post='2408904']
On the whole, people tend to love either flats or rounds. However, you don't often see much love for half/ground/pressure wound strings. I offer no reason for that, I can see the benefit of them, but don't go for them myself either...
[/quote]

I can tell by general wayward drifting of this thread that there is little love/experience of them. Maybe it's that most people just want one or the other (rounds or flats) so these don't come under the radar. I'm still intrigued by them though!

Edited by Greggo
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[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1396012258' post='2409001']
Try Cleartone strings - although these are nickel and it looks like they don't do steel sets: [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/p/921438/cleartone-4-string-nickel-plated-steel-45-105-long-scale-bass-guitar-strings-6445/"]http://www.stringsdi...r-strings-6445/[/url]
[/quote]

Xildxx said that these are the same as Warwick EMP but nickel. Tried the EMPs and they definitely do feel a bit more 'natural' than Elixirs! More emphasis in a low mid growl than the high mid you usually get from steels... But they sound incredible on a low B!

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  • 2 months later...

[quote name='iamtheelvy' timestamp='1396007682' post='2408904']
On the whole, people tend to love either flats or rounds. However, you don't often see much love for half/ground/pressure wound strings. I offer no reason for that, I can see the benefit of them, but don't go for them myself either...
[/quote]
The best strings I ever used on any bass were the old Rotosound Superwound 505s.
These were taper ends with adjustable ball ends, and were pressure wound. Bright and zingy, sustain for days if you needed it, and smooth. Also quite pricey. But if Jason and his workers started making them again, especially in 40-100, even my beloved TIs would be out the window tomorrow. And being contact core, intonation is a snap - the bridges are almost in a straight line.

Edited by Telebass
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[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1401779923' post='2466661']
Getting back to the original question, you'll probably find that half-rounds only scratch half your itch.
[/quote]

Wahey! I bought some half-wound Status Hotwires and I'm loving 'em. They're made by Status, they're not made my someone else and repackaged. They feel like flats but sound like rounds that have been played-in. Boing and growl is available but so is thump. They are now my favourite strings and if you like the idea of half-wounds you should try some! :)

Edited by discreet
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[quote name='Greggo' timestamp='1395945540' post='2408308']
I'm a recent convert to flatwound strings and particularly love the smooth feel. But I still sometimes crave the "bite" of rounds.

Are half rounds a good middle ground in this sense? I'm thinking of trying inexpensive status halfs. I know people say some flats are bright like rounds (chrome?) but it's more about keeping a flatwound feel but a rounds type of sound and not spending a lot.

Plus I'm going to be going to one bass so can't string one with flats / one with rounds.

Thanks!
[/quote]

Yeah, it might work. The thing to remember, though, is that half rounds don't have all the feel of flats, and not all the top end of rounds. I had a set of D'Addario half rounds, and they sounded really nice, but I had to really hammer at them to get that nice top end sound. Playing them gently, you could hear that they aren't exactly flats, but they sounded far from rounds IMO. A decent set of strings though. I think they were about £30. I didn't use them a great deal, so I gave them to We Need Strings. Hopefully somebody is rocking out for a long time with them! (I'm sure they last a fair while).

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[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1401779796' post='2466660']
Check out Pressurewounds. The ones GHS do are particularly good.
[/quote]

I only ever bought one set of GHS strings. A set of nickel wounds. They lasted a couple of weeks with light use, then died the biggest death I have ever witnessed in a set of strings. I actually thought something was wrong with my bass. I'd hope that their pressures and flats are entirely different.

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