daft question but...when did roundwound strings come along

[iconic]

I'm only guessing as everything before the 70's I listen to... Motown, Stax etc has that warm flattie sound, then Larry Graham 'pop's along...

[Hobbayne]

Good question! I cant remember anything twangy on the bass on records before 1976.
Thin Lizzy and The Stranglers/Jam 1977? but 1975 and before I have no recollection of the twang

[Clarky]

Rotosound in the 60s IIRC. A certain Mr Entwistle championed them I think

Edit from their PR blurb: "Rotosound pioneered the first roundwound bass strings in 1962"

Edited April 5, 2011 by Clarky

[The Bass Doc]

There doesn't seem to be a distinct time when rounds 'took hold'. There must have been a fair cross-over period because my 1978 Musicman Stingray came with factory fitted flat-wounds. Also my 1976 Bi-centenial Thunderbird had flats from new (orange silks! - still got'em) so rounds didn't particularly rule yet (then).

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='1189468' date='Apr 5 2011, 06:52 PM']There doesn't seem to be a distinct time when rounds 'took hold'. There must have been a fair cross-over period because my 1978 Musicman Stingray came with factory fitted flat-wounds. Also my 1976 Bi-centenial Thunderbird had flats from new (orange silks! - still got'em) so rounds didn't particularly rule yet (then).[/quote]
My 1976 Precision had factory fitted flats too.

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='Clarky' post='1189450' date='Apr 5 2011, 06:38 PM']Rotosound in the 60s IIRC. A certain Mr Entwistle championed them I think

Edit from their PR blurb: "Rotosound pioneered the first roundwound bass strings in 1962"[/quote]
This was my understanding too but it is interesting that they clearly didn't take off for at least a decade.

[obbm]

I remember using Rotosound roundwounds in 1964/5.

[Mykesbass]

Pretty good evidence for the Entwistle / Rotosound case but can't work out what the Danelectro reference is about: [url="http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bassmisc.html"]http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bassmisc.html[/url]

[Delberthot]

[quote name='Mykesbass' post='1189610' date='Apr 5 2011, 08:21 PM']Pretty good evidence for the Entwistle / Rotosound case but can't work out what the Danelectro reference is about: [url="http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bassmisc.html"]http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bassmisc.html[/url][/quote]


From what I can remember, My Generation was recorded using a Dano I think. Anyway the story I rmember was that JE loved the sound of the bass but couldn't get the strings on their own so when they got dull or they broke, he had to buy another bass.

[neilb]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='1189800' date='Apr 5 2011, 10:16 PM']From what I can remember, My Generation was recorded using a Dano I think. Anyway the story I rmember was that JE loved the sound of the bass but couldn't get the strings on their own so when they got dull or they broke, he had to buy another bass.[/quote]

MG was actually recorded with JE using a Fender Jazz. The story re the Danos is true, but he used that on other early Who recordings.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='1189800' date='Apr 5 2011, 10:16 PM']From what I can remember, My Generation was recorded using a Dano I think. Anyway the story I rmember was that JE loved the sound of the bass but couldn't get the strings on their own so when they got dull or they broke, he had to buy another bass.[/quote]
The version of that story I read is that JE ran out of Danelectros to buy after he kept breaking the strings and so My Generation was actually recorded on a Jazz bass with flats.

[EssentialTension]

Here you go:

[quote]“I bought this Danelectro bass and it had these tiny, thin wirewound strings on. They were so thin, they sounded just like a piano, an unbelievably clear sound. The only thing was that you couldn’t buy these strings. When we recorded ‘My Generation,’ I ended up with three of these Danelectros just for the strings. The last one I had, the string busted before we actually got into the studio to re-record it, so I did it on a Fender Jazz in the end with tape-wound La Bella strings.”

“I played that solo on a Jazz bass with tapewound strings through a Marshall 50 watt and 4x12. Interestingly, the bass solos on the earlier takes were much more complicated, and played on a Danelectro which had a much more piano-like sound. It was a medium scale bass with a two-octave neck. The trouble was that the strings were so thin that I kept breaking them. We’d record during the day and, to finance the sessions, we were playing gigs nearly every night, and inevitably I’d break a string. None of the music shops had any replacement strings and no string manufacturers made replacement strings thin enough for Dano basses then, so I had to go down to Marshall’s and buy a new Dano for £60. I ended up with three new Danelectros, all with busted strings! In the end I busted my last string at the third attempt and there weren’t any more in the country. I thought, ‘f*** it’, and went and bought myself a Fender Jazz bass and a set of La Bella strings, and played the solo with that. But it was a different sound and a simplified, slowed-down version of the solos on previous takes.” [url="http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bass6066.html"]SOURCE[/url][/quote]

[Earbrass]

[quote name='Hobbayne' post='1189448' date='Apr 5 2011, 06:36 PM']Good question! I cant remember anything twangy on the bass on records before 1976.
Thin Lizzy and The Stranglers/Jam 1977? but 1975 and before I have no recollection of the twang [/quote]

Check out Chris Squire's sound on the Yes albums of the early 70's, or John Wetton with Crimson from the same period.

[chris_b]

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='1189468' date='Apr 5 2011, 06:52 PM']....There doesn't seem to be a distinct time when rounds 'took hold'. There must have been a fair cross-over period because my 1978 Musicman Stingray came with factory fitted flat-wounds. Also my 1976 Bi-centenial Thunderbird had flats from new (orange silks! - still got'em) so rounds didn't particularly rule yet (then)....[/quote]
Roundwound strings were in common use in the UK from the mid 60's. I don't know about the US, but if MM basses came from the factory with flats I bet they were changed over right after.

[iconic]

cheers guys,

I was told last night the first roundwounds [b]were[/b][i][/i] in fact shortended piano strings.....pub talk?

Edited April 6, 2011 by iconic