Ground Wound Strings

[JakeFoordBass]

Anyone tried them out?

Do you get that 5 years old but not completely flat sound out of them?

Cheers,

Jake

[Count Bassy]

I've tried D'addario ground wounds as I was tired of the zing and twang of the round wounds. Initially I really liked them, but after a few months went back to round wound. Now about a year later I'm thinking of going back to them again.

The Daddario one's do feel weird at first. Quite rough on the fingers, (left and right hands) - almost like the grinding process leaves lots of little burs. That seems to go after a week or so, but whether that's them actually changing or just me getting used to them I don't know.

[JakeFoordBass]

Cool, out of interest what bass did you use them on?

[Clarky]

I recommend Status Hot Wire half-rounds (they are ground wound). They are relatively smooth feeling (half way between a very worn old set of rounds and a set of flats) but still a bit zingier than flats. I especially like them on fretless. One good thing is they come relatively cheap when you buy them online (c.£20 from memory), about a third cheaper than TI or La Bella flats

[JakeFoordBass]

Cheers Clarky! Was gonna try Elites as I get 50% off first, any experience of their grounds?

How do they effect sustain?

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='JakeFoordBass' timestamp='1324252679' post='1472347']
Cool, out of interest what bass did you use them on?
[/quote]

That was on a Fender Urge Mk1 (32" scale).

[BASainty]

[left][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]I also use [color=#282828]Status Hot Wire half-rounds which I use on my TRB-5 and they are great, they sound smooth and punchy like flat wounds when I need them too but when I turn up the treble they have a great attack and twang to them like a round wound. For a 4 string set they are[/color] £16.99, 5 string set is £21.50 and a 6 string set are £23.50. Defiantly worth a try.[/size][/font][/left]

Edited December 20, 2011 by 4StringFortress

[ikay]

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1324252901' post='1472350']
I recommend Status Hot Wire half-rounds [/quote]

+1 have these on my P, very smooth playing strings in tone and feel but also have a bit of attack when needed

[KevB]

Years ago I bought a job lot of authentic Rickenbacker strings for my 4003 and a couple of the packs were ground wound, thought it might take some of the edge off the ric sound. I still have a set on a cheapo Aria semi acoustic. They did seem like a decent compromise between flats and rounds.

[JellyKnees]

I've tried most of the grounds out there on my fretless and have finally come back to the Rotosound solo bass as i find they have the best overall balance between tone, feel and tension. Ths D'addarios have a great sound but are just too tight for me, also they're pretty expensive. The Elites are too dull sounding, basically you might as well use flatwounds. The status ones were ok, but lacked a bit of oomph. The Rotosound are priced somewhere between the status and the D'addarios and work very well for me...

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='JellyKnees' timestamp='1324301008' post='1472704']
I've tried most of the grounds out there on my fretless and have finally come back to the Rotosound solo bass as i find they have the best overall balance between tone, feel and tension. Ths D'addarios have a great sound but are just too tight for me, also they're pretty expensive. The Elites are too dull sounding, basically you might as well use flatwounds. The status ones were ok, but lacked a bit of oomph. The Rotosound are priced somewhere between the status and the D'addarios and work very well for me...
[/quote]

Same here on the Status v Rotosound. I found the Status too close to a full on flat wound and like the extra grunt of the Rotosounds on my fretless. Shame because the Status are an amazing price.

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1324303011' post='1472751']
Same here on the Status v Rotosound. I found the Status too close to a full on flat wound and like the extra grunt of the Rotosounds on my fretless. Shame because the Status are an amazing price.
[/quote]
Another naysayer here. I find the Status strings feel too much like flats, going back to Rotos in the new year.

JakeFoord... If your bass has got a 2+2 headstock & a 34" scale, PM me & we might be able to do a trade of some sort.

Pete.

[Fat Rich]

I use Status Groundwounds on my phenolic boarded bass as they have plenty of oomph but with a bit of top end zing. Kind of a scooped sound that works well on the graphite neck.

I use D'Addario groundwounds on my rosewood fingerboard bass as they seem to be the brightest sounding and have a pretty well defined mid end, they let the tone of the bass through better.

I've also used Rotosound Solo bass, they seem to have a higher tension I think because they're rolled to take the roundness off the wrap rather than ground, therefore have more stiffness and more mass than other strings of the same gauge. I personally don't like them much, they go very dead very quickly in my experience. They're also not so smooth under the fingers as flats or groundwound strings although I actually prefer that, makes sliding easier.

[JakeFoordBass]

Cool, thanks for all the info guys!!

I don't have an electric at the moment thanks to some thieving bastards but I'm thinking vintage Precision with grounds so lots of different options there, cheers! Will try the Roto's first I reckon!

Wanting to get something that sounds a bit like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x257xocl4_k

[Wylie]

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1324251933' post='1472337']The Daddario one's do feel weird at first. Quite rough on the fingers, (left and right hands) - almost like the grinding process leaves lots of little burs. That seems to go after a week or so, but whether that's them actually changing or just me getting used to them I don't know.
[/quote]

+1. I thought mine sounded a lot like flats and not much like rounds. Same maker.

Edited December 20, 2011 by tedgilley