Anyone with any experience of half rounds on a fretless?

[Marc S]

As per the title really....
I only play fretless occasionally. And I've no experience of half round strings anyway
But I was just wondering whether half round strings would wear the fingerboard on a fretless bass, as much as round wounds can? Has anyone fitted half rounds to their freltess? What do you think?

Any info appreciated. Ta

Edited May 15, 2017 by Marc S

[BassBus]

I've used half wounds on fretless for years. Great tone, most of the brightness of a round but the smoothness of a flat. They are a bit sticky to begin with but the more you play them that goes away. They won't harm the fingerboard either. D'Addarios might be best at the moment. I have always used Status halfs but they are not available at the moment and no sign if they will ever return. You could also consider Labella 760FS or D'addario chromes. Flat wound strings but with a tone to die for, much brighter than a traditional stair rod flat and the flexibility of a round.

Just my experience and I'm sure others will chime in with rounds not damaging fingerboards. That's not my experience.

[geoffbyrne]

You could always try Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats, the brightest of the bright flats, and quite compliant too.

G.

[dannybuoy]

I'm a long time user of the Status half-rounds and just bought a fretless that came with a new set of Chromes on and have to say they are very similar! Tons of growling mwah from these.

Another option is to try tapewounds. I have just ordered a set of La Bella white nylons from bass direct, the copper variant. They use transparent nylon instead of black and have a much brighter sound; the copper ones have a copper layer in there as well for a warmer sound and the gold ones are supposed to be somewhere in the middle. I searched for reviews of these of Talkbass and there was a guy that tried all 3 and rated the coppers as the best by far, so thought I'd give them a whirl!

Edited May 15, 2017 by dannybuoy

[Marc S]

Thanks for your thoughts BassBus and geoffbyrne
I'm not really huge fan of flats - despite also playing Double Bass
For me, the tension of many flats is way too high. I've got a set of T.I. Flats on my fretless P, but they've been on 2 basses now, and I don't want to be swapping them once more. I'll shortly be selling my fretless P, as I've just got a Fretless Jazz (I prefer the sound of Fretless Jazz, I think)

I'm at the stage of either getting another set of T.I.s to go on my newly acquired Jazz - or trying something else. I'm tempted to try nylon wrap strings too. But I wanted to hear what other Fretless players had experienced with half rounds first. I had tried round wounds on a fretless sometime back, and there were definitely signs of wear on the fingerboard. It's nice to know whether half-rounds would cause similar damage....

PS. I like the T.I.s quite a lot, in that they are lower tension than any other flat I've played, but sometimes, I think they're almost too low tension lol

[v8bass]

FWIW Marc

Tried halfs a few times over the years

Not for me at all , didn't like the feel ( believe ive tried Groundwound and halfs from Daddario , GHS , status and another I cant remember )

A bit of my wants to like them but Roundwounds just work and potential marking on a fretboard is a small price for tone / playibilty

Im going to say that you absolutely have to try Labella white ( either gold or copper ) They are superb IMHO , sound great , look great, feel great , on my recently sold fretless 6 they were the total nuts .

BD have them in stock ( no affiliation )

I remember Gareth ( WalBassist ? ) making a comparison so have a looksee

ATM ive sold the bass I had them on and only have them on a short scale EUB atm ( 30" scale ) but let me know if you want a feel ( ooer ) or look

Cheers

Gary

[Adrenochrome]

Not exactly but my fretless has a very well worn set of nickel roundwounds on, that had a few years of hard use on a fretted bass first. They are pretty smooth and I think may approximate to half-wounds. There are a lot of marks on the fretboard but they haven't gouged in to the fretboard at all yet.

[dannybuoy]

Tapewounds are roundwounds under the wrap btw, so will have similar tension.

I always thought Chromes were high tension when I tried them ages ago on a P, but the set that turned up on this new fretless don't seem tight at all. Not sure if these are a different guauge or it's just the fact that I slide rather than bend strings on fretless so I don't notice it as much, but they are certainly easy to play with a very lively tone.

[Guest Jecklin]

I use status half rounds 40-100 and have done for many years.
I love them on my fretless basses.

However since the status supply has dried up I will most likely move to TI jazz flats in future.

[BassBus]

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1494841784' post='3298841']

PS. I like the T.I.s quite a lot, in that they are lower tension than any other flat I've played, but sometimes, I think they're almost too low tension lol
[/quote]

If you like TIs that much then it would be worth looking at Chromes, Labella 760 and Cobalt flats. They have a simlar feel and tone to TI jazz flats. I have used TIs a lot as well and generally like them. I did try a set on my Overwater fretless and didn't like the tone. Put on a set of Labella 760FS and that was the fretless tone I have always looked for. They do a lower tension set as well, 760FL.

[Marc S]

There seems to be a lot more choice of flats than I'd previously thought!
Which of course, is no bad thing. Thank heavens for BC, otherwise, I'd probably just have gone for the only set that seems to be available in all the local music shops.... Not much choice of fretless strings in my local shops

I'm tempted to try the LaBella nylon wound strings - but as I've never tried any half rounds either, I also want to have a try of those too - oh the pain of making such decisions

Cheers again for all your help and thoughts folks

Edited May 15, 2017 by Marc S

[onehandclapping]

I have half rounds on my three old j basses, and TI's on the 64 cs Jazz, even though they are fretted basses the half rounds don't seem to be making any more impressions than the TI flats.

[Marc S]

Just ordered some LaBella 760FL low tension strings, as mentioned by BassBus - thanks for pointing these out good sir
So I'll see how I get on with those first. I really must try some half rounds at least on a fretted bass anyway - must get round to that lol

In the meantime, I'd still like to hear from fretless players who use, or have used halfs on their fretless

Cheers all

EDIT: The chap who I got my fretless Jazz from had fitted a cheap set of Adagio strings - they're a bit past their best, which is why I'd like to change them. Although the Adagio strings are quite cheaply priced, I'm surprised at how much I like them. They're quite low tension, and sound pretty good. Though, like the TI's, they're a lighter gauge than the rounds I play with....

Are they lower tension purely because of the lighter gauge? Or is it also likely that the type of metal core and winding is making them a lower tension? So many questions! lol

Edited May 16, 2017 by Marc S

[Highfox]

IN my personal experiance I have tried half rounds and ground wound's on a fretless (and fretted) and found both to be not as good as full on flats or rounds, halfway sound and not that good at either for me. Personal taste might suit some.

[Marc S]

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1494922449' post='3299530']
IN my personal experiance I have tried half rounds and ground wound's on a fretless (and fretted) and found both to be not as good as full on flats or rounds, halfway sound and not that good at either for me. Personal taste might suit some.
[/quote]

Thanks for that Highfox. As you say, personal preference is a big factor
Did you find the half-rounds wore your fingerboard? Or were they not on your bass for long enough?

[Highfox]

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1494922684' post='3299532']
Thanks for that Highfox. As you say, personal preference is a big factor
Did you find the half-rounds wore your fingerboard? Or were they not on your bass for long enough?
[/quote]

No wear at all that I noticed, had them on there a few months giving them a chance (tho the fretless wasn't a fulltime player).
I have full on rounds on my fretless now with ebony neck and not noticed any extra wear in a year or so of using them now.

[ForestPoetry]

I tried a set of Daddario's a few years back and didn't like them at all. The E sounded dead right out of the packet, maybe I just got a bad set. Tried full flatwound Chromes after that and haven't looked back since.

[Marc S]

[quote name='ForestPoetry' timestamp='1494952511' post='3299926']
I tried a set of Daddario's a few years back and didn't like them at all. The E sounded dead right out of the packet, maybe I just got a bad set. Tried full flatwound Chromes after that and haven't looked back since.
[/quote]

Which brand of strings ForestPoetry ?

[BassBus]

[quote name='ForestPoetry' timestamp='1494952511' post='3299926']
I tried a set of Daddario's a few years back and didn't like them at all. The E sounded dead right out of the packet, maybe I just got a bad set.
[/quote]

This is a problem I have had with some sets of Half from D'addario and Status. One thing to try which might help avoid it is to bend the string at the length you want it. Then cut the string just past the cut. This should stop the outer windings from slipping on the core. Certainly what Rob Green at Status recommends.

[Twigman]

I have D'Addario ENR71 half rounds on my fretless [ebony board]....no board wear at all.
I find them a bit taught though on fretless - i have a set of TI Jazz flats in my spares box, just waiting until I can be arsed to fit them...

[fretmeister]

I really like GHS Pressurewounds for that.

But not for 5 string. For some reason the low B sucks badly. Shame as the rest are lovely. It might just be that the tension on the B is too low, but they only do 1 size.

[Marc S]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1495023049' post='3300523']
I really like GHS Pressurewounds for that.

But not for 5 string. For some reason the low B sucks badly. Shame as the rest are lovely. It might just be that the tension on the B is too low, but they only do 1 size.
[/quote]

Yes, I think lower tension strings may not be best on a 5 string....
luckily for me, my Jazz is a 4 string!

[CliveT]

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1494922449' post='3299530']
IN my personal experiance I have tried half rounds and ground wound's on a fretless (and fretted) and found both to be not as good as full on flats or rounds, halfway sound and not that good at either for me. Personal taste might suit some.
[/quote]
Yep, same here. I just found the half wounds to be neither one thing or the other. They didn't have the bite of rounds or the warmth of flats. I've had Chromes on now for a few years, the same set, and they sound better than ever.
I did try the new Ernie Ball cobalt flats and they were certainly brighter sounding than the Chromes, but I still went back to the Chromes in the end. I want to try some new Fender flats but can't bring myself to take the Chromes off at the mo.