Smoothest half/ground wound?

[franzbassist]

Looking for half/ground wound recommendations?  I’d like to find something that feels like a flat wound, super smooth and with minimal drag or noise under the finger.

 

[Reggaebass]

I bought a set of D'Addario half rounds 45-100 for my jb  they feel very smooth and are a nice quality string , they are definitely a brighter tone than all my other flats  and  I don’t get the finger noise that I get from roundwound strings  

[Reggaebass]

4 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I bought a set of D'Addario half rounds 45-100 for my jb  they feel very smooth and are a nice quality string , they are definitely a brighter tone than all my other flats  and  I don’t get the finger noise that I get from roundwound strings  

This is them close up

[mcnach]

Ernie Ball Cobalt flats are very smooth (of course, they're flats!) but they're a lot brighter than any other flats I've used. If you're looking for the smooth feel with no string finger noise, but without the classic duller sound of flats... try the Cobalt Flats.

Alternatively... Labella White Nylon Tapewounds are very smooth, but they have the tape feel (plastic) which not everyone likes. They're very low tension, and have a very good sound, bright if you want it to be, with strong low mids and very nice tight bottom end that doesn't get boomy easily. These are my favourite 'smooth' strings now. They cover everything you'd normally play with rounds down to 'old school' tones if you roll off the treble. You won't get the very bright Marcus Miller and Wooten type of sound, but anything else... they're very good.

[fleabag]

SIT Silencers

[The59Sound]

I would second white tapes - much brighter than traditional tapes and have more in common with pressure wounds. 

[franzbassist]

Thanks for the replies.  I already use La Bella white nylons on my fretless and really like them, but for me I think the tension would be too low on a fretted, so I was looking for alternatives.

[mcnach]

22 minutes ago, walbassist said:

Thanks for the replies.  I already use La Bella white nylons on my fretless and really like them, but for me I think the tension would be too low on a fretted, so I was looking for alternatives.

 

Then the EB Cobalt Flats would be my choice, for sound (and smooth as they can be, since they're flats).

[The59Sound]

1 hour ago, walbassist said:

Thanks for the replies.  I already use La Bella white nylons on my fretless and really like them, but for me I think the tension would be too low on a fretted, so I was looking for alternatives.

I think the .115 gauge is a decent tension.

I did really like SIT Silencers when I tried them. 

[Chienmortbb]

Best string I ever played were the original Picato Halfwounds. (i think that was the name). They were a good no-compromise compromise between flats and roundwounds. sadly since the Welsh factory closed down, they are no longer available. The current Picato Flats are pretty good too but not as bright.

[franzbassist]

12 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

Best string I ever played were the original Picato Halfwounds. (i think that was the name). They were a good no-compromise compromise between flats and roundwounds. sadly since the Welsh factory closed down, they are no longer available. The current Picato Flats are pretty good too but not as bright.

Funny you should mention Picato.  I just took a punt on the very last set of extra long Overwater flats to put on my fretless 5 and they are really nice.

[Creeper]

Try the rotosound jazz 77 flats, I was looking for just what you’re after and tried every flat and ground out there, these are flats but with just a slight bit of texture to stop that dragging burning that you can get with flats when you get sweaty, made it the UK too 🇬🇧