D'Addario Half Round Pure Nickel

[sineas]

D'Addario Half Round Pure Nickel any good?Not too familiar with half rounds... anyone used them? or have had experience with them? How does it compare to rounds and flat (tone and action)?

thanx

[Kael]

I did not care for them. They have a higher tension than rounds. Almost as much as flats but not quite. The tops of each of the roundwound windings are ground smooth making a little plateau. These plateus are sticky like a flat, but there are spaces between them like a round. The overall feel is the most sticky, unpleasant string I've had the displeasure of touching. Some people love them and claim that they smooth out as those spaces fill in with dead skin and other such crud. Tonally they sound about like a very dead roundwound to my ear.

Keep in mind that I have only used one set of D'addario half-rounds and that they only lasted a week or so on my bass before they were yanked off.

[sineas]

thanx for the input Kael

that one just kill the curious cat... not a fan of dead skins as additives anyway

oh well back to baby-bottom-smooth rounds I go. I'm looking for something isn't as bright as typical rounds.

How about those black coated nickels? Are they just for eye candy or does it have an effect on the overall sound of the strings? D'Addario EXP any good?

What would you guys recommend?

[r379]

Originally Posted by sineas

thanx for the input Kael

that one just kill the curious cat... not a fan of dead skins as additives anyway

oh well back to baby-bottom-smooth rounds I go. I'm looking for something isn't as bright as typical rounds.

How about those black coated nickels? Are they just for eye candy or does it have an effect on the overall sound of the strings? D'Addario EXP any good?

What would you guys recommend?

What have you been using up to this point?

[sineas]

Originally Posted by r379

What have you been using up to this point?

elixirs

[dewbass4]

I've had them on a Yamaha BB414 for about 3 months, and they sound great. The sound is fatter, but retains good hi end clarity, when compared to the Elixers I used before. They are much much smoother. Not quite as smooth as Chromes, but still very nice. The string tension seems to be the same as the Elixers, since changing to the Halfrounds did not require any truss rod adjustments to maintain the moderately low action. And the tension feels the same when playing.

All in all I'd say the half rounds fall somewhere between Chromes and Elixers in both sound and feel (except they don’t cost as much as the Elixers). In the past, I’ve always either used Exilers or ProSteel rounds and Chrome flats on all my basses, but I’m very happy with the half rounds and will keep using them on this bass for as long as I have it.

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by sineas

D'Addario Half Round Pure Nickel any good?Not too familiar with half rounds... anyone used them? or have had experience with them? How does it compare to rounds and flat (tone and action)?

thanx

I used them extensively back in the day (30 years ago) on a vintage P bass I owned then. But not at all since then...

I thought they worked just fine for what I needed - which was to generate a warm, round, semi-traditional tone for roots music, i.e. blues, reggae, jazz - without entirely losing the zing and sustain of roundwounds.

Unless they've changed significantly since then, I'd still recommend them for that purpose...

MM

[jumbosilverette]

I have D'Addario half rounds on two basses, a j and a p. I bought them because I wanted something a little more zingy than a flat but with a faster decay and less string noise than a round. And it does just that. The feel is a little unusual, certainly nothing like an Elixer, which is also very unusual. But you get used to it, no problem. Now that I'm a little more comfortable with my technique, I'm more inclined to just go over to flats. Good luck.

[sineas]

while almost all good things would come to an end... I might atleast start somewhere. I'll give this half round a try and see how it goes.

I'll see if Kael's woes would be a welcomed trade off. MysticMichael and jumbosilverette... that's the main reason for my search of tone... a little bit of both worlds and a good phase before jumping in on flats.

Thanx guys... appreciate all the input /no1

[r379]

You might think about TI Superalloys. Not as trebley as lots of roundwounds (they're nickels) and not as dead sounding as flats. They take a while to break in and until they do they sound sorta bright but I just roll off some of the treble if I need to. I use them on both passive Js and Ps. I just flat (pun intended) love them. Lots of other folks on this forum like 'em too.

They're kind of expensive but they seem to last longer than most strings.

Edit: IMO, YMMV, etc.

[jasper383]

Leave them on a while. I found that I really didn't like the way they initially felt, but after a bit, they became more comfortable, and loosened up a bit (flats are like this, too).

If you're looking for the perfect middle between warm and bright, half rounds are it.

[mr sprocket]

I liked the sound but like some have mentioned they were a little sticky for me. Maybe I needed to play them longer.

[sineas]

Have ordered a set of the half rounds, so basically this thread has been furnished

Will do jasper383... thanx for the heads-up


thanx again guys /no1

[P_bass]

Originally Posted by MysticMichael

I used them extensively back in the day (30 years ago) on a vintage P bass I owned then. But not at all since then...

I thought they worked just fine for what I needed - which was to generate a warm, round, semi-traditional tone for roots music, i.e. blues, reggae, jazz - without entirely losing the zing and sustain of roundwounds.

Unless they've changed significantly since then, I'd still recommend them for that purpose...

MM

+1 Michael

These were my only strings on my PBass for 15 years or so in a blues, rock and top 40 setting. A set last me a good year too and we practiced and played 2-4 times a week. I wiped em clean after each gig and they sounded great the whole time.

I still have a set on my current Jazz bass.