Flatwounds that sound like half-rounds?

[grue]

So, I've been using D'Addario half-rounds on an old fretless for a while and the tone is perfect. Still, they are marking up the board pretty good, maybe because of their rough, "sticky" texture. Since the bass is a factory fretless from the '70s, I'd rather put as little wear on the fingerboard as I can. I'm thinking about going to full flatwounds, but I don't want to spend $200 trying out a bunch of boutique strings that don't work for me.

Does anybody have any suggestions about which flatwound would give me the closest tone, tension, and flexibility to the D'Addario medium-gauge half-rounds? Thanks!

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by grue

So, I've been using D'Addario half-rounds on an old fretless for a while and the tone is perfect. Still, they are marking up the board pretty good, maybe because of their rough, "sticky" texture. Since the bass is a factory fretless from the '70s, I'd rather put as little wear on the fingerboard as I can. I'm thinking about going to full flatwounds, but I don't want to spend $200 trying out a bunch of boutique strings that don't work for me.

Does anybody have any suggestions about which flatwound would give me the closest tone, tension, and flexibility to the D'Addario medium-gauge half-rounds? Thanks!

I had D'Addario half-rounds on a fretless Kinal 5 and when I couldn't get a replacement set I went to Chromes and didn't notice a lot of difference. The half-rounds have a little more "round-wound boing" but not a lot. I'm a longtime TI flat user on a bunch of basses and think they have the least dead tone of any flat out there. They're basically round wounds with a flat outer wrap. Not a huge fan of the B string though...feels heavy and unmatched with the EAD & G strings but on a 4 string the TI's would be my first recommendation.

[grue]

Originally Posted by jeff arddun

I had D'Addario half-rounds on a fretless Kinal 5 and when I couldn't get a replacement set I went to Chromes and didn't notice a lot of difference. The half-rounds have a little more "round-wound boing" but not a lot. I'm a longtime TI flat user on a bunch of basses and think they have the least dead tone of any flat out there. They're basically round wounds with a flat outer wrap. Not a huge fan of the B string though...feels heavy and unmatched with the EAD & G strings but on a 4 string the TI's would be my first recommendation.

That's good to know about the TI's. For some reason, I hadn't considered them. I think it's because their ad copy says they sound like an upright bass, which makes me think "dark and thunky". That could be nice in some situations, but not what I'm looking for.

[jallenbass]

The new Fender flats.

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by jallenbass

The new Fender flats.

Is it this 9050M set? What's the deal with them? How are they different from the old green silk Fender flats?

[AmadeusXeno]

Try GHS bright flats. I tried them before and liked them. They are a half round or ground wound string, which ever you perfer to call them. They are very smooth on the surface just like a full on flat wound string. I currently have rotosound flats on my fretless and they are brighter then most flats, they do have a less smooth surface though then most flats. Hope this helps.

[jallenbass]

Originally Posted by jeff arddun

Is it this 9050M set? What's the deal with them? How are they different from the old green silk Fender flats?

Much brighter and more sustain from my experience.

[grue]

I just ordered some Thomastiks. All the reviews were great, so I just went for it. Hopefully the low tension won't be a problem.

[DaveAceofBass]

Chromes are the brightest flats I've tried.