Half-Rounds - Horrid!

BobWestbrook · #1 02-10-2007, 03:09 PM

I got a free set of D'Addario Half-Rounds as a consolation from a music store that sold me an cab on Ebay that didn't work initially.

Anyway, I put them on my Turser MM clone today, and they are AWFUL. The feel, I mean - they grab your skin and it's hard to play!

These are coming OFF!!!

bassman blue · #2 02-10-2007, 03:16 PM

sorry to hear the strings didn't work out, especially after the ebay thing going a little sideways. always wondered about half-rounds. is the surface somewhat uneven or totally smooth?

BobWestbrook · #3 02-10-2007, 03:22 PM

They are smoother than rounds, but not smooth like flats.

A nice concept, but not very playable.

saxnbass · #4 02-10-2007, 03:27 PM

I know a guy that uses only D'Addario Half Rounds on his basses. I played one of his basses and I didn't mind the feel. Couldn't really hear the sound though.

lug · #5 02-10-2007, 03:39 PM

Have a set of Dean Markley's that are the same way. Grab your fingers much worse than either rounds OR flats. The worst part is they sound GREAT!

SherpaKahn · #6 02-10-2007, 03:48 PM

Umm, just like flats, half-rounds start out feeling really "grippy". Give your fingers a week or so to polish them out, and they'll feel like teflon-coated banana peels. I had the same problem with my Smith half-rounds, and every set of flats I have purchased. Just be patient.

greenboy · #7 02-10-2007, 04:45 PM

Depending on what you sweat, flats can be grabby. And it seems like every groundwound I've tried was - plus once in awhile some stray metal filing would imbed in my fingertip. I'd actually prefer flats since the groundwounds didn't seem significantly brighter anyway.

Best choice for me has been Smith Compressors and GHS Pressurewound. If you want them to sound less bright, get the heavier gauges, and lighter gauges if you want them less dull.

moro · #8 02-10-2007, 04:51 PM

I tried a set of the D'addarios a few weeks ago, and as soon as I took them out of the package, I knew I wasn't going to like them. I felt a similar kind of discomfort as hearing someone scrape their fingernails on a blackboard.

I put them on my bass, just to see, and took them off after five minutes. I still have nightmares about the experience.

I was going to give them away, but I realized that I could use them as nut files.

SherpaKahn · #9 02-10-2007, 05:05 PM

People, half-rounds are a different breed of string than rounds; ask anybody about flats and they'll tell you they don't sound or feel their best until they've been broken in!

Half-rounds are the same way!

If you buy a set of flats or half-rounds, put them on, don't like the sound, and throw them out without breaking them in first, you are wasting your money!! I'm sick of groundwounds getting a bad rap because people don't give them a chance.

LoveThatBass · #10 02-10-2007, 05:55 PM

tried them, hate them, got rid of them quickly

greenboy · #11 02-10-2007, 06:08 PM

Used them a long time, still found I liked traditional flats or compressed wound a lot better.

Dincrest · #12 02-10-2007, 06:10 PM

Those kinds of strings definitely are an acquired taste and no two half-rounds are the same. Personally, I found Ken Smith Compressors awful. Twangy and needlessly rough. On the other hand, I think SIT Silencers are awesome. Deliciously smooth, good tension, sound fantastic, especially when broken in.

SGT. Pepper · #13 02-11-2007, 06:07 PM

The sound of them sucks!

Philbiker · #14 02-11-2007, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobWestbrook

I got a free set of D'Addario Half-Rounds as a consolation from a music store that sold me an cab on Ebay that didn't work initially.

Anyway, I put them on my Turser MM clone today, and they are AWFUL. The feel, I mean - they grab your skin and it's hard to play!

These are coming OFF!!!

Ha ha ha that was my reaction when I tried them once many years ago.

I completely sympathise. And I love both rounds and flats, so you'd think I'd like something in between, too.

jumbosilverette · #15 02-11-2007, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobWestbrook

They are smoother than rounds, but not smooth like flats.

A nice concept, but not very playable.

Gee Bob, I love 'em. Have 'em on 2 basses.

bassbully43 · #16 02-12-2007, 07:23 AM

+1 I tried a set and they where the worse strings i have ever played. I hated the feel and the tone was dead. I tried to put them on an old P bass i play around on and they to dead for it so i took them off and threw therm away ...never again.

Kael · #17 02-14-2007, 06:29 PM

I just slapped a set of D'addario halfrounds on my fretless J. Yep, they are grabby. Quite so as a matter of fact. I'm going to give them a little while to break in before I swear that they are unplayable though. Can any of you half users tell me how long it took them to break in for you? I actually don't have any gigs for the next week or so (got a little breathing room) so I've got some time before I absolutely need this particular bass.

Might still slap the chrome flats back on. I think that the chromes tightly focused frequency response may have grown on me. I kinda like being able to punch through a small hole in the mix. Very different from he broad more pillowy warwick/roundwoud sound I get with my other slab. The chromes sound great through a T-funk/cxl-112 combo, but not as hot (to my ear) through rigs that are "woolier". I was just looking for a little more highs/mids for gigs with other rigs. Thus far these strings sound close enough to rounds to make me wonder why I didn't just put on some rounds (other than to minimize fingerboard wear that is).

bassbully43 · #18 02-15-2007, 07:51 AM

I tried em for a few weeks and they still grabbed...the tone as i said was so allfull i junked them. SIT silencers are an awsome halfround ,groundwound string but they are truley a round but wound tight with a small wire outer wrap.

canopener · #19 02-15-2007, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGT. Pepper

The sound of them sucks!

Yeah, they still have the zing of a round. Thumbs down.

Lorenzini · #20 02-15-2007, 08:39 AM

Just like a round, or even moreso, you need to play them until they are somewhat dead. Where your roundwounds have died, the Half-Rounds are finally sounding the way you want. Whether or not you want that sound is up to you. I personally don't like it very much. I feel that it degrades the sound of a bass. Especially hi-fi type basses.