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Originally Posted by korey L  What do all these terms mean with strings. which is better and stuff like that. please post what these mean and what is different about them. Also what is a good set of strings for around 25 bucks.  |
Dear Noob.
1. Round wounds = strings wound with round wire. Bright. Zingy. Stainless steel rounds are the brightest of all strings but can chew frets! Nickel plated steel less bright and easier on frets.
2. Pressure wounds = Round wounds run through rollers to smooth the bumps on the strings a bit. Less bright than rounds. Also less of that zip-zip finger noise when moving your left hand. Less neck chews on a fretless than rounds but not as bright.
3. Ground wounds = round wound strings that have been ground away on the outside until about half of the wrap wire is gone leaving the outside of the string perfectly smooth. Less bright than pressure wounds but have zero neck chews on a fretless. Virtually zero zip-zip finger noise. May feel "sticky" unless rubbed down with 0000 steel wool BEFORE installation!
4. Half rounds = same string as ground wounds. Term used by D'addario. GHS calls their ground wounds "brite flats".
5. Flat wounds = strings wound with flat tape instead of wire. Are stiff, least bright of all the strings. Zero neck chews on fretless. Zero zip-zip finger noise. Last forever. THE string for any "old school" bass and music.
6. Nylon wrapped. These are strings with nylon tape wrapped over a standard string. They are sort of in the flat wound class and work well on fretless basses because the nylon prevents neck chews. Sound good. Feel very smooth. No not confuse with "nylon" guitar strings which are solid nylon cord.
6. flat round = nonsense. Mistake by noob asking about strings.
A "good" set of strings depends on the bass and the music you intend to play on it. I have basses that for various reasons use each of the above string types. Only you can determine what kind of sound and feel you want from your bass. Worth a mention are bargain strings. Check the Carvin website or
http://www.webstrings.com/
Usually bargain strings are rounds and don't sound as good a major brand rounds. But the low price makes up for that!
Differences between major brands for strings of the same type are minor but significant. You just have to try them and decide what YOU think.
