Roundwound with minimal noise?

[RyRob813]

I currently play DR High Beams, .45 gauge. I like the brightness, but I get a ton of string noise, especially when they're new.

I bought a set of D' Addario half rounds...I HATED them! They were almost "sticky..." I could barely move my fingers on them, so I threw the old DR's right back on.

So basically I'm looking for a bright, roundwound string, but with as little string noise as possible, ideas?

Thanks!

[BigOldHarry]

Don't take this the wrong way, but the answer is practice. String noise is one of those things that your hands will learn to deal with the more you play, much like fret buzz, etc. I started playing round-wounds *very* early in my playing (1977) and I had the same problem - I just had to play-play-play and, at some point, it was no longer an issue.

And yeah - I hated half-rounds too. I don't get any kind of flatwound strings *at all* unless of course you want that one thumpy old motown sound, in which case ya kinda gotta have them.

[mwiles30]

Nickel rounds might be quieter than steel rounds, but I'm not sure. I've used stainless steel rotosounds for years; they're the first quality bass string I ever tried, but if you aren't careful they're noisey as hell.

BigOldHarry pretty much hit it on the head - practice until the noise is minimal. You'll be glad you did, because you'll end up with pretty clean chops.

[RyRob813]

Originally Posted by BigOldHarry

Don't take this the wrong way, but the answer is practice. String noise is one of those things that your hands will learn to deal with the more you play, much like fret buzz, etc. I started playing round-wounds *very* early in my playing (1977) and I had the same problem - I just had to play-play-play and, at some point, it was no longer an issue.

And yeah - I hated half-rounds too. I don't get any kind of flatwound strings *at all* unless of course you want that one thumpy old motown sound, in which case ya kinda gotta have them.

Haha, point well taken, but I'll you, if it weren't for the nosie, these would be the best strings ever. I'm a music school student, and I practice an average of 5 hours a day, more when school's in, and they don't go dead FOREVER! I've had my current set on for probably 8 months, and they're still going strong...again, just with a little noise issue.

[KPAX]

A drummer.

Originally Posted by RyRob813

I currently play DR High Beams, .45 gauge. I like the brightness, but I get a ton of string noise, especially when they're new.

I bought a set of D' Addario half rounds...I HATED them! They were almost "sticky..." I could barely move my fingers on them, so I threw the old DR's right back on.

So basically I'm looking for a bright, roundwound string, but with as little string noise as possible, ideas?

Thanks!

[xaxxat]

My D' Addario half rounds were sticky at first. They're fine after a couple weeks of playing.

[RyRob813]

Originally Posted by xaxxat

My D' Addario half rounds were sticky at first. They're fine after a couple weeks of playing.

Yea, I played them for a few days, and they actually started to smooth out, but I just don't have the patience

[NickInMesa]

What everybody says: flats take time to get used to. Your plucking hand needs to learn a new technique to properly hook on the strings, and it comes in a few hours of practice.

I am sold to flats now, not coming back.

[Derek_L]

I get the same, before you say more practice there's a particular zing (don't know the word to describe it) and it became extremely apparent to me when I was playing w/ distortion on. Using Fender stainless steels, if there is a solution i'd love to hear it - until then I'll keep practicing and trying new strings :-)

[markdavid]

Originally Posted by RyRob813

I currently play DR High Beams, .45 gauge. I like the brightness, but I get a ton of string noise, especially when they're new.

I bought a set of D' Addario half rounds...I HATED them! They were almost "sticky..." I could barely move my fingers on them, so I threw the old DR's right back on.

So basically I'm looking for a bright, roundwound string, but with as little string noise as possible, ideas?

Thanks!

Rotosound Solo Bass RS55 are very good pressurewound strings, very bright but with not so much of the string noise, however they are quite grabby feeling which is not too everyones taste

[RyRob813]

Originally Posted by markdavid

Rotosound Solo Bass RS55 are very good pressurewound strings, very bright but with not so much of the string noise, however they are quite grabby feeling which is not too everyones taste

Ahhh that's the word I was looking for! Haha grabby is perfect! It really felt like upright strings to me, (because they basically were.) That's fine for the upright, because the large distances soften the blow of it, but on the bass guitar, it really made it harder to maneuver for sure!

Thanks for that word!