Tension of Flats vs Rounds

[ducknturtle]

I have not been able to get a clear answer to this question. Is it true that flat round stings of the same gauge have a lower tension than rounds? if so, are half round strings somewhere in the middle. I wish there was some easy way to know this without having to resort to trial and error.

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Flatwound strings have higher tension than roundwound strings. I think half rounds are virtually the same as rounds.

[Dincrest]

You have it backwards. Flats have a much higher tension and feel stiffer than rounds. For example, the SIT PowerFlats I have on my bass now (45-100) feel much stiffer than the Rotosound RS66LDN Pure Nickels (45-105) I had on my bass earlier.

I believe Thomasik-Infeld has a lower tension flat, but flats are typically quite stiff and higher in tension to rounds.

[ducknturtle]

I guess that answers my question. How about round core vs hex core. There does seem to be a difference between the DR Highbeams I just put on, which feel slack, and the Bass Boomers I just took off.

[lillitnn92]

i think it all depends on the strings itself. i just got my first set of TI JF344 flats (43-100) and i had set of D'Addario nickel rounds (45-100). my neck relaxed quite a bit after changing to the TI's and i had a lot of fret buzz in places. the Fender flats i had before were high tension though, but the TI's are like butter.

[jasper383]

TI Flats are unlike any other flat in my experience. They are in a different class altogether.

All of the other flats I have tried have been higher tension than rounds of the same guage.

[DavePlaysBass]

Flats like rounds increase in tension as the get fatter. For a given gauge, the flats may be a little stiffer. Here's the DA tension chart that for some reason is no longer on the site. You can compare Chromes to the others.

https://home.comcast.net/~carol7david/DA_Tension.pdf

[Minger]

For me, Fender 9050's on my Ibanezes were much more tense than the usual Elixirs.

Pulled the neck too far forward...

[SherpaKahn]

The "Flats have higher tension" thing is a myth!

Flatwounds feel tighter, because they are less flexible, not because they're tighter!

The round windings of rounds easily roll as the string bends, making it more flexible-feeling, whereas the square edges of the ribbon windings resist bending and feel tighter.

Tension is solely dependent on the amount of mass per unit length, and scale length!

However, .105 flats will probably have more material than .105 rounds owing to the solidness of the flats, and thus be slightly more tense, but most of the perceived tension of flats vs rounds is simply the stiffness of the strings. If you want to see this firsthand, try bending flats and rounds while they're off the bass. They'll have no tension, but the flats will be harder to bend.



So in short, "yes", but no.


My advice:

BUY FLATWOUNDS ONE GAUGE LIGHTER THAN YOU WOULD BUY ROUNDS FOR A SIMILAR FEEL!

[zombywoof5050]

The LaBella 760FL flats (43-104) are pretty low tension as far as flats go, I'd say they're just a step up in tension from the TI flats but still lower tension than most standard (45-105) roundwounds. I wonder how much lower in tension the LaBella 760FX (extra light) are. On the other hand, I found the Chromes (45-100) to be higher in tension than the LaBella 760FL (43-104), go figure.