Who else uses roundwounds on their fretless?

Petary791 · #1 01-23-2006, 09:42 PM

I know I do. It's on a rosewood fretboard, so it's already diggin in a bit (just defretted it about 2 days ago,) but I think it sounds much better. So how many of you guys, and pros for that matter, use roundwounds?

Figjam · #2 01-23-2006, 09:49 PM

I always think i do... then i got TI flats..and..yea..flats are better for me.

Petary791 · #3 01-23-2006, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Figjam

I always think i do... then i got TI flats..and..yea..flats are better for me.

Have you lost a lot of brightness?

bassteban · #4 01-23-2006, 10:11 PM

I used to swear by rounds, til I got a fretless Stambaugh from TBer snyderz

- the bass is fully passive & sounds AWESOME w/flats. It's got a sort of 'mwah' among the many available tones; not the typical Pedulla thing, but very nice. On my hopefully-less-than-2 weeks-away 7, I'm goin' round, though. I'm not stuck in either camp- it's good to have lots of colors on your tonal pallette.

danomite64 · #5 01-24-2006, 08:04 AM

I use roto nickel rounds on my fretless, and love it!

dougjwray · #6 01-24-2006, 08:18 AM

The best sound I ever got on a fretless was with Rotosound Swing Bass (stainless steel) roundwounds on an uncoated rosewood fingerboard. Of course, the strings carved ruts pretty quickly, and I couldn't afford to simply order a new neck every few months (what Pino Palladino used to do with his Music Man, according to an interview I remember), so I had the neck epoxied and switched to GHS Brite Flats (ground rounds). Fine sound, but just not the same.

kjones · #7 01-24-2006, 08:30 AM

Another possibility is the Sadowsky flats, which are very bright, in my opinion, for flats. I've been very pleased with them in that regard, and it's better on the fingerboard.

Tony G · #8 01-24-2006, 08:37 AM

I use nickel round wounds usually from DR on my Carvin LB75F. My bass does have an ebony finger board though, so wear isn't a huge issue with me. I have been thinking about switching to steel lately, do get more mwah and growl.

James Hart · #9 01-24-2006, 08:45 AM

SIT Rock Bright Steels on my 6 now...

I'm torn. I really like it with SIT Powerflats too.

pointbass · #10 01-24-2006, 10:15 AM

LaBella flats on my 6 (ebony board), sounds superb ..... D'addario 1/2 rounds on the 4 (rosewood board), also sounds cool .....

Like James said ^^^ SIT Powerflats are also great ....

Figjam · #11 01-24-2006, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petary791

Have you lost a lot of brightness?

Not tremendously, but they were relaly old roundwounds. I roll down the tone a bit as it is.

nysbob · #12 01-24-2006, 02:11 PM

I use broken in roundwounds on mine...recycled off my fretted bass...after they've lost some abrasiveness.

rpatter · #13 01-24-2006, 02:20 PM

I'm using Elixir nanowebs on a Macassar ebony board. I've had this bass about 4 months and see very little wear on the fingerboard.

Ralf

davetakis · #14 01-24-2006, 03:05 PM

pardon my ignorance here. i just got 2 fretless basses, both dan armstrongs. my plexiglass one when i got it, the guy before me had roundwounds on it. the neck was marred but does not affect the playability of the bass. wont roundwounds just fry the neck? i have flats on them now.

James Hart · #15 01-24-2006, 03:21 PM

Metal ALWAY wins against wood. Fingering technique has WAY more to do with board wear than the round vs. flat debate.

**Chef** · #16 01-24-2006, 03:29 PM

I have rounds on both my 1972 Fender P maple boarded fretless, and my 1981 G&L 2000E ebony boarded fretless. No board wear on either, and I've played the crap outta both of them. I agree with James that technique is pretty impactful on the wear situation. I do use nickels and not stainless.
I've been feeling kinda flatwound lately tho, and have ordered TI flats, LaBella flats, and SIT flats...

ghostintheruins · #17 01-24-2006, 04:08 PM

I had nickel roundwounds on my Carvin LB20F, but it has an ebony fingerboard which can take a lot more abuse than one made of rosewood. I liked the brighter tone. It had plenty of bite.

Alex · #18 01-24-2006, 04:12 PM

I remember this one guy, his name started with a J or something....He was a pretty good bass player, but he had this really annoying tone - probably because his bass was so beat up...

Ian Perge · #19 01-25-2006, 05:59 AM

D'Addario XL Nickels here. I've used Teak Oil on my board as a "stablizer", which does a good job of hardening it to resist wear 'n tear without the glossy tone of an epoxy finish.

klocwerk · #20 01-25-2006, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian Perge

D'Addario XL Nickels here. I've used Teak Oil on my board as a "stablizer", which does a good job of hardening it to resist wear 'n tear without the glossy tone of an epoxy finish.

hmm, not a bad idea!
*adds to project list*