Yes, another thread about Roger Waters' strings!

[KoalaBass]

In the studio albums, his strings defintely sound like flats, but I recently bought the DSOTM and WYWH immersion box set, and the live stuff sure sounds trebly, just like rounds. So, what do you think?

[MrGotBass]

Cliff Williams does the same thing; flats in studio and rounds live, so maybe thats what Waters is doing

[winterburn69]

Huge Floyd & Waters fan here. Lately I've been listening to alot of bootlegs of the In the Flesh tour (the 1977 one) and the Wall tour (1980/1981) and I agree it kinda sounds like rounds, not fresh ones, broken in ones, but still rounds.

Just took a quick listen to Sheep, SoYCD (parts 6-9) and Money from the Mr. Pig bootleg (May 9, 1977) to verify.

I'll also add that Waterish.com states he's been using RotoSound 66 rounds since 2000. Kinda sounds like them too on the In the Flesh (1999-2002) DVD/CD, which was recorded in 2000.

Here's one more thought, it wouldn't be possible for the DSotM and WYWH tours, but perhaps possibly Roger's bass had flats and Snowy White's bass had rounds? Snowy White played bass on a few songs where Roger played the geetar (Sheep, Welcome to the Machine and Pigs (Three Different Ones) IIRC. I'm sure for the Wall shows Andy Brown's bass was completely identical to Roger's considering everything else was.

[KoalaBass]

Originally Posted by winterburn69

Huge Floyd & Waters fan here. Lately I've been listening to alot of bootlegs of the In the Flesh tour (the 1977 one) and the Wall tour (1980/1981) and I agree it kinda sounds like rounds, not fresh ones, broken in ones, but still rounds.

Just took a quick listen to Sheep, SoYCD (parts 6-9) and Money from the Mr. Pig bootleg (May 9, 1977) to verify.

I'll also add that Waterish.com states he's been using RotoSound 66 rounds since 2000. Kinda sounds like them too on the In the Flesh (1999-2002) DVD/CD, which was recorded in 2000.

Here's one more thought, it wouldn't be possible for the DSotM and WYWH tours, but perhaps possibly Roger's bass had flats and Snowy White's bass had rounds? Snowy White played bass on a few songs where Roger played the geetar (Sheep, Welcome to the Machine and Pigs (Three Different Ones) IIRC. I'm sure for the Wall shows Andy Brown's bass was completely identical to Roger's considering everything else was.

Thanks! Why wouldn't it have been possible during those tours? On the immersion box, they say Roger is playing bass on the live of Sheep (Raving and Drooling, it was in 1976)

[JimmyM]

Roger's bass never sounds like it has flats on it to me. Sounds to me like he's used rounds at least ever since the Ummagumma album...listen to "One Of The Days"...total roundwound sound. "Money" sounds like rounds, too. Maybe a little on the dead side, but rounds. Most of the progressive English bassists of that era ditched flats immediately when rounds came out, and I believe him to be one of them.

[Craig_S]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Roger's bass never sounds like it has flats on it to me.

I only have Dark Side and The Wall, but everything sounds like flats to me.

edit: Just listened to Another Brick In the Wall (1) and that could go either way (flats or rounds) but I think it's rounds. It also sounds more like a Jazz bass leaning on the front pickup, to me. As does the bass on Happiest Days Of Our Lives, but Another Brick (2) sounds like a P with flats with some nice overdrive and a bit of speaker break-up. As always, I could be wrong.

[KoalaBass]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Roger's bass never sounds like it has flats on it to me. Sounds to me like he's used rounds at least ever since the Ummagumma album...listen to "One Of The Days"...total roundwound sound. "Money" sounds like rounds, too. Maybe a little on the dead side, but rounds. Most of the progressive English bassists of that era ditched flats immediately when rounds came out, and I believe him to be one of them.

yeah, this is weird, everythin i read said he was using roto's 77 'til 2000 when he changed to roto's 66. But lots of songs sound like rounds. Happiest days of our lives, for example. it would have been ridicoulous to have flats if you want that clanky tone. so does one of these days.

[KoalaBass]

Listen closely to "Goodbye Cruel Cruel world", clearly rounds, you can hear some fret noise!

[tdub0199]

I have to agree with JimmyM.... I have never thought of Flats when hearing Roger Live or in the studio.....

[KoalaBass]

here are two pics of roger, one showing him with a J bass, and another with the white P, clearly strung with flats, but it was theft in 1970, and since 1972, his strings didn't clearly look like flats so... we don't know

[odin70]

Originally Posted by KoalaBass

Listen closely to "Goodbye Cruel Cruel world", clearly rounds, you can hear some fret noise!

Is that Roger or David? According to Dave himself he played bass on half of the songs recorded by Pink Floyd

[drewfx]

Originally Posted by odin70

Is that Roger or David? According to Dave himself he played bass on half of the songs recorded by Pink Floyd

I always thought that Dave exaggerated that point a bit during their really ugly period.

But I believe Roger acknowledged that they did a lot of multitasking during the Wall where Dave was recording backing tracks in one studio while Roger was doing vocals or whatever in another.

And I know there were some earlier tracks as well, but half is really hard for me to believe.

[Craig_S]

Originally Posted by tdub0199

I have to agree with JimmyM.... I have never thought of Flats when hearing Roger Live or in the studio.....

That's odd, I never thought rounds.

There is a certain (um...) hollowness(?) and lack of high end brightness I associate with flats. Flatwound doesn't only mean the "all thump" sound people associate with some flats.

[soulman969]

Originally Posted by KoalaBass

here are two pics of roger, one showing him with a J bass, and another with the white P, clearly strung with flats, but it was theft in 1970, and since 1972, his strings didn't clearly look like flats so... we don't know

If you can see that from these pics you've got a lot better eyes than mine.

[JimmyM]

I can see the white Precision has strings with red windings, and that means Rotosound Swing Bass rounds because GHS wasn't around back then.

[OhValhalla]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I can see the white Precision has strings with red windings, and that means Rotosound Swing Bass rounds because GHS wasn't around back then.

I'm pretty sure the rotosound flats of that time also had red windings. I could be wrong. The current rotosound 77 flats have red windings, but I'm not sure if that is in anyway telling of what they were in the late 60's- 70's. Anyway, I'm not an expert or anything but those definitely shine the way traditional flats shine.

I'm almost certain that Roger Waters used flats for most of his early days (Up to DSOTM.) For instance, this and this. I also think that he did use flats for most of his career, but I can't be sure on that. I think that most people underestimate how bright new flats can be.

[KoalaBass]

Originally Posted by OhValhalla

I'm pretty sure the rotosound flats of that time also had red windings. I could be wrong. The current rotosound 77 flats have red windings, but I'm not sure if that is in anyway telling of what they were in the late 60's- 70's. Anyway, I'm not an expert or anything but those definitely shine the way traditional flats shine.

I'm almost certain that Roger Waters used flats for most of his early days (Up to DSOTM.) For instance, this and this. I also think that he did use flats for most of his career, but I can't be sure on that. I think that most people underestimate how bright new flats can be.

early days are flats for sure, but I think meddle is half-half: I used flats for 3 months last autumn and even when they were brand new, they didn't have the sound of one of these days (i've got a P-bass). but fearless sure sounds like flats. I dont know what to think, because I dont think Roger used to do a lot of search for a clanky sound with flats if he could get that sound easily with roto 66. But who knows?

[masturbasser]

I seem to remember a picture that showed his bridge and it was the telltale multicolor ball ends of D'addario.

[KoalaBass]

an interesting thing in echoes part2 live at pompeii: in the beginning, the noisy part, gilmour is doing some kind of "seagull cries" with his guitar, wright is making "crowes noises", and waters is rubbing his strings to make wind noise with delay: that means he needs his strings to make finger noise, that means they arent flats (trust me, i've tried to make noises with flats). the mystery goes one

[winterburn69]

Originally Posted by KoalaBass

Thanks! Why wouldn't it have been possible during those tours? On the immersion box, they say Roger is playing bass on the live of Sheep (Raving and Drooling, it was in 1976)

On the DSotM and WYWH tours Waters was the only one playing bass. They didn't add Snowy White until 1977. They just had Dick Parry on sax and a few backup singers.