I dont like the feel of flats.
I use round or preasure round strings. Change them maybe once a year.
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Anyone Prefer Dead Roundwounds to Flats?
- Thread starter funkmaster p
- Start date
I dont like the feel of flats.
I use round or preasure round strings. Change them maybe once a year.
Maybe I’m in the minority but I absolutely love a nice worn in pair of rounds and how they feel. Probably has a lot to do with I hate the zing of new strings when I play, and most the music I play really doesn’t need zing. I think as stated it really depends on the music you play and personal perspective, to each their own.
I love flats when appropriate and prefer deader/well-broken-in roundwounds to new roundwounds. Does that count?
There are a few different flats I really like and I have a couple of basses currently wearing flats. But a set of well broken in DR nickel Lo Riders or Ken Smith Burners are my favorites. And by well broken in I mean what most people would consider dead. I can happily get a few years out of them.
But I’d say the music you play is a big factor. I play mostly classic rock, blues, British Invasion, etc. and the "dead" roundwound tone works well.
EDIT: An exception, in my opinion, is Ernie Ball Slinkies. They were already on two of the Stingrays I've owned when I bought them and I also tried them again so I could hear them when brand new. They died quickly and, like the first two sets I used, went dead in a way I didn't like. They just didni't sound good to me. I also prefer a pretty stiff feeling strings and the Slinkies have too flexible a feel for me. Musicman basses are by far my favorite, but I simply do not like their strings. But that's just my personal opinion and YMMV.
But I’d say the music you play is a big factor. I play mostly classic rock, blues, British Invasion, etc. and the "dead" roundwound tone works well.
EDIT: An exception, in my opinion, is Ernie Ball Slinkies. They were already on two of the Stingrays I've owned when I bought them and I also tried them again so I could hear them when brand new. They died quickly and, like the first two sets I used, went dead in a way I didn't like. They just didni't sound good to me. I also prefer a pretty stiff feeling strings and the Slinkies have too flexible a feel for me. Musicman basses are by far my favorite, but I simply do not like their strings. But that's just my personal opinion and YMMV.
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Yes, but only because I'm cheap and dread the inevitable string change.
No I don’t , dead strings I do not like.
my G is weak, the balance in tone and volume isn’t linear between strings. , just aren’t right.
my G is weak, the balance in tone and volume isn’t linear between strings. , just aren’t right.
Ed Friedland has a P bass with 25 year old rounds on it.
Ok, but I think it’s only fair to tell you that they do seem to start losing zing a little quicker than other types of rounds. Plus they’re lower tension than most. I love them but my feelings aren’t universal.
I like rounds after they're worn in a little, but not a fan of dead rounds. When they're really dead it seems like rubber band feel and little bottom on the E string, but all the string noise.
D
Dead, not so much,
New, its interesting to actually use my tone pot.
Broken in…. All pots at full and rocking!!! (At least on the basses i put together)
New, its interesting to actually use my tone pot.
Broken in…. All pots at full and rocking!!! (At least on the basses i put together)
I wouldn’t call it a preference, necessarily but I found dead rounds useful for a Nawlins style band I was in once.
Dead rounds + foam mute was great for that music, IME. You got the attack of roundwounds with no sustain, (thud, really), so you could play syncopated ghost note grooves with ease.
Dead rounds + foam mute was great for that music, IME. You got the attack of roundwounds with no sustain, (thud, really), so you could play syncopated ghost note grooves with ease.
The initial bright of the rounds can be annoying, especially if they are steels. It can be needed in many genres of musicians and/or styles of playing, but I rarely need that much shine. I use common, cheap nickels (EXLs), and between one and six months I have a good window of stability and tone consistency. If the tuning is good then there are no problems. I think it's much better than flats (which I also use occasionally), because flats are another world, I can't compare dead round strings with flats, oranges and horses.
I do not like “dead” rounds. I can handle rounds that have lost their zing, but when they are dead like they get on basses that have hung on a music store wall for a year, I can’t handle that. It’s not just the sound. Tuning becomes flaky, and intonation can get off if the outer windings start getting flat spots from fret contact as happens with old rounds. Flats aren’t immune to these problems, but they are a little more resistant to these problems.
I can't stand flats through a bass amp. They can sound nice through recording gear for certain styles. I think they sound best when someone else is playing them 
.
I wouldn't say that I prefer dead rounds, but that is what I typically use. Too cheap and too lazy to keep fresh strings on my bass(es). I think I put a new set on my #1 about 6 years ago. None of the strings had failed, but I did it anyway. The strings I took off were on the bass when I bought it (used) around 1996...the strings were not fresh when the bass arrived.
. I wouldn't say that I prefer dead rounds, but that is what I typically use. Too cheap and too lazy to keep fresh strings on my bass(es). I think I put a new set on my #1 about 6 years ago. None of the strings had failed, but I did it anyway. The strings I took off were on the bass when I bought it (used) around 1996...the strings were not fresh when the bass arrived.
And remember, "dead" means different things to different people.
For example, many people say GHS Boomers go dead after a few days. In my experience, they broke in quickly and held that yummy broken-in tone for a good 6 months or so. It's around the 7-8 month mark that they started to "die" die where they just sound like plop and don't intonate as well as they used to (which is what happens to all roundwound strings once they've hit the end of the road).
I generally change my strings annually, so I'm always looking for that happy blend of price, longevity, and tone. And I like a more broken-in string tonally. I'm not keen on the overly sizzly new string zing.
And when strings "die" die to me (meaning they're ploppy corpse dumpster dead, slap sounds like I'm slapping my pillow, intonation is flabby), I prefer a dead steel to a dead nickel. I once played a bass with D'Addario ProSteels on it that were at least 5 years old and still salvaged a workable tone out of it. Intonation wasn't too terrible either.
For example, many people say GHS Boomers go dead after a few days. In my experience, they broke in quickly and held that yummy broken-in tone for a good 6 months or so. It's around the 7-8 month mark that they started to "die" die where they just sound like plop and don't intonate as well as they used to (which is what happens to all roundwound strings once they've hit the end of the road).
I generally change my strings annually, so I'm always looking for that happy blend of price, longevity, and tone. And I like a more broken-in string tonally. I'm not keen on the overly sizzly new string zing.
And when strings "die" die to me (meaning they're ploppy corpse dumpster dead, slap sounds like I'm slapping my pillow, intonation is flabby), I prefer a dead steel to a dead nickel. I once played a bass with D'Addario ProSteels on it that were at least 5 years old and still salvaged a workable tone out of it. Intonation wasn't too terrible either.
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Third endorsement for dead Dunlop Super Brights. After about two weeks of “way too bright” they settle into a really great compromise for years.
Must like low tension strings though.
Must like low tension strings though.
this. a thousand times this.
i don't like the bright sound of new strings but i prefer rounds. not dead, - just broken in. dead strings aren't responsive or consistent.
String noise is another thing I used to hate but love now
. But I do really dislike how dead rounds feel…all sticky and full of God knows what. And just because it’s my God knows what doesn’t make it much easier to take.
