Battle of the Groundwounds

[michael_t]

They do have purple silk at the ball ends and are 38" to the silk. Thank you for that. They sound great too! Am I right in thinking these are mfg'd for Smith by GHS?

Yes, Ken Smith Slick Rounds, made by GHS, are the closest cousin to the GHS Brite Flats, both of which are Alloy 52 groundwound.

 

[TomB]

Based on my recollection of D'Addario half-rounds, I would agree these are quite a bit livelier, even when broken in.

 

[HelpImaRock]

I'm very surprised at how well the LaBella set did compared to the others, which have a much longer production history.

 

[ggvicviper]

I'm impressed with the La Bella Super Polished set. They've been on one of my basses for a few weeks. Not perfect, but I still really like them.

I love most D'Addario products, but not the half-rounds. I last used them in 2011 maybe. They had that weird feel, but most importantly, had the tension of bridge cables. You'd be better off with Chromes IMO, which have a mild roundwound zing.

Not a GHS user, so can't comment there.

 

[poochiecheeks]

I think that's the difference between the responsiveness of Alloy 52 (nickel-iron) and the politeness of pure nickel.

Are the current production half rounds still all nickel? In my experience definitely agree with

Between the other two, I think the GHS Brite Flats sound markedly better than the D'Addarios. To me, the Brite Flats have a more lively, interesting tone, while the D'Addarios just seemed kind of uninteresting. Though to be fair, the very first time I tried the D'Addarios -- the first time I used groundwounds at all -- I was pretty impressed. I guess I just found the Brite Flats even more to my liking.

 

[michael_t]

Are the current production half rounds still all nickel? In my experience definitely agree with

D'Addario Half Rounds = Pure Nickel.
GHS Brite Flats/Ken Smith Slick Rounds = Alloy 52 (nickel-iron).

 

[HelpImaRock]

I finally put the Super Polished on the Jazz V today. I don't like the light A, heavy E, light B. The set sounds and feels great, it's just a pulling tension thing.

The Brite Flats arrive later this week. I suspect they'll be too high tension. But at least I can remedy that with a lighter gauge set. The LaBellas don't have that option.

 

[HelpImaRock]

Super Polished settled on the Jazz V. I like them a lot more now. The B is still a little low tension but I get why they didn't use a thicker gauge.

Brite Flats showed up and went right on the Guild Starfire. I may tweak the action after they settle.

I could see going back to flats at some point. But there's absolutely no reason to go back to rounds as long as these sets are available. I'd like some more choice in gauges and whatnot but I don't exactly see the market for groundwounds exploding anytime in the future. So I'll take what I can get.

 

[atrapp]

La Bella Super Polished vs D'Addario Chromes?

 

[HelpImaRock]

Finally got the Guild with Brite Flats to rehearsal. It definitely brings the "flats with attitude" vibe. These are definitely not low tension strings but they're easier to play than the gauges suggest. Kinda weird to go from LTFs to Brite Flats from that perspective but I'm very happy with the result.