Can someone explain Half Rounds to me?

[VoodooJazz]

I don’t use them on all of my basses, but they make my ‘73 P sound like a piano. I won’t put anything else on that particular bass. I just really like that combination.

@Dincrest mentioned GHS Pressurewounds and SIT Silencers. I’ve used these as well on other basses with good results, depending on the bass. Each of these string sets has a very different feel and tonality. They’re not interchangeable, and I got very different results on different instruments. I think it comes down to experimentation with each of these “unusual” sets and your instrument(s). Your Mileage WILL Vary, but I wouldn’t recommend against any of these.

Good luck!

 

[Chrisk-K]

As for me, half-rounds are the worst of both worlds. They don't have the oomph of flats, and they don't have the explosiveness of rounds.

 

[40Hz]

I’ve tried every string I could get my hands on. And ended up feeling ambivalent about ground round strings I tried. On the other hand I wound up really liking GHS Pressurewounds. Different sound and feel.

It all comes down to what you like.

 

[Thumpin6string]

I tried the D'Addario half rounds and SIT Silencers because I hate string squeek. The D'Addario's B and E strings died within an hour, but they warranteed them and sent another set. That set did the same thing and the rest of the strings followed. Tried The SIT Silencers and they just seemed like regular rounds. I liked the way they sounded out of the package, but they seemed to lose their punch within a week and still had the squeek. Back to rounds now with a LPF to tame the squeek.

 

[GrapeBass]

I read somewhere that John Patitucci uses half rounds. In my honest and biased opinion these strings are like wine or beer; it’s an acquired taste.

I have a PreGibson Tobias currently strung with these and for me when I play blues or jazz these strings are perfect. I consider the tone to be very natural sounding. If anyone ever invented a fretted upright I think it would probably sound like an electric strung with half rounds.

I think someone mentioned that these work best with certain basses and I think there is some validity to that. The question is, what basses would be best suited for half rounds? I’d like to know because I’m not sure my Tobias is a good candidate. Perhaps a semi-hollow?

It's all what we personally expect and with strings we have so many choices, tapes, flats, half-wounds and full wounds (each also have their own derivatives). Some strings sound as expected out of the bag and some take time to 'break in.' My experience is fairly limited to Fender inclined basses, my custom made J/P/J is sorta like a Fender but the Koa body an p/up choice Mix of 80's Seymour Duncan noiseless (j) and Dimarzio (p), it's quite mixed up. My fretted Jazz has CS60 p/ups didn't sound quite right with half-wounds but work to my liking with 9050Ls (break in took a few months, I was very patient). I tried Labella DTB tapes and the D'Addario half-wounds on my fretless J (SD Quarter Pounder p/ups) and it now's wrapped w/ 9050Ls (took a long time to settle and break in). I have 2 Ps, once with very old Chromes and the other with new Rotos. My 2 fretless AGBasses are both wrapped with Labella DTB tapes, I tried others but those are magic on those basses.

It's an adventure, for sure.

 

[tothemax]

I have a set on P bass right now, they are first set of non-rounds that I've tried. They have been on a few months now, and I haven't played that much since they have been on (hand surgery). Starting to back playing again and I do like the feel and particularly how quiet they are (finger noise). Still have to see how they work out in a mix. The feel was a little weird at first but I'm willing to give them a chance. Since they should be settled in on the guitar by now, it shouldn't take long to see how they work out. They are D'Addario half round regular lights 45 - 100. I was going for a Jamerson type tone when I tried them.

 

[Shorelinegold]

I personally hate half-rounds. Sticky, sticky feeling and not impressed with the tone in any event.

A compromise might be GHS Pressurewounds. They're rounds that have been compressed, if you're not familiar with them, they provide a more comfortable experience than rounds, for sure, if you don't like the feel of rounds (I don't) and although mellower than rounds, get you closer to the round territory than flats ever could. That being said, I just use D'Addario Chromes and make sure I boost the high and upper mids enough.

 

[Ric5]

Can someone explain Half Rounds to me?

it is the worst of both worlds

 

[micguy]

I had a set on my p-bass 5 for about a day. I think they are one of those love or hate kind of things. I came down on the hate side.

My hate (half rounds or flats) doesn't tolerate awful feeling or sounding strings for more than a half hour. Pressure Wounds, I can almost get along with, but....not quite.

 

[brownbud]

Mike Gordon of Phish is said to use Ken Smith halfrounds on his Modulus. Anybody ever tried the Ken Smiths specifically? Wondering if the idea is to tame the hi-fi sound of the Modulus?

 

[Tommy Sparks]

I have the set you have on a jazz and love them. Couldn’t tame the highs with rounds and didn’t like flats on it.
It worked out great for me after break in, about 2 weeks.
They may not be for you, all strings aren’t for everyone. However it’s fun to try different ones.
Thinking I may try em on my P or T bird.
I play Zep, Sabbath and stoner metal type of stuff.

 

[MustangWally]

I am assuming that you mean ground-wounds, where the manufacturer takes a round-wound string and grinds the surface. Tried them and did not care for them. What I did care for were the pressure-wound, where the outer wrap of a string is squashed into an oval shape as it being wound onto the string. I love these things, using GHS Pressure Wounds currently - easy on the fingers and a good solid sound without the dead thump of flats.

 

[mikewalker]

My last experience with half-rounds ("ground-wounds", I think they were...) was decades ago, and back then I categorized them as little hacksaw blades masquerading as bass guitar strings. "never again!"

I recently tried some GHS "pressure-wounds" and those ones didn't hurt my fingers, but they didn't really strike me as exceptionally smooth, either... YMMV, &etc.

 

[JimmyM]

They bother my precious little fingertips and sound like neither fish nor fowl but a reasonable approximation of either, but a lot of people seem to like them or else D'addario would have disco'd them by now.

 

[foal30]

I used D’Addario Halfwounds for maybe 20 years

Sticky touch at first. Can be useful for reigning in a bright Bass. Never tried the 5 string set.

I prefer Stainless Flats now. Obviously subjective but “Old Chromes” are much better than “Old Halfwounds”

 

[Low Down Brown]

I don't have any experience with any other half-wounds besides the GHS pressurewounds. I have them on my G&L M2500 and I like how they feel and sound. They can do thumpy fingerstyle or grindy pick attack. The pressurewounds, IMO, allow for the best of both types. YMMV, as indicated by others who've contributed to the discussion.

 

[thmsjordan]

When a mommy roundwound and a daddy flatwound love each other very much.............

 

[80jazz]

I kinda like the ones that are ground flat to use on a fretless, but only for a while, because once they lose that little bit of brightness, they’re super dead & dull. It’s bad enough that I no longer use them, even on fretless.

Same here.

I put a set of the GHS pressurewounds on a 1987 Jazz Bass Special fretless. I liked them at first, but when they die they are DEAD.

That bass is not mine but I have access to it all the time. The owner (one of the guys in the band) wants it strung with flatwounds, so Chromes is what it will get.

If one wanted pressurewounds, based on available videos I suspect the Rotosound pressurewounds would be an excellent choice.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

They are not quite what I expected! I just naively bought a pack just because the are marketed as a compromise between flat and roundwounds by d'addario. Which they are clearly not, they are something on their own. I have played many flatwounds that are much brighter than these. I dont think there are any "bad" strings or anything, but they have very weired (but interesting) properties. First of all- the feel, they have a very strong surface friction, unlike anything else I ever played, probably because of the sanded down rough surface. Then the four strings are very uneven sounding, every string behaves different. The higher strings have very less highs, sounds almost like a ukulele bass, but more "steely". The lower strings are very "flobby", completetly different to flatwounds in that gauge. Fells a little bit like playing a upright bass. Least sustain I ever heard. So very interesting, they sound fantastic "dead" up the neck, I could see them being used in jazz soloing.

Whats your experience/ your thoughts on these? Who likes to play them?

Half rounds/pressure wounds/ground wounds do not sound like flats. They sound like worn in rounds. Then, they lose the clack.

They're alright

 

[LBS-bass]

Another vote for GHS pressurewounds here. I've had two sets on my #1 over the past couple of years. First set lasted quite a while, got a lot of play before they went dead. It was clear to me when it was time for a change, so I changed them. Not a big deal. The set on there now has been on there for a few months, still going strong and I play quite a lot. So I feel like I'm getting my money's worth.

Rounds are too bright for me these days, flats are great for some things but I prefer the punch I get from the pressurewounds for most jobs. They are not whisper smooth like flats but they are much easier on the fingers than regular rounds, and they don't produce so much string noise. Maybe worth a try.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I used the original nickel wound HRs (45-100) during my DiscoDaze® ('77-'79); sounded and felt great to me for the Top 40 and disco music we played of the era (some jazzier stuff, too - Chick Corea, Mahavishnu Orchestra).

In the late '90s I used the new (at the time) stainless steel version (40-95 plus a .110 for the B string on my Zon Sonus Special 5). Yeah, they were a bit grabby at first but I got used to that rather quickly. Here are some samples of the Zon with those strings.







These are with my old custom Zon 5/1 with SS HRs: