Can you keep rounds on forever like flats?

[Sparkdog]

I got lucky and stumbled across a great bass at a great price last week (Fender 70's Jazz, the MIM reissue model). This bass is very light, resonant, and punchy. When you pluck a note it just jumps off the bass, but there isn't a lot of sustain. I don't know how much of that wonderful sound is the bass itself and how much is the strings.

It's got the original Fender 7250 strings on it, which have gone somewhat dead and are thumping like flats - I love them! These are the older style with black silks which I understand you can't get any more.

When I put flats on a bass I am done, they stay there as long as I have the bass and just get better and better, but I've never tried this with roundwounds. They always seem to die and become lifeless and hard to tune after a while.

Do any of you guys like the sound of "dead" rounds and do they ever reach a point where they stabilize and don't change any more?

I would gladly keep these strings if they stay where they are tonewise. If not I have the frustrating and expensive task of finding suitable replacements.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

I love dead rounds, they sound great. They can stay on a bass as long as flats, but oxidize & rust easier than flats (purely an opinion on my part, not a scientific fact). IMO once they can't stay in tune or be intonated, you have to change them.

 

[M.Wrenn]

I love the sound of dead rounds. I've had a set on my Kawai FIIB for coming up on 5 years now. Still sound great.

 

[EricssonB]

I think my rounds are the second set that that's ever been on my bass. My friend put them on in 2003 and I bought it from him in 2005. Still rockin'm.

Stays in tune, action is fine, they're not rusty at all (come on, I live in Coloradical) and I don't have to deal with those obnoxious twangy sounds of new rounds. I might get some low-tension flats sometime this year. Maybe. Possibly. They still make strings, so...

 

[onosson]

I like old rounds as I'm not generally a fan of how flats feel under my fingers, and old rounds can get a similar tone. I do find that, left on long enough, there is the risk of inevitably breaking one of the strings at an inopportune moment.

 

[EricssonB]

I do find that, left on long enough, there is the risk of inevitably breaking one of the strings at an inopportune moment.

I don't know if I believe that.

 

[Sparkdog]

That is good news boys!

I might even try wiping these down with alcohol to take off any accumulated grunge and try to preserve them.

A friend of mine swears that DR Sunbeams are so warm and un-zingy that they would approximate the sound I'm getting from these. I ordered a set in the same gauge today just to have a backup, but I'm skeptical.

These just have the funk baked into them.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

I might even try wiping these down with alcohol to take off any accumulated grunge and try to preserve them.
.

If you want to keep them dead I would avoid doing this.

IMO.

 

[onosson]

I don't know if I believe that.

No? I've had plenty of strings break at the worst times - and none of them were brand new strings!

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

No? I've had plenty of strings break at the worst times - and none of them were brand new strings!

I've broken 5 minute old strings.

 

[onosson]

I've broken 5 minute old strings.

And I'll take your word on it! At any rate, it does seem logical that using something over an extended period of time would increase the chance of failure - but anyone can choose to believe what they like.

 

[darkstorm]

No, not unless you want dead sounding strings. People use roundwounds for that new to somewhat broken in sound that flats will never ever equal. Most change their roundwounds around once every 3-4 months. It all depends on how close to new fresh out of the box, sound you want. Some prefer the sound of somewhat broken in strings, still got the roundwound sound and nice treble top, but a bit less bright etc.

Myself for new strings I'll roll off the treble control slightly till theyre freshly broken in. At which time treble control on the bass goes back to its regular position. When string tone is at the point that I'm boosting the treble more then normal its time to change strings or approaching that time for me.

Dead strings are the worst sounding thing I know of for nice bass or guitar. Oddly to me though theres some that like dead sound.

 

[Thaos627]

personally im curious at what strings u guys r using and if u can buy strings that r already dead.
ive heard bad things bout musicians gear maybe i should grab a set.

 

[MrLenny1]

I find roundwounds get funky after a year. Sweat & grime & use just wear them out and they feel & sound dead.
If you have decent EQ you can get a flat wound sound especially with finger style IMO.

 

[Mystic Michael]

Yeah, you can keep roundwounds on as long as you like. But as you've already experienced, they'll eventually begin to sound like crap.

Disclosure: I've never understood the whole "dead is better" thing, so as soon as my strings start to die, I replace 'em. Done.

That said, I've never been a flatwounds kind of guy, and never been into the whole "thump vs. tonality" thing, so that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

MM

 

[Rockin Mike]

Dead roundwounds won't tune up or intonate properly. I don't know anybody that likes the sound of an out-of-tune bass.

Plastic coated roundwounds are a lot less bright than regular rounds.
Nickel roundwounds are less bright than steel.
Half-rounds are about midway between flats and rounds.

The new non-plastic coatings like DR's "k3" are not dead-sounding at all, if anything they are brighter than normal strings and are designed to keep that brightness longer.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Old flats don't intonate well either but most people using them don't give a damn.

 

[lucas vigor]

I think keeping dead rounds on defeats the purpose a bit. Not saying it can't be done, but for me, the result has never been what I wanted. A bright zing is what I personaly want from rounds, but letting them get dead while still being rough to the touch is not what I like. The feel of flats, and the tone, stays almost indefinitely. I have flats going on for 8 years plus now on two of my basses, and they still intonate no problem. its true what they say too, about the rounds rusting more. They actually (to me) feel rougher the longer they are on, and I bet that's the rust. With flats, you lose the zing but the feel is still smooth. With dead rounds you lose the zing while retaining the inherent roughness of a roundwound string.

When It comes to steels I like Nickels the best for the feel, but I am not so anal about the strings that I can be like some rich rockstar that changes his bright roundwounds every other song in the studio. I like bright and zingy, but not so much. About the end of 30 days and steels are in their perfect range for me.

But normally, flats are what I used the most. Old flats.

 

[WilliamSandoval]

I think my rounds are the second set that that's ever been on my bass. My friend put them on in 2003 and I bought it from him in 2005. Still rockin'm.

Stays in tune, action is fine, they're not rusty at all (come on, I live in Coloradical) and I don't have to deal with those obnoxious twangy sounds of new rounds. I might get some low-tension flats sometime this year. Maybe. Possibly. They still make strings, so...

Coloradical, eh?

 

[Sparkdog]

Yeah, I'm in uncharted waters here. The rounds on the bass at the moment are pretty much perfect and I have no idea how they got that way...I've never been able to achieve that myself.

They're thumpy but have a distinct edge to them, played with a pick they do the Nashville "tic tac" bass thing to a tee. But alas, I fear tis a fleeting thing

I'm looking into TI Jazz flats, the word here on TB is that they do the thumpy yet clear thing very well and stay that way. Plus, they're low tension which would be a plus with this bass.

Thanks for the responses folks.