D'Addario Half Rounds - Not Impressed So Far

[Pocket4]

Not a best of both worlds solution, but the half rounds really well dug in for a time have worked for me on P bass and Gibson SG bass.

 

[Col the plunker]

It really depends on the bass, your style and your expectations. I'm a fan of the D'Addario Half-Wounds BUT not on all my basses. I've used 'em on my custom made J/P/J Bass for years. It's a heavy bass, dense koa body with a maple/rosewood neck. The Half-Wounds provide a great balance without being too zingy or grindy but have nice growl and a crisp top end when I lean into them. I've tried La Bella Deep Talkin' tape wounds on my Squire fretless Jazz Bass and recently returned to the Half-Wounds... growls like a son-of-a-gun now.

Onto my P Bass, I was lucky enough to acquire it wrapped with D'Addario Chromes, it's got an awesome BARK! I was originally looking for a P to put with rounds or half-wounds on but the Chromes sound so friggin good, they're staying on.

I'm not a fan of the typical clanky and wanky round wound Bass Bass sound so my MIM FSR Jazz Bass got wrapped with Fender 9050Ls... while they took a bit to break in, the tone with growl is amazing.

Good luck finding what you want.

I also put chrome's on my P bass after first considering D'd half rounds. I loved the dull thump that they (flat chromes) put out on my Hofner B bass and took a gamble.
What a revelation...fantastic deep tone and sustain....just play "dazed and confused" with your plucking fingers merely brushing the strings and feel it through your ribs. Then distort on trebel and it turns into an angry dog!
How come the half rounds feel sticky?

 

[michael_t]

How come the half rounds feel sticky?

The main reason for the stickiness is, when the outer round wire is ground down to a flat surface, it still leaves tiny gaps between the windings. Another reason is some of the compound used in the grinding and polishing process can be left on the strings from the factory, which needs to be cleaned off before installation.

 

[Col the plunker]

The main reason for the stickiness is, when the outer round wire is ground down to a flat surface, it still leaves tiny gaps between the windings. Another reason is some of the compound used in the grinding and polishing process can be left on the strings from the factory, which needs to be cleaned off before installation.

View attachment 3789807

Thanks mate,
Looking at the profile on the diagrams you provided. It seems to me that the half wounds edges could slightly pinch the skin on your fingers when fretting. Maybe this would cause a tacky feel?

 

[michael_t]

Looking at the profile on the diagrams you provided. It seems to me that the half wounds edges could slightly pinch the skin on your fingers when fretting. Maybe this would cause a tacky feel?

No worries about the skin being pinched as the gaps are so tiny, but feeling tacky? YES!

 

[Tim Skaggs]

I used D'Addario half-rounds many years ago. My Rickenbacker dealer said that rounds would eat up the frets prematurely on my new Rick 3000. I didn't want to take that chance and didn't like the sound I got with flats. I can't really remember the sound so well.

There must be hundreds of analogies for a Rickenbacker dealer that recommends against rounds.....

 

[Yahboy]

Flatwounds are also well known to be 'unbalanced' until they even out.
The sticky feeling does indeed go away.
I love Half Rounds. Great strings, people just have to be patient - they're like a fine vintage port wine needing time to blossom.

Those “ unbalance fresh from pack Flatwound tone ”dint happened on Ti JF344, EB cobalt flat 2814, group flat 2810 , 9050L , Pre Sadowsky blk flat , Dunlop 45-105 flat .

Both EB cobalt and group flat has unbelievable clear B string ！！！

 

[Al Kraft]

I'm not a fan of half rounds. I was hoping they'd be the best of both world, but I thought they fell short of that. I found they were more like dead rounds.

This was exactly my experience when I tried many brands years ago. I really thought it was great idea, but IMO the admittedly brilliant concept just didn't deliver in execution. Tone life was poor and while half rounds/ground wounds/whatever incarnation I tried were smoother to play, simple roundwounds were never a problem for me.

 

[TinIndian]

Had a set on a bass I recently bought. Worst strings I've ever seen. Dead doesn't come close and I couldn't get rid of them fast enough.

 

[k_hardy]

I've found the same with halfs to be honest. I'd bought d'addario regular lights with the hope that they'd maintain the muted, thumpier feel of flats while having more of a tonal range, but was disappointed.

Their sound has changed after they were broken in but most of the tone seems to be dead and bland. Will probably just go back to flats...

 

[foal30]

I preferred Flats on my passive Fretless Jazz

Halfs are on my Tobias... It's got some snap but not enough to rip your head off.

 

[skyline_01]

Ok, so I pulled off the half rounds and boiled them instead of just trying to clean them with alcohol or whatever. BIG difference. I could see a line of white crap on the side of the pan where the factory "goop" had boiled off.

They sound MUCH better, although I'm still certain my next set of strings will be flats again or Pressurewounds.

 

[Col the plunker]

Mmm, I was tempted to buy half-rounds for my new Hofner, after reading members posts I am glad I chose flat chromes. Incidentally, has anybody tried the black nylon coated flats like Paul McCartney uses on his Hof violin bass?

 

[GrapeBass]

Mmm, I was tempted to buy half-rounds for my new Hofner, after reading members posts I am glad I chose flat chromes. Incidentally, has anybody tried the black nylon coated flats like Paul McCartney uses on his Hof violin bass?

You made a good choice, while I love half-wounds, I don't think they work on all basses.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

Hey,

So I threw a set of these on my fretless 'Ray tonight. They were a Christmas gift from my kids but I haven't had the time to mess with them until now. The E sounds damn near dead (think 20-year-old muted flatwound) and the A is not much better. I previously had Chrome flats on this bass and they sounded a lot more alive to me. These are also kinda sticky, which I'm guessing will wear off with time - I'm not so much worried about that.

I currently have D'Addario NYXL on my G&L 5'er and they're great, plus I've used several other sets of their strings over the years with no problems. Am I missing something?

I’ve read quite a few posts here from folks that just don’t like them. Chock it up to experience.

BTW, the sticky feeling does go away, but I can’t ever remember getting a dead string right out of a new package.

So far, I’m the same way with Flatwounds. I tried a set of Chromes and I loved them, -until they started sounding really dull and thumpy.

For me, groundwounds give my bass a fatter sound, and they provided me with enough definition.


I slightly prefer GHS Brite Flats, but Half Rounds are a very close second place for me.

 

[michael_t]

I slightly prefer GHS Brite Flats, but Half Rounds are a very close second place for me.

Half-rounds vs. half-rounds, the main difference between GHS and D'A boils down to the outer wrap wire - Alloy 52 (nickel-iron) vs. pure nickel. Alloy 52, being more active magnetically, seems to provide more punch, while pure nickel tends to be a bit more "polite and laid-back", which can be perceived as being "dull and lifeless".

 

[Brassmonkey71]

The D'Addarios sounds great on both a J-bass and a Ric 4003. Feel sticky first but get better. Best choice if you like to emphasize the mids and cut down on treble and bass frequencies. If you come from rounds, this is a first good step towards flats.

 

[michael_t]

Half-enthused and half-committed to half-rounds... After some consideration, I've decided to scrap the whole idea of trying out a set of half-rounds (GHS Brite Flats) on my P bass; instead, I'll be going with the GHS Balanced Nickels as a warmer and mellower alternative to the GHS Pressurewounds when it's time for a change.

 

[Hubris]

I use Ken Smith Slick Rounds on my 6 string. They're similar, sticky at first but they break in but then they sound really good and last forever.

 

[michael_t]

Half-enthused and half-committed to half-rounds... After some consideration, I've decided to scrap the whole idea of trying out a set of half-rounds (GHS Brite Flats) on my P bass; instead, I'll be going with the GHS Balanced Nickels as a warmer and mellower alternative to the GHS Pressurewounds when it's time for a change.

Right after I posted this yesterday, another TB member asked me in another thread if there was any chance of my changing my mind and trying the Brite Flats first before the Balanced Nickels so I could share my perspective on them. So, said yes. So, back to my original plan...