Same experience here. In theory they seemed they would be perfect. Hated them and was very surprised. Expected a softer, smoother feel.
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D'Addario Half Rounds
- Thread starter Skabasskid
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Same experience here. In theory they seemed they would be perfect. Hated them and was very surprised. Expected a softer, smoother feel.
i currently have these strings strung on my jazz bass; not quiet satisfied with them. as for the feel they have small ridges but not as prominent as roundwounds.
I agree 100%. I love D'Addario XL Nickels, ProSteels, Chromes...but I hate the sound/feel/stiffness of HalfRounds.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that D'Addario changed the way they make HalfRounds over the years, going from pressurewound to groundwound.
Does this ring a bell with anyone?
While I haven't used my Bongo more than an hour since I got it back from being refinished, I have to say that I am digging the half-rounds so far.
The bass is fretless and the half-rounds sound like I had hoped they would. I don't have a problem with the stiffness. They feel close to the Chromes on my other basses. I do have to say that I don't think I'd like the half-rounds on a fretted bass. But, with the fretless, they are great. They play nicely with the piezos without any obnoxious squeaking.
I don't have any issues with boxyness, or lack of thump/clarity. I'll try to do a quick recording of them this week.
The bass is fretless and the half-rounds sound like I had hoped they would. I don't have a problem with the stiffness. They feel close to the Chromes on my other basses. I do have to say that I don't think I'd like the half-rounds on a fretted bass. But, with the fretless, they are great. They play nicely with the piezos without any obnoxious squeaking.
I don't have any issues with boxyness, or lack of thump/clarity. I'll try to do a quick recording of them this week.
I bought used P a few months ago that were fitted with D'Addario Medium Half rounds and they have impressed me beyond expectation to the point I intend to leave them there forever until they break or go flat.
The tone, smoothness and growl, particularly with the E string amazed me. They were a discontinued code number but are stainless.
Now.....Because I liked those, I put a set in standard guage but in Nickel rather than Stainless in my Gibson EB 2D which is short scale as you know. The strings are .045 to .100.
The feel is not as smooth, it does feel rough, but I do like the tone and clarity on that bass, which is hard to string as the majority of what I try displeases me.
When I started playing and used Gibson EB3's, the string of choice was Picato nylon's which I can't find in the US but they were very growly with a lot of punch.
My next choice will be D'ddario Chromes which I have not tried.
Having played this awesomely refinished bass very briefly yesterday, I agree on the half-rounds. They feel and sound good, and seem to be a nice compromise between rounds and flats. I just got a new fretless and while I'm not too concerned about fingerboard wear, I'm also not crazy about the particular set of nickel rounds that came on the bass. I don't change strings often, and I don't like flats. So, I may give the half-rounds a whirl.
If you read my post above, I agree with you. I did not know the SS half rounds were discontinued but the packet came with the bass I bought and when I did a search for the code number, nothing came up so I assumed they were discontinued.
Maybe it's the electronics on the Bongo (two humbuckers,piezos, four band EQ),but I am really enjoying the half rounds. I would definitely compare them more with muffled rounds than I would to flats.
It's important to note that my preferred tone for the last couple of years has been flats with a BassMute. So, to me they are very bright without the squeak of rounds from the piezos.
I have to add that Pat Wilkins had the d string break at the ball end when he was tuning up. I sent an email to D'Addario and after I gave them the serial number on the bag, a replacement showed up in my mailbox about four days later.
It's important to note that my preferred tone for the last couple of years has been flats with a BassMute. So, to me they are very bright without the squeak of rounds from the piezos.
I have to add that Pat Wilkins had the d string break at the ball end when he was tuning up. I sent an email to D'Addario and after I gave them the serial number on the bag, a replacement showed up in my mailbox about four days later.
You'll never know if you like them or not until you try them so go for it, they aren't that expensive.
I didn't like them at all. When new they sounded good but were very sticky. By the time the stickyness went away the tone fell off. They sounded like rusty dead rounds and had a strange rubbery feel. No thump and no cut.
SIT Silencers are the best half-round type of string I have tried, by far. Smoother feel than rounds, great tone - lively but not too bright, long-lasting, inexpensive.
I didn't like them at all. When new they sounded good but were very sticky. By the time the stickyness went away the tone fell off. They sounded like rusty dead rounds and had a strange rubbery feel. No thump and no cut.
SIT Silencers are the best half-round type of string I have tried, by far. Smoother feel than rounds, great tone - lively but not too bright, long-lasting, inexpensive.
I have a 3 year old set of stainless steel half rounds on my Cort fretless and I'm praying they won't break because I love them.
I have a nickel set on another fretless bass and all I can say is "What were you smoking D'Addario?"
They're supposed to be the best of both worlds (smooth , yet bright) but they're the worst of both worlds. (dead sounding and actually gritty feeling).
I use nickel rounds on everything but my Hofner.
I use nickel rounds on everything but my Hofner.
I'm right there with Kael and the others on this one: worst of both worlds. They never really worked for me, but strings are really, really subjective and everybody's got their thing.
I recently tried a set of Ken Smith Compressors (squashed flat into an oval shape rather than ground flat) just as an experiment. To me, they feel more like rounds, but sound somewhere in the middle of rounds and flats, basically achieving (for me) what ground-wounds failed at. I've read that GHS compression-wounds are the same string as the Smiths, but can't confirm that.
As far as wear on the fingerboard goes, I have to agree with Kael here, too. It's so minimal, even with rounds, that you should just use what you like.
I recently tried a set of Ken Smith Compressors (squashed flat into an oval shape rather than ground flat) just as an experiment. To me, they feel more like rounds, but sound somewhere in the middle of rounds and flats, basically achieving (for me) what ground-wounds failed at. I've read that GHS compression-wounds are the same string as the Smiths, but can't confirm that.
As far as wear on the fingerboard goes, I have to agree with Kael here, too. It's so minimal, even with rounds, that you should just use what you like.
For nuno.ka and others interested in stainless steel grounds I've had Picato stainless steel groundwounds on for a day and as these are the first SS grounds I've tried it's been an interesting experience.
In correction of what I wrote previously the Status Halfwound are actually roundwound with flat outer wrap.
Before giving the Picatos any hard assesment I ran them through a process of combined isopropyl alcohol soaking and ultrasonic cleaning(not for the faint hearted). With grounds I've found this is crucial as grounding compounds remain from the manufacturing process which kills the high-end.
Here's a improvised blues line I recorded today:
blues in A.mp3 - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage
Overall lower order harmonics("fundamentals") are strong and higher order harmonics are prescent, I like it. Compared to Status they have more beef and more articulation. Compared to GHS brite flats and Ken Smith slick round they have leaner mids, not really scooped, and a kinder tension. Sadly string-to-string balance is not satisfactory. While not as bad as the Status the E string is too dark and G string is too bright. I purposely avoided the G string on the recording and only played the E string on the three notes before the final A. To me SS grounds are a nice dish but Status and Picato aren't the best chefs. I'm still waiting for delivery of Elites SS grounds and if I don't find those to my liking either I hope I can mix-and-match a decent set.
In correction of what I wrote previously the Status Halfwound are actually roundwound with flat outer wrap.
Before giving the Picatos any hard assesment I ran them through a process of combined isopropyl alcohol soaking and ultrasonic cleaning(not for the faint hearted). With grounds I've found this is crucial as grounding compounds remain from the manufacturing process which kills the high-end.
Here's a improvised blues line I recorded today:
blues in A.mp3 - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage
Overall lower order harmonics("fundamentals") are strong and higher order harmonics are prescent, I like it. Compared to Status they have more beef and more articulation. Compared to GHS brite flats and Ken Smith slick round they have leaner mids, not really scooped, and a kinder tension. Sadly string-to-string balance is not satisfactory. While not as bad as the Status the E string is too dark and G string is too bright. I purposely avoided the G string on the recording and only played the E string on the three notes before the final A. To me SS grounds are a nice dish but Status and Picato aren't the best chefs. I'm still waiting for delivery of Elites SS grounds and if I don't find those to my liking either I hope I can mix-and-match a decent set.
Wow. This thread surprised me. Some of us must be living in alternate universes.
I have used Half Rounds for years. They're my favorite string.
Never felt they were rough.
Felt the tension was lighter than flats.
Heard the tone in the middle of the two.
Great, versatile strings.
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I have used Half Rounds for years. They're my favorite string.
Never felt they were rough.
Felt the tension was lighter than flats.
Heard the tone in the middle of the two.
Great, versatile strings.
Link Removed
I love the stainless steel Half Rounds but they don't make them anymore. The new nickel ones are a disappointment to me.
