Does playing rounds make you a better player?

[Ggaa]

Practice will make you quieter on rounds. I used to be noisy on flats with single coils, now I'm pretty quiet on rounds. Not better, just better technique.

 

[deste]

YES, definitely.
Playing rounds can turn you into a great round player.
Nevertheless, playing flats can turn you into a great flats player.
But be extremely careful: never switch to round from flats or viceversa, the whole universe could collapse.

 

[NeckPickup]

Learning how to coax different sounds and textures out of flats can make you a better player. Finger noise isn’t the only metric for what makes someone’s technique good or bad.

 

[Killing Floor]

Haha, this is awesome.
But it's super funny to jab a little since we gots nothing to do because of the current situation regarding the global coronavirus pandemic and stuff.

I'm a firm believer that rounds are better for some techniques and flats are better for some techniques. Slap/pop/tap advantage round. Funk, classic rock, jazz advantage flats. But anybody with decent technique can make anything sound pretty good with any strings. I have a P and a Duesy semi-hollow and some fretlesses with flats and Ray, Sabre, J and others with rounds. Lots of string options is as good a reason as any to have multiple basses. I need a bass with tapes now. Maybe something in Daphne blue. Just putting that out to the universe.

This said, it is absolutely no secret that manufacturers (every big brand and every popular model) ships new basses from every factory with rounds. It's because they (bass manufacturers) believe they make their product (basses) sound better to their customers (bass players). And it is also no secret that even excluding OEM, rounds outsell flats more more than 10 to 1.

 

[rmayer]

I don't think so. And my proof consists of two words...James Jamerson.

 

[Killing Floor]

Not to hijack the thread but if a great player puts flats on a Stingray he/she will be struck by lightning and their body will be turned into fulgerite. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day it will happen.

 

[seanm]

Definitely when I play rounds I have to concentrate more on not making a lot of fret noise. But is that really sloppy? If I have an AWD car and can power around corners faster does that make me a sloppy driver?

 

[2tonic]

Definitely when I play rounds I have to concentrate more on not making a lot of fret noise. But is that really sloppy? If I have an AWD car and can power around corners faster does that make me a sloppy driver?

If you miss the apex, it does.

 

[Element Zero]

No. My talent doesn’t change because of equipment.

 

[2tonic]

Playing rounds cleanly simply requires a different technique from what one might use on flats.
Different is.........different.
Not better, not worse.
Like your vibrato technique on fretless, compared to fretted. You could use the same technique for both, but ultimately, one will prove itself better for the particular application.
So, playing rounds may make you more cognizant of string/finger noise, and help you develop your skill at reducing it, but it doesn't make you a "better" player, just a more well rounded one.

 

[Geri O]

That’s just it though, whatever brainpower you expend on trying to silence inherently noisy strings is brainpower unavailable for other things (including making good music).

So we are told by “experts” that we typical use less than 10% of our brain at any given moment. Maybe if we could learn to use 11%, reckon we could concentrate on playing good music AND playing round wounds cleanly?

Of course, the 10% of the brain in use has been proven to be a crock.

And frankly, I think the same thing of that “needed brain power to play cleanly” as well.

My gosh, would some of you people stop thinking so damn much and practice already!!!

 

[Ruknrole]

My gosh, would some of you people stop thinking so damn much and practice already!!!

 

[GalleyCat]

So, playing rounds may make you more cognizant of string/finger noise, and help you develop your skill at reducing it, but it doesn't make you a "better" player, just a more well rounded one.

I see what you did there. I like it.