First fretless. Do I go for flats?

[scottfeldstein]

I've bought my first fretless bass, an ESP LTD B-205SM. It's B stock so I imagine it will arrive with the manufacturers string choice on it which would be D'Addario XL 45-125. The website doesn't say, but I assume they're round wounds.

Here's my question. Should I stick with those or something similar, or do I want flats? I'm thinking about Sting in The Police and Pino back in the day doing his fretless thing. If I want those kind of sounds, can I just use anything? Or should I definitely use flats or rounds?

 

[nonohmic]

I don’t know about those particular sounds but you’re missing out if you don’t put rounds on a fretless.

 

[Lo-E]

After 40-ish years of playing both fretless and fretted (with fretless being my preference), I suggest you start out by using whatever strings you use on fretted.

You’ll have your hands full (literally) adjusting to the new experience of playing a fretless and there’s no reason to add yet another variable. Fretless basses can be set up perfectly happily with rounds or flats so just use a set of strings you already know you like and you can always change your mind later when you’ve been playing the fretless for a while.

 

[ardgedee]

The D'Addarios are fine. Since they'll already be on there, try them for a while and see if you like them. They're not as thuddy as stereotypical flats.

Personally I prefer something with a little more growl and ring to them, and with less tension. Though I'll concede that if you like fretless "mwah", these can certainly contribute to that -- the high tension allows the action to get as low as possible.

 

[brianrost]

The classic fretless tones from the 1980s used roundwounds, at least to my ear, an after-effect of Jaco in the mid 70s. I no longer own a fretless, but I’ve had at least a half dozen and strung them all with rounds.

 

[scottfeldstein]

The classic fretless tones from the 1980s used roundwounds, at least to my ear, an after-effect of Jaco in the mid 70s. I no longer own a fretless, but I’ve had at least a half dozen and strung them all with rounds.

That's an interesting observation.

 

[climber]

FWIW I've been playing fretless since I went to the University of Miami 75-80. everyone I knew then used roundwound strings and I still do. there are 2 videos on my YT channel of me playing my Ristola and Pedulla, both with rounds. I think they were D'Addarios.

 

[rogerbmiller]

My experience- you can use either. I used to play exclusively rounds and have since migrated more to flats for fretless.

Flats don’t chew up your fingerboard anywhere near at the rate rounds will. Some prefer the sound of rounds on fretless for more mwah.

What I find is they are similar if your fretless is set up optimally. For me that’s an almost dead straight neck (virtually no relief). That gives you the mwah sound. Sustain for flats vs rounds would be similar on a fretless because the note is made more by your finger than the fret.

If you have spare strings I say try both and see what feels and sounds best for you and go with that.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[ardgedee]

If your concern is the condition of the fingerboard, stick with flats for a while until you've developed good fretless technique. While it's easy to mangle the board using rounds, you can do it (albeit more slowly) with flats too if you aren't playing right.

Once you're on top of that, as long as the board surface is reasonably hard, rounds won't damage it quickly. The fingerboard will have to be dressed occasionally -- on the order of years -- but that's going to needed eventually anyway.

 

[scottfeldstein]

You just reminded me of why this bad boy has real rosewood. It's hard. In any case, yes, I will stick with what's on it for a little bit, see how they feel. I am pretty sure it will come with rounds, but we'll see. Also, I have a little bottle of F-One oil to condition it come string change time.

 

[ardgedee]

Also, I have a little bottle of F-One oil to condition it come string change time.

Read the manual for maintanance information, or contact the manufacturer to ask how the fingerboard is finished. If it's sealed with epoxy or a poly coating, putting oil on top only makes a greasy fingerboard.

 

[Paul New]

Sting or Pino back in the day are definitely roundwound sounds. I like flats or tapes on fretless, but if you’re going for that Pino thing you need round wounds.

 

[climber]

While it's easy to mangle the board using rounds, you can do it (albeit more slowly) with flats too if you aren't playing right.

What is “…playing right…”?

 

[Chris Chong]

played the stock round wounds on a unfinish morado fingerboard. It left marks on the board, many TB’ers in fretless club were ok with that.

But my OCD gotten me to send it for sanding to get rid of the marks and stick with flats.

 

[Watchootognbout]

What is “…playing right…”?

If you are not slapping,tapping and doing guitarlike sideways string bends and pushing the heel of your palm down the strings on the fingerboard(Jaco did this occasionally) you will NOT have a great amount of wear.

 

[getBAK]

Start off with what comes on the bass, then assess what you want to be 'different' I've run Rounds Nickels, Round Stainless, Flats, ground-wounds, and finally settled on D'Addario Nylon tapes. There's really no wrong answer, it's all about your goals for feel and sound. You won't know what those are until you get some hours on the bass.

The wear from rounds on a fretless is greatly overstated. I actually did wear out a fretboard using rounds. It was a rosewood board, using Dean Markely SR2000 Stainless. It took about 10 years of consistent hard gigging and tours; thousands of hours of playing. Even now, I could just coat the fretboard in epoxy and go back at it

 

[ryco]

Rounds came on my fretless when I bought it, but they were tearing up the ebony fingerboard up at the nut.
Tried flats, but were way to thumpy, was really pulling at the bridge to get any attack, which was kinda slowing me down.
Settled on D'addario Half Rounds which I've been happy with for decades.

 

[lunarpollen]

you could try LaBella white nylon tapewounds, which have the smoothness of flats but more of a roundwound sound

 

[ardgedee]

What is “…playing right…”?

Other people have answered it but I'll add: Learn how to play with appropriate grip strength. Enough to stop the string and not more. You're smooshing metal against wood -- and while the wood is pretty good at resisting, it's still softer than metal, and the accumulated impact of metal string against wood over thousands of hours of playing adds up.

 

[Rocksolid]

I put half rounds on mine, get most of the top end without the finger noise while sliding around.

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