Flats that sound like rounds?

[Jack Butler]

This. And I spent a lot of money figuring this out! There’s a lot of subjectivity on what sounds best, but I really do feel like as far as closest to rounds the cobalt flats are the ticket.

Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats (aka Slinky Flatwound) are the most roundwound-like in tone out of all flats. They're also one of the more flexible ones.

 

[iiipopes]

As above, in my experience:
Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats (not the stainless steel flats) are the grindiest, then all of a sudden, they go dead.
Fender 9050 flats are grindy, and slowly age and mellow over the course of years.

 

[Zooberwerx]

I'm using the Cobalt Flats / 5 string set. I haven't had any problems. Next time, I'm considering going with a custom gauge set to lighten up the G & D. They sound like broken-in RW's to me and haven't gone dead...yet.

Riis

 

[J-Bass RMR]

which flatwounds are the closest to roundwounds

Ernie Ball Cobalt Slinky Flats. Nothing else like them.
They are my most used string since they were introduced in 2015, having used Rounds exclusively until then.

I also have basses strung with the following "bright" flats:
(in order of brightness)
Chromes, Roto 77s, Fender 9050s, & TIs.

IMO, these are all "bright" Flats, but Cobalt Flats are the ones that come closest to rounds.

 

[woodyng2]

I really liked the tone of Chromes, but the tension is too high for me to play them all the time. Thats IMO of course.

That’s why I ended up taking them off 2 of my basses. Loved the sound, but not the stiff feel.

 

[Mister Mo]

I love the 'touch and feel' of flats.

I just thought about that again: I also like the soft touch and feel of women. Smooth slides are important.

 

[Jason Hollar]

Yes, but, if you're looking for a flat that sounds like a round they're going to have some texture.
Comes with the territory, IMHO.

For me Rotosound RS77LD Jazz Bass flats are very bright out of the box, they are my favorite strings and sometimes I get a bit frustrated when I add them for the 1st time to a new bass (then they will be there for at least a decade ).
I would recommend you those by rotosound they are 65% monel but don't get scared by that, they are bright and will naturally get more like your regular flats. Compared to my 2nd favorite strings the GHS Precision Bass flats, the Rotos are exactly what you are looking for.
Hope it helped, but no advice will ever be better than getting some flats and testing them (and yes it will be hurting you wallet hahahaha).

Longtime flat user here. So I’ve really enjoyed the smooth glassy feel of Chromes, older Ernie Balls, GHS, Labellas, and most recently DR Legends.

That said, my go to aggressive flat is the Roto 77 mediums. Here’s the rub … literally: since these strings are “hand wound” they’ve been incredibly inconsistent from set to set. I will typically buy 2 or 3 sets and mix & match the smoothest vs the “roughest” set out of the bunch. I’ll normally opt for the smoothest set, keeping a rougher set as backup.

Yes - these strings can last a decade or more. But I broke a G string on a run of 150 gigs in 2006 so I decided it’s probably best to just change the set every year or two to be on the safe side lol.

Do the Rotos sound like rounds? No. I have DR Sunbeams on another bass for that. But they are loud and gnarly at first but then they smooth out in texture and tone after a few months.

Good luck to the OP - please report back if you find a suitable roundish flat!

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Lots of flats have a surprisingly bright, metallic tone when they're brand new but the only ones that sound anything like roundwounds are the Roto 77s IMO.

If you just want strings with a smoother surface and it doesn't matter if they're technically flats (or even feel like flats) there's also the GHS Pressurewounds.

These are both very stiff string so you might want to consider a slightly lighter gauge than your usual preference.

 

[MrLenny1]

IME none.

 

[basszillla]

i've not ever used flats (yet), but maybe some 1/2 rounds could be a "happy medium" of what you're searching for?
XL Half Rounds | Semi-Flat Wound Bass Guitar Strings | D'Addario

they used to make ground round strings, but maybe they arent manufactured anymore?

 

[sharpiemarker]

IME the fenders flats are the closest to rounds

 

[DrThumpenstein]

That’s true! Chromes are really zingy the first 10-12 hours. So are LaBella DTF. Then they settle in.

I’m about 8 hours in on some Labella DTBs and I agree. Somewhere between 10 and 20 hours, they lose that zing. They still stay bright enough to be clear up the neck but yeah, they lose the zing and sound like flats. This set is still pretty bright, might be closer to 20 hours!

I’ve tried the old @JimmyM Eucerin trick to good effect, but I was in too much of a hurry to get this one strung up and start playing it. They’ll break in soon enough, and in my current rock band, nobody’s gonna complain. But they are a bill a little pricey to be replacing every 10 or 20 hours for a brighter, more round-like tone.

 

[K. Powell]

The Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats lasted for a couple years for me. The E sounded duller after 6 months, but still good enough. I was using a pick and was shocked how close to a round wound string they sounded. The benchmark being fresh Rotosound swing 66s for me. GHS pressure wounds also are great but lose brightness much faster in my experience.

 

[Barton Lee]

I recommend trying the Dogal Jaco System Carbon Steel Flat strings if you're looking for a flatwound string set that sounds the most like rounds. I have a set of those (the lighter 40-100 JC106B set) on my Fender Jazz and I like them a lot. I was looking for a flat that met that criteria, i.e. sounding most like a round. The Dogals are expensive (same price as TI flats in the US), but if that doesn't dissuade you, they're really nice, with a much smoother polished finish than TIs and only modestly higher tension. The tone reminds me a bit of Roto SM77 flats when those are new, quite bright with a lot of snap which goes away too soon with the Rotos (for me). I've only had the Dogals on for one month and can't speak to their longevity yet.

 

[BAG]

I play sometimes with and sometimes without a pick. But aggressive rock doesn't sound right with normal flats.

That's a very broad statement.
My absolute favourite tone for playing rock songs is using a pick with my Franken Pbass (Bill Lawrence P46 pickup) with flatwound Chromes. I'm not saying it sounds like rounds, because it doesn't, but it does sound great to me.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Light gauge chromes should be good or the EBs.

 

[Ric5]

If you want the roundwound sound then play the roundwound string

 

[Groove Doctor]

Try EQ changes - cut lows, boost treble, adjust mids to taste.

HPF will remove a muddy sound
Boost 1.6kHz to emphasise finger attack
Boost 2.5-5kHz to give zing to your string. Turning your tweeter louder helps too.

 

[jmlee]

Once Chromes settle in, they're warm sounding but with a remarkable firmness of pitch. Their B-string is better than any I found across lots of varieties of flats. In terms of the "effect" of rounds, not so much the brightness per se but the harmonic content you get in a band context with a bit of top end rolled off, the Ernie Ball Cobalt flats are absolutely that. I have them on two rather mid-punchy basses, a G&L Tribute SB-2T and a Sterling by Music Man Stingray, and they're a great match.

 

[Yahboy]

EB Cobalt flat sound closest to Nickel roundwound bass string than EB Group flat , following Fender 9050 and Ti flat.

Even over 12 months usage, overall voice on EB cobalt flat still healthy , and the E string has no dull or dead tone like others nickel roundwound bass string after 4 months usage.

If you hate the fretting noise on EB cobalt flat, EB Group flat do help. No worry, the E string still as healthy/lasting as the Cobalt E string.

Chrome ECB81 is bright when fresh from pack. But, you will find the E string start getting dull and lost the brightness just after few week. After that, nothing sound like nickel roundwound bass string anymore.