Rounds will give you more sustain and (mwah (not sure how that is spelled)) than flats. My 1995 SR5 fretless has seen only rounds and is still in good shape.
OMG. I want one of these!!!! That looks awesome!
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Fretless string choices?
- Thread starter zionww
- Start date
OMG. I want one of these!!!! That looks awesome!
My Fbass AC6 shipped with rounds (Fbass branded Labella Supersteps I believe) and I have never used anything else on it.
Someone has said GHS Pressurewounds by now, right? No? Great choice if you're used to rounds and particularly well-suited to use on a fretless. I'm mostly a rounds guy and my first fretless came with flats. I played it with flats for a few months and thought they were OK but they lacked the level of mwah I was looking for. Switched to Pressurewounds and it was just perfect.
Fretless Wal basses are shipped with roundwound strings from the factory. Make of that what you will
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
I g
I gigged a fretless P-bass exclusively from the early eighties until the end of the century using a variety of round- and flat-wound strings and never saw any conspicuous abrasion on the rosewood fingerboard.
This century, I've happily played TI Jazz Flats on all of my basses until last year, when I installed a set of Dogal Hellborg rounds on a fretless Lakland five-string.
I really like the expressiveness of both of these strings, especially on ballads; I prefer their suppleness and flexibility, by a wide margin, over the "bridge cables" I used in the 20th century.
My advice: play whatever you've got for at least a month before you make and firm decisions about strings; it took me a few months of playing Dogal Hellborgs before I warmed up to them and learned how to get the best out of them for my needs.
There will always be time to replace strings later.
And don't worry too much about the cost of a set. Life is too darned short to worry about such things.
I gigged a fretless P-bass exclusively from the early eighties until the end of the century using a variety of round- and flat-wound strings and never saw any conspicuous abrasion on the rosewood fingerboard.
This century, I've happily played TI Jazz Flats on all of my basses until last year, when I installed a set of Dogal Hellborg rounds on a fretless Lakland five-string.
I really like the expressiveness of both of these strings, especially on ballads; I prefer their suppleness and flexibility, by a wide margin, over the "bridge cables" I used in the 20th century.
My advice: play whatever you've got for at least a month before you make and firm decisions about strings; it took me a few months of playing Dogal Hellborgs before I warmed up to them and learned how to get the best out of them for my needs.
There will always be time to replace strings later.
And don't worry too much about the cost of a set. Life is too darned short to worry about such things.
Every fretless I’ve owned, if flats were on it originally, they come off in favor of rounds. Never had a problem.
Same bass and strings that Alain Caron uses, so good choice!
Personally I like how the stings make it sound a little LESS like a fretless bass. My old band loved this bass the most. Rock on!
my first fretless board got screwed up with rounds, but it was because i was "bending" notes like I was still playing a fretted bass.. once I learned to not do that, the damage stopped.... and my playing dramatically improved.
Welcome to TalkBass! Pretty Warwick! I get to babysit a fretless Corvette every once in a while! GREAT basses!
I've been using D'addario Half Rounds on my '77 Ripper since '80. Rounds were leaving marks in the fretbord up by the nut, and flats were so thumpy I was really having to pull to get any attack, which slowed down my speed. Halfies have been a good option for me - lots of string companies make them; half wounds - groundrounds.
I've been using D'addario Half Rounds on my '77 Ripper since '80. Rounds were leaving marks in the fretbord up by the nut, and flats were so thumpy I was really having to pull to get any attack, which slowed down my speed. Halfies have been a good option for me - lots of string companies make them; half wounds - groundrounds.
I have this same bass - Warwick Corvette 1997 made in Germany. I bought it in 1999 and have tried every (almost) conceivable string throughout the years. Flats, Rounds, Tapes..... I found the Labella Gold White Tapewound to be a nice choice. With all these sets, something was lacking. I was beginning to think the bass was at fault. Or my technique.
I recently decided to try GHS pressurewound. Bingo! A perfect match in my opinion. No flat/tape wound dull thud in the lower registers, no roundwound metallic buzz in the higher registers. Plenty of fretless mwah, plenty of roundwound like growl and warmth, plenty of output. In fact, in some inexplicable way, using these has actually helped to improve my fretless intonation. Very likely less fingerboard wear than full on rounds as well. These are a keeper for this bass. I cannot imagine using anything else on my beloved Corvette FL!
In short, I think these strings and the Warwick Corvette fretless are a match made in heaven.
I also put a set on my fretted P/J and am quite happy there as well.
I’ve used Swing 66’s on my fretless J since 2003. Thousands of hours of pretty aggressive play and I just this last week (literally, this last week) noticed some buzzing around the high ‘A’ on the first string…and I’m pretty sure that’s more a divot from my fat fingers than it is from the winds of the string.
As these MIJ necks are irreplaceable, my baby has only worn flats.
May try rounds, in the future.
Nite, folks.
Any of the strings that are for sale in my signature are great for fretless! But if you're not into pressurewounds or tapes, use whatever you feel works best for your style of playing and the music you're playing.
I played frestless using round rounds almost exclusively for 18 years or so with consistent daily use. Over that period I resurfaced the fingerboard twice. No big deal. All parts of a bass wear, and each will need attention periodically. Use rounds if that's your sound. Your bass will take it in stride and you and your bass will become one. Enjoy!
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Just play the strings you like. Coat the board if necessary.
FL with rounds and FL with flats are two immensely different aesthetics and for most different playing styles as well
FL with rounds and FL with flats are two immensely different aesthetics and for most different playing styles as well
+1
Very much a personal preference. And I’ll echo many others on here. Don’t let fingerboard wear keep you from trying/using rounds. Rounds, flats, half rounds/pressurewounds and tapes on a fretless are all just different flavors. It’s more a matter of what you like the best on your specific bass.
