Half Rounds how come?

[LoveThatBass]

They've been around forever but seems they never really caught on, on paper they look like best of both worlds. Gonna try them for the first time on my jazz bass and see what they’re like. I use TI flats on my P and thought I’d try these for my jazz bass. Anybody here use them? thanks

I hated the tone of Half Rounds not to mention the feel. I prefer GHS Pressure wounds instead. Half rounds are ground down while Pressure Wounds are pressed through rollers. They feel and sound better

 

[ryco]

Been using D'addario Halfies on my fretless Ripper since the late '70s.
Rounds were tearing up the ebony board, and flats were so thumpy was really having to pull to get any attack which slowed me down a little.
So halfies provided a good alternative. A new set is a little rough and grabby for a bit, but meh, I'm a bass player = plenty of calluses. peace

 

[Johnny Fingers]

I used them for a cycle many years ago and found them satisfactory for tone and feel although they didn’t last as long as I would have liked.

 

[Iristone]

The D'Addario half rounds sound like flats to me. The Roto and SIT pressurewounds sound a bit more bright than the corresponding rounds to me.

 

[MrAB4003]

I have never understood the dislike for half rounds. At all.

1) “they’re sticky, grabby!”
Rub them with isopropyl alcohol and problem solved.

That works for any sticky or grabby strings.

2) “they feel rough! I hate the feel of them!”
No. They feel very much like flatwounds.

It depends on the brand. Rotosound 55s feel like roundwounds because that brand makes rougher than normal strings. They even feel rougher than the D'Addario nickel rounds that I switched to.

3) “they sound awful!”
If you want deep fundamental, a rich tone with useable top end… half rounds will give you that.

It depends on the bass you put them on and the brand you buy.

I didn't hear an increase in fundamental or low end with half rounds when I put them on my P Bass or my Ric 4003. The top end was just like a typical roundwound top end in my experience. The 55s were just decent tonally.

 

[BooshBass]

I hated half rounds on my Ibanez Artcore guitar. Felt weird.

 

[VoodooJazz]

I have always used the nickel half rounds on my ‘73 P-bass and I like them a lot. They sound like a piano on that bass, and I can do a lot with that tone. Just feels like home to me.

For a fretless P, I’d go with the SIT pressurewounds.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

Have to take your word for it. It's been 30 years ...

Or Daddario's word?

Daddario XL Half Rounds

 

[DRay521]

I used them for a few months on an active/passive 5 with a modern country band. I didn’t find them “grabby,” and in fact actually thought they had a nice feel, exactly in between the smoothness of flats and the regular roundwound feel. Tonally, I got nice midrange punch, substantial but tight lows, and a tame high end that could really be shaped with the tone knob. I did notice that as the strings died out, 2-3 months in, they really lost the tonal aspects that I liked so much, and I had to replace them. Much different than flats that really NEED to settle and can be left on a long time. That said, there was a sweet spot for the half-rounds that was possibly my favorite set of strings I’ve used on that bass, and with that group.

 

[brianrost]

They've been around forever but seems they never really caught on, on paper they look like best of both worlds. Gonna try them for the first time on my jazz bass and see what they’re like. I use TI flats on my P and thought I’d try these for my jazz bass. Anybody here use them? thanks

I used to use D’Addario half rounds (one of the first on the market) back in the late 70s and early 80s before switching to regular rounds (either D’Addario Nickel XL or GHS Boomers). They sound to me like slightly broken in rounds, not as in your face bright when brand new. Of course they feel like flats and are easier on frets and fingerboards. I honestly can’t remember why or when I stopped using them.

 

[Chrisk-K]

I’ve used halfrounds, and to me they are the worst of both worlds.

 

[Medicine Man]

GHS brite flats WOULD be awesome if they weren't so INCREDIBLY stiff and tense. The tone is good but they are absolutely brutal to play.

GHS Pressurewounds seems to have a lot of love, similar concept. I, however, am not a fan. There's brighter flats that are true flats, and smoother rounds that are true rounds, so what's the point?

For me, GHS pressurewounds hit a nice jack of all trades, master of none middle ground. I play variety covers, and can turn up the tone and dig in for some modern punch, or roll it off and play with a light touch for vintage warmth without switching instruments. I agree that many other strings do one thing better, but pressurewounds have great utility for my situation.

 

[Altitude]

The D'Addario half rounds sound like flats to me. The Roto and SIT pressurewounds sound a bit more bright than the corresponding rounds to me.

I agree; I like Pressurewounds and do have them on one bass, but I find them and Half-Rounds to be more different than similar. Half-rounds sound and feel more like flats and Pressurewounds are definitely a flavor of roundwound.

 

[sethlow3]

If you’re considering half rounds, it may just be a better option to buy the same model bass to set each up with flats and rounds. The real best of both worlds…

Buying another bass is always the answer…

 

[MCS4]

I'm in the camp that found them to be closer to a "worst of both worlds" as opposed to "best of both worlds." I have only really liked them on one bass, and even then I still found that I preferred a regular set of brighter-than-average flats (Chromes, in this case). Part of this might come from the fact that I am primarily a rounds player who uses flats as a change of pace or to suit particular basses, so the smoother texture is a nice bonus but not a requirement. I could imagine that if I were a full-time flats player who wanted a brighter bass sound but was completely unwilling to deal with the change in texture with rounds I might find some of the smoother groundwound/half wound/pressure wound strings as a decent option, but for me I'm happy to keep my rounds and flats separate.

 

[Stewie]

Funny you should ask. Last night I strung up my fretless P bass with Brite Flats. Been running GHS Precision Flats for at least 35 years. I haven't decided if I'll leave them on or not. They have an upper midrange bump that's kinda cool. Ask me in a few weeks, once they calm down a wee.

 

[michael_t]

Funny you should ask. Last night I strung up my fretless P bass with Brite Flats. Been running GHS Precision Flats for at least 35 years. I haven't decided if I'll leave them on or not. They have an upper midrange bump that's kinda cool. Ask me in a few weeks, once they calm down a wee.

Funny you should mention Precision Flats... I have a brand new set on standby just in case the Brite Flats don't work out. Ask me in a few months...

 

[Bob_Ross]

Anybody here use them?

When D'Addario first introduced Half Rounds back in the late 1970s I tried a set. Hated them.

Sometime in the past 10 or 20 years I used nickel PressureWounds (one type of "half round") on my fretless, and hated those also. But then I tried GroundRounds (the other type of "half round") on that same fretless bass, and I love those! So those GroundRounds -- Ken Smith "Slick Round" Nickel Iron Medium groundwounds (# AA-SRM) -- have become my go-to string for that particular bass.

About an hour ago I put a set of GHS PressureWound Bronze half round strings on my acoustic bass guitar. Too early to tell whether they will work out, but so far they seem okay...at least, I don't hate them yet!

 

[bigjames]

Yeah they seem like a great idea, but the implementation falls short. A lot of us find them too "grabby", too sharp, they really need to do some slight edge rounding on them or something. Harsh on the fretting fingertips.

This. Very grabby feeling on the fingers in my experience. I tried them years ago and never went back.

 

[michael_t]

But then I tried GroundRounds (the other type of "half round") on that same fretless bass, and I love those! So those GroundRounds -- Ken Smith "Slick Round" Nickel Iron Medium groundwounds (# AA-SRM) -- have become my go-to string for that particular bass.

For those who are not familiar, I should point out the Ken Smith Slick Rounds are the closest sibling to the GHS Brite Flats, both of which are Alloy 52 (nickel-iron) half-rounds/groundwound made by GHS.

And Ken Smith Compressors are the closest sibling to GHS Pressurewound, which are Alloy 52 "rollerwound". Currently two of my basses are wearing the Compressors and two of them are wearing the Pressurewounds.