What Do people think of half wound bass strings. I just ordered a set of D Addario half wounds that should be arriving later today and I was curious what people who have used them think. From what ive heard they sound similar to dead round wounds which is sort of what im going for. Trying to get that Roger Waters live at Pompeii or John Wetton on Starless and Bible Black.
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Half Wounds
- Thread starter skyystoryy
- Start date
IME it depends on the particular bass and what you hear in your head. I have used the D'Addario Half Wounds for years and love them on a couple of basses.
BTW - I've heard very good things about GHS Pressure Wounds, I don't have personal experience with them but have heard they're amazing.
Good luck
BTW - I've heard very good things about GHS Pressure Wounds, I don't have personal experience with them but have heard they're amazing.
Good luck
Pressure wounds are great (I have lots of experience) but are very different from half-wounds. Half-wounds are much closer to flats, especially the more “modern-sounding” midrangey flats like Ernie Ball or Dunlops. If you can get past their initial stickiness they do break in nicely. Still, a lot of folks bail before that happens. I do have one jazz bass with an older set and it sounds great, like flats but pretty articulate. …not at all like rounds …or pressure-wounds.
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Thank you for the response! im just using a P bass through an ampeg micro stack with compressor and big muff
I didn't like the way the D'Addario Half Wounds sounded on any of my P-Basses BUT, I do suggest you try and see how you like them. They're initially a bit 'sticky,' but if you give 'em some time, that wears out.
I prefer Rotosound Rounds or D'Addario Chromes (old and broken in) on P-Basses. Since I have 2 P-basses, that's how I have 'em wrapped.
Same experience here. I tried the GHS Pressure Wound strings on my fretless, and they came right off the next day.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Rich-Cincy Kid
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I use half rounds on my ‘62 AVRI Jazz. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
D
Roger Waters live at Pompeii was Roto 77 flats.
If you haven't tested Roto flats, they are tonally sort of in-between rounds and most other flats. Not quite as bright as rounds, but they have considerably more upper mid presence than most flats. They're very unique sounding strings with amazing mids. They also have a very different tone than any kind of D'Addarios.
Roto 77s are quite stiff, and will need a good setup to get the best out of them. The stiffness means they can handle sightly lower action than most strings without buzzing, and it you don't set them up with this in mind they can be extremely hard on your hands. The monel wrapping gives them sightly lower output than most other strings, but I've never found this to be a problem. Roto 77s are one of my all time favorite strings. Did I mention the gorgeous mids?
Of course you would also need a good P-bass and a Hiwatt to nail the Pompeii tone.
I wouldn't be surprised if John Wetton used some kind of Rotos back then too. It's certainly more likely than D'Addarios. Rotos were THE 70s British rock (and prog) bass strings.
Half wounds are sort of the worst of both worlds for me, and I generally don't like the rather bright, metallic sounding D'Addario signature tone, which is present even with their flats. Hopefully you will like them better than me.
If you haven't tested Roto flats, they are tonally sort of in-between rounds and most other flats. Not quite as bright as rounds, but they have considerably more upper mid presence than most flats. They're very unique sounding strings with amazing mids. They also have a very different tone than any kind of D'Addarios.
Roto 77s are quite stiff, and will need a good setup to get the best out of them. The stiffness means they can handle sightly lower action than most strings without buzzing, and it you don't set them up with this in mind they can be extremely hard on your hands. The monel wrapping gives them sightly lower output than most other strings, but I've never found this to be a problem. Roto 77s are one of my all time favorite strings. Did I mention the gorgeous mids?
Of course you would also need a good P-bass and a Hiwatt to nail the Pompeii tone.
I wouldn't be surprised if John Wetton used some kind of Rotos back then too. It's certainly more likely than D'Addarios. Rotos were THE 70s British rock (and prog) bass strings.
Half wounds are sort of the worst of both worlds for me, and I generally don't like the rather bright, metallic sounding D'Addario signature tone, which is present even with their flats. Hopefully you will like them better than me.
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Wipe them using a rag, with rubbing alcohol. It gets rid of the sticky feeling. The strings feel very close to flats and have a deep fundamental. I like them a lot.
I think they're pretty cool. Have used them a few times over the years, but haven't gone back to them-there is something a little odd about them, can't put my finger on it.
These days I just use nickel rounds and rarely ever change them so I eventually get into that zone, but the halfsies will get you there faster.
These days I just use nickel rounds and rarely ever change them so I eventually get into that zone, but the halfsies will get you there faster.
Tried a few and only the GHS pressurewounds sounded good. But I don't really like dead rounds sound. I do like brighter flats like Cobalt flats
I have GHS Pressurewounds on my Jazz Plus, for over a year now, and they do not sound like dead rounds, they have a unique sound. They have a substantial bottom and a subdued brightness, much more mid-oriented than rounds, and which breaks in over time. An excellent choice for the Jazz bass, I don't think I'll ever put any other strings on it. I use various D'Addario strings on other basses but am not familiar with their half rounds. Their black tapes sound pretty good though, or their chrome light gauge flats, I highly recommend those for fretless.
Yes, my only set are on a ‘66 Jazz. They are very broken in, and resemble Chromes to my ear (and fingers), if anything.
When I first started out and was getting squeak, squeak, squeak string noise I used Ken Smith compressors for a year or two. Supposedly they are made by GHS and seemed a reasonable compromise between rounds and ground wounds.
The D’Adderio half rounds don’t start out sounding like dead rounds, but they can get there and maybe get “deader” than dead rounds over enough time. When they are new, they are more towards “slightly broken in” rounds; they have some brightness. I like their “new” tone, but from “new” to “dead” they don’t seem to last as long as regular rounds.
I keep a few old sets of strings around to experiment with, but I don’t keep the D’Adderio half rounds. They get so dead, there’s not much “experiment” left in them, even if I want major dead thump for something like an electric bass bluegrass jam.
I keep a few old sets of strings around to experiment with, but I don’t keep the D’Adderio half rounds. They get so dead, there’s not much “experiment” left in them, even if I want major dead thump for something like an electric bass bluegrass jam.
