Here we go again - Best half-round or pressurewound strings

[mikeswals]

I have tried D'Addario Half Rounds actually, once, a long time ago, and couldn't get them off my bass fast enough.
They were dull and lifeless, the worst of both worlds between flats and rounds.
hated them.
I actually tucked them away in the closet and left the set there for a few years, and eventually tried them again thinking maybe my tastes had changed... nope.
hard pass.

I felt the same way about Pressurewounds. They sound like a string made of rolled-up tin foil.
Taken off faster than Tom chasing Jerry.

 

[BassicJazzy]

I felt the same way about Pressurewounds. They sound like a string made of rolled-up tin foil.
Taken off faster than Tom chasing Jerry.

The Pressurewounds have some very strange harmonics when first installed, which I think is what you may be referring to, but those mellow out and (mostly) disappear within short time. I didn't like then at first either, but now I wouldn't put anything else on my Jazz. My only issue with them is they do chew the fingers a bit, but I got used to it.

 

[JRA]

I know I don't want full rounds.....Part of my love for tapes is how smooth they are, which is something I find really helpful with fretless for proper gliss.

i thought i'd suggest TI jazz rounds as 'totally different' kind of round wound they play/feel and sound incredible (IMO + others). if you haven't tried them on that ax, you might consider it as not-your-usual-full-on rounds. they're the smoothest rounds i've played and they sound incredible. they're a great fretless string.

anyway, good luck finding the string you're happy with.

 

[michael_t]

The Pressurewounds have some very strange harmonics when first installed, which I think is what you may be referring to, but those mellow out and (mostly) disappear within short time. I didn't like then at first either, but now I wouldn't put anything else on my Jazz. My only issue with them is they do chew the fingers a bit, but I got used to it.

I do have to agree the GHS PWs sound their best after they're played in a bit. I would never judge any strings by how they sound fresh out of the pack. Also, the true set of any strings is how they sound in a band mix and now all on their own.

I'm a bit surprised they actually "chew the fingers a bit". I've never experienced that with PWs... unless you're referring to their relative stiffness being hard on your plucking fingers.

 

[Thundar]

I do have to agree the GHS PWs sound their best after they're played in a bit. I would never judge any strings by how they sound fresh out of the pack. Also, the true set of any strings is how they sound in a band mix and now all on their own.

I'm a bit surprised they actually "chew the fingers a bit". I've never experienced that with PWs... unless you're referring to their relative stiffness being hard on your plucking fingers.

Agree! They are the stiffest string I've ever used, which I love about
'em, but definitely the smoothest roundwound I've ever tried...I don't do flats

 

[BassicJazzy]

I do have to agree the GHS PWs sound their best after they're played in a bit. I would never judge any strings by how they sound fresh out of the pack. Also, the true set of any strings is how they sound in a band mix and now all on their own.

I'm a bit surprised they actually "chew the fingers a bit". I've never experienced that with PWs... unless you're referring to their relative stiffness being hard on your plucking fingers.

No, it's the fretting fingers that get chewed a bit. It's strange, even though I play daily for about 2 hours I have not developed the same degree of callous that I had when I played back in my youth. My other two basses are fitted with tapes and flats, so they do not help much in that regard. I don't think they are stiff, actually quite a bit better than the low tension flats, though not as supple as the tapes.

My fingers actually slide over rounds better than over the Pressure wounds. I think it's a matter of the greater surface area and the tiny gap between windings acting like a cheese grater? As I said, it's not a deal breaker, I still love the strings, especially on the Jazz. The tone is perfect for me on that bass.

I've never had an issue with any strings shredding my plucking fingers, with exception of the early days on my Rick when I was new on bass and played in a band, so had to play longer than I would have liked.

 

[michael_t]

Agree! They are the stiffest string I've ever used, which I love about
'em, but definitely the smoothest roundwound I've ever tried...I don't do flats

My go-to set is the L7200 (40-54-76-96), which I find "comfy but never floppy". I also use the M7200 (44-62-84-106) but in DGCF. Again, their natural stiffness keeps them from getting too loose or floppy even when down-tuned.

 

[IanStephenson]

Status Hot Wires were awesome.... sadly discontinued. Their ground wounds were my go to for years.

I shall complain about it forever. Their choice of options was beyond anything anywhere else. If anyone else makes a set of ground wounds as good - ideally with double ball ends, Low B and high C available as stock items, and still be the cheapest option out there I need to know. They had flats too! 6 string double ball end flats as a stock item, for less than the price of most big brand regular sets.

Currently got switched to bass centre elite grounds, but they're not as good, cost more, no double ball ends, and no high C....

 

[ATLbassist]

OP, did you get the Pressurewounds? That seems to be the favored option here, and I agree - they've been my go-to string for several years now. They have the roundwound bite without the distracting zippiness/clankiness of the high end, and tone controls at 50% get you to flatwound territory.

I used to go for D'Addario half-wounds for the same reason, but then something happened with them. I don't know if they changed the formulation or what, but they started feeling really sticky after little use. (I still love their tapewound strings. You might want to try them, too!

Someone else mentioned TI Jazz rounds. I'm warming up to these, too. A little zippier than the Pressurewounds, but not distractingly so and they feel great under the fingers.

 

[BassicJazzy]

I love D'Addario black tapes, they are on my Ibanez SR1350B, and my Pressure Wounds. Gotten about a year of playing on each, no sign of wear. Been hearing lots of good things about the TI Jazz rounds. Perhaps if my Pressure Wounds wear out I will try those on my Jazz Plus next. I don't think I'm ever going back to round wounds, except on my Ovation Acoustic. That's the only string it likes, bronze. I use Ernie Ball's. They wear out in a month of daily playing. Good reason not to play the ABG!

 

[michael_t]

I don't think I'm ever going back to round wounds, except on my Ovation Acoustic. That's the only string it likes, bronze. I use Ernie Ball's. They wear out in a month of daily playing. Good reason not to play the ABG!

If you like the GHS Pressurewound, they also make a "rollerwound version" of phosphor bronze strings for ABG.

Products - PRESSUREWOUND™ BRONZE - GHS Strings

Since 1964, GHS Strings has been expertly winding high-quality electric guitar strings in the heart of southwestern Michigan. As a leading manufacturer, we blend tradition with innovation to produce a wide variety of strings for electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitars, classical guitars...

www.ghsstrings.com

Invalid Link Removed

 

[BassicJazzy]

If you like the GHS Pressurewound, they also make a "rollerwound version" of phosphor bronze strings for ABG.

Products - PRESSUREWOUND™ BRONZE - GHS Strings

Since 1964, GHS Strings has been expertly winding high-quality electric guitar strings in the heart of southwestern Michigan. As a leading manufacturer, we blend tradition with innovation to produce a wide variety of strings for electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitars, classical guitars...

www.ghsstrings.com

Invalid Link Removed

Thanks for that tip, looks very interesting. My ABG has been in its case for 14 months now, but it's due to come out of hibernation soon. I have one set of Ernie Balls that I have to use, then I think I will switch and give these a try, they look promising.

 

[Zazie Moondust]

If you like the GHS Pressurewound, they also make a "rollerwound version" of phosphor bronze strings for ABG.

Products - PRESSUREWOUND™ BRONZE - GHS Strings

Since 1964, GHS Strings has been expertly winding high-quality electric guitar strings in the heart of southwestern Michigan. As a leading manufacturer, we blend tradition with innovation to produce a wide variety of strings for electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitars, classical guitars...

www.ghsstrings.com

Invalid Link Removed

From what I have read about them they are supposed to work with electric basses too. I'm kind of curious about them since they have the 2 wraps on every string thing. They seem cool but only one demo out there so it's tough to tell how they'd sound.
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Honestly curious about how the Bronze Pressureounds, regular Pressureounds, Sillencers Roto 55s and La Bella Super Polished* all compare to each other, though it's probably unlikely many people have tried them all.

*assuming the super polished are more like pressure/rollerwoubds than half/ground wounds anyway

 

[michael_t]

Honestly curious about how the Bronze Pressureounds, regular Pressureounds, Sillencers Roto 55s and La Bella Super Polished* all compare to each other, though it's probably unlikely many people have tried them all.

*assuming the super polished are more like pressure/rollerwoubds than half/ground wounds anyway

Out of the five mentioned I've only tried Pressurewounds (alloy 52), Silencers (nps) and Solo Bass 55 (ss).

SIT Silencers - I didn't care for the sticky feel that reminded me too much of half-rounds/groundwound.
Rotosound Solo Bass 55 - They didn't feel nearly as smooth in texture as I had hoped. I did like the tonal quality, though. Punchy and articulate.
GHS Pressurewound (nickel-iron) - They hit the sweet spot for me both in tonal character and in overall feel. My only wish for GHS is they would come out with "rollerwound" versions of the Super Steels and the Balanced Nickels (pure nickel).

EDIT: I just realized I already mentioned all this in post #4. Sorry for the redundancy.

 

[WG Plum]

I went with Pressurewounds, but I haven't installed them yet.

 

[Zazie Moondust]

Out of the five mentioned I've only tried Pressurewounds (alloy 52), Silencers (nps) and Solo Bass 55 (ss).

SIT Silencers - I didn't care for the sticky feel that reminded me too much of half-rounds/groundwound.
Rotosound Solo Bass 55 - They didn't feel nearly as smooth in texture as I had hoped. I did like the tonal quality, though. Punchy and articulate.
GHS Pressurewound (nickel-iron) - They hit the sweet spot for me both in tonal character and in overall feel. My only wish for GHS is they would come out with "rollerwound" versions of the Super Steels and the Balanced Nickels (pure nickel).

EDIT: I just realized I already mentioned all this in post #4. Sorry for the redundancy.

Thanks, so I am guessing the silencers sound more like half rounds and 55s are more like regular stainless rounds but a bit smoother and less bright?

Not big on the way flats/half rounds effect the attack and decay of the notes, so I use brighter tapes, but maybe roller/pressure wounds are closer to what I want.

 

[michael_t]

Thanks, so I am guessing the silencers sound more like half rounds and 55s are more like regular stainless rounds but a bit smoother and less bright?

The Silencers are very much "roundwound" in their tonal character, ie brighter than half-rounds. It's their surface feel that's almost like half-rounds.

Roto 55's are definitely smoother in feel and mellower in tone than Roto 66's, but not nearly as smooth in texture as GHS Pressurewound.

 

[iiipopes]

If I have an application that half-rounds are the appropriate strings, I prefer the GHS Brite Flats. To me, they are better balanced for tone and tension, and are more versatile, even though, yes, as set forth in another thread, they can have a different tonality to either flats or rounds. I would not go so far as to say, also posted in that other thread, that half-round or ground-wound strings are the "worst of all possible worlds," but they do have an application.

Decades ago I tried the guitar version. For me, they were great for Rock-a-billy, but not much else. By contrast, I gave a set to a friend of mine who wanted a little softer feel. For my friend, they were the perfect string for her band's repertoire.