One step brighter than Flatwounds for recording

[Greenstreet]

Are you referring to "Tape Wounds" on your reference to "ground-wound strings? If so, they are not "toothy" at all. The are smoother than the flats I've used. And I have used them for about 3-years. It that's not what you are referring to then I apologize for the mis-understanding.

Your note about EQ subtractive process is pretty true in that you can't add something that isn't already in the tone. It's always easier to start with brighter and tame it than try to find some brightness that isn't there.

No, tape-wound and ground-wound are two different types of string. I was recommending tape-wound strings over ground-wound specifically for their smooth feel. My experience matches yours.

Ground-wound strings (sometimes called "half-rounds") don't have the nylon tape, they're round-wound strings that have been ground flat on the outer surface. They tend to be "grabby", and are not nearly as smooth. Many people compare them to running your fingers across a cheese grater.

There have been some suggestions to try ground-wound and pressure-wound strings- since the OP was looking for a smooth feel, I thought it worth mentioning that I personally prefer tape-wound over ground-wound or pressure-wound, specifically because the tape-wound strings have such a nice, smooth feel.

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[Doug4321]

I am going to aim for something a little brighter than I stated in my original post. I suspect the inherent sound of my Rec, with its unique pickup setup is on the darker side, meaning that mid/highs are a bit low to start with. At this point, I am leaning towards either white tapewounds, EB colbalts, or pressurewound. At my local music shop, the tapewounds are almost twice the cost, $63ish CAD, compared to $33 for the cobalts and a little more for pressurewound. Their isn't much selection of La Bella strings in Canada. Looks like if I want the white tapewounds I would have to order from the states.

I think you have to decide if you want more metallic growl and twang, in which case you need new strings. If you instead just want a plunky warm, woody sound like the Sean Hurley or kinda tic tac bass, then it’s an EQ problem and the La Bella’s are fine. Hot pickups definitely can create excess bass, so try turning down the volume on your instrument for a sound more like the unplugged sound. Also fiddle with your EQ dials downstream of course. Increased 300 hz is supposed to be good for small speakers but I haven’t tried. Bump up the low mids or upper bass maybe, and remove some low bass.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

***SNIP***
Ground-wound strings (sometimes called "half-rounds") don't have the nylon tape, they're round-wound strings that have been ground flat on the outer surface. They tend to be "grabby", and are not nearly as smooth. Many people compare them to running your fingers across a cheese grater.
***SNIP***
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Remind me never to try those! Cheese-grater strings I don't need.

 

[Sam Miller]

I think you have to decide if you want more metallic growl and twang, in which case you need new strings. If you instead just want a plunky warm, woody sound like the Sean Hurley or kinda tic tac bass, then it’s an EQ problem and the La Bella’s are fine. Hot pickups definitely can create excess bass, so try turning down the volume on your instrument for a sound more like the unplugged sound. Also fiddle with your EQ dials downstream of course. Increased 300 hz is supposed to be good for small speakers but I haven’t tried. Bump up the low mids or upper bass maybe, and remove some low bass.

Before you mentioned it, I didn't know that the volume control could affect the tone, not just volume. Very interesting. I'll give it a try.

 

[equill]

Remind me never to try those! Cheese-grater strings I don't need.

FWIW, I'm not one of those people.

Maybe some are like that, but I don't recall feeling that way about ENR71s. Might have been a little grabby at first (I think, from distant memory) but certainly never like a cheese-grater.

 

[Greenstreet]

FWIW, I'm not one of those people.

Maybe some are like that, but I don't recall feeling that way about ENR71s. Might have been a little grabby at first (I think, from distant memory) but certainly never like a cheese-grater.

The ones I tried were GHS. They sounded good, but the feel just wasn't for me.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

Y’all talkin’ bout Roto 66s?

 

[Stinga1990]

I haven't actually tried the EB Cobalts but from clips I've listened to they seem to be in that category of "flats with added metallic clank" that I'm not a fan of. If I want that kind of brightness I'd rather use roundwounds than bright flats or any pressurewound, ground wound, etc. Strings that try to be "best of both worlds" always end up as "worst of both worlds" for my taste. But like I said: I haven't actually tried the Cobalts so take my opinion on these with a HUGE grain of salt or better still: disregard it completely.

Also, I tend to like mellow sounding strings which may or may not be what YOU need. Anything above approx.3kHz is just string noise without tone to me but some genres call for a brighter, metallic/clanky sounding bass of course. I prefer non-metallic sounding flats and mellow sounding rounds which mostly means pure nickels. There are a couple of exceptions though. I actually love stainless steel Rotosound 66 Swing Bass which may seem strange when I prefer mellow strings. But I love them when they're broken in (which would mean "dead" to anyone who likes Roto66 for their signature brightness). Broken in Roto 66 steels = wonderful warm midrange presence unlike any other strings out there. And luckily for me they break in (or go dead...) really fast.

The thing is flats have a focus that rounds lack. Less overtones translates to what overtones remain cutting through better. Their less guitarish sound compared to rounds is also harder to mistake in a mix. I use Chrome's but cobalts also nail that piano strung with flats sound that some of us crave.

 

[GIBrat51]

I currently have La Bella LTF-4A Flatwounds on my vintage Rickenbacker. I love soft, warm sound live through a bass amp, but not so much for home recording, where you have to consider how the mix sounds through smaller speakers. I end up trying to get more definition out of the bass post-recording through adding subtle distortion and boosting the highs, but the bass still sounds a little flat, lifeless, undefined, lost in a mix when translated to smaller speakers. In the hands of a skilled engineer, I suspect you can make any type of strings work. However, I am just a humble home recording dude.

I am thinking of switching strings, but I find many roundwounds too bright for my liking. Any suggestions for a type and brand of string that is a little brighter, richer mid/high timbre, than flatwounds but still retains most of their warmth and silky feel---in other words, a string sound somewhere between the usual round and flatwound types? Nickel-plated, tapedwound? What type and brand of strings would you suggest.

I have lots of basses, and they're almost all strung with flats; lots of different flats. So, IME, going from Brightest Flat to Darkest Flat - and leaving the more obscure ones out:
- D' Addario Chromes
- EB Slinky (Cobalt) Flats
- TI Jazz Flats
- Fender 9050Ls
- DR Legends
- Optima 4099RL Chromes
- Rotosound RS77LD Monel Flats
-La Bella 760 FX and FDs (very light gauge)
- GHS Precision Flats
-La Bella 760 FGS Gold Flats
-La Bella "normal" gauge DTFs - and the 760M "Jamersons"
These are most of the flats I use - or have used - that are at least reasonably easy to get hold of. But, there are several that I haven't used - yet; so, I couldn't say where they'd sit on this list. Also; the bass that they're on - and the scale - may have affected their place on the list, too. But, anyhow; here it is. I imagine there's something here that will make you happy...