Round wounds vs flat wounds

[chadds]

This is subjective. This is solely personal. Our touch, tone goals and music genres played are unique.

I started with flats because that’s all that existed widely. In the ‘60s Fender, Gibson etc. were flats. New basses came with flats. Then! Bam! Rotos became widely available. Though their pristine new sound lasted about 30 minutes they projected tone with the same bass and amps unchanged.

I use rounds of different manufacturers and types. I love rounds because with a change of my touch they can sound like flats. They can make that upright quick decay doghouse thump. If the next tune requires gank and clang and raunch it’s a touch change.

Beck Ola - Spanish Boots to good Motown same bass. A contemporary 5 with rounds can sound like an upright in jazz when I vary touch. It can take lifting the fretting fingers slightly. It can mean placing plucking index finger parallel to strings bent second knuckle from tip.

While flats can sound sweet and full I don’t lock myself into one sound.

 

[MB_Speed]

I'm thinking about trying out groundwounds cause I like the sound of rounds but I like the feel of flats more.

 

[BarfanyShart]

"Both" and "carrots" have to be options.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

If I had to pick, it would be rounds.

 

[J Wilson]

Round wound / finger noise I eliminated years ago, so I prefer them to flat wounds, which simply have no tone for my ears. I'd much rather have a little bark which I can control and work with, rather than a organ pedal flat tone which seems a dead end for me.

My Three Bears are that stainless rounds are too bright, flats are just dead, and nickel rounds are my just right, preferably GHS Basics, Boomers, D'Ad XL's, or 7250 Fenders.

Over the years I've tried everything from Black Diamonds to TI's, and for me, garden variety nickel wounds are fine, often cheap enough to change more often.

 

[Father Gino]

they don’t put flats on pianos for a reason.

Probably to produce a piano like tone.

There’s a reason they don’t put rounds on an upright bass too.

 

[insomehonkytonk]

Flats have the thump. I do not like bright, zingy strings. And there is plenty of variety within the world of flats. My preferred are GHS 3050s, La Bella 0750 and LTF-4A, and Curt Mangan Flatwounds.

 

[Jay2U]

I'm thinking about trying out groundwounds cause I like the sound of rounds but I like the feel of flats more.

Tried those once. NEVER again! The tone is weak and the feel isn't flatwound-like.

 

[JRA]

welcome to TB!

Which do you prefer, and why?

i voted "round wounds" --- i've always used rounds (habituated) and prefer them for feel and sound compared to the flats i've tried. but it really doesn't make any difference. when you listen to recordings of great players you realize it's not the strings (or anything else, for that matter)...it's always chops!

use what you like, if you don't know what you like = play a bunch of them and find out what suits you now...so you can proceed. preferences can change due to obstacles, growth, both.

good luck with your strings, and have fun on the forum(s)!

 

[onda'bass]

I use both, no preference other than where my head is. The extreme is slap, but still feasible for simple material, but I don’t go there often. Flats have a fatness not found in round wound, as flats don’t have the highs. It is a different exp between round and flat but both have their place.

 

[conttador]

Both! You have to have at least a bass w rounds and at least a bass w flats. I prefer half rounds but to me they’re in essence flats.

If I want a more organic sound I’ll go with my bass strung w half rounds. If it’s a modern sound I’m after, then rounds it is.

 

[Jim Rader]

Which do you prefer, and why?

I used flat wounds for a long time to get a thicker thumpy sound, but I've realized round wound strings sound great at higher volumes coming through a mix. I'm using a passive single coil bass with flats and it's a great thumpy sound. I'm also playing with a split coil emg precision pickup with round wounds. The split coil bass can make more sounds by adjusting finger/pick technique and tone controls. It just takes more practice.

 

[Isaac_James]

I don't "prefer" any specific type of strings.

I currently have three basses. One wears rounds, one wears flats and the other wears pressurwounds (semi-rounds). Three different tools in my toolbox. They all work fine for what they're designed to do.

EDIT: I see you're new. This question has been asked a million times. I would suggest you go spend some time reading like I did when I was new.

I've got exactly the same setup, though I favor the Yamaha with Pressurewounds for many reasons (including the strings).

But it's nice to have the option to go fully round or flat if I want it.

 

[michael_t]

I've got exactly the same setup, though I favor the Yamaha with Pressurewounds for many reasons (including the strings).

As of just two months ago, all three of my basses were wearing GHS Pressurewounds. Nothing wrong with that setup, except I wanted a little more variety in tonal flavors. That's all.

 

[pbassjbass]

In the 70's I was having a hard time getting flats to intonate well and I switched to picato half rounds. On my old jazz through a bass man, these were great, more bite than the flats and the intonation was good, yet still a "woody" sound. But, they were almost impossible to find. So I started switching around, never found another brand of half rounds I liked. Wound up with rounds, usually ghs then fender. Once the zing wears off they're good, and I've gotten to prefer the feel under my fingers. I like to be able the hit 'em change up the tone.

I did find some picatos a few years ago, they still sound good on the old jazz through the old bassman. but I'm not as sold on my ampeg flavored amps or pbass.

 

[DrBnz]

Flat or round - which do I prefer? That's not a complete question. What do I prefer for what? It depends upon which bass we're talking about and what sound I want out of it. Plus not all Flats (or Rounds) are the same. Its just not a complete question.

 

[rashrader]

I string my basses up with fresh carrots. I find that they produce a crisper and snappier tone.

 

[thumpbass1]

I use both; rounds more often than not, but I do prefer the modern flats such as TI, and currently I'm really liking the EB Cobalt flats that are on one of my basses.

 

[projectapollo]

I practice with my P bass with flats. I play out with my P bass with rounds.
Flats sound nice at home and on recordings. Rounds better in a live cluttered band setting.
On the other hand, I do use flats when the ensemble is stripped down and mostly acoustic.

 

[Pings Bass]

The ones that come on the bass