Rounds are Too Bright, and Flats are Too Dull...

[zacharybass76]

Hi. Are there any strings out there that combine the best of both the flats and rounds worlds? I need a string that is brighter than a flatwound string, yet not nearly as bright and "string noise-clangy" as a rounwound string. I have tried Pressurewounds, and I do like them, but even they are a little too bright for my taste. Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[WG Plum]

EB cobalt flats hit the sweet spot for me. Prior to that, I liked DR Sunbeams that were thoroughly played-in.

 

[bholder]

Sounds like a job for pressurewounds. The GHS are nice. Their Pressurewound Bronze are my favorite ABG strings.

OK so you tried them, still too bright, maybe try another flavor? The more nickel the more mellow, as I understand it.

Then there's half- or groundwounds - though I find them a bit brighter even than pressurewounds.

I wonder if anyone makes coated pressurewounds? Hmmmm.

 

[michael_t]

I have tried Pressurewounds, and I do like them, but even they are a little too bright for my taste...

I was just going to suggest the GHS Pressurewounds based on what the title says. But if they're still too bright for you, my next suggestion would be the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats, which are the brightest and the most roundwound-like in tone of all flats.

 

[MisterFabulous]

D'Addario Half-Rounds are a groundwound string and might do what you are describing. Also GHS Brite Flats.

Also D'Addario Chromes are a brighter flatwound string.

 

[bigmikebass]

Rounds with some foam under the strings near the bridge?

 

[bholder]

Also D'Addario Chromes are a brighter flatwound string.

I didn't expect to like Chromes (because I don't like XLs), but I do for some reason. They came stock on one of my Sires, I planned to replace them, but never have.

 

[howlin]

Hi. Are there any strings out there that combine the best of both the flats and rounds worlds? I need a string that is brighter than a flatwound string, yet not nearly as bright and "string noise-clangy" as a rounwound string. I have tried Pressurewounds, and I do like them, but even they are a little too bright for my taste. Thoughts? Thanks!

Have you let the Pressurewounds break in? Have you tried rolling the tone knob down? It’s much easier to make strings less “zingy” than it is to add brightness. YMMV…

 

[heavyfunkmachin]

I was there! I used pressure wounds/half wounds for a while and ended up using cobalt flats

Can’t recommend the enough!

 

[Rumfoord]

I'm on the same page. Pressurewounds are a bit too bright (although basically what I want roundwound strings to be). I also recommend cobalt flats. My current solution, though, is to buy individual strings and make them get progressively flatter: using GHS strings, I've had good luck with a precision flat 1st string, briteflat 2nd, pressurewound 3rd, and supersteel 4th.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hi. Are there any strings out there that combine the best of both the flats and rounds worlds? I need a string that is brighter than a flatwound string, yet not nearly as bright and "string noise-clangy" as a rounwound string. I have tried Pressurewounds, and I do like them, but even they are a little too bright for my taste. Thoughts? Thanks!

Bright flats.


Really, put rounds on, and either Iower your treble, or your tone knob.

There's a tone knob for a reason.

 

[g-dude]

Hi. Are there any strings out there that combine the best of both the flats and rounds worlds? I need a string that is brighter than a flatwound string, yet not nearly as bright and "string noise-clangy" as a rounwound string. I have tried Pressurewounds, and I do like them, but even they are a little too bright for my taste. Thoughts? Thanks!

Thomastik Infeld Jazz Rounds. Final answer, lock it in.

They have a really fine winding, so almost as quiet as flats if you drag your fingers down them. Just enough brightness to separate it from a flat, but nowhere near as much as your average round.

Very low tension, so super easy to play fast. Just make sure you invest the time to adjust your setup (truss rod) to reflect the lower tension. Also, you’ll want to pluck just a little bit lighter too.

EDIT: Thomastik makes orchestral strings and has been doing it for quite some time. They are a high-end string, and so they aren’t cheap, but they sound great.

 

[antfarm]

You should try D'Addario Chromes. Or my favorites, LaBella 760FL Deep Talikin' Bass Flats.

 

[TemplesOfSyrinx]

Hi. Are there any strings out there that combine the best of both the flats and rounds worlds? I need a string that is brighter than a flatwound string, yet not nearly as bright and "string noise-clangy" as a rounwound string. I have tried Pressurewounds, and I do like them, but even they are a little too bright for my taste. Thoughts? Thanks!

Pressurewounds are good out of the package, but great after a few months of playing. I love flats, but in the high humidity gigs that I have in Florida, I was tired of my fingers sticking to them. I still use my P with flats for recording, but mainly use Pressurewounds in live performances.

 

[Altitude]

It might be just me, but I don't hear a lot of difference between Pressurewounds and any other nickel round. I like them, for sure, but to me they are another variant of roundwound.

Cobalt Flats might be the answer; I think they occupy a distinct space between the normal round sound and the flat sound.

The one complaint about Cobalt Flats is that they go dead and do not sound good when they do. They use flatwound winding, but there is a bit of space between the winds on the larger strings. I figure this is done deliberately and helps deliver the brightness these strings have.

So, unlike normal flatwound strings, Cobalt Flats do go dead once you play them a while as your skin and oil accumulates along the winding as happens with roundwounds. If that bothers you, get two sets and cycle the dead set through a denatured alcohol soak for a day or two.

 

[Low F#]

I've been liking Ken Smith Compressors for a while now.

 

[jdjk7]

Hi. Are there any strings out there that combine the best of both the flats and rounds worlds? I need a string that is brighter than a flatwound string, yet not nearly as bright and "string noise-clangy" as a rounwound string. I have tried Pressurewounds, and I do like them, but even they are a little too bright for my taste. Thoughts? Thanks!

How much have you tried to apply your tone control to this problem, and/or other EQ? Because for my La Bella 1954s (stainless steel flatwounds), I find they are way too clicky if I don't have the tone down at like 15%-20%. I turn the bass down, mids and volume up at the amp to compensate, and the result is a very pleasant, even tone.

With the Rotosound Ultramags on my main bass (type 52 alloy roundwounds) I'm pretty much always running them full bore and then tweaking the amp to get as bright of a sound as desired. My bass has a volume/tone bypass, which lets through even more highs and mids than normal, which I keep on often unless I specifically want a darker tone.

 

[jdjk7]

It might be just me, but I don't hear a lot of difference between Pressurewounds and any other nickel round. I like them, for sure, but to me they are another variant of roundwound.

Cobalt Flats might be the answer; I think they occupy a distinct space between the normal round sound and the flat sound.

The one complaint about Cobalt Flats is that they go dead and do not sound good when they do. They use flatwound winding, but there is a bit of space between the winds on the larger strings. I figure this is done deliberately and helps deliver the brightness these strings have.

So, unlike normal flatwound strings, Cobalt Flats do go dead once you play them a while as your skin and oil accumulates along the winding as happens with roundwounds. If that bothers you, get two sets and cycle the dead set through a denatured alcohol soak for a day or two.

My only complaints about Cobalt Flats are that they always left a weird odor on my hands, and the low E on mine broke like 5 months in, during a gig no less. It was on a string-through bass, which might have had something to do with it, but that bass has also never broken another string, roundwound or flatwound.

 

[southpaw723]

I’d say try chromes and change em out before they get too worn in.

 

[Kevin Hailey]

Hi. Are there any strings out there that combine the best of both the flats and rounds worlds? I need a string that is brighter than a flatwound string, yet not nearly as bright and "string noise-clangy" as a rounwound string. I have tried Pressurewounds, and I do like them, but even they are a little too bright for my taste. Thoughts? Thanks!

Doesn’t exist. Time to take up accordion.