Rounds or Flats on a fretless??

[Gordon of Eden]

I like em too, but once I tried DR Sunbeams I never looked back. They're the same as DR nickle Low Riders, but they have a round, rather than hex, core and seem tonally richer, a bit warmer, and more complex sounding with no loss of articulation. The only caveat being that they have less tension, so they're not ideal with shorter scale lengths or floppy B-strings.

I have been thinking of trying them but it is the tension of the hex core that keeps me comming back. I do have a 35" scale so the round core should not be a big issue.

 

[4Slater]

flat wounds are for upright sounding basses.


If you play anything that requiers sustain, it's rounds and play with the tone knob.

Roud wounds will give you a multitude of sounds by right hand placement and left hand shake or vibratto.

DR black coated 40's will sound great on a fretless.

You'll still be able to sound fretted with rounds. [and not have that annoying fret noise.

 

[SubXero]

i prefer flats on everything now, but what initially made me like them so much was playing them on a fretless bass. labella 760fl's are my flats of choice. I guess it's really a matter of opinion, but if you want a darker sound go with flats, brighter sound go with rounds or anything in between. that's not to mention there's flats which are fairly bright like TI's, so what I've learned is that it can even depend on the particular strings as well, regardless if they are rounds or flats...Flats also feel smooth, especially the labella's, I prefer how they feel as well as the darker sound so it was a no brainer for me.

 

[spade2you]

Re: Board wear and rounds. If your technique is good, and your fingerboard is made from an appropriate hardwood, it's basically a non-issue, but too much left hand pressure and/or string bending will eat up the board prematurely.

....and if you're using something like Diamondwood, you can abuse the heck out of it and it still doesn't show signs of wear. My technique is pretty mild, so it might be overkill, but nobody ever complains that something is too durable, eh?

 

[bassicsax]

I like roundwounds on mine... it seems like it adds more life and depth to my tone...

 

[vinxbass]

I just bought a Squier Modified Vintage Fretless and had Rotosound Jazz Bass 77's put on it. They seem to be fine, but this is my first fretless bass I've ever owned so I wouldn't know what the difference is. It will take time for me to figure out what is best. I do know this, I didn't like the round wounds that came with the bass.