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Rounds That Sound Like Flats..(preferably nickel)?

Both are pure nickel and will get you the tone you're after. The Hellborgs are completely unique. They have a single wrap wire. Nothing else feels like them. You'll either love them or hate them.
 
Thomastik Jazz Round (wonderful even on short scale, and they are soft and thin, so even if they are 34" winding lenght, you can wrap then on the small tuner posts).

that's how they sound new on a Precision:





that's how they sound on a modernish Ibanez EDB550 (ash body, bubinga/wengè neck, active single coil pickups very bright)



and that's how the same bass sounds with DR Hi Beam:



if you search for my topics, I've made even a review of them on a Mustang Bass, with samples, but they are uploaded on dropbox.

the Precision has them on since March 2015 or so, and they still sound EXACTLY the same as brand new. when I strung the new Ibanez with them, I've noticed that the acoustic tone is the same as the old set on the Precision, it differs for obvious reasons (woods, pickups and active electronics), and since July I've had a gig a week (only one done with the Precision, because I fell in love with this new Ibanez), plus reharsals and home studying, and they still sound the same as brand new.

PS: I'm not a guy that cleans the strings after every use, and rounds usually don't last me much, except rare examples. I've used flats since 2009 almost as my only strings, and I like that kind of sound and the lack of any maintenance and change over the years. if those TI Jazz Rounds will still be same as new, I'm not going to change them ever :P
 
IMHO there are many reasons, in particular including tension and feeling. flats have a specific feel (for someone they are sticky), and always have more tension and less flexibility.

FE, Thomastik Flats are low tension, but if you compare the same gauges of rounds, they are stiffer. many people usually forget that the D and A strings are 56 and 70, like a set of 35-90 strings. take an average set of 35-90, and the middle strings of the Thomastik set are no more light and low tension...

there's even a matter of sustain. usually flats have less sustain, that can be likeable or not, and there are many other characteristics in the "flatwound sound" that are interesting.

I've always fought between the two: I love the sound of flats, but the sustain is shorter even in the brighter set (not in a matter of setup), so I switched many times looking for mellow rounds.
I also prefer the overall feeling of rounds, more flexible, but always went back to flats because of short string life (when they start to sound like rubber bands and loose the intonation) of rounds and the too much bright sound.

found peace with this sets of Thomastik because they feel like rounds, have the sustain and flexibility, and last forever (so far) sounding lively, half-way between rounds and flats, without excessive overtones and brightness but with the "bite" of rounds.

that's just me, however :P
 
Just curious . . . why do you want rounds if you want the sound of flats?

What Pier_ said........plus there's not a great deal of flat choices for shorts...especially where I live......even for longscales the landscape is basically bereft of flats or rounds....so it's "order in".

I find I have no issue with finger-picking or playability on rounds.....(although some are smoother/nicer than others)....

I like flats.....but they always seem to come with issues.....wrong winding length,too stiff, only comes in stainless,much heavier diameter even though they claim to be, for example, "105's"...
 
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+1 on everything said about the TI jazz rounds, they are in their own league.
I have a set of Hellborgs coming in a week or two for the same reason, I'll let you know how they are to me!
I have a set of 4 year old Fodera Nickels in their thickest gauge on a fiver. They are pretty dead by now... So they are great for getting this sound! Except they are on their truly last breath soon, hence testing the Hellborgs, although on a different bass.
 
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TI rounds last long, have great mid definition and great low end , very similar to flats. I love these as much as my Ti Jazz flats , which have slightly higher tension and slightly less sustain. Both sound great for finger style playing. I just ordered another set from bass strings online for another bass. Clips above are very accurate in representing the string.