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Rounds vs. Flats

RestlessBoom

RestlessBoom

Oct 1, 2021
265
748
#1
I’m sure this is a topic that has been debated to death, but I just needed a place to express my feelings about the subject, so please bear with me.

I like to play flats. They sound and feel better under my fingers, which in turn make me play better. The sound I’m going for in a current project works better with rounds. I’ve been able to dial in an acceptable tone, but I shaging hate playing rounds.

My question is do I keep playing the proper sound with the rounds I despise, or do I say shag it and dial in the closest tone with the flats?

There is no pressure either way- my bandmates are cool as all get out.
 
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#8
Yeah, it’s censored. They want youth musicians to be able to access the wealth of knowledge on here.

People say D’Addario Chromes sound like rounds. Having tried three sets on three different basses, I can’t agree at all. They’re flats. I like them, but they are what they are.

Many more people say the same “sounds like rounds” thing but more emphatically about EB Cobalts. I doubt it, but a set costs less than a large pizza delivered, so you may as well try them if you really want.

The closest to filling that upper mid to low treble zone you’ll get In My Humble Opinion is a crispy OD/distortion with some kind of clean blend happening to preserve the low end.

I like the Rat & associated clones for getting that clank & zing in the mix. I have a couple stereo pedals in front of my $30 used Rat clone and my amp is a dual input dual channel, so I haven’t bothered with any expensive rat+blend single box or adding a Boss LS-2 to the board.

Good luck on the quest.
 
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#9
RestlessBoom said:
I’m sure this is a topic that has been debated to death, but I just needed a place to express my feelings about the subject, so please bear with me.

I like to play flats. They sound and feel better under my fingers, which in turn make me play better. The sound I’m going for in a current project works better with rounds. I’ve been able to dial in an acceptable tone, but I shaging hate playing rounds.

My question is do I keep playing the proper sound with the rounds I despise, or do I say shag it and dial in the closest tone with the flats?

There is no pressure either way- my bandmates are cool as all get out.
Click to expand...

I'd say give Ernie Ball Cobalt flats a try. They're a little 'sticky' fresh out of the package but it soon goes away (you could wipe them with alcohol I suppose, if it bothers you when you put them on, I never tried). They feel... well, like flats. They're smooth. With tone control open on a passive bass, they sound much like rounds that have been on for a little bit so that they lost some of the initial zing, but not a lot.
When I want a rounds sound but a smooth feel... that's the string I'd go to. I haven't tried any other flats or groundwound/pressurewound that does the job as well as these.
 
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#10
MattZilla said:
Yeah, it’s censored. They want youth musicians to be able to access the wealth of knowledge on here.

People say D’Addario Chromes sound like rounds. Having tried three sets on three different basses, I can’t agree at all. They’re flats. I like them, but they are what they are.

Many more people say the same “sounds like rounds” thing but more emphatically about EB Cobalts. I doubt it, but a set costs less than a large pizza delivered, so you may as well try them if you really want.

The closest to filling that upper mid to low treble zone you’ll get In My Humble Opinion is a crispy OD/distortion with some kind of clean blend happening to preserve the low end.

I like the Rat & associated clones for getting that clank & zing in the mix. I have a couple stereo pedals in front of my $30 used Rat clone and my amp is a dual input dual channel, so I haven’t bothered with any expensive rat+blend single box or adding a Boss LS-2 to the board.

Good luck on the quest.
Click to expand...

I agree completely about the Chromes, I'd never suggest those for this purpose, but the cobalt flats really are pretty different to the rest. You can make them sound much like standard flats if you roll off the tone nearly completely, but with the tone open they're very round-like. Don't knock it until you try it.

TI Jazz flats are also brighter than most, but again they do sound like flats (and a great sound it is, but definitelydon't sound like rounds).
 
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#11
Really depends on the gig. I bring a different bass almost every gig with my pub band that plays once or twice a month. Doing a wide range of covers from blues to modern pop. I have the luxury of having to only interpret the songs not cover them so I can play a slap song on flats this week and motown on rounds next. Both a pretty different to me but in a live setting rarely does anyone, even my fellow band mates, take notice.
 
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#13
RestlessBoom said:
I’m sure this is a topic that has been debated to death, but I just needed a place to express my feelings about the subject, so please bear with me.

I like to play flats. They sound and feel better under my fingers, which in turn make me play better. The sound I’m going for in a current project works better with rounds. I’ve been able to dial in an acceptable tone, but I shaging hate playing rounds.

My question is do I keep playing the proper sound with the rounds I despise, or do I say shag it and dial in the closest tone with the flats?

There is no pressure either way- my bandmates are cool as all get out.
Click to expand...
Use GHS Brite Flats......problem solved.....you can thank me later
 
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#14
Lots of great ideas! I use TI Jazz Rounds (...$$ but live-up to the hype), Dunlop SuperBrights (...will my inventory NEVER run out?!?), Cobalt Flats, and LaBella LTF's. Pass on the Dunlops but the other 3 are strong contenders IME. If bound & determined to stick with roundwounds, the Jazz Rounds feel great under the fingertips. The PressureWounds are a great alternative and more conservatively priced.

Riis
 
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#20
RestlessBoom said:
My question is do I keep playing the proper sound with the rounds I despise, or do I say shag it and dial in the closest tone with the flats?
Click to expand...

I was in the same predicament back around 2015. I loved the smooth feel of flats with no finger noise, but needed the roundwound tone for what I did. That's when I discovered GHS Pressurewounds and never looked back. They're not "flatwound smooth", mind you, but they do provide plenty of the roundwound tone I need with a much smoother feel than typical rounds.

Another option for you might be the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats, which are designed to "sound like roundwound with the feel of flats".
 
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