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Roundwound or Flatwound Strings on which bass?

#41
dbsfgyd1 said:
Rounds on a PB is a highly underrated experience. I’ve used them exclusively for almost 50 years. Funny, in all that time, all those gigs and recoding sessions, not to mention all the musicians I’ve played with, I’ve never once heard anyone suggest that they would like my tone better if I had flats.
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This 100%. Some of John Entwistle's best tones were a P bass with Rotosound rounds. And some of them were a Thunderbird, a Gibson bass that only gets a limited amount of love here. Go figure.
Speaking of which - I highly recommend the OP to try out a set of Rotosound 66s. That's THE classic roundwound tone. The RS66LD (45-65-80-105) or RS66LF (45-65-85-105) should be a good starting point.
 
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#42
Iristone said:
This 100%. Some of John Entwistle's best tones were a P bass with Rotosound rounds. And some of them were a Thunderbird, a Gibson bass that only gets a limited amount of love here. Go figure.
Speaking of which - I highly recommend the OP to try out a set of Rotosound 66s. That's THE classic roundwound tone. The RS66LD (45-65-80-105) or RS66LF (45-65-85-105) should be a good starting point.
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Rotosounds are a classic tone. I have used them for years but of late I have been trying various brands to refresh my ears a bit. The D'Addarios that came on my Yamaha were just killer so I have not moved brands there yet. I have nickel rotos on the P bass right now but that will be getting flats. The Jazz is where I am really experimenting. Ernie Balls, GHS, D'Addario etc queued up to try on that one. It's likely I land back on rotos but I need to test the waters again
 
#43
Leo2134786 said:
I've been playing on my £200 Aria STB for a few years and recently picked up a used Fender Player P Bass. I have I have Rotosound 77 flatwounds on my Aria and my P bass came with rounds. This might be a stupid question but should i put rounds on my Aria and put flats on my Fender instead? I guess what I'm asking is is there any difference between the better pickups on the Fender compared to the Aria or anything that would mean flats or rounds would sound better on one of them? I was thinking perhaps the higher quality pickup on the Fender gives more crispness to the growl of the rounds and since the flats just make a thumpy deep sound i dont need too much clarity so I could leave them on the cheaper Aria.
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Since both basses are the same scale, you could easily try swapping the strings and give it a go.

I appreciate you searching for wisdom and advice, but there's no concrete answer whether the Fender or the Aria will respond better with rounds, flats, picks, amps, hairstyles, straps... just opinions. You will get plenty of other bassists personal preferences, like rounds are much better than flats or vice versa. Dont get me wrong, hearing other's opinions is valuable, but I suggest you play what you got and report back what you hear, like and dislike and you could get more guidance that is tailored to you. Good luck and keep plugging away. Best!
 
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#44
Iristone said:
This 100%. Some of John Entwistle's best tones were a P bass with Rotosound rounds. And some of them were a Thunderbird, a Gibson bass that only gets a limited amount of love here. Go figure.
Speaking of which - I highly recommend the OP to try out a set of Rotosound 66s. That's THE classic roundwound tone. The RS66LD (45-65-80-105) or RS66LF (45-65-85-105) should be a good starting point.
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I love Roto Sound 66 strings… for the first 20-30 minutes. I totally agree, the tone out of the wrap is the best tone ever. Unfortunately, the tonal degradation is rapid and the OP was looking for something with a longer life of the newness sound.

Back in the 70’s I had Roto Sounds on my EB3 short scale (thanks to that little jingle on the Who Sell Out LP) and putting it mildly, was a tad abusive with my plucking technique. I was getting this p-twang attack that was addicting. If I didn’t change them out after 3 or 4 four hour gigs, I could count on breaking either the A or D string. That went on for two or three years playing 4-5 gigs a week until I bought and started using a Rick 4001. In the owners manual for the Rick said that if you used any strings other that Rickenbacker strings, the bass would self destruct and the warranty would be void.
 
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#45
I said before that I'd put flats on the P, rounds on the Aria.
That sure ain't a 'rule's.

I've got D'addario Chromes (flats) on my 5 string jazz bass. It's blooming beautiful.

Do what floats your boat.

Apart from my EB4 Gibson,
I've also got tapes on a 2012 AVRI 62P and on a 09 EBMM Sterling. Those all sound great.

I've got rounds on a Precision and a Stingray 5. Also superb.

If you like/want that stronger fundamental with less overtones = flats

More overtones and zing = new rounds.

There's a lot to be said re older rounds, and, as I mentioned, tapewounds, that are, afaik, rounds under the tape coating.

In one of my bands I do ( a li'l bit of) slap/pop playing. And the flats on my jazz give that muted splank (without the upper zing - scientific terms) that reminds me of Larry Graham's tone in The Family Stone songs like 'Thank You' for example
 
#46
Leo2134786 said:
I've been playing on my £200 Aria STB for a few years and recently picked up a used Fender Player P Bass. I have I have Rotosound 77 flatwounds on my Aria and my P bass came with rounds. This might be a stupid question but should i put rounds on my Aria and put flats on my Fender instead? I guess what I'm asking is is there any difference between the better pickups on the Fender compared to the Aria or anything that would mean flats or rounds would sound better on one of them? I was thinking perhaps the higher quality pickup on the Fender gives more crispness to the growl of the rounds and since the flats just make a thumpy deep sound i dont need too much clarity so I could leave them on the cheaper Aria.
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I'd do flats on the Fender, rounds on the Aria. Which Aria STB, P or J?
 
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#48
dbsfgyd1 said:
I love Roto Sound 66 strings… for the first 20-30 minutes. I totally agree, the tone out of the wrap is the best tone ever. Unfortunately, the tonal degradation is rapid and the OP was looking for something with a longer life of the newness sound.
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I think Rotosound have somewhat upgraded the 66's in the last decade. The newer ones feel smoother to me and seem to last a bit longer.
I've tried alternatives, such as DR Hi-Beams, coated Bootzillas, and La Bella RX steels. I don't think any DR's last significantly longer than the current Roto. La Bella lasts a bit longer and sounds like the Roto, maybe with a tad less midrange. Now I swing between Roto and La Bella depending on whichever is on sale.
 
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#49
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#50
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#51
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#52
Leo2134786 said:
Wow you found my other post lol
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Yeah, I'm definitely a "try to read the map before asking for directions" guy. ;)

[It's not hard either: a click on your avatar reveals you have a manageable number of posts for a search; then click on lens symbol at the top right corner of the webpage, click on gear symbol, click on "Advanced..." button, search for the word "aria" and your TB handle in the "By..." field, select order by date, start from the bottom=oldest results until (hopefully) a pic, a full model number or, in your case, a link to the product page comes up.]
 
#53
HaphAsSard said:
Yeah, I'm definitely a "try to read the map before asking for directions" guy. ;)

[It's not hard either: a click on your avatar reveals you have a manageable number of posts for a search; then click on lens symbol at the top right corner of the webpage, click on gear symbol, click on "Advanced..." button, search for the word "aria" and your TB handle in the "By..." field, select order by date, start from the bottom=oldest results until (hopefully) a pic, a full model number or, in your case, a link to the product page comes up.]
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See... I wouldn't have thought of searching on someones profile... gotta up my game
 
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#54
Leo2134786 said:
I've been playing on my £200 Aria STB for a few years and recently picked up a used Fender Player P Bass. I have I have Rotosound 77 flatwounds on my Aria and my P bass came with rounds. This might be a stupid question but should i put rounds on my Aria and put flats on my Fender instead? I guess what I'm asking is is there any difference between the better pickups on the Fender compared to the Aria or anything that would mean flats or rounds would sound better on one of them? I was thinking perhaps the higher quality pickup on the Fender gives more crispness to the growl of the rounds and since the flats just make a thumpy deep sound i dont need too much clarity so I could leave them on the cheaper Aria.
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Well...
2 of my basses wear Roto 88 Tape wounds; one wears TI Jazz rounds; and the other 24 basses wear flats - many different brands and gauges of flats. So, I'm probably not the guy you should be asking. And, I also try very hard not to tell people what they should do; other than "whatever makes you happy". That said?
All flats do NOT make a 'thumpy deep sound". Yeah, flats in the "old school thump" category do, but; IME, Roto 77's aren't quite in that category. I've had them on a couple of basses - including my '78 Fender P-Bass. And, if I hadn't wanted it to sound like it did when it came from the factory? It would probably still be wearing them. And, the ones on the '18 Gibson Thunderbird that I foolishly sold? Oh Gawd; did they ever sound good... Yes, they do have a lot of low end, but they have very useful low-mids and mids, too. And, a noticeable top end, as well. But, they don't sound like the Squier Flats that my P-Bass shipped with. GHS #3025 Precision Flats do So, that's what my P-Bass wears, under the foam mute in it's bridge cover...
Flats run the gamut, from "nuthin' but thump", to "sounds an awful lot like rounds". Decide what you want to play with either bass - and choose accordingly... :cool:
 
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#55
Iristone said:
I think Rotosound have somewhat upgraded the 66's in the last decade. The newer ones feel smoother to me and seem to last a bit longer.
I've tried alternatives, such as DR Hi-Beams, coated Bootzillas, and La Bella RX steels. I don't think any DR's last significantly longer than the current Roto. La Bella lasts a bit longer and sounds like the Roto, maybe with a tad less midrange. Now I swing between Roto and La Bella depending on whichever is on sale.
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Yeah, they do seem to last a bit longer now - emphasis on a bit. I still have not found a good alternative that last longer (DR Hi-Beans do not sound like Rotos to me contrary to what salespeople think). Will give the Labella RX a shot for my jazz / Stingray and have been considering trying DR Lo-Riders on my precision just for fun (not a fan of flats).
 
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#56
Theoretically you could put one or the other on pretty much any bass...now weather they work or sound as good on one and not the other could be determined. Personally, I like rounds on both my PJ bass and also my StingRay, but also I like flats on each as well. Personal preference for what sounds you may be going for and also what you like to be playing.
 

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