Roundwounds that sound more like flats

[Ricky Rioli]

Daddario Nickels change character significantly and before too long, I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to do the job for you.

 

[subtlestew]

The new labella super polished are kinda the opposite -- flat-ish but sound round -- but they're really cool. Certainly not as bright as plain rounds.

I love these as well, but I don't think they come in short scale. They do exactly what the OP is looking for on my P-Bass.

 

[lowendrachel]

This doesn't answer your question but I love dead rounds. Super old ones. Good luck with your search.

 

[iiipopes]

Would the short-scale set with 32.75" winding length be long enough for the JMJ Mustang?

Yes. Barely.

 

[Hellz Kitchen]

This doesn't answer your question but I love dead rounds. Super old ones. Good luck with your search.

Yea I think everytime i've played an old musicmaster or mustang, it sounds and plays amazing but it usually is because it has rounds that are really old or played in a bunch

 

[Pilgrim]

Choose your rounds, install, then play it for a couple of years for them to break in and sound right. No problem, you just need patience; the sound of your dreams is only two years away.

Or get used to the feel of flats and the sound will be right immediately.

 

[Swerve]

Do what a lot of reggae bassists do, play rounds and never change the strings. Adding a foam mute helps. I'd say keep the XL's on and put a piece of foam under there and play on.

 

[LowendG]

All my basses except a couple have Labella flats. The only rounds I use are DR Nickel LoRiders, and I let 'em get nice and old. They can totally get thumpy. Fingerstyle, live, I'm totally fine using these in situations I'd normally use flats. Pickstyle with any amount of treble is of course where you're gonna have a harder time getting there with any round, the envelope of the note and the type of attack are so different. Clunk vs clank.

 

[J Wilson]

ANY new roundwounds I install a month from now.

 

[mikeswals]

Just leave them on long enough and they'll die eventually.
Dunlop Superbrites or GHS Boomers are strings that die off pretty quickly to me.

 

[lowendrachel]

Yea I think everytime i've played an old musicmaster or mustang, it sounds and plays amazing but it usually is because it has rounds that are really old or played in a bunch

I just acquired a 2014 Stingray and put on a 17 year old rounds. Had to clean the strings. Kinda rusty but it's good.

 

[Lo-E]

Everything I was going to suggest has already been suggested so I’ll just agree with some that have already been listed:

GHS Pressure Wound (or Ken Smith Compressors - same string, different gauges available). These feel a lot like smooth rounds and sound somewhere between rounds and flats. When they go dead they sound similar to flats and the tension is similar.

GHS Balanced Nickel. They sound similar to flats once they die. They’re more flexible than most flats sets.

GHS Boomers. They start out bright but they die quickly and then last a really long time. I’m not sure I’d say they sound quite like flats once they’ve died but they’re definitely tubby.

I respectfully disagree that D’Addario XLs will ever sound like flats, even when they’ve gone dead. It’s not a bad sound but it still sounds like rounds - maybe like rounds under a pillow.

I would start with the Compression Wound, personally.

 

[Azari]

hot take: people who “dont like the feel of flats” just havent tried TI jazz flats.

 

[ravlin]

Broken In GHS Boomers is a thing. You have to give any round wound time to break in if you want that kind of sound. I use boomers to give me less edge and lots of punch. I go back and forth between these and Roto 77s

 

[Hellz Kitchen]

I respectfully disagree with all the above, having played all the above. For a round-wound set of strings that takes on the character of flats, meaning all that woody, organic, goodness reminiscent of Fender VC Squier Company-made flats from the golden age, the strings to use are GHS Balanced Pure Nickel. They live up to their name in all ways. As they seat in, they lose the zing and take on that woody organic goodness we all miss with original Fender flats. Yes, as with all rounds, you gotta give them some time to settle in. But once they do, oh, my! On my 30-inch travel bass with a Nordy Mustang pickup, I can get the 1969 Bill Wyman tone of his Mustang with flats in spades.

Do you prefer the GHS pure nickel as 40 or 44 gauge?

 

[iiipopes]

Do you prefer the GHS pure nickel as 40 or 44 gauge?

I prefer the standard 44-106. They work best on my mid-scale and short-scale basses.