Smoothest (best sounding) roundwounds

[Tonecaster]

10.5 lbs here. Glorious tone, but I don't gig it. I wouldn't last the night...

I like tort, but still not a fan of white.
That said, I don't like to stand out on stage...

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Although given enough time Fender 9050s (especially the 9050M set) may end up having less treble content than LaBella DTFs.

Hmmm... This is not my experience. Although I guess ANY strings can loose all treble content if you play them long enough. Some strings will age better than others though. Some strings will just sound DEAD (in a bad way) when they age. Others (Like LaBella DTFs) will just get better and better. Until a certain point of course. Even LaBellas will eventually go truly DEAD (poor intonation, etc.) but we're talking decades of playing before this happens with the DTFs.

 

[Phaidrus]

Hmmm... This is not my experience. Although I guess ANY strings can loose all treble content if you play them long enough. Some strings will age better than others though. Some strings will just sound DEAD (in a bad way) when they age. Others (Like LaBella DTFs) will just get better and better. Until a certain point of course. Even LaBellas will eventually go truly DEAD (poor intonation, etc.) but we're talking decades of playing before this happens with the DTFs.

Yes, I agree. Regarding 9050s compared to DTFs, this is my impression according to my limited experience.
In particular, a 760FS set played for about six months vs a 9050M set played for almost a year. If memory serves me, D and G of the DTF had obviously more treble content and possibly E and A too, although less so. The 9050M give me the impression of more mids and perhaps also low-ish mids. Interestingly, despite the above, the DTFs had the typical "Motown" vibe while the 9050M have their own thing going on. Given that the main - but not exclusive - use of this bass is for reggae-dub, the 9050M sounded like a better fit (with appropriate EQing and compression). The bass is an Am.Std. Pbass with maple fretboard and PV63 pickup. Let me also note that the 9050M set is 55-70-90-105 while the 760FS is 45-65-85-105 and the difference in gauge may account, at least in part, for my perception of the different tone profiles. Of course, it's very possible that I got it all wrong...

 

[generik]

Apex traditional cryos are the smoothest and best sounding strings (for me) that I've found so far on my roundwound journey.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Yes, I agree. Regarding 9050s compared to DTFs, this is my impression according to my limited experience.
In particular, a 760FS set played for about six months vs a 9050M set played for almost a year. If memory serves me, D and G of the DTF had obviously more treble content and possibly E and A too, although less so. The 9050M give me the impression of more mids and perhaps also low-ish mids. Interestingly, despite the above, the DTFs had the typical "Motown" vibe while the 9050M have their own thing going on. Given that the main - but not exclusive - use of this bass is for reggae-dub, the 9050M sounded like a better fit (with appropriate EQing and compression). The bass is an Am.Std. Pbass with maple fretboard and PV63 pickup. Let me also note that the 9050M set is 55-70-90-105 while the 760FS is 45-65-85-105 and the difference in gauge may account, at least in part, for my perception of the different tone profiles. Of course, it's very possible that I got it all wrong...

They're certainly different, maybe almost on the opposite sides of the flatwound tonal spectrum. You won't find many flats that are brighter than Fender 9050s. Probably just D'Addario Chromes and Roto 77s (but Rotos aren't really comparable to ANY other flats IMO, very different tone/feel).

Fender flats will mellow out and get realatively dark/mellow too of course, but not nearly as dark/fat sounding as broken-in set of LaBella DTFs. Fender flats will always have more mid presence than LaBellas, which can often be a good thing.

However, the strange thing about LaBella DTFs is that they can vary a LOT out of the box. I've had sets that sounded almost broken in from day1. I've also had sets that were surprisingly bright out of the box and needed months, if not YEARS, to mellow out. Especially the D+G. It sounds like you got one of the latter. If you give them more time they will eventually get VERY dark and thumpy and develop an almost rubbery "bounce". The only flats that are even remotely as dark are GHS Precision Flats but these need even longer to mellow out (in my experience) and they don't have that lovely "bouncy" feel of LaBella DTFs.

I should probably add that my experience with LaBella DTFs is mainly with the 760FL and Mustang sets which I love. I've also briefly tested the 760FS and Bass VI sets which I didn't like nearly as much. The 760FS set was SLIGHTLY too stiff for my taste and didn't feel as nicely balanced as the 760FL set. The Bass VI set was very muddy sounding. I got Pyramid Golds instead for my VI, much better clarity. I've never tested the heavier gauge LaBellas, like the classic Jamerson set. And I probably never will.

Anyway, the most important thing is that you've found strings that work for YOU. I didn't like the current Fender 9050s at all when I first tested them. I expected them to be like D'Addario Chromes and go from too bright to DEAD (in bad way) without really mellowing out into a classic flatwound tone. I was wrong. Luckily I decided to stick with the Fenders for a while and they have now developed a VERY nice tone. They won't nail the classic Motown thump (alhough you can get reasonably close with foam muting) but they're certainly more versatile than LaBellas.

For what it's worth I found the PV63 pickup too dark sounding with "old school" flats like LaBella DTFs. Things can get muddy really fast if you touch the tone control. Fender 9050s are a MUCH better match for that pickup IMO. I think you've made a very wise choice. You cleary use your ears, instead of just going for the "right" brand.

 

[Phaidrus]

They're certainly different, maybe almost on the opposite sides of the flatwound tonal spectrum. You won't find many flats that are brighter than Fender 9050s. Probably just D'Addario Chromes and Roto 77s (but Rotos aren't really comparable to ANY other flats IMO, very different tone/feel).

Fender flats will mellow out and get realatively dark/mellow too of course, but not nearly as dark/fat sounding as broken-in set of LaBella DTFs. Fender flats will always have more mid presence than LaBellas, which can often be a good thing.

However, the strange thing about LaBella DTFs is that they can vary a LOT out of the box. I've had sets that sounded almost broken in from day1. I've also had sets that were surprisingly bright out of the box and needed months, if not YEARS, to mellow out. Especially the D+G. It sounds like you got one of the latter. If you give them more time they will eventually get VERY dark and thumpy and develop an almost rubbery "bounce". The only flats that are even remotely as dark are GHS Precision Flats but these need even longer to mellow out (in my experience) and they don't have that lovely "bouncy" feel of LaBella DTFs.

I should probably add that my experience with LaBella DTFs is mainly with the 760FL and Mustang sets which I love. I've also briefly tested the 760FS and Bass VI sets which I didn't like nearly as much. The 760FS set was SLIGHTLY too stiff for my taste and didn't feel as nicely balanced as the 760FL set. The Bass VI set was very muddy sounding. I got Pyramid Golds instead for my VI, much better clarity. I've never tested the heavier gauge LaBellas, like the classic Jamerson set. And I probably never will.

Anyway, the most important thing is that you've found strings that work for YOU. I didn't like the current Fender 9050s at all when I first tested them. I expected them to be like D'Addario Chromes and go from too bright to DEAD (in bad way) without really mellowing out into a classic flatwound tone. I was wrong. Luckily I decided to stick with the Fenders for a while and they have now developed a VERY nice tone. They won't nail the classic Motown thump (alhough you can get reasonably close with foam muting) but they're certainly more versatile than LaBellas.

For what it's worth I found the PV63 pickup too dark sounding with "old school" flats like LaBella DTFs. Things can get muddy really fast if you touch the tone control. Fender 9050s are a MUCH better match for that pickup IMO. I think you've made a very wise choice. You cleary use your ears, instead of just going for the "right" brand.

Thanks for taking time to reply in detail. It's all very interesting and it is suggesting that I need a couple more basses for string experimentation! The well know malaise called GAS... The 9050M seem to work well with the PV63 Pbass and tension is also acceptable. In fact, they are rather low tension for their super heavy gauge and definitely more flexible than the 760FS. No truss rod adjustment upon installing the 9050M, which probably confirms their relatively low tension. Not done with my string search though and would certainly like to give the 760FS another chance.

But to keep to the thread topic, I do want to restring my Fender 7150 45-105 pure nickel roundwound set in search of the best sounding rounds. Given that I don't want to take off the Pyramid pure nickel rounds currently on my rounds Pbass (with "Original 62" pickup), I do need a third Pbass. And I've been eyeing one for a while now but I'm trying to behave myself and not buy it.

 

[bass-shy]

When I was younger, I would have said DR Nickel Lo-Riders. I loved those strings and settled on them after trying just about everything on the market, probably 15 years ago.

Then, I moved to Florida and found out just how nasty the combination of high humidity, heat and salt is to strings. I was changing them weekly for a while there. Ended up trying out a set of Elixir NPS and never looked back. Not only do they last for ages, they feel and sound similar enough to the DRs that I didn't have to change technique or EQ settings on my amp.

Elixirs are the strings that I measure everything else against these days.

 

[Pluckoff]

D'Addario NYXL mediums are my favorite so far.