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Who likes dead roundwounds?
- Thread starter Ryan Mohr
- Start date
knuckle_head
Commercial User
- Jul 30, 2002
- 2,621
- 58
- Disclosures
- Owner; Knuckle Guitar Works & Circle K Strings
Well-worn steels - La Bella, Roto and even Pro Steels - hammered on with a pick.
.....among other flavors.
.....among other flavors.
I love old DR high beams. Just perfect for me. Old labella HRSs are great too.
Dead slinkys and d'adarrios do absolutely nothing for me though.
Dead slinkys and d'adarrios do absolutely nothing for me though.
I have had the same Ernie Balls on my Peavey Grind since '06, when I bought it.
I had the same thing on the Fender I just sold. I sold it with the strings still on it..
Im looking for some flats for my Peavey, is has a great vintage tone.
I had the same thing on the Fender I just sold. I sold it with the strings still on it..
Im looking for some flats for my Peavey, is has a great vintage tone.
I use nickel plated rounds because they are bright, and when they start losing the "bright" I boil them once. I go through 3 or 4 sets a year.
If I wanted "dead" strings I'd get some kind of flats.
If I wanted "dead" strings I'd get some kind of flats.
I had the stock strings that were on my Stingray from the shop (Ernie Ball Slinkys) for 2 years and I really liked their sound. They were warm and round sounding but could still get some snap if you attacked it hard enough. When I put a new set of Slinkys on it 2 years later, I was actually disappointed in the sound but after about 2 weeks, the Slinkys went dead and sounded good. Ernie Ball's are good strings for the broken in nickel sound IMO. Slinkys get so dead they start to sound like an old set of flats... LOL!
Cool, thanks. I have heard that old hi-beams sound great. In fact, I think Paul Turner uses played-in hi-beams. There's also a soundclip on Ed Friedland's site of an old P-bass strung with 7-year-old HRS played with a pick. Sounds awesome! Now if I could buy played-in steels somehow...
What about slinkys and XLs don't make them sound good to you when they are played-in? Something about how nickels age in comparison to steels? I only have experience with nickels so now I'm interested. I have a set of played-in XLs around and dead slinkys on my Squier.
Fair point, but played-in rounds sound a lot different that flats. Different feel, tension, and you can still get pickstyle grind.
Thanks for the input! Do you find that those old slinkys aren't able to intonate well anymore?
Thanks, you guys have my interests piqued now.
+1 on the Hi Beams. Best old rounds out there, followed by Fender 7250s. The Fenders just get warmer and warmer.
Slinkies, when they get old, retain a tiny bit of "plink" on the high end, with lots of lows. Not pleasing to my ears, but I can understand the appeal.
I'm gonna get some hi-beams I guess.
I also dig my played-in 7150s, they just keep getting warmer and warmer as well. I'm curious to see how my nickel lo-riders age.I know what you mean, they get really muddy but are still clanky.
I prefer strings that are a few years old, but have been cleaned by boiling or soaking in solvent. Not too bright and not too dull.
I also dig the dead nickle rounds. DR Sunbeams are my favorite.
Completely OT: I dig me some Jamiroquai, but there's just something about seeing Jay Kay on video that makes me want to punch him. I guess I need to stick to strictly audio
i went from worn in high beams to brand new sunbeams and hated them.. if i wasnt broke they would have been gone in a minute, but now that they are broken in (6 months) i'm starting to really dig them they are on a p bass.. i have some really worn in hi beams on my hollowbody that i love more and more every day..
when i used to use ernie ball strings i hated when they went dead.. maybe it has something to do with brand?
On my Warwick Corvette I love the tone of my old (and very dead) DR Sun Beams....now the MTD is another story. Dead strings just make me not want to play that bass at all
-J
-J
I take it a "half step" further and use D'Addario Half Round Lights and let them go dead. Yummy! I only change them when they get too worn or if I try a different string recommended here and then (always -- so far) go back to the ENR71s. And the restart process isn't as jolting to me as when using rounds.
I love a nice old set of Rotosound Swing Bass. To my ears they have a bit more growl than others. Plus they always go dead quicker. 
I once did a session where the producer had me play his mid 60's Epiphone Rivoli. I thought the strings were a bit too dead so I swapped them for a slightly less dead set I had. Turns out they were the original strings on the Rivoli. The producer was not happy.
I once did a session where the producer had me play his mid 60's Epiphone Rivoli. I thought the strings were a bit too dead so I swapped them for a slightly less dead set I had. Turns out they were the original strings on the Rivoli. The producer was not happy.
The only set of strings I really remember wearing out was a set of Blue Steels. When played constantly they simple lost integrity after a few weeks and would break. Went through two sets, will never do it again.
I do like worn in strings, but I can't stand worn out strings. If strings get to the point that there is no snap at all I can't get the punch I want from them. I also can't stand grimey feeling strings. Luckily, I guess I am not very acidic because a set of strings typically will last months if not years. I have two sets of strings I bought on sale that have been sitting in my music room since before Christmas. I don't really have any reason to use them yet. I wouldn't be surprised if it is another 6 months before I do, and that will probably be the result of buying a bass that has terrible strings on it already.
I do like worn in strings, but I can't stand worn out strings. If strings get to the point that there is no snap at all I can't get the punch I want from them. I also can't stand grimey feeling strings. Luckily, I guess I am not very acidic because a set of strings typically will last months if not years. I have two sets of strings I bought on sale that have been sitting in my music room since before Christmas. I don't really have any reason to use them yet. I wouldn't be surprised if it is another 6 months before I do, and that will probably be the result of buying a bass that has terrible strings on it already.
