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Why do roundwounds have less longevity than flatwounds?
- Thread starter TheIndieKid
- Start date
I tend to like stainless when they have mellowed a little, so I get a good 5-6 months out of them. In all honesty, my flats only last about 10-15 years longer than that. And counting.
You know, those “sonic” toothbrushes send a burst of oral microbiological flora into your blood stream with each use. Bourbon doesn’t though.
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The truth is that rounds can last quite well, if you do 2 things.
Wash your hands before playing - I mean like before every set.
Take them off and boil them from time to time, to get the dirt out from between the windings.
I do not use rounds any more, but when I did, those two things helped a lot.
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Well most flats don't have a lot of high-end frequencies to lose (so they are already "dead" in the sense of roundwound dead). The only flatwound string I've used that does have high-end more like a roundwound is EB cobalt slinky flats. So far on all the sets I've had, they retain that high-end way longer than most rounds. So, as someone said (the "thread ender" earlier), flats do not collect as much finger gunk to kill the strings.
As for resurrecting dead rounds... yes, boiling them brings back most of their life (so they become zombie rounds), soaking in denatured alcohol works even better. AND, loosening the strings and slapping the **** out of them against the frets, surprisingly, brings them back to life... although, every time I do that, I can't help shuddering to think what it is doing to my frets...
As for resurrecting dead rounds... yes, boiling them brings back most of their life (so they become zombie rounds), soaking in denatured alcohol works even better. AND, loosening the strings and slapping the **** out of them against the frets, surprisingly, brings them back to life... although, every time I do that, I can't help shuddering to think what it is doing to my frets...
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That's pretty much it.
BTW, I sometimes boiled my old Rotosound RS66 strings in white vinegar, back when I had my P.
A bit stinky, but it did seem to do a better job cleaning out the crap than just water.
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- Jun 6, 2012
- 4,837
- 6,859
- Disclosures
- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
Rounds start out zippy and go dull. Flats start out dull and stay dull.
Personally I like the sound of old dull rounds. IMHO they last as long as old dull flats.
It's just that most round string players prefer the new zippy sound and call them old and worn out when they mellow to a groovy cool dull.
Personally I like the sound of old dull rounds. IMHO they last as long as old dull flats.
It's just that most round string players prefer the new zippy sound and call them old and worn out when they mellow to a groovy cool dull.
Actually, it's a place.
if you want to go down that road...actually it's the NAME of a place
- Jun 6, 2012
- 4,837
- 6,859
- Disclosures
- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
Pretty simple actually, roundwounds generally have exposed cores, so it's easier for dirt and oil to get between the windings and degrade the strings, flatwounds have an additional flatwould metal wrap and sometimes silk wraps between the core and final wrap. With new string technology this discussion is almost a mote point. Ernie Ball Slinky
Cobalt Flatwounds sound great, and are flats.
Ric
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They don't! But sometimes it can make a difference. A guy above writes that he changes his rounds every 2-3 weeks, in our poor country, the set of a bass strings costs a big load of money, so after thoughts, I just understand that I preffet dead flats to dead rounds, and change them gor about 1-2 times a year... Money is a good thing
Roundw. lose their tone quickier than flats. As to me, my most liked tone is the middle tone on rounds - no that annoying treble and good midds and bass. When i change the strings i mostly start to hear some holes in mids. From what i have read here, i will try to renewe them sometime.
Nope....I don't change strings on my bass between songs. Whatever I have set them up with is what I play. Not really an easily interchangeable item.
By the way, I put on a set of Labella White Tape Wound flats last week and played them at one rehearsal and then at a gig last night. They worked great and were not the "dull" muted sound you hear about with flats. I originally played flat wounds because that's all that was available in the 60's and early 70's. So I used flats until 1976, when they were stolen along with my 1965 Jazz. Since I purchased my current bass back in 1985, I've only used round wounds on it - primarily Dean Markley Blue Steel and later DR Black Beauties. So I've used round wounds for the last 33-years. So far I am very pleased with the LaBella flats. Flats are notorious for "going dead" after a while, which some folks really like. I'd like to keep them sounding like they do now. We'll see how long it lasts. So far I'm a happy camper with flats again.
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Flatwounds last longest because the Earth is flat. Roundwounds die off quickly because they are contrary to nature.
I use to use a lot of La Bella strings myself. I would get the super steps steels to get that nice bright tone, then switched to Dunlop steels. The La Bella strings did last longer for that super brightness, but once it’s gone, it’s gone. The Dunlop steels, I put on and played one gig, put the bass in the case and came back a month later, found them dull and dead. After that I switched to Elixier Nickle plated strings. It’s been about 4 months and they still bright enough for me, with the warm tone.
Yep. The only flatwound strings that I have been pretty happy with for the most part. They don't sound exactly like a good set of rounds, but they are about as close as flats have gotten so far. And I don't think it is necessarily the high treble end, either because there are other flats that put out a good deal of treble. It's the "low-mid spike" that almost all flats have and the EB cobalt flats almost do not have at all. Since I really do not like that low-mid bark at all, that's the reason I'm pretty comfortable with the EB slinky cobalt flats. I have them on a couple of my basses. The rest are mostly strung with Dunlop super bright nickel rounds. I used D'Addario SS rounds for years too--great strings that last a long, long time.
