Flat wounds, half rounds, why?

Cheesehead1

Cheesehead1

Not even trying
I recently picked up another bass and I'm thinking about putting flatwounds on my MIM Jazz bass, just for shits and giggles. I'm also interested in putting them on one of my guitars. I've been playing for quite awhile, but I have absolutely no experience with these. Anybody have any experience, input or suggestions before I buy a few sets?
 
I have two bass guitars...I use the one with flatwounds almost exclusively. I like the feel of the flatwound strings and their sound.
 
Flat wounds tend to be mellower (or deader) than round wound strings. If you like bright, zingy strings, flatwounds are not for you.
 
On bass, flatwounds sound better in many mixes. Never tried them on guitar. Give them a try, let your ears judge. Make sure you're basing your decision on how they sound in your mix, not solo.
 
Completely depends on how you want your bass to sound. Give them a shot and see. I personally never liked them myself, but that is just me. Had to try them to know. And even then the last time was over 15 years ago. I may go buy a set to see if I change my mind... I doubt it but worth it to know. :)
 
I have 4 basses. One is used for flats & nothing else, (it's a BIG OLD semi acoustic). The other three, (one solid body, one semi and one acoustic) wear round wounds. I don't have any 1/2 rounds as they are expensive & a bit silly. Flats sound great, have a "vintage" tone & are particularly good for finger playing but can be hard to sit in a busy mix. I don't play much that has a vintage tone or sparse mix so the flats are rarely used.
 
I find that flats excel at sitting in a busy mix. They have strong fundamental and less crap going on in the midrange. You get a cleaner mix and a bass part that does its job without getting in the way of the guitars, keys and vocal.
 
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I love flats.
It's all preference...I like that upright bass/mellow sound in bass. GHS precisions are the best imo but make sure to get the right size for your bass and consider if you'll string through the bridge or the body (if you have that option) before starting.
 
I guess it's about variety, I have a lot of instruments and I like experimenting with different sounds. I'll probably buy a set of flats and a set of half flats for one or two of my guitars. The bass strings are expensive, but I guess you only go around once in life.


You guys are saying pretty much what I thought, but it never hurts to ask. A lot of questions are really about preference and there's no right or wrong.
 
Flatwounds on guitar are usually used for jazz (think Wes Montgomery or Tal Farlow) for that beefy tone and by some slide players (like Lowell George or Bonnie Raitt) for less string buzz. I have a guitar with them specifically for Little Feat types slide.

As for bass, many of the blues, jazz and classic rock guys around here use flats and the alt rock and hair band guys all use rounds.

Hope that helps
 
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You pick the strings for the sound you want,

I have round wounds on:

Fender Precision
Fender Jazz Fretless
Ibanez BTB 5 String

Flat Wounds on:

Fender acoustic Precision fretless
Aria Electric Upright.
Stentor Acoustic Upright

All these basses sound totally different from each other and the strings are defiantly a major part of the sound, so it's not a question of whats best it's a question of whats best for the sound I want.

Alan.
 
Might see if I can change strings on at least one of my basses by the end of the decade... I'm still yet to buy bass strings.
 
JDOD said:
Might see if I can change strings on at least one of my basses by the end of the decade... I'm still yet to buy bass strings.
Click to expand...

Ha, same here. I have 2 basses (well, 3, but we don't talk about the SX that lives in the storage room), and I've never changed the strings on them myself. I don't even know what gauge of strings are on any of them. I didn't know how to respond when the shop guy asked me what gauge I wanted on the P-Bass that I'd just bought 2nd-hand when I brought it in for a setup. I just shrugged and said "ummm...something average".
 
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