I have read a lot about round vs flat wound strings. I am considering swapping out my rounds to flats on my Fender Jazz bass, and keeping the rounds on my Fender Precision. It boils down to the fact that I play a lot of blues/ jazz on my Jazz bass and would like to try and more darker tone. I play rock/metal too, so keeping the rounds on my Precision would allow for that brighter sound when playing rock.
Just wanted to hear people’s thoughts and recommendations? Thanks.
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Now I hear about Tape wounds. I hear these are excellent. Anyone ever try these?
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I have Labella flatwounds on my Jazz V and really like them. They are definitely darker than the rounds that came on the bass. I mostly play at church and they fit really well in our mix (acoustic guitar, drummer, and me). And they are so smooth they just beg for slides. 
I hope that helps.
Joe
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Sounds like for what you’re doing on your J bass, the flats might work for you. The only bass I have flats on is my P bass (big heavy La Bellas, going for the Motown sound on that bass), and they’re great! I grew up on roundwounds, so I’ve always just tried to use my hands to mute some of the roundwound high end stuff to get a more flatwound sound out of my basses with roundwounds. But still doesn’t sound like the real deal.
Tapewounds are fun too, even thumpier/deader than flats. All worth trying, feeling, and listening to!
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I have rounds on both my Fender ASP and Fender Squire P. I’m gonna swap out the rounds on my ASP for Labella flats soon. Just can’t beat the dark, classic sound of flats, especially on a Fender ASP.
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Yesss, flats on a P bass. I wonder what percentage of recorded music in the last ~60 years is flats on a P bass… I’m guessing at least 50%.
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I think your correct Josh, maybe even higher…
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Yep.
And about 25% of the remaining 50% would have sounded better if it was recorded with flats on a P bass.
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I just switched my round wounds out for flat wounds on my Yamaha BB235, which is a combination P and J bass. I got the LaBella Deep Talking Bass strings that are .045 .065 .085 .105 and .128. I really like the sound of them, but more importantly, I love how easy these lighter strings are to fret, especially the B string. I also love the smoothness of them, which is much easier on my fingers as I slide up and down the fret board.
Take my opinion for what it’s worth: I’ve only been playing bass for two months.
Thank you @Boz for recommending the LaBella Deep Talking Bass strings.
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I do wonder why light gauge flat wounds aren’t the recommended string for beginners. I’m sure one of our gurus will enlighten us on this.
I know it’s ‘horses for courses’ with string choice once you’re into proper playing scenarios, but as a beginner you should have the best possible introduction to the instrument, and whenever I’ve picked up a bass (over the last 35 years) I’ve struggled because of the horrible scratching sound, the harshness on my finger tips, and the pressure needed on cheap heavy gauge strings. I wish I’d changed sooner.
Of course, once I’m playing with more confidence & competence, I will make the string choice to suit the sound I’m after, but for now I just want it to be a little easier to make prettier sounds.
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I feel the flats are overall more limitating. you can’t really sound bright/agressive with flatwounds, unless your name is Steve Harris 
(at least let’s say those strings are not made to provide this kind of sound) whereas it’s easy to roll off the highs with roundwounds. it makes sense to me for a beginner to use gear that allow a wide tonal range. just my point of view 
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Agreed, @terb . . . 
I had tried both steel and plastic wrapped flats, but once I went with roundwounds, I never looked back. I personally like the brighter sound, but can still get darker tones by adjusting settings and plucking style, etc.
They are harsher on the fingertips though, especially for a beginner.
All best, Joe
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My concern about flats is slapping. It just sounds… different.
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Those strings are the best compromise.
Getting even more popular.
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I agree 100%. Right now I want to focus on learning to play the instrument with as little effort as possible, and without the distraction of residual sounds from the strings and soreness on my fingertips. I can always go back to round wounds if and when I feel the time is right.
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I agree with @terb:
Which is why I don’t recommend flatwounds to all beginnners. But I support anybody who wants to try them out, and if that’s where you feel happy then go for it! Flatwounds are great, roundwounds are great, tapewounds are great… different strings for different flings. 
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I play mainly with nickel round-wounds on my 174, but do enjoy playing half-rounds on my 304. I’ve tried the flats, but they just don’t give me the fullness of tone that I like to hear like my round wounds do. The half-rounds are great on the fingers, still give a bit if the round-wound brightness, yet present a smooth cool tone that works well with some of the more (I call them) ‘feelings oriented songs’. For instance, my half-rounds sound really good to U2’s ‘With or Without You’ when the feeling of the string helps support the ‘groove feeling’ of the song (if that makes any sense)… On the same note, the round-wounds on my 174 kick some serious B-ASS when jamming to Skynard…
Guess it all depends on what makes you feel good about your groove… and puts a smile on your face when you hit that last note…
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Are there any flats that sound good for slap? That’s what would stop me from trying them.
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Not sure about the Half-Rounds @howard… I do know that they do give me and ‘in-between’ on round-wounds and flats. I’m not a fan of flats, but I do like the tone and texture of the half-rounds for certain songs. My ‘go to’ is always nickel round-wounds, and I’ve been notorious for changing strings on my two bass’s quite frequently… Use to do the same thing when I played 6 string… Two guitars - tons of different strings… Guess I’m just kinda nuts…
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Well, I’ve been playing bass (learning) for exactly 100 days today, and I’m on my second bass and now changing string types for the third time. I started out with the factory provided round wounds on both basses, then a month ago I switched to flat wounds on my Yamaha 5-string.
Although I like the smooth feel, and happy sliding of the flat wounds, I’m not 100% crazy about the sound. Some people have described it as “Darker”. My description is the sound they produce is very GENTLE and POLITE. Most times, I’m a gentle and polite person, but NOT when I’m playing bass!
Now, I’m going to try tape wound strings. I’ve seen a few YouTube videos on which they demonstrate the difference in sound between different string types, and I rather like the sound of the tape wounds. Plus, they’re nice and smooth to the touch like the flats. So… here I go!
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