Flat wound vs round wound strings

Yeah, I had the EXLs on the P before I bought the J, then swapped them over. I did like the rounds on the P - not that I don’t like them on the J.

Maybe I should just have rounds on both (though I don’t want to open any cans of worms in this thread :smiley: ), but I do like the idea of one bass with flats and one with rounds. It’s just which way round to go.

If flats on a P is Motown, what’s flats on a J? Actual jazz? :slight_smile:

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Flats on a P are Motown because that’s what Jamerson played. He also never changed his strings.

For the rest, play what you feel. There area iconic musicians using flats or rounds in any genre. There’s simply no right or wrong answer.

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I have flats and rounds on both.
I personally lean towards flats all around but keep rounds on some basses if the tone is called for. I keep rounds on my 6 string but flats on my 5, variety.

There’s no right string for a style. I like the tone on my flats for songs originally recorded with rounds…sometimes…and sometimes they don’t cut it.

Flats on a J or a P are both very classic cool sounds. As are rounds. It’s all a matter of preference and what your ear likes.

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Tone is different but feeling when you play is even more different. As @John_E said, there is no bad or good. Just try flats and find out you like them or not.
Speaking for myself, I don’t like them. Flats feel sluggish and kinda smeary to me.

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And, of course, there are flats and flats. I have played both GHS Precision flats and Rotosound Steve Harris flats. Uncoated SS vs Monel, mid light vs. bridge truss cables. World of difference there. And there are dozens of others to choose from.

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And don’t forget NYLONs! the unsung strings.
I am having a ball on my D’addario nylons (I like them better than La Bella’s nylons…shhhh!).

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Schrödinger’s cat - flats vs wounds simultaneously good or bad just don’t open the box to find out.

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I have D’Addario nylons on my B204 and I really like the feel and sound. Only problem I have found is with the E string. I was trying out a Bach piece for cello, and the E string was really boomy in comparison with the other strings. Probably wrong strings for the music.

Sounded better on my B206, but the E there is only 95. Iron Man sounds better on the 204.

Right tool for the job

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I agree here but really dig it. Every time I hit the E string I went…“ooh…thump!”

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I like it too, just not for what I was noodling with.

Need to find a more balanced set for a Stream

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My current favorites are GHS brite flats. In most cases best of both worlds isn’t true but I think I am a true believer in the half wound!

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I use them exclusively on my TRBX304 Yammy… It’s the bass I typically always use to “learn” song on. Easy to play, and with the half rounds on it, I can usually decide after learning a song as to which way I’ll go - either flats or rounds for a recording. I have also used it with those strings on several covers when I wanted the sort if in between string tone…

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Sounds like pickup height more than string issues. Or rather, you can probably easily fix this by lowering the pup a little.

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Funny I was thinking that last night but trying to figure out why these strings were different than the flats I took off when I setup both the same. And why only E. Yes this could sort it but it bugs me why.

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Could the E be just that little bit flubbier and it simply gets closer to the pup than the other one did? Just close enough to muddy the tone, I mean?

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Yeah - they are different strings and have different characteristics than your previous ones. It’s not super surprising that they might require a tweak like pickup height.

Think about this like going between 45/100’s and 45/105’s. Doesn’t sound like much, but the second set has an E string with a 5% larger radius. That’s actually implying quite a bit more string mass.

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True. Tone not muddy though. Quite nice actually. Haha

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Yep. That’s just about 10% more mass.

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me too! harder to fret notes on flatwound because my finger wants to slide aroundwhereas roundwounds have grip.

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Exactly my gripe with flats. They just don’t feel right under my fingers. They also seem a little stiffer and it takes more effort to bend them IME, but I tried out a set of Ernie Ball Super Slinky’s, the .040 to 090, and have even purchased some RotoSound strings that are .035 to .085 that I will be trying out, and I quickly turned to a light string guy. Soon all my basses will have them. Like SS basses, they sound rich and full as anything, and they are so much nicer to play. They seem to have less tension, and they bend like guitar strings. So yeah, Light rounds are my thing, at least for now.

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