Yes, that.
The only reason I’d walk into a club was because apparently someone wanted me to play my bass there. The audience may have been wearing corduroy, leather, or fig leaves – I wouldn’t have noticed.
I wasn’t a corduroy guy myself; I was strictly jeans.
I think we can all get on board with corduroy being terrible.
Rounds are awesome though 
For those who have used several different brands or styles of round wounds, I’m curious. Are there any round wound strings sets that are a bit smoother without that rough feeling? I realize none will compare to the silky smoothness of my flat wounds, but I’d like to try rounds if I can find some that don’t feel like corduroy under my fingers.
On the risk of repeating myself, D’Addario makes an “intermediate” type called half-rounds, which are not rough at all, but supposedly still maintain some of the “edge” you get from rounds. @Lanny plays them on one of his basses; I had tried them for a while, but went back to “real” rounds.
Definitely worth a try…
Mind if I ask your reason for going back to rounds?
Ah, sorry, should have mentioned that…
Well, they were too “smooth” for me and not “growly” enough, if that makes any sense!? The former is a tactile/haptic thing, the latter a sound thing, obviously.
At this point, I should also disclose that I have never really played flats so far… I once tried a bass in a store that had flats on it, and it felt so… weird to me, it made me not like the bass. So, I am a fan of rounds, but realize that I should try flats at some point (more seriously) and I thought the half-rounds would be my gateway drug to the flats. I guess they could be, but, not least because I had them on my “main” bass (perhaps a mistake in hindsight), I switched back to rounds after a short while.
As with all “in-betweens”, some might feel that they are neither here nor there… 
Thanks @joergkutter I may order some just to try them… I’m experienced on round wounds, flat wounds, and tape wounds already, so I should add half round to my repertoire 
Cool - maybe you could a brief summary of your impressions then!?
But, to answer your original question about rounds: I think (in my experience), you should stay away from “cobalts” and “stainless steel” type rounds and go for the “nickel” types - the latter are warmer and smoother to the feel.
The only rounds I’ve ever played on were the ones that came with the basses I bought, which I assume are the ones you don’t recommend. I can’t imagine the manufacturer putting high quality strings on the bass.
@PamPurrs also there are stainless steel round wound strings and nickel round wound strings. the nickel ones are way less rough under the fingers, don’t know if it could help.
Mhh. I’m happy with my strings and tone on the ESP.
Sifting through the topic I became interested in trying out tapewounds at least. With the comments and also comparisons I saw on youtube I don’t think flatwounds are for me.
Also I became interested in what kind of strings are on my basses and with your discussion as source I assume that the Ibanez Gio has still the strings it came with and it seems those are steel. The ESP already had Nickel strings - I bought it used so I assume someone already put decent ones on it.
At least the strings on the Ibanez felt rougher. Like comparing two sandpapers with different grain.
The strings on the ESP are also color coded while the strings on the Ibanez aren’t.
That’s what I was trying to say two posts earlier, @terb 
@PamPurrs: these different types don’t necessarily correlate with price or quality. My guess is most basses are delivered with nickel round wounds, because they are the most “standard” and potentially pleasing to most.
By the way, if you ever really want to pamper yourself (no pun intended) or a certain someone wants to spoil you for your birthday, you should get a set of Thomastik-Infeld jazz flats - apparently the best strings out there (and long-lasting too):
sorry 
@juli0r is this the one you’re referring to? I agree, tapes sound better than flats, which is why I have them on both my basses at the moment.
I didn’t have any specific video in mind. Although had anyone asked for a video it would be this one I’d send:
Thomann creates content on youtube. The female bassist/host is “okay” but the content is often very informative. Also the accent might be disturbing to you. To me it’s “Oh we sound like that when we try to talk english? Well okay then.”
I kind of stopped taking her seriously as a host when she was all starstruck in a video interviewing Billy Sheerhan. I would be too in her position but I would try to turn it off/tune it down considerably for the camera. Again: very informative.
Scott Devine also did a nice comparison of rounds / flats / tapes in a YouTube video. I won’t link it here, as it’s pretty easy to find.
But it should be!
They better be for that price. What the f…udge?
I could get a whole used bass for that price. Are they spun out of magical unicorn spider silk? I’m… speechless.
I guess they are hand-made by some old dude somewhere in a basement in old-town Vienna, and he is the same guy who already made strings for Paganini… something like that! I think the rationale is that if they last three times as long, then it pays off!
I use stainless steel rounds, no complain on the fingers, an amazing sustain, deep growl if needed
Anyway, should find the strings with the right sound for you, there is no right or wrong
After putting on a set of flats on my favorite bass a couple of months ago, I find I am liking the bass less and less because of the strings! I miss those roundwounds dearly. I’m just not a fan of flatwounds at all, though, I don’t want to get rid of them altogether, they’re still a good set of strings, but, I don’t want to keep them on too much longer either, or wait until they go bad to replace them. Things to think about before you splurge on those Thomastik strings, lol, if you had an initial feeling of not liking flats when playing a bass at a store!