Ahem.. seasoned players, when did you first become aware of or start using roundwounds?

what year did you first become aware of round wounds?

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bobyoung53

bobyoung53

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Aug 29, 2004
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#1
Just that, when did you first hear of and start using round wound strings, do you still use them, how did you become aware of them? For younger players this probably sounds a little odd but all bass strings as far as I am aware of were flatwounds until at least the mid to late 60's. I started playing bass somewhere around 1967-68 and used flatwounds until around 1972 which is when I first heard of them. The first album I ever had on which I became aware of a bright bass sound was on a James Taylor album believe it or not called One Man Dog which came out in 1972. Also Roundabout by Yes came out in 1972 and was a big hit on AM radio. Back then the only brand I was aware of were Rotosounds, in fact everyone called round wounds Rotosounds kind of like everyone used to call refrigerators Fridgaires. I have come full circle now and use flatwounds again on some of my basses. I was young so probably wasn't aware of all that was going on in the bass world and my perception was that they were not well known until the early 70's, anyone well aware of them during the late 60's? Supposedly Rotosound began making them somewhere around 1966 because of Entwistle. I've been curious about this for a long time now.
 
#5
I had my first set of roundwounds likely in '66 or '67. They were Black Diamonds. I thought they were named right because they made your fingers black. I have no idea what they were made of, but I thought they sounded awful, and didn't acquire another set of rounds until 5 or so years later - Rotosounds. By '75 or '76 I was using Boomers. ...at least that's what I recall ;)
 
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#6
TomB said:
I had my first set of roundwounds likely in '66 or '67. They were Black Diamonds. I thought they were named right because they made your fingers black. I have no idea what they were made of, but I thought they sounded awful, and didn't acquire another set of rounds until 5 or so years later - Rotosounds. By '75 or '76 I was using Boomers. ...at least that's what I recall ;)
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I used Rotos until sometime during the middle 90's, the E strings started coming dead right out of the package so I switched to Blue Steels and still use them at times along with Labella flats.
 
#7
I don't recall exactly when, but for a while I played some John Howe (marketed by Rotosound, England) strings that were roundwound with an exposed core over the bridge - I forget their model name, but they were early roundwounds (mid-70's) and I thought they sounded great! Somebody here will know the name - was it "Superwound" maybe...?
 
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#8
TomB said:
I don't recall exactly when, but for a while I played some John Howe (marketed by Rotosound, England) strings that were roundwound with an exposed core over the bridge - I forget their model name, but they were early roundwounds (mid-70's) and I thought they sounded great! Somebody here will know the name - was it "Superwound" maybe...?
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Superwound is correct sir. They were the exposed core piano string design version of Rotosounds.
 
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#9
TomB said:
I don't recall exactly when, but for a while I played some John Howe (marketed by Rotosound, England) strings that were roundwound with an exposed core over the bridge - I forget their model name, but they were early roundwounds (mid-70's) and I thought they sounded great! Somebody here will know the name - was it "Superwound" maybe...?
Click to expand...

Yup I bought them a few times, I don't think they were around for a real long time, I liked them and stopped using them I think because I couldn't find after a while.
 
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#12
I first heard about Rotosounds from my bass instructor, Tom Evans. He was once a roadie for the Greatful Dead and still had a tie-dyed Sunn amp. I bought my first set the very day I bought my Fender Precision in June,1977. There's nothing like the piano-like tone they produce. Now, three more basses later, tastes change. My P and 5'er wear flats. My Jazz and Jaguar have rounds. I feel that round-wounds bring out the best in the Jazz, while the P-bass is a mellow thumper with flats.
By the way,I'm not seasoned. I'm aging like top shelf whiskey.
 
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#13
I played flats on my old Epiphone hollowbody from 73 until I bought a Fender JSB in 1987. It had rounds on it. Used GHS until 2000 when all the store had on sale were flats. So I played those until 2011.

Now I'm pretty much round in all my jazzy basses and flat on the hollows and Ps

I'm not getting older, I'm just getting bitter.
 
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#16
Had rounds on my first bass in about 1967. Entwistle used Rotosound so to me there was no choice!
I briefly had a Hofner Senator, with dead flats, I couldn't flip that bass fast enough. It was about as far from the sound I was wanting as you could get.
Traded that against a 62P in 1968 (also with dead flats) and bought a set of Roto 66s at the same time, fitted them as soon as I got it home. Played it with a variety of rounds, both nickel and stainless since. I often wonder what it would sound like with flats or chromes on it.

Now I have a variety of basses all with rounds except -
Hofner Violin clone with chromes. I was very doubtful about putting chromes on it, I still have bad memories about that Senator, all mud, thud and feedback but for what we play (60s) it works beautifully.
Fretless Jazz, also with chromes.
2 EUBs with whatever strings you put on EUBs, one looks like flats, the other chromes.
 
#17
I bought a Fender P in 67 or 68, don't remember what strings it had on it, but then went to Viet Nam and got in a band of army guys whose job it was, to play all the places Bob Hope wouldn't go. I was issued a Fender P and given a choice of flats, or rounds. The flats always sounded, and went dead quickly under those conditions, so I went round, and never went back.
 
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#18
TomB said:
I had my first set of roundwounds likely in '66 or '67. They were Black Diamonds. I thought they were named right because they made your fingers black. I have no idea what they were made of, but I thought they sounded awful, and didn't acquire another set of rounds until 5 or so years later - Rotosounds. By '75 or '76 I was using Boomers. ...at least that's what I recall ;)
Click to expand...
Like you, I also switched to Boomers from Rotos for me back in the Carter years (I am 57). Rotos cost a lot and were inconsistent in quality. Boomers were much cheaper and consistent, they did not sound as grindingly good right out of the pack but rang cleanly. My fulltime band bass string allowance was so low I boiled the Boomers after a night or two to extend them. Returned to Rotos (Swingbass 66) many years later when the price fell in line and the quality evened out.
 
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#19
Flats on the 66 1/2 Jazz till I went in the service in '72 and sold it ... later in the 70's started used bass shopping again when stationed back stateside, and most everything I was looking at had rounds ...
 
#20
I first found out about them through Rotosound ads in Guitar Player in the early 70s. I suppose I first heard them on records by the Who, King Crimson, Yes and other UK acts. I can't remember if my very first bass in 1973 (a Guild Madeira import) came with rounds but every single bass I have bought since then came with rounds on it already. This flatwound revival to me is weird...I have flats on the Ps I use for my blues gigs and my Danelectro Silvertone (39 years with the same set and still going) but rounds everywhere else.
 
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