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

what year did you first become aware of round wounds?

  • Total voters
    62
#23
When I started out in the mid-70's, like most here, Entwistle, Squire, Greg Lake, etc. had this tone so different from the usual big round flatwound tone that I was intrigued. There weren't 40 or 50 string makers then like now, and these Rotos from England were something new and exotic. You really had to work at that tone in a world full of folded 18's and amps that were definitely voiced for that thick flatwound tone.

I remember at first it took a while to develop the callouses to survive them, and we all marveled at the rumor that supposedly they'd void a Ric warranty as they were too hard on the frets. Well, what the hey, these MUST be bad to the bone and I gotta have 'em !

I later transitioned to GHS Boomers as I could get them cheaper and went through a period of custom gauging them, which was easy with GHS, as most music stores had that wooden box with all the strings separately available, a big luxury back then.

Over the years I've come to lean towards nickel roundwounds, as the stainless are a little too much for me generally. I keep thinking I'm gonna try Progressives or some of the ground-wounds, but never seem to get around to it, and generally stick with Boomers or D'Ad XL's. Over time I've tried everything from Black Diamonds to TI's, and always seem to come back to those two.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Arthur U. Poon
#24
I bought my first bass in either late '74 or early '75. It was a Danelectro and had a broken G string (I only paid $12 instead of the asking price of $15). The local music shop sold single bass strings so I was able to find a matching round wound. I tried flats on many basses over the years, but prefer rounds on all of them.
 
#25
1977 - the year that I bought my first bass. Roundwounds are the only strings I have played for 40 years, with one exception: my MIM fretless Jazz came with flats, which I kept on it until I put a finish on the fingerboard, and now it has roundwounds.
 
#28
Went through many string brands from 79-81 until almost settling on Rotos in mid-81. Loved the sound of new Rotos, hated the sound of five-day-old Rotos. Jumped to Dean Markley roundwounds (whatever they were called then - I recall golden silks) and remained convinced of their superiority for quite a good while. Tapes, flats, tried them all and stayed on the roundwound train until discovering coated rounds.
 
#30
When I started playing (1967) to buy new strings you went to your local music shop and picked from what they had in stock. IIRC it was a choice of flats or Roto 66s.

I think I played the same Rotos for about 3 years before I broke one. We took a break and I repaired it (can't remember how or what with) but remember that I had to go into town the next weekend and get a whole new set, they were pretty expensive to a broke apprentice.
 
#31
nolezmaj said:
Could it be these?
View media item 8176View media item 8175I came across them last year in a yards sale. I tried them on, but scale was medium, so tension was off.

Edit: they probably aren't, these were flatwound.
Click to expand...

Yep, those are the ones! I recall the "707" and the little ferrules they came with, though I no longer recall how the brass bits were to be used. I don't think they really caught on - cool to see a set still in existence.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nolezmaj
#33
jjmuckluckjr said:
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.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have flats on my Precisions and rounds on my Jazz, I tried flats on the jazz but it just didn't sound that great so I tried the Dean Markley Blue Steels on it and those things sound great on that bass, it does sound like a piano but with bottom. I also have flats on an EB-3, I have flats on my Rick 4001 but I think I'm going back to rounds on that bass.
 
#35
Morrighan said:
Went through many string brands from 79-81 until almost settling on Rotos in mid-81. Loved the sound of new Rotos, hated the sound of five-day-old Rotos. Jumped to Dean Markley roundwounds (whatever they were called then - I recall golden silks) and remained convinced of their superiority for quite a good while. Tapes, flats, tried them all and stayed on the roundwound train until discovering coated rounds.
Click to expand...

I believe these were 'SuperRounds' which I liked back in the 80's as well (Black and yellow packaging). Not as expensive as the Rotos, if I recall correctly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Arthur U. Poon and Morrighan
#36
brianrost said:
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.
Click to expand...

I bought a new P bass in 71 which came with flats and a new Ric 4001 in 77 which also came with flats, i remember trying out a few other basses that day in EU Wurlitzer's especially a Musicman Stingray which had just come out but don't remember if the others had flats or rounds. I don't think most basses came stock with roundwounds even during the late 70's, I could be wrong though
 
#38
bobyoung53 said:
when did you first hear of and start using round wound strings, do you still use them, how did you become aware of them?
Click to expand...
i played other instruments (gigging) prior to 1975 (when i started bass --- on DB: gut). my first electric bass was a ric. whatever strings came with the ric = what i used for several years --- just kept replacing strings on the ric to bring it back to 'new'. they were probably flats. a bass playing FOH guy turned me onto round wounds, not sure when...had to be late 70's. i remember him saying: "that mud you have in your sound is terrible...you want a piano string sound, right?" i didn't know/care too much about the string thing, but i tried them anyway. rotos were suggested by the guy, so i got those. loved them. still do. still use them (rotos, extra-light gauge).

now: besides the rotos, i've been using TI jazz rounds on my two gigging instruments. they are very different from rotosound, but they hold up quite well and they are fun for me to play on the fretlesses.

i've also tried DR coated rounds: i like them as well, but my "go to" string would be the rotos or the TI's.


Killed_by_Death said:
seasoned players = old people :D
Click to expand...
euphimism....optimism?
 
#39
I can remember the first time I heard "Yours is No Disgrace" on the "Yes Album" in 1971. I thought to myself "I really like the sound of that deep throated guitar". After a few listenings I realized it was the bass!

Then a few months later I saw Yes live and was completely blown away by the band, especially Chris Squire's bass sound. At first I attributed it to Rickenbacker, but not long afterwards I put it together that it was the roundwound strings that really gave it most the "clank".

That said, I still love flatwound strings and have them on some of my basses. I kind of look flats vs. rounds the same way as one would at nylon string vs. steel string acoustic guitar - both uniquely different in sound, but both are there for a reason.
 
#40
I voted late, late 60's. I do not remember the exact artist or album, but I went to rounds around 1970 and still choose them today. I used Dean Markley Will Lee's for many years. Now I lean toward Circle K (now called Kallium). I have tried on a couple of occasions to use flats, but took 'em off and put on rounds within a few months each time.

EDIT: The Black Diamond strings. You youngin's will have no idea what I am saying, but we could buy them in a drug store. Didn't have to go to a music store (30 miles away).
 
  • Like
Reactions: TomB
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back