Still find the gauge and winding differences to be an odd indicator, but no skin off my rear end. Lol
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Gradual Transition?
- Thread starter Lenny JG
- Start date
Still find the gauge and winding differences to be an odd indicator, but no skin off my rear end. Lol
Just because Ken Smith strings are made by GHS doesn't have to mean they're made to exactly the same specs. Just like Chromes Flats and Fender 9050s are both made by D'Addario but they don't sound or even feel the same. Two siblings from the same family but two different personalities.
That's why I've always referred to GHS and Ken Smith as "cousins".
This makes a lot more sense than them simply being 'Repackaged' as he had stated. Plus he stated they have 'the exact same string gauges in the set' which just doesn't seem to be true.
I am a flat wound addicted as well. Most of my basses have them. ,So when I got my fretless. I put pressure wounds on it. My other basses that don't wear flats I'm using ken smith slick wounds.I didn't mention the Pressurewounds because they might still be a little too roundwound in their tonal character for what the OP is looking for.
In fact, the Pressurewounds are what saved me from my former flatwound addiction.
Ken Smith may have asked for some of the low B and E strings to be a tad shorter than the standard "long scale plus" of GHS retail to fit his basses, and the odd detail or two otherwise, like the silk colors. But the basic (pun intended) strings, except for a scale length variance here or there on a string, or a one gauge difference here or there in a set, they are for all practical intents and purposes re-packaged GHS strings. They're not even a different formula, such as D'Addario making Fender 9050 flats completely different from Chromes. In my bag full of singles of stainless strings, I have them in the various gauges I prefer in both the GHS envelopes and the Ken Smith envelopes, and when you dissect them, they are identical down to measuring the cores and wraps with a micrometer.
GHS doesn't even provide alot of the same gauges and w/ all due respect, this just kinda seems like a dumb argument and I'm not gonna reply to you anymore unless you have advice pertaining to my thread. Have a good day man.
Wait so you went from flats on fretted to halfrounds on fretless?? It seems I'm having the opposite experience haha
In fact, the Pressurewounds are what saved me from my former flatwound addiction.
I'm having a hard time forming a mental picture of "flatwound addiction". You're in a gutter - that much is a given, but beyond that, most addicts are hard at "work" stealing or involved in some other kind of shady dealings to afford their next fix. With flatwounds, you guys don't buy new strings but every decade or two.
This is probably going to be a "you just gotta figure it out for yourself" kind of question. Sometimes for me, it depends on what day you ask me when it comes to string preferences. For me:
I run Chromes (D'Adarrio flats) on everything (fretted PS and fretless Js) and love them. I like the way the warm sound plays off the guitar's dirt.
I've tried all the variations (not all the brands) and at one point, I was sure that half rounds were the answer - less zingy than rounds, and you could get decent dull thump out of them. I outgrew this philosophy pretty quickly.
I personally don't like bright strings - I just don't like all the peripheral noise that I make when I use them. I actually tried to move from flats to rounds a few months back because I though a little bit more grunt would suit the style I was playing. The zing didn't cut through the mix that much and too much noise. That lasted about a month - back to flats.
I tried tapes and just did not like them at all. I was hoping they would improve my mwah when I doing a jazz project, but they came off pretty quickly. They just sounded fake to me, and if I remember correctly, they felt a little sticky.
I run Chromes (D'Adarrio flats) on everything (fretted PS and fretless Js) and love them. I like the way the warm sound plays off the guitar's dirt.
I've tried all the variations (not all the brands) and at one point, I was sure that half rounds were the answer - less zingy than rounds, and you could get decent dull thump out of them. I outgrew this philosophy pretty quickly.
I personally don't like bright strings - I just don't like all the peripheral noise that I make when I use them. I actually tried to move from flats to rounds a few months back because I though a little bit more grunt would suit the style I was playing. The zing didn't cut through the mix that much and too much noise. That lasted about a month - back to flats.
I tried tapes and just did not like them at all. I was hoping they would improve my mwah when I doing a jazz project, but they came off pretty quickly. They just sounded fake to me, and if I remember correctly, they felt a little sticky.
Oh man I've been dreading that suggestion; partly because I'm not sure I'll love em for the price, and partly because I might like them so much as to buy em for my other basses.
Thats an interesting take for sure. I use round ss hex because I tune drop G# sometimes drop A and so I feel the brightness really helps me keep from getting too muddy. Reading this, maybe I should try flats in a metal mix. Lol octave4plus flats for E0?
I am not certain, but I think GHS makes Ken Smith strings (at least used to?)
*EDIT: I see this is discussed elsewhere above
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If you are interested in a bit of brightness and growl for your "transition" you might try Ernie Ball Cobalt flats. They are true flats but they add a tiny space between the wraps for a sound that approximates half-rounds, I think.
That sounds like a cool tone. Honestly I used ernie ball for maybe 5 years and at some point they started going dead on me quick and tearing the crap out of my thumb. I'd assume flats couldn't have the same effect on my thumb, also I haven't tried cobalts at all so maybe it's worth a try.
I recommend just trying going directly to a set of flats, remembering that, even more than rounds, you need to give them some playing time to settle in.
I played round wound strings for over 30 years before trying flats.
I started with a set of TI flats on my 78 Precision about 10 years ago, and still have that set on the bass. Currently four of my six bass guitars have flats (plus of course my upright). Two with TIs (a fretless Sire V7 in addition to the P bass), one with Chromes (fretless Godin Acoustibass), and a PJ with Fender 9050s. You may not always prefer flats, but you won’t know until you spend some time living with them.
I played round wound strings for over 30 years before trying flats.
I started with a set of TI flats on my 78 Precision about 10 years ago, and still have that set on the bass. Currently four of my six bass guitars have flats (plus of course my upright). Two with TIs (a fretless Sire V7 in addition to the P bass), one with Chromes (fretless Godin Acoustibass), and a PJ with Fender 9050s. You may not always prefer flats, but you won’t know until you spend some time living with them.
