Rounds for People Who Prefer Flats?

Icculus

Icculus

Jul 29, 2010
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South Jersey
#1
The background is... I have a P with TI Jazz Flats that will remain that way forever, and I want to take the Chromes off of my passive PJ and try some rounds that lend themselves well to my preference for flats. In other words, less finger noise, a bit thumpier and not too much zing. The Chromes sound and feel great but they're just a little too firm for my tendinitis arms. Any ideas?

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I'd like them to be useful once the shine wears off. Not looking to need to replace every few months.
 
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#3
Perhaps tapes? La Bella Whites could be in that realm. I've not tried them. I have a set of the Copper Whites on the way, and I normally play chromes on my P and fretless. I'll jump back in once I have real world data. The plain White tapes are supposedly more round wound sounding than the copper whites.

Otherwise, perhaps a set of half-round or ground wound strings might be worth investigating.
 
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#6
Icculus said:
I want to take the Chromes off of my passive PJ and try some rounds that lend themselves well to my preference for flats. In other words, less finger noise, a bit thumpier and not too much zing. Any ideas?
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I'm a flatwound enthusiast who craves for some round-ish tone every so often and have settled for two semi-flats/semi-rounds, namely the GHS Pressurewounds and the La Bella Quarter Rounds.
 
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#12
Icculus said:
How would you compare the Pressurewounds and Quarter Rounds? These both sound like good options. One less tense feeling than the other?
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Pressurewounds are smoother feeling out of the pack. They are nickel-iron alloy vs. the stainless steel 1/4 round LaBellas. The LaBellas are more "grabby" but they smooth out a bit over time, especially if you use some Fingerease or fried chicken grease on your fingers. Both are very bright at first and take quite some time to mellow out, but in the end I think Pressurewounds are closer to flat sounding. I use Pressurewounds on my fretless and I have the 1/4 round LaBellas on my Lakland HB30.
 
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#14
GHS Pressurewounds ... you asked for Rounds ... ! not tapes , halfs , whatever ... Rounds

these are wounds with their outer wrap roller wound under enough pressure to give it an Oval shape .. !

smoother , less finger noise , less fret/board wear ... it's what you want .. !! really ...

i also use Ti flats as my fav flat ..
 
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#20
+1 on GHS pressure wounds. I asked a well known local luthier and all around great repair guy for strings for my new fretless and he said pressure wounds to give the brighter lively sound without chewing up the fret board. I tried them and liked them so much I put them on one of my p bass's as an alternative to flats on my '62 AVRI p
 
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