Flats versus Roundwounds, again.

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Mon May 16, 2005 6:59 am

D'addario XL's and XL prosteels are great strings too. I used to swear by rotosound being a brit, but the QC is awful. The D'addarios come packaged in a air tight plastic bag rather than individual envelopes and i swear it makes a difference because i have bought 4 sets of prosteels (as well as an acoustic guitar set) and they ahve been really consistent to each other.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:19 am

I use Copley Nickel rounds ...

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:29 am

I just swore off Rotos and went back to D'Addario after a brand new A string broke 3 hours into a set. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr...I'm not much of a string breaker.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon May 16, 2005 4:04 pm

I'm also a guitar player and also have one 1978 4001 strung with Ric Nickle RW's. I have two SS amps also and slap a little bit on bass. My 'RW's are for guitar players' comment was for the original title of this thread which was a joke which I did not start, I was not serious.
I see nothing wrong with discussing flats vs rounds, picks vs fingers, etc. and do not get angry when others assert that flats's s**k or are 'soundsuckers' etc. I just good naturedly (I thought) insult back as many of us here play them and should have a voice also. I just think a lot of the people who say that have not given then a fair trial which means more than throwing them on a bass for two hours or two days and taking them off again. 5 years ago flat wounds were considered to be almost extinct except for a few die hards, they have had a big resurgence within the past few years and I think some people are threatened by this. The only constant in life is change. I read an article in bass player a few years ago that theorized that part of the reason for people going back to flats was because bass players no longer sounded like they were playing a bass, we had gotten away from the basic premise of our instrument and many people were using synths to get the deep bass sound. Bassplayers obviously did not want their instrument to become extinct or become a niche instrument like the baritone guitars of the 60s, so many went back to the roots of the bass: bottom. I joined this change and didn't become a flatwound player over night, I had to re-learn how to get a good solid, present sound out of them as I too thought of them as being dull thumpy things which got lost in the mix, I was in for a pleasant surprise. I found for me anyway that they occupy their own sonic space below the guitars and if I used a good amp I had more not less presence. I also realize they are probably not good for all types of music, but for me and most of the stuff I play they really sound good and people love the sound of them. A lot of younger soundmen don't know how to EQ them however I find. Humor is a wonderful thing I believe and I never mean to be malicious to anyone and if I have ever made anyone angry by any of my comments I have made and especially to Jeff whom I like and have known through this forum since I joined I publicly apologize.
I have ragged on RW's, SS amps, slapping, 4002's, certain colors, Lemmy's, CS's, 5 strings, pods, you name it and I've probably insulted it somewhere along the way but I guess in a public forum like this I need to be a little more careful as people obviously don't always take me the way I intend them to.
Incidently Peter, if you want to try some RW's I would try Ric nickles, the original equipment strings, they have a nice pretty sound and last a long time and the tension is just right for a Ric bass.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Mon May 16, 2005 5:11 pm

I've been tempted to try out a set or two from here:

http://www.webstrings.com/

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon May 16, 2005 5:18 pm

Bob ... you are alright ... you give people here a view that is quite different than mine ... we both like Rics and ampegs ... but we use them quite differently ... one of the reasons I could let my old '68 4001 bass go is because I wanted a more solid sound ... I like the mid punch of the modern Rics ... when eq'd properly the modern Ric bass can out p-bass a p-bass ... I do it with rounds and you do it with flats ... I do it with the pod and you do it with a SVT ... you are more of a classic bassist ... I am more of a Bass Guitarist in the Geddy/Entwistle mode ... I also believe in holding down a good solid bottom but also showing with fast rif's I usually play in bands with 2 guitars ... and I love my low B ... I work hard to be good at several playing styles like slapping, picking, fingering ...

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon May 16, 2005 5:29 pm

Joey ... I ordered some steels and nickel rounds ...

ken_swearingen · Post by **ken_swearingen** » Mon May 16, 2005 5:34 pm

Its kind of difficult to understand ones personality on the forum because we have not met one another so i guess its easy to get offended or offensive.I for one am very sarcastic 60% of the time if i offend you don't take it to heart i mean no one harm.whats the one thing we all do in are spare time is write to one another on this forum .We are all friends here, I consider all of you my friends ,always feel free to give me a hard time when you feel like it its all in fun .ken

jmh · Post by **jmh** » Mon May 16, 2005 6:00 pm

Bob and Jeff, don't change. You both bring an interesting and enjoyable prospective in your postings, and most people here know your posting personnas, and aren't offended. There is much to be said and learned by trying different strings, as well as trying a 5 string. At a recent annual jam I attended, two of the bassists had five stringers, one a Carvin (active, tone and growl to die for), and one an Elrick, a gorgeous bass that seems to almost play itself. I could easily desire a five string if I played more. Great instruments.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon May 16, 2005 6:24 pm

I'm going to go 10 string ...

I will string it with 5 flats and 5 rounds ... well not really ...

jmh · Post by **jmh** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:01 pm

That bass scares me.... wow.

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:25 pm

Lol. Way to use that pic Rath!

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:26 pm

Jeff, let me know what you think of those strings, the prices are nice.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Mon May 16, 2005 8:03 pm

I'll do you 2 better, Jeff!

ken_swearingen · Post by **ken_swearingen** » Mon May 16, 2005 8:08 pm

With the ten stringer his hand isnt big enough to hit half the notes ,thats too much.