Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Ok, strings started out being flatwound, then to roundwound. When did this happen, why, and what would be really good example of each type in a song. Also, what do you use, and why. You don't need to answer all, or any of the questions, just post away.

So what-nobody has used both kinds, switched from one to the other, or knows anything about the history?

When I started out, early seventies, only one bass player I knew used anything but rounds (he used black tapewounds), and none but a self-acclaimed jazz specialist would use flats on guitar. In my circles rotos and ernie ball slinkys were lingua franca. So at least on my part of the left coast, the changeover from flatwound strings had already been long accomplished by the time I started playing. I wish I'd even ever thought to try flats in the seventies. They just seemed so wrong for us rockers.

I used rounds on my 320 until just last year but discovered I'm faster with flats. And this brand is almost as spicy as rounds (D'Addario Chrome Jazz Lights). Flats are easier for me, and not just for breakfast anymore. Why work harder than I have to?

Oh and groundwound or semi-flats are nice with my Squier and my Yamaha. That's something else yet.

One thing I can say is that strings in general sound better and last longer than when I started out.

In the Midwest, back in the mid-'60s, we used Fender strings, round wound and light weight, .009s typically. Into the early-mid '70s, string gauges got lighter and Super Slinkys were all the rage, in banjo gauges--.008s typically. Twank.

Now, for surf and on my vintage 12s (and my three archtops) it's flatties in .010s and .011 sets. My Gretsches get .010 rounds, and nearly all my newer Ricks use factory strings, notable exceptions being the CW/12 (TI flat POR set) and the 381V69 (TI Jazz Swing). I do have a Squier Venus XII with .009 Dano Vintage strings on it.

I recently picked up several sets of Takamine strings to try out on my personal Rick acoustics. No wonder Tak doesn't sell strings anymore...these were trash; the wound strings unwound when clipped and the high Es actually pulled out of the barrel ends the first time they were tuned up to pitch. Buyer beware--GC's got these on sale, and they should be avoided. An obvious un-bargain.

I started out using Rotosound Black Tapewounds, and then was told by my second bass teacher that I was a nancy-boy and would never soundlike John Entwhistle until I had a nice set of Roto rounds on my extremely cheap J-bass copy. I used rounds faithfully for the next 25 years ( just like almost every bass player I knew), to the despair of one or two guitarists who wanted a thick, muddy bottom end rather than the evil clank I generated. I quickly developed some lumpy callouses and bodacious fretwear before I switched from stainless rounds to nickel. I only started using grounds and flats (TIs and Chromes) on advice gleaned from such fonts of wisdom as the RRF and the RIC forum. I use rounds on my Rics, grounds on my Fenders and flats on my Jerry Jones and Mosrite.

I've always thought of Macca and Jamerson as having the ultimate flatwound tone - I've always loved "I'm Only Sleeping" as an example of that thick syrupy fundamental rich sound. On rounds, for some reason Start! by the Jam comes to mind.

On guitar, I bought my first set of flats (TI 10s, with a wound G) recently to try on my Mosrite. They feel and sound great but I'm not sure if the idiosyncratic Mosrite twang is masking their sound.

I use both...whatever I'm in the mood for on anything.

I have a mix of guitars and bassesn with rounds and flats. For guitars like my 1997, 325, 325/12, 360/12v64, Gretsch '57 Duo Jet, '52 Tele RI, and '62 Jag RI, it's flats. I stick to the D'Addario Chromes, typically in 10's or 11's, but I do have 12's on the 325's. I've set my recently acquired '62 RI P-bass with flats too, so that I can hit the Jamerson/Dunn tones. Everything else has rounds on. I think that this gives me a really good cross section of instruments to choose from when seeking a sound. I lean toward favoring flats though.

I'm guessing that the big changeover from flats occurred between '66 and '68. Can any of you vets back me up?

I've never strung any of my guitars with flatwounds, though I've played guitars with them; I didn't like the feel of them all that much.

I started as a bassist, and mostly used a Rotosound "Swing Bass"-equipped JG 4001.

I switched to guitar, starting with my AZ 360 WB, using a.009-.042 set, as well as a .010-.046 set.

Later on when I was playing extensively every day on a Gretsch Tenny and`62 Strat RI, I used .011-.052s, sometimes with a wound "G", sometimes with a plain "G" (the string set I bought came with both types in the package).

Once I started wrenching on motorcycles, I played less often. Bends on an .011-.052 set therefore became a bit more of a chore. I switched to the Ernie Ball "hybrid slinky" set; .010-.052, which made for easier bends, while retaining the heavier bottom end strings I liked.

I still use the .010-.052 gauge on my Gretsches and Fenders, and a .010-.046 set on my Ricks (local luthiers/guitar techs prefer these for my Ricks for some reason).

I use a .008-.040 set on my Rick and Vox 12 strings. The light set makes for easy bends and less tension on the neck.

I just can't come to grips with flats..... no 'feel' as far as I'm concerned.

I vaguely remember back in the 60s ('67 I think) a friend of mine started using Fender 'Chromes', which were either flatwound or groundwound and considered the 'bees knees' at the time.

I like them both, but I 'grew up' using Gibson flatwounds on my '67 ES-335TDC and prefer the feel of flats over rounds on my six-strings. On my twelves, I use RIC rounds and I like them just fine. On my basses, I like flats on the fretless basses but usually use rounds on the fretted ones.

When I was a kid (late 70's) Ernie Ball Slinkys .009's were the only electric strings the local music store carried. I didn't even know other strings were available. Half of the strings were rusty when you pulled them out of the envelope and the other half broke. I can't play Ernie Ball strings to this day. Then Dean Markley Strings came along. They weren't rusty but they broke twice as fast.

For bass strings there were two choices. Roto-Sounds which would turn your Hondo II into an archery set or something called, Reds. I think they were made by D'addario. The Reds were bronze, like acoustic strings, but they turned your fretboard and your fingers black.

By the 80's, I was using Fender strings but they had so many sets and gauges available that I couldn't keep track of which ones I used. Every time I would settle on a set, Either fender would change the gauges or the music store would stop stocking them.

I am glad to report my string saga is over. .10-.46 D'addario round wound and GHS Nickel Rockers compressed round wound, for the 6 strings and RIC strings for the 12. The one constant has been Martin .12-.54 on the acoustics.

Clint wrote:...or something called, Reds. I think they were made by D'addario. The Reds were bronze, like acoustic strings,...

I used to use those on my 4005WB; I recall they were copper coated.

lennon211 wrote:I've set my recently acquired '62 RI P-bass with flats too, so that I can hit the Jamerson/Dunn tones.

Tell us more about this, Matt. What's the color? I was for sure you'd put some Rounds on it for that "Quick One"/"Who Sell Out" John Entwistle tone...I was for SURE!

I used to make up my own light gauge sets back in the early 60's (see the article below for a good description of how that was done) until good old Ernie Ball developed his Slinky's. My memory of the exact year they became available was a bit vague but according to the article it was 1967. That does seem about right to me when I think about it.

From Wikipedia:

With the guitar-based rock revival of the 1960s, Ball noticed that beginning students were having difficulty playing the bestselling Fender #100 medium gauge strings, particularly in holding down or bending the stiff 29-gauge third ("G") string. At the time, it was common for a set of strings to have a "wound" third string. He approached the Fender company with the problem, suggesting a lighter gauge but was rebuffed. Ball convinced a string manufacturer to make him custom sets with a 24-gauge third string which he sold in his store.[10] It was the beginning of the Ernie Ball brand. Located not far from Hollywood, the store began to attract a large patronage of professional musicians, including The Beach Boys, Merle Travis, and The Ventures. Ball also began to notice the practice of "slack stringing" among players who discarded the bottom sixth string and added a banjo first string on top. This resulted in an overall lighter gauge set with a plain third string. Again, he contacted Fender with a suggestion for a lighter set and was turned down. This time he continued the quest with Gibson who scoffed at the idea. So, once again he ordered from the manufacturer naming the product the Ernie Ball Slinky.[11] "Slinky" strings traveled the country with the pro musicians who used them and before long, Ball was receiving mail orders from individuals and stores. Still not a string company, he ordered separate strings in various sizes and displayed them in a makeshift case allowing musicians to experiment in creating their own sets. It took off, and in 1967 he sold the store and moved his string business to Newport Beach, California