Strings in brief

[The Aardvark]

What are the basic differences between strings. Roundwounds vs. Flatwounds etc. As I've said before, I play a Jazz like bass and am trying to maximize the growl.

[DerekDRP]

Originally posted by The Aardvark What are the basic differences between strings. Roundwounds vs. Flatwounds etc. As I've said before, I play a Jazz like bass and am trying to maximize the growl.

 

 

my teacher said the flats will give you like the low end of the bass. like a low rumble type sound. and the round wounds will give you more of a jazz light sound. ( I asked this same question on saturday )

[miles to go]

For maximum growl, I think you want roundwounds. Flats tend to have a full tone without as much bite. There are also half-rounds or ground-rounds which basically split the difference.

[sunburstbasser]

Roundwounds tend to be brighter and have heavier growl than flats. For materials, I found stainless steel strings to have a heavier growl than nickel wounds. Nickels are easier on the fingers though.

Flats basically sound like really dead rounds, but feel like worms. Its really cool! But don't expect much growl out of a set of flats.

[The Aardvark]

Thanks, All.

[zenfascist]

Stainless Steel Roundwound: These are the brightest on the string spectrum. They are also one of the most difficult to play for many bass players, given that steel is harder than nickel and other string materials thus tougher to manipulate while playing. They are most well known for their cutting highs and "piano-like" tone.

Nickel Plated Roundwound: Roundwound string with a nickel wrapping and a steel core. These are mellower than steels, and also easier to play. Nickel is softer than steel, so it will not last as long. These are good multi-purpose strings and probably the most commonly used today.

Pure Nickel Roundwound: These are pure nickel strings, and they are the warmest of the roundwounds. They are good if you want a mellow tone and the feel of a roundwound.

Groundwound/Halfrounds: These come in stainless steel as well as nickel. The steels are good if you want the brightness of a roundwound but with a softer feel. The nickels are good if you want something like a flatwound but with a little more texture.

Someone else can explain the rest, I'm tired!

[zenfascist]

Oh goodness, looks like everyone beat me to it while I was writing my post!

[miles to go]

I've been playing around with different strings on some recordings of my acoustic band. Here are some clips (please forgive the sloppiness):

Two versions of the same song, My Ibanez with nickel rounds (not sure of the brand) and my Jazz with flats (D'Addario Chromes)
Ibanez Rounds
Jazz Flats

And for comparison, here's the same Jazz with rickel rounds (D'Addario XL's) on a different song.
Jazz Rounds

These were recorded through my Ampeg SVPro preamp with a little grit dialed in, which may mask the differences some. With a cleaner signal, they're very distinct. Hopefully that will at least give you an idea.