Fretless Bass Strings: Flatwound or Roundwound? - Bass Practice Diary - 5th January 2021

[@PierreLewin]

The major bonus of flatwound strings is that you can bring up the mid high and high frequencies without the metal buzz of the roundwound. With this, the attacks are way cleaner. The EQ and compression with the 2 types of strings have to be completely different. I'm not even mentioning the finger style picking, which in my case is different too.

[@57precision]

I'm brand new to fretless and just tried out both in my Kiloton. To my ears the mwah of the roundwounds is just too harsh and metallic. Put LaBella's on and the bass sounds great to me.

[@zyxwfish]

@@57precisiontry cobalt strings 😉

[@57precision]

@@zyxwfish cobalts are definitely cool strings. I ended up selling that Kiloton and upgrading to an EBMM fretless Stingray. Using ghs pressurewounds on it and I'm really happy with the tone.

[@chriswilke5522]

@@57precision I am reading this thread with interest, but I just wanted to say had a Stingray5 converted to fretless as my main player for a couple years. Loads of fun and many compliments on the sound! That bass is currently wearing pressurewounds, though it is not my main player at the moment as current bands seem to favor something a bit different.

[@M2Mil7er]

Nickel plated rounds seem to be a nice versatile compromise between the two tones. That's what I'm using with my fretless at the moment anyway.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

I agree, nickel plated rounds sound good on fretless.👍🎶

[@NuclearFantasies]

They sound good on every bass. There's a reason their the standard bass string these days.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Johnny Cox Music Jaco Pastirus was known for using Roundwounds on a Fretless Bass. He kept the fingerboard from getting scratches by coating it in a Protective polyurethane.

[@BassPlayerNcl]

I’m an advocate for nickel plated roundwounds or half rounds. My old Pedulla Buzz fretboard did see some wear when I used them, but thankfully it had a coated fingerboard which protected the ebony.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Yeah, ebony is pretty hard. I don't think the strings would damage the ebony through the finish.👍🎶

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@JohnnyCoxMusic That's because the Finish is acting as a Barrier to increase the strength.

[@JacqueRamon]

Jaco covered his fingerboard with marine epoxy. Well protected.

[@fabriziodimarzo7666]

Roundwound Forever on fretless and fretted as well

[@joel_anderson_t]

For a fretless with a J Bass pickup, I actually prefer using the semi-flat aka half round wound strings just to get the sounds in between the flat and round wound strings. I loaded a set semi/half wound strings on my fretless FrankenSquier Jazz Bass. I still can get the fretless growling sound on the bass.

[@intheworkscamp-inrv1147]

From my observation, the roundwound string tends to sound a little bit louder and brighter in volume and tone , comparing to a flatwound string. Another way to compare is like the difference between the roundwound string (Major Chord) versus the flatwound string (Minor Chord). For an upbeat tempo , repetitive rhythm like funk and disco , roundwound would be more suitable by producing a harmonious sound than a flatwound string. For a few beat per measure tempo and slow dancing rhythm, flatwound string would be best for producing sorrowing sound.

[@svenjansen2134]

Returning to just hear you play. You got that smooth groove. Great sounds also, thanks!

[@ohhwelltestchannel8550]

Elixir roundwound are quite nice on fretless. The coating helps a lot with wear.

[@urbannpa]

Thank you for playing "Black Market" riff. Weather Reports Jaco Pastorius is the reason I picked up the Bass.

[@BobMul]

There is another string option - half rounds. I used D'addario ENR72 on a long scale fretless acoustic. They are flattened on top and bottom but have round sides. Reduces attack but gives great sustain. They're expensive but give the best of both worlds (depending on your taste).

[@zyxwfish]

That’s what I used when I had a fretless

[@chriswilke5522]

Interesting comparison. I am currently favoring brighter sounding flats (either EB Cobalt or TI Jazz Flats) on fretless. To me they sound almost like rounds (or at least broken in rounds) with a smoother attack that can be smooth out any time I want. Best of both worlds. They also last almost forever! Prior, I had two fretless basses as main players. One (passive, w/ Bartolini) with DA Chrome flats, and the other (active, Musicman) with DA Nickel rounds.

[@jamesgumm2281]

I love both sounds personally.

[@horse_dog]

the 3 fretless bassists i look up to most--jaco, steve digorgio, and dominic la pointe--all use rounds. so the choice was simple

[@ordinarybassstuff]

On Jaco Pastorius, didn't he also pour epoxy on the finger board? I think it might have also contributed to making the fingerboard more durable.

[@michaelmccullough3447]

"Jaco-Poxys"

[@mikesorbassguitar]

GHS Pressurewounds are my favorite strings for fretless. They have the zing of rounds and the smoothness of flats (kind of), and you won't get the finger noise and they won't eat up the fretboard.

[@michaelmccullough3447]

After decades of using rounds on my fretted basses, I enjoy the mellowness of the flats, especially if I'm doing any 'sliding' up the fingerboard. That said, I may experiment some with semi-rounds. Another 'option' for the fingerboards is a Tung oil finish. I Love the Much more 'Natural' feel than a lacquered neck (Fingerboard And Back!), and, 'though it doesn't dry as Hard as an Epoxy finish, it comes pretty close (depending on how many coats you lay down).

[@debomb721]

Great! I wish I could’ve heard some slides tho to hear the diff between the two

[@TexasJackdaw]

Man, what great technique you have with your right hand. Plus your intonation is excellent. Thanks for sharing. Cheers from Texas, US 🙏 (subbed and rang the bell)

[@facedowngaming]

I use GHS Pressurewounds on all my fretless basses!

[@jeremypoythress4995]

Best combination I found was ns bass cello half wound strings and a stainless steel roundwound as the heaviest string.i used 3 coats of famowood glazecoat epoxy on the fretboard.

[@robinjohnson1877]

That groove@3:30 though, what was that?

[@eyeball226]

Didn't Jaco famously coat his fingerboard in epoxy resin though?

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

My own fretless model is strung with round-wounds. I like it better than flat-wounds. From a given angle, Johnny, that Marcus Miller model looks a lot like the fretted Tony Franklin model. Several years ago, I asked him his opinion of having a fretless maple fingerboard as in yours. He wrote back that a maple fingerboard cannot withstand fretless usage. I’m curious. Is it the epoxy coating on yours that protects your fingerboard, and how many layers are on it?

[@daveydoodle1916]

I’ll have ta go with flat wounds. I don’t like the crackle on round wounds

[@jeronimolozano8340]

Hi Johnny, would u make a lesson on how to eq your amp and how to work with the gain and master volume to get a great tone? Im a ver beginner and your Channel is helping me a lot.

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Hi. Thank you. It's a good question. The problem with making a video like that is that it depends a lot on what gear you use and on your playing style. So I would only be able to share generalisations like: "if you boost the bass and treble you get a scooped "Marcus Miller" type tone". That kind of stuff has been done a lot so I'm not really sure what I could bring to it that's new. Let me know if you'd like to try a lesson with me on Zoom. I can let you have the first 30 minute lesson for free to try it out. 👍🎶

[@Benjybass]

Flatwounds eliminate the scraping sound that occurs when you move your hand up and down the fingerboard. Double Bassists don't have this problem--it allows them to concentrate more on making music rather than being aggravated by that persistent noise.

[@nick_be9159]

Jaco added 6 layers of Boat epoxy on his neck... BIG difference!

[@nunofernandes4501]

I don't like flats on fretless because of their high tension and lack of mwah! Since I don't want to damage the fingerboard with rounds, I use GHS Pressurewounds and they are smooth to the touch but also growly like rounds. Way back in the 90s I loved D'Addario Halfrounds when they were made of stainless steel but they changed them to nickel and the feel is horrible for me.

[@unicron24]

jacko made the first fretless bass? thought the first electric basses were fretless? and they made fretless basses in the 60"s did jacko just coin a new style?

[@williamlowe7718]

Rounds for the win!!!

[@LouisCiarlo]

I have a question but it doesn't pertain to Flats vs Rounds. I notice your using 1-2-4 on your fretting hand, do you ever use 1-2-3-4? When I play a fretted electric I always play 1-2-3-4 with my fretting hand however, when I play a fretless I tend to always go to 1-2-4. I just feel my intonation is better at 1-2-4, even at the upper registers. I have never played an upright bass so it isn't because of that. Is there a right or wrong way with a fretless electric bass?

[@mtnsolutions]

been looking for a fretless with a maple fingerboard for a while. sounds great. your thoughts on why maple on a fretless is as rare as it is?

[@michaelmccullough3447]

On a similar whim, I put together an all Maple neck fretless P-bass a couple years ago (pretty good deal on fretless necks made in China on e-bay). I also put nylon wrapped strings on it, but I'll eventually try something else.

[@Blakelysworld358]

beautiful instrument

[@Thabassmon]

Flats sounded a lot more musical, the Rounds sounded a lot more typical, the brightness is also highlighting when you are off the note. My fretless has gone from 16 years of Rounds, to 3 years of Flats and currently as an experiment it has Tapes. It will be returning to having Flats on it. I doubt that I'll ever put Rounds on a fretless again, it cool for the novelty (and mimicking certain player's recorded works) but it becomes a tiresome sound for the listener and is a bit too obtrusive to genuinely fulfill the supportive role. Rounds do make the "look at me" solos stand out, but is that really what the role of bass is? That's the real reason that a lot of people are putting Flats on their fretless basses, it to fulfill the function of the bass role in music, the lack of wear is just a secondary advantage of the move. It's almost the same motivation why many people are using Flats more in general, to produce solid supportive tones. I use Rounds and Flats on fretted. They both have their place, but Flats on fretless sound better, just as flats are used on other fretless instruments violin, viola, cello and of course double bass.

[@jquill6]

I think the flats made it sound more like a double bass

[@LloydMajor]

Nice class!

[@MarkErikEE]

Faced with the same dilemma I think the flatwounds sound better - more like double bass sound while the roundwounds sound like - well - ordinary bass guitar.

[@kikodasneves1]

I think flats are perfect for a “budget” double bass sound in jazz.

[@jeffreyandrews9614]

I prefer flats on my fretless! Fresh, bright and warm!

[@IgnisIban]

But Jaco cover the fretboard with epoxy coats on the rosewood fingerboard as this wood is softer and easy to be chewed by rounds strings, however nowadays the use of harder woods like ebony in the Tony Franklin fretless prevent that situation to happen, about sound definitely the rounds bring more of the typical “mwah” voice of the fretless, while flats reduce this a bit giving a more fundamental tone,a matter of tastes, great comparision

[@markusdirschl3752]

Actually everyone seem to think you need to play roundwound strings on a fretless since Jaco did it... How would you come to the idea it's other way around? Check any forum and you'll find out 😂

[@derekpierkowski7641]

Round

[@tato4612]

Great video, thank you....Subscribed!

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Thank you! 👍🎶

[@nickpicc]

yeah rounds seem so much better to me, I always use DR Sun beams (nickel rounds) on fretless

[@JohnnyCoxMusic]

Yeah, I usually use DR strings on my fretless Warwick Thumb SC. They're great. 👍🎶

[@jackansell25]

I thought the flats sounded a lot better. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@ogloc6308]

round gang

[@fugalibrana]

Fretless board with fret marks is for cowards xD

[@svenjansen2134]

Aah come on lol