Garth Fielding on XL Half Rounds Bass Strings

[@daddarioandco]

That's correct - we grind the outer part of the winding so they feel like flats. But the interior portion of the string, thinks like a round wound - a bit more sustain than a flat wound as well.

[@OsmarOliveira]

Just strung my Pbass with these halfrounds strings... They sound great, but I felt they're much closer to flats strings rather than to rounds. Couldn't get all that brightness out o them like the video shows. Little bit sticky too, but they're fresh new. I guess it's probably better to keep with regular rounds (if you want that nice bright tone) and regular flats (if you want that classic thump).

[@joel_anderson_t]

I got one for a fretless bass and I can somewhat agree with with you when it comes to the amount of brightness you get out of them. I’m got a 5-string set for a fretless conversion project on my 5-string Squier Standard Special Precision Bass. It’s got 2 Jazz solid pickups. And it’s a rare bass as of today. Hopefully, I can get that fretless sound once the project is finished.

[@Aragorn35016_]

I tried a set of these a couple of years ago and really enjoyed them myself, but the minute I put them on, there were certain notes that when fretted would totally fret out while others would be totally be OK. Took some measurements with a set of calipers and turned out that there was a crazy fluctuation in the gauge tolerance across the length of the strings. I don't know if it was just a bad set or what, but I've never encountered anything like that before and have been gun shy of these ever since. I do love the XL's though!

[@AdmiralLolek]

1:53 someone call an ambulance

[@handgunner1911]

thanks for the vid.ive been using round wound daddario for over 20+ yrs.i happened to play a bass at the store that had these strings and I love them.im a fender p bass and jazz bass player with the old ampeg svt bass rig.all the bottom is there and the mids,even the treble not as high as the roundwounds but that is why you have knobs on a amp.simply love them and so do my fingers!

[@thecoolestdad]

Thanks for this vid. I am self teaching myself the bass and being a drummer for 40 years, my fingers were not tough enough to go with rounds.I went with flats on my first two basses. I am getting a third bass soon and I am wanting to put something besides Chromes on this one,but not roundwounds either.So these half rounds should be exactly what I am looking for. Smooth enough on the fingers, but can still get bright as rounds with some tone adjustments. Thanks.

[@Bass.Player]

Actually roundwound strings have less friction, it's pushing your fingers into the groves that makes them sore. In the 80's I used flatwounds on my fretless and would have to use "finger ease" to get through the night otherwise my fingers would stick on the strings between notes. A slick surface has much more surface area. Remember all the squeaking and stumbling that happens on a smooth gym floor, this does not happen on concrete even though concrete is more abrasive... Same principle

[@justinstratford]

The squeaking on a basketball court comes from the sole of the shoe vibrating as it slides over the low friction floor. There is no squeaking on concrete because concrete has more friction and doesnt let shoes slide. The grooves in the concrete give it high friction because the reduced surface area means there is more concentrated friction points. Abrasion is wearing away due to friction

[@Bass.Player]

@@justinstratford Got it al figured out do ya? Brakes rotors should be rough and made of concrete, yet they are almost smooth as glass...

[@justinstratford]

@@Bass.Player I dont know much about cars, but I'd guess brake rotors are smooth so the car can safely transform kinetic energy into waste heat. If the rotors were rough and had really strong friction they could stop the tires from spinning in a shorter amount of time, but then the car would lose its kinetic energy to the tires skidding on the ground. This skidding would wear down the tread in the tires which is unsafe because smooth tires have little friction. After a little google: Brake rotors are smooth, but brake pads are rough. Over time, break pads lose their friction because the rough material gets worn away and has to be replaced. It's much cheaper to replace a pad than a rotor so they but the rough surface on the pad. Because the rotor is smooth it doesnt really have to get replaced unless it gets warped or damaged.

[@Bass.Player]

@@justinstratford The pads are as smooth as the rotors after they break in (very short time) think about a clutch. It's all about surface area. Talk to an engineer let them explain it to you.

[@roundwound1966]

It also depends on how you attack the string, whether you pick or use your fingers and how you EQ your gear and bass.

[@bentpolski]

Garth, I have 2 dimarzios on my Jazz Bass. How do you think these would sound on her? Or should I try the Pro Steels or Nickel Wounds?

[@rrotolo]

How is the eq on your amp set. Really like your tone. And id like to emulate it. Thanks. Ps really nice tone, I will buy everything you endorse to get.

[@roundwound1966]

Like my good friends at D'Addario say, they are good on all basses. I use them on Jazz basses with great tonal and feel results. Get a pair and enjoy!

[@Lakeibo]

Will these go through the body of a 34 length p bass?

[@tjhums5443]

I have used these several times on fretted basses, and now exclusively on my fretless. I found that if you boil them in water for several minutes and let them cool and dry them before installing, this seems to work.

[@1okanaganguy]

Very chunky, vintage no-tweeter like presence. Not my fave . but, I DO love them.

[@leonardpoindexter5289]

Gonna try them. Thanks

[@roundwound1966]

They are somewhere between a flat and a nickel roundwound regarding hand feel...and closer to a roundwound regarding sustain and harmonic overtones.

[@staccarto51]

I always thank for your explicit introduction,Garth!!

[@pecavallo]

Great review! thanks for sharing. It would be great to have some reviews on fretless basses. Strings are one of the main concerns of fretless players and a great video like this would help tremendously.

[@FnDrBLUES]

I hear a clicking when you adjust your tone pot on the P-bass, are you using a Stellartone Tone-styler tone pot? Just wondered , I use one on my '69 Fender J, love it.

[@WhiteMexicanBassist]

Sounds like these would be ideal for fretless basses. We all want that growl from roundwounds but they are tearing away at my fretless neck

[@elverdaderojavier]

Thank you for the review. I was wondering about the sustain with these strings and the video does a good job of explaining what they sound like.

[@johnbradford4839]

These strings are fantastic for all genre styles. They have more presence than rounds or flats, more punchy than rounds or flats, more articulate & less muddy than most strings & resonance is more under control. For the metal thrash headbangers just crank up the treble knob. This review does not do them justice. Some here complain about the grainy texture, the solution is simple,go to your auto store & pick up 1000,1500. & 2000 grit wet or dry sand paper & metal polish. Rub each string with the wet & dry progressing thru' the grits & then finish off with the polish. Takes about 5minutes & they will feel as smooth as flats & no finger noise. Clean off with mineral spirit. Why D'Addario can't do this baffles me. Love these strings. Oh & that process works on any rough strings.

[@trappenweisseguy27]

I used to do that with stainless strings to get a little more polish to the outer layers.

[@stevenweiner7701]

Only strings I use. Peavy Millennium USA 5 string, and Fender Jazz fretless.

[@roundwound1966]

Hi rrotolo. My EQ is boosted in the bass and mids and flat in the treble. It's really just a wide open P Bass with a Lollar pickup.

[@cliffords2315]

back in the 70s i used to by Rottosound Groundwounds, same thing

[@suehinojoza5030]

Very informative and helpful. Gonna try 'em! Thanks!

[@scredster]

I started using these strings on one of my basses about a year ago. Really dig 'em.

[@guitar53jmg]

Need the Half Rounds in more gauge selections for all the short scale basses

[@TjMetalHead94]

interesting...last Sunday I bought a medium gauge half-round set and but it on my sterling ray 34 ca and it sounded way more mellow than the light flat-wound set i was using, and the texture yes was flat but it was sticky and my fingers would get stuck, are all half-round sets like this?

[@newscrews11]

i find them unuseable. sound is great but this sticky thing where the tiny grooves trap your finger prints means you can't slide at all. really horrible feeling which is a shame, I had hight hopes.

[@MontrealMusiciansExchange]

newscrews11 YES! Complete crap. I love how I had to scroll through 127 lines of dick-sucking (IS that hyphenated?) comments before finding THE TRUTH. These strings will shred YOUR FINGERTIPS! Five minutes after I picked up my bass from it’s semi-Annual setup, complete with (recommended) new strings - THESE STRINGS - I immediately ripped them out and mercifully found my old ones in a bag in the case. UNUSEABLE IS RIGHT !!!

[@AbramRVille]

are these any good for fretless bass?

[@lennonfanKL]

Why is it bad to play slap through a b15 amp?

[@indecisive.m]

Will these tear up the fretboard on a fretless?

[@asuntos.publicos]

I would like to try a liht gaue of D^addario Half Rounds in my Warwick Fretless Corvette Standard as the roundwounds are markin a litthe bit the board !

[@roundwound1966]

They certainly reduce string noise...I use them for recording work. Also easy on the hands/fingers for extended playing sessions...

[@TRJBASS]

I use these in the studio. they record very nice.

[@joel_anderson_t]

I loaded some D'Addario half-round strings on my fretless basses. They sound phenomenal.

[@stonemanguitars]

Do they wear out the fingerboard at all (assuming the fingerboard is unfinished).

[@Carryon392]

That was very nicely done, thank you, sir.

[@-l_gavin_l-]

These are great strings, I really like them. They are sorta bright, but they really give a punch, which is really cool.

[@metalheadneji]

Sounds nice; and appears to be pretty versatile.

[@Rawbase8]

I haven't found that to be true, actually. I tried at least two sets and the stickness never wore off. Used them on a long run of rehearsals and gigs. Too bad, because I Love the concept, mine just never "broke-in".

[@randyrichardson3063]

maybe back in 2011 they were, but they are now stainless steel not nickel....well the website says nickel, but their string comparison chart say stainless

[@ShadyForest]

I just bought these for my American Standard Jazz and I don't know if I should string them through the body or top load them. Does anyone know?

[@alancochrane1289]

I bought a set of these and put them on my Precision and I am NOT HAPPY. I went from flatwounds to these. The tone is great but my fingers stick to them and stop. I can't slide my fingers over the strings unless I release all pressure. It just doesn't work for my playing style at all. This is really aggravating because I really love D'Addario strings. And now I just spent $45 on strings plus $50 on a pro setup. I love the tapewounds. I have them on my Fender Starcaster hollowbody and my Thunderbird, but was looking for something with a bit more mids and clarity. I watched this video, decided to buy the half rounds and now I am very disappointed that they aren't working for me. Grrrrrrr!!!!

[@daddarioandco]

+Alan Cochrane the Half-Rounds do have a little bit of tack to them but as you work them out, that tack diminishes. Is it the tone you don't like or simply the tackiness?

[@alancochrane1289]

+daddariostrings ...like the tone and the action, it's just the tackiness. I tend to slide around a lot. Maybe it is because I got so used to the XL Flatwounds, which I had on my Precision for more than three years. Thanks for your reply. I'll keep them on for a while and see how it goes. I'm now looking for something smooth but bright to put on my Fender Starcaster hollow-body short scale bass, which I mainly use for acoustic sets..

[@trappenweisseguy27]

D’addarios are tacky when new. It eventually goes away.

[@brucebbass]

we all know amplifier/speaker have a lot to do with sound. Wondering if that nice old Amgeg flip top amp has a JBL speaker in it due to the aluminum dust cover on it. I love and use the JBL K140 15" bass speaker and love its accurate sound. Thanks, Bruce B Bass, on the coast of South Carolina

[@daddarioandco]

That has much to do with the tone you're looking for. This fit in between the bright punch of rounds and the warmest of flats. They work well on P-Basses or J-basses but it has everything to do with what kind of sound you're looking for. AND they feel like flats so some players like them for the feel as well as the tone.

[@RogerStrosky]

I have these on my Rogue Violin Bass instead of flats....Sound GREAT on that

[@michaelmarshall1713]

I use these on some of my basses and you can get the action really low without buzzing as they are wound correctly.

[@TRJBASS]

I love these strings ,they sound like really old rounds with all the top worn off, very old school sounding. I can get a good Bernard Edwards tone (bass player for Chic who never changed strings).You can also check out John Patitucci he uses these strings.

[@irishindian90]

I just put these on and for some reason the g string just sounds super brighter than all the other strings. Is that normal?

[@ditchwaterwarrior]

Do half rounds still have a little "grit" to the touch or do they fel like flat wounds? Thanks.

[@daddarioandco]

They're not nearly as gritty as the old Stainless Steel version we used to make. They have a slight bit of tack to them but that wears off quickly and they feel much like our Chromes.

[@rillloudmother]

***** these are nickel wound now? when did they move away from stainless [what year]?

[@daddarioandco]

We used to make both Nickel and Stainless Steel. It was probably some time in the late 90s / early 2000 that we stopped making the Stainless version.

[@rillloudmother]

nice, i'm off to get a set now!

[@markbass354]

Garth before I put on D'Addario Chromes 45 thru 100 I asked GC about half wounds , They laughed and said no one uses those , so I ordered chromes from Amazon for $26. The blueish satin around the chromes match my Lake Placid blue Fender bass and that made me very happy , even happier when I began to play chromes. WOW guys if you never tried them you will be pleased , I thought they would make a thud sound but that's just not true , they make most any sound you want.

[@alexbreyer6921]

Yeah, Guitar Center doesn't get people buying things because they don't stock it. Especially if you need something for a short scale, you pretty much can only purchase online.

[@MuhammadKilany]

Interesting !! Just ordered a set .. let me try'em ..thanks !

[@Jimmymillmo]

so do theve help reduce string noise like flats?

[@fsolisiii]

The Best Strings for My Bass, less string noise, and more zing compared to flats.

[@docross2050]

It's rare that I am moved to comment, but I have had two sets of half-rounds (a different mix of gauges in each set) bought from an official D'Addario stockist, and both times the E and A strings might as well have come from a totally different set of strings than the D and G strings. The latter had some life to them; the former were very double-bassy and could easily have been confused with black nylon tapewounds. There was a noticeable difference in sound as I moved between the A and D strings. I expect consistency across all strings, but I'm afraid these don't deliver. I don't mean to knock D'Addario completely; I have a set of ETB92 which I love, and I have had a set of flatwounds from GHS which exhibited the same problem as the D'Addario half-rounds.

[@daddarioandco]

Doc - please send an email over to [e-mail] and we'll see about getting you a factory fresh set. Our apologies!

[@5stringcowbass189]

Doc Ross I bought these as well and have a similar experience. On my 5 string the A-G strings feel great; you can slap them and get great harmonics, with nice warm tone fingerstyle..and without all the squeak *which is why I wanted these in the first place. But the B and E strings sound like pure dead flat wounds. I've tried string-through and through the bridge on both my Carvins, 1 neck thru and 1 bolt on; same thing on both basses. It's too bad I really like this hybrid concept, but I too would like to see more consistency in feel and tone across the set.

[@daddarioandco]

5string cowbass Send an email over to Don and we'll replace that set right away.

[@jamessakimae9655]

5string cowbass I can totally agree with what you said but I'm not sure if this has happened with you but I remember when I first got my set for a 6 string I noticed straight away they were extremely dirty looking and had no new shine like the ones in the video they also sounded no where near in between rounds and flats more like flats

[@5stringcowbass189]

James Sakimae No mine looked great, nice and shiny. I've had them on almost 3 weeks, it took some messing with my eq to brighten them up a bit, *notice at 2:08 etc when they're nice and bright he's using A string up..not the low E. Mine sound closer to that on A-G, though not that bright. Same issue with E and B but not as bad now. For me a nice compromise to not have them squeak every move..especially with studio work I can't stand the string noise..although I'd love to see them do maybe 1/4 flats, etc? If you email Don (address above) I'm sure he'll try and help, he was to me on my issue.Good luck.

[@BlackRootsAcademyOfSoul]

I'd love to hear them on a Jazz Bass.

[@cyclecraftmotorcycles8684]

what type of tone control do you have i hear clicks when you turn the knob . i have a warwick streamer that has 45-105 why do addario flat and half wound come in only 45 - 100 and 50 - 105 what is best suited as a 45 - 105 replacement ? cheers angelo

[@JamesSkow]

I was wondering the same thing

[@jamessakimae9655]

I think it's called a tone styler

[@ralphbenitez4407]

Stellartone Tone Styler tone pot. Passive but it has a lot of great usable tones unlike the stock pot.

[@MuhammadKilany]

Are you sure ..they have the same feel of the flats ??

[@LexovichUkraine]

I want to get Half-rounds but can I put them through body of the P-Bass without risk of breaking?

[@daddarioandco]

They wouldn't break but you have to be careful with regard to how much length the string needs to go thru the body and then still sit appropriately within the Scale Length of your P-Bass. Meaning that the bass is Long Scale - the taper on the E string needs to be above the nut on your bass. If a normal set of our bass strings fit your bass now, you should be fine.

[@LexovichUkraine]

***** Thank you for such a quick and informative reply! I really appreciate that!

[@FederinzC]

Hi! Will the full halfrounds' family ever be sold as singles?

[@1312nicky]

These are my absolute favorite strings. Got them on my five string :) I actually think they're rougher on my fingers than regular strings though.

[@roundwound1966]

@RichardKral89 Hi Richard...you're right. It's Japanese reissue...with a Lollar pickup and a Stellartone tonestyler...beautiful.

[@Symbolsofsolace]

Sounds lovely!

[@Sungodv]

I got a set of these for a Short scale bass, ENR71S, and they sound as flat as flatwounds. No twang like this vid. I should have bought some GHS Pressure wounds for the same price. I'm really disappointed.

[@VideoMask93]

How might these work on a Jazz-style bass?

[@Jimmymillmo]

excellent thank you!

[@Danthehorse]

Row-wow?

[@smittileo]

what sort of life would be expected out of these strings from a regular/daily use?

[@roundwound1966]

Yep that's a Tonestyler : ) Check out Garth Fielding's Tonestyler review on You Tube.

[@KnewTherapy]

What is "Slapping on a B-15"? Why is that a no-no

[@roundwound1966]

Through the body gives longer sustain.

[@himynameisjohan]

swaped my tapewounds for these , kinda= of disapointed it feels like th action even . came up a a bit. i did have a thicker gauge with the tapewounds anybody know if this has to do ?

[@handwriting8804]

Tapes are lower tension you just have to lower your action

[@TRJBASS]

Don't care for them on a Jazz , but really like them on a Precision...But everyone's taste in tone is different.

[@roundwound1966]

Most definitely.

[@BlackMaidenTallica]

The stuff at the beginning sounded a lot like Billy Sheehan

[@yusings]

i buy this strings...GOOD STRINGS

[@Carryon392]

Jaco thumbs.

[@WhiteMexicanBassist]

trial and error man. My first thought would be through the body like any other string. But I don't know what sound you are looking for.

[@PANICBLADE]

It would be HARD to grind and polish the steel down.

[@indecisive.m]

:O Milty! Btw just thought to add, I came here from your review :)

[@Sungodv]

I do not recommend these for short scale basses. They sound nothing like this vid.

[@martyg565]

Myke! :D

[@Sungodv]

Nah, these are dead as flats. I've been playing since '75 so I'm no newbie. Maybe it's the fact it's a short scale - less tension. Maybe it's from a bad batch. Anyway, I should have bought some GHS Pressurewounds for the same price. GHS still silks the ends, something D'Addario used to do. I guess I can use these when I want a vintage kind of sound.

[@SuburbanShinobi8000]

Shut up and take my Money.

[@martyg565]

Ha! :D Good man :P

[@rojerweller2881]

Is there a professional musician on you tube that demonstrates strings that DOESN'T think they have to always do harmonix? Just show us BASS!