Tim Lerch - Flatwound vs Roundwound on a Telecaster - A Fair Comparison

[@professortwang]

Much to my surprise I liked the flat wound strings. The separation between bass and melody was more balanced and pleasing to the ear. I love the arrangement too.

[@rillloudmother]

flats are clearer and say the note more like a rhodes or a flute than a guitar to my ears.

[@antenorgandra7115]

Agree

[@johncrawford2770]

Came for the comparison, stayed for the playing. Absolutely beautiful

[@adolfohuet3974]

I like how the flat wound separate the melody and bass and also produce a sound that simulates a bass better.

[@Dad-Gad]

Came for the comparison , stayed because your playing is beautiful 👍

[@guitarpt62]

Same for me, Dad.

[@Ky6Stringer]

I'm very impressed with the sound of the flat wounds. The subtle less harmonic overtones really clean up the notes to my ear.

[@laranjiinha77]

probably because the guitar is set for round ones?

[@fivechordmusic]

My favorite pair; tele with a Princeton :) My great uncle had the same rig, but with an original 54 tele and a early 60's Princeton. Sounds like heaven

[@NiechoSL]

This was practically an advertisement for Flatwound strings. Much more preferred and what I'll be buying next.

[@aramichaelian7320]

flat wounds sound perfect for jazz, separates the lows with highs perfectly... as always excellent playing. thanks!

[@AIainMConnachie]

Does string gauge matter a great deal? Some people, like Rich Severson & Sandra Sherman are very particular on that. Meanwhile I'm about to try flat wound 8s for the first time

[@acousticsong-guitarco964]

I have no words for the beauty of your playing ❤

[@TimLerchGuitar]

Thank you

[@billbones1000]

Tim I gotta say that for your style and this sort of material I really like the flats. Playing American songbook material with traditional voicings and lines the flats really sound right. Rounds + tele playing this material has a more fusion sound which is great if your playing these tunes in a modern fusion kinda way such as Ben Monder, Julian Lage ect.....but that's not what I get from your voicings and arrangements. Since your last vid I've put flats on my lollar loaded tele and rounds on my archtop :)

[@JonathanAcierto]

Hello from 2024. Funny enough, if you look for Julian Lage's Rig Rundown, he now puts flats on his electric guitars.

[@aidantalbot9495]

love them both; maybe the new rounds are brighter overall but your playing is so good that the biggest take away for me was a telecaster as a 'jazzbox' sounds great, such a versatile guitar, as so many have said before; thanks for posting this

[@StevenRosenberg]

I'm sure I commented on this video when it was new, but it came up again as a suggestion after I watched a new Rhett Shull video on flats. You sound so good on this tune with both kinds of strings. I love the feel you have on this tune.

[@TimLerchGuitar]

@@StevenRosenberg thank you .

[@lonegroover]

Very enlightening - I have flats on my Ibanez semi but have never compared them directly to rounds on the same guitar. As a listener, over these two lovely performances the flats are definitely to be preferred, for me.

[@larrydering1598]

As a fingerstyle player I have loved and used flats for 50+ years. Especially on archtops but even on a few Telecasters. For my country playing days I used round wound for the snap and twang. Thanks Tim.

[@DrMattWalton]

1:50 Flats 3:17 Round wound

[@AlexFarranGuitar]

Interesting stuff! I do like the sound of the flats more than I expected. It's funny, when I try them on my guitars they always feel a bit dead and lifeless so I tend to get impatient and take them off within a few days! I feel like they really shine for recording. This makes me want to give them another shake on my telecaster.

[@djsnyder001]

Loved it! I use the flats on my Strat; not only for the "tone", but for less squeak when I move from place to place on the fret board . . .

[@GreenmanWood]

yep, abhor the squeak. Use flats or half rounds on every instrument I have, even mandolin.

[@russlgtr]

Very cool test. Both are good. Flats are less full, less bright. Still nice. I'm probably sticking with the full eq rounds which you have the option of darkening if you want to. Flats are cool, like a fretless bass

[@MsDaydream]

I did a bit of checking. It turns out that the G string on the D'Addario chromes set is flatwound as well. So rather than three strings being wound, four are. I restrung my tele from having the D'Addario nickels with the Chromes, and I noticed my high end was completely gone. I thought "so why didn't that happen on Tim' s guitar in the comparison?", bringing me to the realization that the top three strings in the nickel set are somehow different from the chromes. I swapped the top three of the chromes set for the top three of the nickels I just took off and tadah, the guitar came back to life. I don't know what the implications here are, but if any of you are struggling to get a good tone out of a Tele with flats, try swapping the GBE strings for those in a set of nickels. Happy strumming!

[@evaodland7349]

Flat Bottom, Nickel Top!

[@craigroode3449]

Great playing Tim,...as a life long round wound player I was surprised how much difference the flats made. I really dug the flats.. gonna try them on my telecaster next string change. Thanks!!!

[@blipblip100]

Very interesting - Very tasteful - Love the separation with the Flats - Thanks!!!!

[@ManwithAx]

I've been pretty much sold on flatwounds for years and hearing you reinforces that for me. The sound between strings seems more balanced. Listening to you again has pretty much sold me on a telecaster though. Love your playing. Thanks.

[@jazzFABRYk]

Long time I only played Thomastik JS112 or JS111 flat wounds on my archtops and even on my semi-acoustic guitars. When changing to a Tele I tried half rounds for the first time because I don‘t link the feel and sound of roundwounds. For me the 11-49 set by Daddario (EHR370) is a perfect set for my Tele. Like your vid and especially your playing! Thanks Tim!

[@waitaminute7257]

Thanks for the info I'm going to purchase a set of those half wounds and try them on my Les Paul 👍

[@ckturvey]

Interesting video. The biggest difference i noticed in how you handled the bassline very differently between the two strings. With the rounds, you were more active and employed a lot more walking movement where with the flats, you tended to hold the bass notes longer and delay moving the bass. I felt like you were having to do less with the thumb to keep the balance with the treble strings vs being able to put more into the bassline with the rounds. Both sounded great though the rounds will always get an ASMR response out of me since string squeak has always been part of my guitar playing experience :)

[@M3SIGNS]

What a marvelous guitar player

[@russellzauner]

Have you tried taped strings? They're basically rounds covered with nylon tape. Since the tape is transparent to magnetism they're bright while being muted feeling and boy they are *slick* like literally slippery.

[@TomiSimatupang]

Oh wow, didn't know Charlie Christian used rounds! Awesome information! Tried rounds, flats, and half-rounds on my Tele... like them all but finding rounds most versatile. Would be so nice to have a second Tele as the "mellow" one... would try tape wound for that, too.

[@KS-pj8rk]

Some excellent comments already. For me the flats have it and for pretty much the same reasons as given by others. One addition point might be that the cleaner separation of the flats allows the chordal and harmonic complexities inherent in jazz to come come through without the added complexities produced by the rounds. To my ear this makes the rounds a tad on the muddy side, less musical. Purely a personal, layperson's opinion. Thank you for posting.

[@What_If_We_Tried]

Shockingly, I liked the tone of roundwound strings, and I always equated flatwounds with the "Jazz sound". And thank you for dispelling the myth / misinformation that 'flatwounds' were the original guitar strings, as it's an excellent point of information. Thanks Tim.

[@colinlizc4603]

I preferred the flats, and admire how articulate the other commentators are in describing why they felt the way they do. I use flats on my ‘Go to’ Gretsch Tenny, but can’t bring myself to fit anything but rounds to my Strat and Tele.

[@TelevsionCanyons]

what a beautiful piece you played there.

[@oldasrocks9121]

So glad I came across your channel--I'm building a Chender Nocaster, your approach to tone is inspiring sir. Too much dirt makes the baby go deef!

[@thormusique]

Thank you for this comparison! Both types of string sound wonderful. I've used roundwounds almost exclusively but have occasionally opted for flatwounds. The differences between the two in your demonstration are fairly subtle. I'd say the greatest difference (which isn't very great) is that the roundwounds have a more obvious and present attack. I also use D'addario strings, btw. And in my experience, their flatwounds seemed to have a more balanced and pleasant sound and feel. I use a custom string set that's gauged on the light side (0.010-0.038), and even that setup results in a more subdued attack on the bass side for flatwounds than for roundwounds. Cheers!

[@RickMcCargar]

I just revisited this video almost a year later. I hear the bass notes bloom more with the roundwound and I think that slight overpowering of the non-wound strings is why I liked them less in this example. Roundwound would tend to move more, that creates more sound. Neither sound bad when played well, like in these examples.

[@picksalot1]

Beautiful playing. The Flat Wounds made your Tele sound so much like an Archtop that I don't know if I could reliably distinguish between the two. As one would expect, the Round Wounds were brighter, and if listening closely, some minor finger noise associated with shifting could be heard. I preferred the Round Wound strings, as they made the guitar sound fuller, bigger, and maintained the independence of the voices in the music, whereas the Round Wound strings tended to blend them. Thanks

[@druchumley4571]

Playing as well as you do makes it very difficult to pick one over the other. But, I think I prefer the flats. Very even and articulate separation of the lines. I'm going to give the flats another try.

[@craigtodd8297]

Those flats sound gorgeous. - I'm off to the guitar shop.

[@gertzpalma]

THANKS, TIM!

[@rickwashbrook4926]

The flat wounds are beautiful and your intonation is brilliant!! That pickup is not a Humbucker on the neck.. A nice phase shift type tremolo I am hearing at my end. I love the way you play it. You sound good on both string types. If I have to make a choice I like the old school Flat Wounds! Beautiful Playing On Yesterdays.

[@guitargod6997]

Great demo addressing a question I have always had regarding flat versus round wound strings. Round works for me but YMMV.

[@djffe8597]

A few years back when I was playing a lot more I did an experiment on my Joe Pass guitar and I had flat wound on the top four strings E B G D was flatwound then on the bottom two strings E and A string I had round well, and I kinda like the combination because I liked the strings in the lower register seem to give more clarity but for playing melodies I still had the smooth jazz tone on the top end and since I was doing a mixture of material, it was kinda nice to have the round wound to do some little funky stuff with the pic and then smooth it out with the melody stuff on the flat wounds.

[@sammyrothrock6981]

Liked the Flats Tim great playing as always!

[@ronbalentine2905]

It's a subtle difference but I believe the flats just sound cleaner. Perhaps the rounds work better live but for recording I like the flats. The great Carol Kaye talks about trying to lessen overtones as much as possible for recording and I agree with that. But you goota go with what makes you play better. Great video.

[@richsackett3423]

"great"? please

[@ToniViasetti]

i kind of like the brightness of the rounds because i can dial out some highs with the tone knob and reduce high pitched hum

[@jeffreyduncan989]

I like both but am sticking to round wounds with a wound G… I feel like round wound with a tone adjustment can emulate flat wounds but it doesn’t quite work in reverse… it would be interesting to do a mixed pair with only the high B and E with flat wounds

[@BertWatts-u5z]

Tim, I think so much of your tone is in your HANDS, that you you make both strings sound so SIMILIAR.....

[@KristopherCraig]

Thanks for this direct comparison. The fundamentals definitely are more exposed in the flat wounds but the round wounds have great overtones. It’s like pulling out a few more draw bars on a Hammond, if that makes any sense? Both are great!

[@toreilly100]

Thanks for the "licks " Tim!!

[@AndyMurdzek]

Flatwounds. Clearer, warmer, better separation. The bare thumb warms up the tone of the rounds but not equal to the flats. The difference is even greater with a pick. The playing is fabulous and if I’d heard only the rounds I’d have no criticism of the tone. The comparison was enlightening. Thanks.

[@heyasasha]

I think I heard more of a contrast between the the low and high strings with the flats in place, not that your playing needs the melody accentuating at all but makes me wonder if perhaps that effect would help mine. Interesting.

[@Grindstaff09]

Both sounded great. Thanks for this excellent video. Say, what about half-wound? Haven't tried them yet. I'm also just more used to the articulation of roundwound. But to tame my tele for jazz (sd broadcaster pickups), I put a set of superthick roundwounds on that I must have picked up at a swap meet. So bass-like, and I experienced the benefits of "tuning down", of course. But my wonderfully sensitive 8-inch amps sounded so HUGE it may me start thinking of different amps. Lot of rattles and vibration in the room for a SF Vibrochamp and Supro. BTW, may try the dearmond approach for neck. Or Fender Nocaster.

[@bobaldo2339]

I prefer the flats. I just like the softer sound - which to my ears is more intimate.

[@HMJohnsonGuitar]

Thanks!

[@terrywisniewski3349]

I have played Thomastik Infeld GB114 flat wounds for the last 5 years, will never go back to round wounds. I love the feel and sound of ropes on my Epiphone dot. LOL

[@TorsteinJN]

What are the amp settings?

[@TheMusicalEvents]

Thanks for the great comparison and playing. The first thing that comes to my attention is that you play a bit differently on those string sets. The articulation seems to be clearer with FW and the bass side of the chords blurs a bit with RW. I still prefer the FW, though the difference isn't as big as in the first video.

[@longtalljay]

My favorite wise person in the world of music, or even the world!

[@davidharris794]

Great video. I've just started to investigate rounds on a few guitars: electric solid body - Tele first, then PRS SE Custom 24. And then a Godin A6 Ultra, using the neck pickup. I'm really enjoying the warmer sound with fewer overtones, and no string whistle

[@davidharris794]

D’oh… I meant to write flats, not rounds. My comment doesn’t make sense otherwise

[@MrSDFD18]

I love flatwounds. For those who want a compromise, the half rounds are a great sound also.

[@kerryfristoe1329]

Another helpful video! Thanks Tim.

[@christopherquattromusic]

I miss the harmonics from RW for some genres... but since I do mostly "Jazz" I play my '54 ES125 a lot! it always has flats and it the guitar i pick up first thing everyday and is the bulk of my solo performance.

[@tonywalters9436]

Question have you used the Daddario 11-49 half rounds medium gauge EHR370. on your telecaster for playing bright Tone Semi- Flat Wound strings

[@JoelVitu123]

Flat wound seeems to be deepet, what brand of flat wound strings ? It seems to me that daquisto or thomastik have more clarity than the other Do you play with nail or pulp ? You are doing great videos, thank you

[@user-cg7dg7uv8f]

Beautiful tones and playing. I preferred the flats but I think the pickup needs to come up a tiny bit on the bass side to compensate

[@jano3289]

I like both. I think its more a question what you use it for. The flats are round, warm and focused. Roundwounds are a bit more squeeky bud have more shimmering overtones. I can see why a chord melody type of playing works with flats whereas a clean hendrix kind of sound would need rounds 😊

[@wolfbrammr]

The flats are round

[@JohnHorneGuitar]

Thanks for the history lesson on round and flat wound strings. I was never quite clear on what came first or what the tradition really was. I did put a set of flats on my tele (strings 4-6) but they didn’t stay there long. I just feel more at home on round wound strings. Thanks for the informative videos and wonderful playing!

[@Wes-Evans]

both sound fantastic in your hands but I did enjoy the flat ones a bit more.

[@adamfarkas7069]

Any chance there is a transcript of this piece on your patreon page?

[@TimLerchGuitar]

Not yet, but I’m working on it stay tuned.

[@warshipsatin8764]

the flats sound better in every regard in this particular comparison. i really like a warmer sound in general, even in some types of high gain metal im considering trying some flats on my les paul to play some fuzzed out black sabbath and fu manchu kinda stuff

[@kylecravens6501]

If you only play jazz, flats are great but if you want your tele to be versatile across genres, I think the round wound are safer bet. I also like the feel of rounds better but know that some people like the feel of flats. It's probably all what you're used to having.

[@riogrande163]

versatility is in the hands, and you can use flats for much more than just jazz,

[@glynnsmith4560]

..but the sound of those flats.... they impressed me most. I realise they reduce playing options.

[@lager9342]

I prefered the flat wounds in this video. Tim, do you prefer bigger frets or vintage size frets on your Teles?

[@TimLerchGuitar]

I use stew Mac mediums #0152

[@rinseyvessel6523]

After hearing the flatwounds first, the sound of finger noise on the roundwounds was most unpleasant to my ears. Quite a shocking revelation! Can you "dig in" a bit more with the flatwounds without string rattle?

[@josephballerini3730]

Wow, I wasn't expecting such a pronounced difference. I like the flats too.

[@paulbruton5251]

Love your history on the advent of flatwound and roundwound. I have not heard flatwound strings on a telecaster before and it sounds great. I had one additional question that is off topic though. What kind of office chair are you using. I have found difficulty finding a comfortable chair with arms that fold up. Thanks

[@TimLerchGuitar]

I bought it on Amazon and the last time I looked it had been discontinued but I would start there it’s like they have a very good selection on Amazon.

[@andrewlong7578]

Did you have the tone rolled down on your guitar? If you didn't I question if rolling off some high end on the plain strings would enable you to increase it on your amp and better split the difference tonally.

[@TimLerchGuitar]

I don’t really like rolling down the tone knob on the guitar, I think it takes too much away. I tend to turn the treble down on the amp if the pickups sound too bright.

[@anonamos8129]

Beautiful jazz!

[@Rampersand]

Tim, just to round out the comparison variables, what settings did you use on the Princeton? Thanks.

[@TimLerchGuitar]

Volume 2- treble 3 - bass 4 - and a little reverb. These numbers are an approximation because my Princeton doesn’t have numbers on the knobs.

[@Rampersand]

@@TimLerchGuitar Thanks!

[@joelshields8807]

I've been really into D'Addario's half-rounds lately. Nice balance between the two.

[@lj5899]

Aside from the great education I get here watching your videos... I love to just listen to you play dude! Question, Would you suggest slotted tuning pegs (which my strat does not have but easily added) when using flat wound. I notice everyone seems to use slotted. THANK YOU for great content!

[@thagard7]

I love flat wounds. I hate string noise. I even have them on (gasp!) my Martin acoustic.

[@DesconectadoOaxaca]

Do you put a heavier gauge on the acoustic?

[@laranjiinha77]

I do noticed that your sound sounded more in tune with flatwound strings vs round ones. I guess it´s because your guitar is set to flatwound ones? As they have different tension and thickness also.

[@langfordsakarai6689]

Hi Tim I was asking you what kind cc pickups you have in the neck position and bridge . Cause I like to order those pickups

[@TimLerchGuitar]

The CC pickups that iI use are made by Lollar Pickups

[@langfordsakarai6689]

Yes thx Tim for your kindly reply I know it’s Lollor Charlie Christian pickups Just to be sure is there a model name ? Neck and bridge want to order the correct one

[@TimLerchGuitar]

Visit Lollar website you’ll find the CC. If you have questions about the exact combination ask them about my setup.

[@TimLerchGuitar]

Search on the website for Charlie Christian and you’ll find it. Only one model for telecaster.

[@langfordsakarai6689]

@@TimLerchGuitar Thx 🙏🏿

[@PaulMcKendrick]

There seems (to me) to be more clarity and definition to rounds. Fender, when building the initial guitar would have been calibrating for rounds?

[@AndreaAustoni]

Fender guitars were designed for heavy gauge flats. I think Teles and Strats came with 12-52 flats from the factory, Squier brand before Fender bought the company. Modern rounds didn't exist until the early 60s.

[@PaulMcKendrick]

Tim suggests otherwise at 5:50

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

I like both. I think the Flats define the bass more but the Rounds are very balance to my ears.

[@toneloke7489]

Great video, and that's a super cool guitar !🎸🎶

[@Luks-abc]

Hey Tim, thank you for your input :) I was wondering which Song you played. I wanted to learn it but couldnt find that exact version. Which artist is it ? Jerome Kern ? Lookin forward on your reply. Greets from Berlin Luks

[@TimLerchGuitar]

The song is Yesterday’s by Jerome Kern.

[@Luks-abc]

Thank you

[@Jeb_binch]

Mostly pretty difficult to tell the difference because your ear is most attracted to the top strings, but after paying attention to the middle and bass parts of the voicings… there are things to like about both. Clearly the answer is to buy another telecaster to keep strung with flats!

[@bertbregdenz2756]

flats for my tele (only string trough body option) good ? Kind regards from Berlin 🌻

[@mpcguy]

More harmonic colr from the rounds, more fundamental organ like quality from the flats. It's a judgement call based somewhat on style of music and surroundings. YOU SOUND FABULOUS ON BOTH!

[@MiezoT]

to my ears there's a bit more separation between bass and melody with the flats. In my experience the difference between flats and. rounds is bigger on semi- or fully hollow archtops. It's great how full and "sustainy" flats can sound on a Tele, but I mean...Teles are the best anyway;-), they can do it all.

[@francispower1418]

I love my slinky 10s, as I call them. I put them on all my guitars, the tele included. I like the darker tones, I like that they are not too bright, I find them easier to play and more expressive, and whilst they are more expensive to buy they last me about twice as long.

[@lukegeiger162]

Does anyone know how he mics up his princeton? What mic he uses and its placement?

[@TimLerchGuitar]

I use a Senheiser 906 just to the left of the cone

[@lukegeiger162]

@TimLerchGuitar Thank you! I just bought a Princeton after listening to and learning your arrangements for a couple years now. I can't believe the tone. It's what I've been missing all this time, especially since I play solid bodies. A flat eq jazz amp just doesn't cut it for me. Perhaps if I buy an archtop some day. Anyway, you're a big inspiration to me! You and Ted. Thanks again 🙏

[@rickwashbrook4926]

Great video!!!!!!!!!! Hey nice playing and feel

[@shallyshal1]

So most of the melodic line is played on the round wounds either way. It is just harmony and counterpoint and bass line that is being compared between the2 sets? Am I missing something here?

[@TimLerchGuitar]

No you aren’t missing anything. I decided not to over emphasize the bottom 3 strings and just play naturally so the sound of strings could be compared in a typical musical setting.

[@luctherrien4799]

Flat for me. Your playing is felt, sounds great!

[@To.Si.Ma.]

What about the bend-a-bility of flats if you wanna play Blues? 9,10 or 12?

[@russlgtr]

I'm ready for the coated vs non coated discussion now :)

[@TimLerchGuitar]

Good idea, I’ll look into it.

[@toddwilliamson8557]

You should try rollwerwounds or half rounds. Best of both worlds. Eric Johnson and Stevie Ray Vaughn both use(d) them. GHS Nickel Rockers Rollerwound (not burnished) and Daddario Halfrounds.