The main characteristic of flatwound strings is that the wrap wire is flat and not round. This makes for a smoother surface to the touch. String friction is reduced a lot which will make sliding, for instance, easier. About their tone, flatwound strings have a reduced high end giving more presence to the low and mid-range of the sound. Many players consider flatwounds strings to last longer. This might be explained by 2 different factors:. These are some famous players that are known for using flatwound strings at least at some point in their careers:.
The low-high-end sound that flatwound strings are famous for is very desired between jazz guitar players. This results in the majority of guitar flatwound users being within the jazz spectrum.
There are many who stick to roundwounds, especially the most fusion-oriented or just younger ones tend to stick with the guitar tradition. A variation of flatwound strings are tapewounds. The differences mostly boil down to personal preference, and have an effect on three primary aspects: tone, feel and durability.
Tone is arguably the most important aspect of any instrument strings. Feel can be just as important as tone for certain players. Finding the type of string that feels best for your hands and your particular playing style can make a world of difference in regard to your overall playing experience.
How long a set of strings lasts can make an enormous difference, both in regard to the cost of playing your instrument as well as the way the strings sound once they are broken in and start to wear. As with so many aspects of playing bass, choosing the right style of strings ultimately comes down to personal preference. Flat feel. Roundwound strings use a round external wire to wrap around the inner wire core, while flatwound strings use a flat, tape-like wire.
The difference has an effect on the sound and playing feel of the strings. Roundwound strings tend to have a brighter, more harmonically complex tone. They are available in the widest selection of gauges and materials nickel, stainless steel, etc. Downsides to roundwound strings are that finger squeaks and other noises from repositioning your hands on the neck are more prevalent.
They also tend to cause little grooves to wear into your frets faster than flatwounds, so you may need to refret your instrument more often if you use roundwounds. Flatwound strings tend to have a darker tone that emphasizes the note fundamental, with limited harmonic content compared to roundwound strings.
0コメント