I just hate the raspy noise of rounds when you're sliding on the fretboard. It's super irritating to me, even though that's what I play. Someday I'll get my sh*t together and switch to flats.
I totally agree. Luckily much of that can be taken care of with some EQ and other mixing techniques. I did nothing to the mic audio in this video so you can hear the full spectrum of sound from each string type.
I have fretless basses with rounds, flats and tapes. It’s all gonna be based on what you’re playing. The brightness of the brass rounds might not sound great now, but play with 2 other acoustic guitars and watch your notes never make it past your knees. You’re gonna need that brightness to cut through. Especially with a Harley Benton. Now, my Rockbass Alien cuts THROUGH!
Yeah, I've been using the rounds for a while, but I think the sound I'm looking for out of them may pair better with a fretted bass. I will likely switch back to flats on this one. The response on the low strings with the flats is a good point.
I’m just impressed by that mic’d low A. Got me rethinking acoustics lol As far as the strings go, I have grown fonder of flats the more I play with them. The difference might be somewhat negligible on electric, but with an acoustic bass I feel like string choice has a much bigger impact. The more “focused” sound of the flats goes along way imo.
Yeah, the low notes still come through pretty well! "Focused" is a good way to describe the flats. The rounds sound like they have louder harmonic overtones to me.
@@_zodiac_3010 thanks for noticing, haha. I'm kind of a one man show right now as far as playing and production. I don't have a short scale, but I got try try my friend's short sale bass. It was super fun to fly around on and had a nice deep tone! And it definitely slaps!
Thanks! I believe the rounds are a bit louder than the flats plugged in. The plugged in sound is not great, but it is workable if you aggressively roll off the highs. I also like recording the mic and line inputs simultaneously for some parallel processing in a mix. The line in is nice for adding some grit to help it cut.
Is it an acoustic or electric fretless? I just picked up an electric fretless and considering which string to put on it. Do you feel that the coating on the Elixirs is enough to protect the fingerboard?
Nice comparison. I use flats on my acoustic bass. If folks are curious, I have a few song videos (solo bass) on my channel that give a good indication of flats on a fretted acoustic bass.
@@dannyrio I switched to flats on acoustics largely because I like a fair bit of "high presence" in my sound, and this was a way to cut string noise as my fingers moved around. To your point it's definitely much mellower of a sound, but it gives me the option of brightening things up without introducing left hand finger "squeaking" (if that's even a term).
I actually prefer the sound of the rounds on this particular instrument. I wasn’t expecting that. The flats just sounded too “floppy”. Not the right amount of tension.
I have that bass; still have the phosphor bronze or whatever came on it. I got the five-string so I wouldn't have to change my playing patterns for any of my originals (written on a five string), but that low B is pretty anemic on the acoustic. Nevertheless I think the bass was an excellent bargain and I like it a lot. I've used flatwounds on my four-string fretless and am planning to give those a go on the HB when I get around to changing them.
The string change helped bring out the bass in the low B. The flats might sound a little better than the Elixir rounds, but the tension is higher and the bridge started lifting off the body. I would look at string tension when selecting you next set though and maybe go for a lower gauge.
I think the tapes sit somewhere in the middle between flats & bronze, but nearer the flats side. I've had them on for four months and am pretty sure they sound the same as day one. @@dannyrio
Fretless basses for me is flat or tape wound strings. Fretted coated or flat wound strings. I absolutely despise round wound strings. Unless they are coated. Like the Black Beauties from DR.
To me, the rounds had a very ballsy, almost gritty tone, that reminded me of the old “live and unplugged” records I grew up on and that sounded great picked, in both rock and punk (and surprisingly slap) but the flats have a very surprising mellow almost upright bass tone (honestly in the DI, I could barely tell the difference sometimes) which sounds great on those slides and in every other genre of music besides punk and rock. TL;DR, I’m getting a second acoustic bass dedicated to flats and getting that upright tone and I can’t just pick one clear winner.
I agree that both tones are nice and have their place. One possibility I'm considering is going back to flats on this fretless one and getting a fretted acoustic bass for more of that "live and unplugged" sound.
@@dannyrio agreed. I have an acoustic bass already (fretted) but I put the Roto Tru Bass black nylon flats on and I could hear the “upright” tone, but obviously it’s fretted. I’m thinking of grabbing a secondary one to put the flats back on, but I’ll also convert that one to fretless so we’ll see how close we can actually get to an upright. Well put though, they definitely have their own place. I think in a pinch most people probably won’t notice, but if you’re chasing a certain tone, there’s really no substitute for either/or
I have heard that too and have seen the marks on some fretless basses that had roundwound strings. I'm hoping that, because I put Elixir coated strings on this fretless bass, the coating will make them easier on the fingerboard. They haven't caused any damage yet.
So that confirms my suspicion : roundwounds are a big part of the reason acoustic bass guitars have a bad reputation. You make them sound nicer than almost anybody
Rounds can wear grooves over long periods and if you're very heavy-handed. The biggest danger, however, is stainless steel windings. Stainless is about twice as hard as non-steel windings, and thus will wear out wood or frets twice as fast. Non-steel and coated strings will be far gentler.
Online. It's a Harley Benton, made in Germany, and you can currently only get them in the US through the Thomann website. I have heard (and seen that) about roundwound strings. However I am hoping that, since they are Elixir coated strings, and therefore should have no metal-to-wood contact, that they will not have the same damaging effect.
So far no damage from the flats on the fingerboard, but I'm thinking that the coating helps with that. The flats definitely sound and feel nicer for slides though.
I think it's D'Addario that makes the black tapewound strings that I found work best for my fretless 5. Definitely worth a try if you like rather rounder sound of flats
Live vs recording? How the bass will sound is entirely up to you. I have never been a fan of acoustic dreadnaught acoustic basses, you have to be a giant to play them, the flats are where it’s ats lol. Also why grind down your fingerboard with rounds? I have a Frakenpre, flats only
I use it live and for recording. A feedback suppressor works great for live. The body shape is actually a "super jumbo," not a dreadnought. But it is pretty huge, haha. So far no damage with the rounds, but they are coated, so I'm sure that helps.
It's definitely not the typical sound, but it is a bit unique. I think it helped to cut through the mix better on my song Elevated. Here is the video if you'd like to check it out... ua-cam.com/video/DMo-HEiBdOg/v-deo.htmlsi=ikuzn73gAV17SGtz
Thanks for the input! There is a lot of noise with the rounds, but I've found that they have nice mid range when recorded and you can roll off the highs to get rid of most of the string noise.
Hahaha, to each his own. Although, to be fair, I do quite a bit of processing when recording this bass while this is the raw mic'd sound with no processing. Is there an acoustic bass you like better? I'm open to suggestions 🙂
I just hate the raspy noise of rounds when you're sliding on the fretboard. It's super irritating to me, even though that's what I play. Someday I'll get my sh*t together and switch to flats.
I totally agree. Luckily much of that can be taken care of with some EQ and other mixing techniques. I did nothing to the mic audio in this video so you can hear the full spectrum of sound from each string type.
I just bought a fretless with round and will be fitting flat.
I have fretless basses with rounds, flats and tapes. It’s all gonna be based on what you’re playing. The brightness of the brass rounds might not sound great now, but play with 2 other acoustic guitars and watch your notes never make it past your knees. You’re gonna need that brightness to cut through. Especially with a Harley Benton. Now, my Rockbass Alien cuts THROUGH!
Or Halfround strings, kinda has brightness of rounds minus the rough texture
Wouldn't hold my breath while waiting for a a bass player to buy new strings ;)
The flats sounded significantly better, somehow less bright but way more clarity on that low B & E which surprised me
Yeah, I've been using the rounds for a while, but I think the sound I'm looking for out of them may pair better with a fretted bass. I will likely switch back to flats on this one. The response on the low strings with the flats is a good point.
I like the flatwound bass strings on that acoustic bass guitar.
That seems to be the popular opinion so far
Thanks for the follow back man 🤟
Wasn’t expecting that
No problem! Us up and coming artists have to support each other 🤘❤️🤘
I’m just impressed by that mic’d low A. Got me rethinking acoustics lol
As far as the strings go, I have grown fonder of flats the more I play with them. The difference might be somewhat negligible on electric, but with an acoustic bass I feel like string choice has a much bigger impact. The more “focused” sound of the flats goes along way imo.
Yeah, the low notes still come through pretty well! "Focused" is a good way to describe the flats. The rounds sound like they have louder harmonic overtones to me.
Nice vid! Thanx
Thanks and no problem!
The slapping literally is so funk🎸🔥
Thanks man! Do you play as well?
Yeah, short scale
It's just insane how you did this yourself
@@_zodiac_3010 thanks for noticing, haha. I'm kind of a one man show right now as far as playing and production.
I don't have a short scale, but I got try try my friend's short sale bass. It was super fun to fly around on and had a nice deep tone! And it definitely slaps!
Think it’ll be a nice change of pace yeah?
@@_zodiac_3010 for sure, but I think I need to take a break from buying guitars for a bit. I may have a problem lol
great vid man. How does it sound plugged in? The problem I've seen with acoustic basses is that some strings are quieter than others when plugged in.
Thanks! I believe the rounds are a bit louder than the flats plugged in. The plugged in sound is not great, but it is workable if you aggressively roll off the highs. I also like recording the mic and line inputs simultaneously for some parallel processing in a mix. The line in is nice for adding some grit to help it cut.
I use the elixir nickel rounds on my fretless. I love those strings
Is it an acoustic or electric fretless? I just picked up an electric fretless and considering which string to put on it. Do you feel that the coating on the Elixirs is enough to protect the fingerboard?
Excellent video. I would use the rounded strings, but on the low B I would put a flat one.
Thanks! Interesting take.
Nice comparison. I use flats on my acoustic bass. If folks are curious, I have a few song videos (solo bass) on my channel that give a good indication of flats on a fretted acoustic bass.
Interesting. I bet it has a nice mellow sound.
@@dannyrio I switched to flats on acoustics largely because I like a fair bit of "high presence" in my sound, and this was a way to cut string noise as my fingers moved around. To your point it's definitely much mellower of a sound, but it gives me the option of brightening things up without introducing left hand finger "squeaking" (if that's even a term).
That makes sense. I like more high end tone as well in there as well. The flats probably do a better job, but coated rounds help with that too.
Shocked that a glued on bridge can withstand that amount of string tension (as well as the top).
Yep, they seem to be holding on (bridge) and holding their shape (top) just fine!
I actually prefer the sound of the rounds on this particular instrument. I wasn’t expecting that.
The flats just sounded too “floppy”. Not the right amount of tension.
Thanks for the input!
I have that bass; still have the phosphor bronze or whatever came on it. I got the five-string so I wouldn't have to change my playing patterns for any of my originals (written on a five string), but that low B is pretty anemic on the acoustic.
Nevertheless I think the bass was an excellent bargain and I like it a lot.
I've used flatwounds on my four-string fretless and am planning to give those a go on the HB when I get around to changing them.
The string change helped bring out the bass in the low B. The flats might sound a little better than the Elixir rounds, but the tension is higher and the bridge started lifting off the body. I would look at string tension when selecting you next set though and maybe go for a lower gauge.
I have the four string version and... love it! Nylon tapewounds for me, or the bronzes. I find the flatwounds to be a little too dull on this bass.
Nice! Are the tapes brighter than the flats and how long does the brightness last?
I think the tapes sit somewhere in the middle between flats & bronze, but nearer the flats side. I've had them on for four months and am pretty sure they sound the same as day one. @@dannyrio
@@mastercraft5798 amazing. Thanks for the info! I may pick some up!
Harley Benton really are making some interesting instruments.
Indeed. I've accumulated a bit of a collection now.
Fretless basses for me is flat or tape wound strings. Fretted coated or flat wound strings. I absolutely despise round wound strings. Unless they are coated. Like the Black Beauties from DR.
I agree with you on the coated roundwound strings. Uncoated just go dead too fast for me. Elixirs have been the best sounding coated for my taste.
Flatwounds sound so much better. Roundwounds sound like baritone guitar.
Baritone guitar is a good way to describe the round sound
I actually prefer the roundwounds. I like baritones!
To me, the rounds had a very ballsy, almost gritty tone, that reminded me of the old “live and unplugged” records I grew up on and that sounded great picked, in both rock and punk (and surprisingly slap)
but the flats have a very surprising mellow almost upright bass tone (honestly in the DI, I could barely tell the difference sometimes) which sounds great on those slides and in every other genre of music besides punk and rock.
TL;DR, I’m getting a second acoustic bass dedicated to flats and getting that upright tone and I can’t just pick one clear winner.
I agree that both tones are nice and have their place. One possibility I'm considering is going back to flats on this fretless one and getting a fretted acoustic bass for more of that "live and unplugged" sound.
@@dannyrio agreed. I have an acoustic bass already (fretted) but I put the Roto Tru Bass black nylon flats on and I could hear the “upright” tone, but obviously it’s fretted. I’m thinking of grabbing a secondary one to put the flats back on, but I’ll also convert that one to fretless so we’ll see how close we can actually get to an upright. Well put though, they definitely have their own place. I think in a pinch most people probably won’t notice, but if you’re chasing a certain tone, there’s really no substitute for either/or
Nice! Good luck with the defretting job! That's a project I would like to do as well some day.
I hope it has at least a piezoelectric pickup to plug into the bass amplifier.
It does. You can just hear the strings much better with the mic. I like using a combo of the 2 when I record it.
Doesn't round wound strings tear up the finger board? On a fretless bass acoustic or electric.
I have heard that too and have seen the marks on some fretless basses that had roundwound strings. I'm hoping that, because I put Elixir coated strings on this fretless bass, the coating will make them easier on the fingerboard. They haven't caused any damage yet.
Was this recorded all acoustically or did you mic and di it as well?
Ok. Just miced
Right, just the mic. I like recording both simultaneously for songs though.
Some comments are very biased... if you play bass in the style of Brian Ritchie of Violent Femmes, roundwounds are the sound you want
Right, it comes down to preference
So that confirms my suspicion : roundwounds are a big part of the reason acoustic bass guitars have a bad reputation. You make them sound nicer than almost anybody
Thanks! Yeah, the rounds on acoustic bass have a very particular sound and I can appreciate that not everybody would be into it.
I prefer the flats. Also, round wound strings will chew up your fretless finger board - flats will be much nicer to the wood.
I've seen the damage from the rounds on fingerboards. However, these coated ones don't seem to be damaging it.
Rounds can wear grooves over long periods and if you're very heavy-handed. The biggest danger, however, is stainless steel windings. Stainless is about twice as hard as non-steel windings, and thus will wear out wood or frets twice as fast. Non-steel and coated strings will be far gentler.
The roundwound strings will destroy (relic!) the fretboard very quickly. Did you buy this online or from a guitar shop?
Online. It's a Harley Benton, made in Germany, and you can currently only get them in the US through the Thomann website. I have heard (and seen that) about roundwound strings. However I am hoping that, since they are Elixir coated strings, and therefore should have no metal-to-wood contact, that they will not have the same damaging effect.
Rounds are more stressful for the fingerboard....I always use flats....it feels way better too.
So far no damage from the flats on the fingerboard, but I'm thinking that the coating helps with that. The flats definitely sound and feel nicer for slides though.
Interesting, with rounds one can hear frets even if they are not there🤔
Yeah, you can hear the buzz against the wood of the fingerboard more
Try black nylon
I've been considering it! Is the tone long lasting, like coated strings?
I think it's D'Addario that makes the black tapewound strings that I found work best for my fretless 5.
Definitely worth a try if you like rather rounder sound of flats
Thanks for the suggestion! I haven't tried tapewounds yet.
Live vs recording? How the bass will sound is entirely up to you. I have never been a fan of acoustic dreadnaught acoustic basses, you have to be a giant to play them, the flats are where it’s ats lol.
Also why grind down your fingerboard with rounds?
I have a Frakenpre, flats only
I use it live and for recording. A feedback suppressor works great for live. The body shape is actually a "super jumbo," not a dreadnought. But it is pretty huge, haha. So far no damage with the rounds, but they are coated, so I'm sure that helps.
Roundwound do not fit with fretless neck well for me 🤔
It's definitely not the typical sound, but it is a bit unique. I think it helped to cut through the mix better on my song Elevated. Here is the video if you'd like to check it out... ua-cam.com/video/DMo-HEiBdOg/v-deo.htmlsi=ikuzn73gAV17SGtz
I think, flats for #1&2,,, rounds for #3&4
I definitely agree that they each have their place in different styles
Is that drop tune??
Good ear! It's actually tuned down 1 whole step to match my acoustic guitar's tuning. So the tuning is A D G C F
1:40 plus to listen to the instrument...
👍
Flatwounds sound like dead strings, but they certainly make less pick noise than roundwounds. The last ones are just better in every other aspects.
Yeah, the rounds definitely have a brighter and more lively sound. I may try half rounds to get the best of both worlds.
I'm a flatwound guy. Especially on my fretlesses. Acoustic strings sound way too sloppy for my taste. And the string noise is unbearable.
Thanks for the input! There is a lot of noise with the rounds, but I've found that they have nice mid range when recorded and you can roll off the highs to get rid of most of the string noise.
Flat
A popular opinion. Thanks!
worse acoustic bass ever :D
Hahaha, to each his own. Although, to be fair, I do quite a bit of processing when recording this bass while this is the raw mic'd sound with no processing. Is there an acoustic bass you like better? I'm open to suggestions 🙂