Round Wound Vs. Flat Wound | Which Guitar Strings Sounds Better? | Guitar String Comparison
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2021
- In this video, I show you the difference in sound between round wound strings and flat wound strings. I use a Heritage 516 as the example. You'll first hear it with the round wounds and then I switch to the flat wounds. I prefer flat wounds for jazz and also show you the custom gauges I use when I restring my guitars. Which strings sound better to you? and what do you prefer on your guitars? Leave me a comment! Thanks for watching!
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Very informative- thank you Rich. Look forward to a video on pickup adjustment
I appreciate your beautiful playing and I do think the Flats with the heaver top strings sound bigger and warmer. Thanks!
I love how you beatbox during legato. I use this as my metronome as well when I have no accompaniment. Thank you so much for sharing and doing your channel!!!
Thanks very much for posting this session! Of course, everything you play sounds beautiful regardless of the strings. Thing very much for this this very informative presentation!
You're very welcome! Thanks for watching and leaving me a comment 👍
Oh yeah....Rich is so inspiring and when I feel slack, I put him on and I am back into it! So generous too!!
Beautiful sound with the flats. This music just warms my soul
Cool video and comparison! I've been wanting to try try flatwound strings ever since I started practicing bebop for a fuller bottom end type of sound.
Thanks so much. Beautiful playing, too!😊😊😊
Thanks for watching and commenting, Fingerpicker23!
2:03 - What a song, dude! I loved... great execution, great feeling! Congrats!!
Thank you for that comparison. I could not detect much of a difference after comparing back and forth a few times. Both sounded beautiful. Just my opinion.
I'm guessing that there may be a difference acoustically but the sound coming through the amp was more or less similar.
I've always thought that flat wound strings are great for chordal and comping. Round wound strings are great for chord melody and single notes. But now I'm rethinking things.
Hi Rich, I am just in awe at how effortlessly you run through those songs, Beautiful playing. you said the action is nice and low but could you please give the heights of the 1st and 12th fret on the treble and bass E's. I just want an idea of just what nice and low means. I have just finished building my first 17"archtop guitar and have the action set comfortably low but would like to know if i can go any closer and still not buzz. Thank you for all the great videos you and your son have put out I find them very informative and enjoyable to watch. Thanks so much!
Always flat on archtop!! Love it!. Thanks Rich
I find a set of 12s or even 11s work fine but recently put on set of 12s on big L5 size archtop and gets a great voice.. A big part of getting a great tone is learning to play with weight.
You have a very light touch with your right hand and I think that effects your tone.I use small fender extra heavy picks and regular dadarrio XL strings. The more the right hand is developed the more tone you get.
Many variables to this but you get a sweet tone.
Keep the faith everyone.
Awesome as always Rich! I like flats on archtops especially Thomastik 12 gauge. On solid guitars like my Telecaster which I also use for jazz, I use Thomastik 12 gauge round wounds ala Ted Greene. It sounds awesome!
Totally agree with you
Does that Telecaster have a maple or rosewood fingerboard? I thought about getting one with the f holes.
@@mr.b4444 Mine has a Rosewood though it sounds great on maple as well. Check out this Cat named Tim Lerch on you tube. He was a student of Ted Greene an that is where I learned about Teles being great for jazz. I run 12 guage round wounds and man what a sound.
Ive put rounds on my hollowbody, and recently switched to flats, but cant stand them...They just sound unbalanced...Waiting for a set of pure nickel 11-49 to get here..I've never tried thomastik,and my guitar is just an Ibanez artcore...Are the thomastiks worth the money? Are they pure nickel?
@@jazzguitarneophyte-christo7988 Tim Lerch is amazing...I have spent hours on his page just learing...He makes me jones for some Charlie Christian pickups and a better tele!!
Your hands move so smooth and with ease on the neck of that guitar. Is it that easy to play or are you just that good
Thanks for this video. Apropos- I am trying to find the strings that give me the sound I want and I agree the flat wounds sound just like I'm hoping to get my guitar to sound.
I to prefer the flat wounds. I took your suggestion on the custom set plus the washers on my Herb Ellis !65. Like the other comment below I would like to see a video on your pick up adjustments. Take care Harry
Thanks for the video so could hear the difference. What would have been most helpful would gave been greater detail as to the setup. You said pickup height looked OK to you. Well I'm not you so what did you see to make that conclusion. You said the neck and nut needed adjustment....from what to what? It would be so much helpful for you to describe the goal and how you got there. Thanks again for comparing the strings. Having purchase a set of your custom set would really appreciate the steps to a setup that makes best use of them.
The d'addario chromes are hexcore. Other flatwounds like TIs are round core.
Neck pickup is also ‘forward’ or closer to the neck- as in a Gibson L4. Shally
Great playing; mellow as jello. I prefer flats on an archtop but no way could I use light gauge 9s; at least 11 or 12s for an archtop.
He flexed the guitar in the beginning I love it 😂😂
I play rock but getting into jazz lately. & I always have problems with the ice pick tone of most rock! Always have trouble with to much treble on the hi strings. Definitely want to experiment with flats 👌
Thanks for watching and commenting! Let me know if it helps your sound, Silvio!!
@@RichSeversonGuitar yes brother 🙌 it did impress me to the point that I just switched to 4 guitars so far with flats! 😊 just that I could only start at 12's but it's fine cause I down tune 80% of my collection (around 35/40) so it definitely works. I put on es335, 175, county gent & a teley & im very happy. Thank u my friend for the tip. Enjoy your music always. 👌✌
Always play flatwounds, Thomastik or Chromes 12’s. Groovin High at the end, forgot about that entry level Bebop tune! 👍
I want to try some Thomastiks soon! I hear a lot of good things. Thanks for the comment, Dave!
@@RichSeversonGuitar you bet Rich, keep on keeping it real, Dave.
I think I first heard the Buddy Rich version and it blew me away.
I use 1/2-rounds and flats. The 1/2-rounds sustain/ring longer. The guitar sounds like a piano when playing chord solos. I also use heavier highs. I will replace the 1st and 2nd strings more often than the whole set. (hate putting on strings!) Nice comparison.
Interesting! I would love to hear how those sound, Gene! Thanks for adding your thoughts!
@@RichSeversonGuitar I don't have mics/cameras/action. No FB, etc. I recorded Shadow live on a tiny Walkman in 1974 placed on the floor. Poor recording. Even then I used 1/2 rounds on my Hagstrom Swede. I'd email you the MP3 "PRIVATELY" if you wanted. I'm off and will stay off the grid.
It's been awhile since I've seen them, but I used to like D'Addario Half-Rounds which are round wounds but ground near, but not quite flat. Best of both worlds: the liveliness, sustain and extended longevity of round wounds with the comfort and tone in the direction of flat wounds (and helps extend the life of your frets like flat wounds). They were more popular in the '70's and '80's and sold by other brand names as "Ground-Wounds," "Flat-Polished," and other names that all describe that same approach. Seems you never see them any more. My only "beef" with flat wounds is that they seem to go dead quicker. Rick - how often do you typically change strings (assuming you had one or three guitars and not the 40+ you do, and therefore probably don't play any one guitar often enough to have to change strings on a regular basis)? Maybe think back to the days when you only had 3-5 guitars.
You could try GHS bright flats.. they are ground strings. I personally didn't take to them but I switched from Thomastik Infeld Jazz flats and found the ground strings felt a little scratchy...I hear others really appreciate them.. They did have a more 'roundwound' sound and were generally brighter than T I flats. .. . but my semi acoustic was happier with a 12 set of T I flats compared to the 10 set of GHS.
They were only on the guitar a week so may try them again on my Vintage V120 (LP junior style) guitar ..se if I can get over the feel off them compared to rounds.
almost sounds like you're playing a piano. Sounds really smooth
I like ernie ball custom 10.5s on solids and semi’s cuz I have a simple mind!
Are pure nickel any good for Jazz?? I just can't get used to the flatwounds....I bought a set of pure nickel roundwound 11-49 online in hopes that THAT would get me closer to a sound I'd like on my hollowbody...
I think it will
I set my Joe Pass guitar up with flat wound from the top down and then the E and A strings were round wound to give me a little bit of bounce or whatever. that guitar that way for two years now yeah try it.
Thanks Jeffrey! That's a good tip. I will have to play around with that sometime!
How low is really low?
So.. fatter strings sound fatter.. who woulda thunk ? Not a fair comparison at all .. I dont hear much any difference round/flat, as the gauge overwhelms most of it
FLAT IS BETTER ...COOL SOUND
What model amp?
Quilter Mach2 MicroPro
The flats definately cut the treble harshness so they are the better strings for that guitar.
So, Rich, I totally agree with the impact of your custom set of strings. But for those of us buying our own strings here are some realities:
I have used Thomastiks for decades. And seen the prices for sets almost triple
So I generally like to tinker as you do so I switched to D’Addarios chromes. Watched them climb as well. If you have to bust up a couple of other sets to swap out 2 or 3 strings it becomes pricey
Yes, flats last a longer time but multiply that over half a dozen or more guitars and you better be able to do your own set ups and adjustments or else
Not being critical in any way. Just watching my wife roll her eyes every time FedEx drops off another package with strings…..”yes, my Love, I really do need all these strings….” Shally
I buy a single 13 and 15. You could get the 11's and just swap out the 11 for a 13
@@RichSeversonGuitar Good solution, although finding "singles" is getting harder and harder and single flat wounds has always been a challenge.. Thanks again...I want to say that this latest series of lessons has been pure gold.. Just terrific..S
@@shallyshal1 juststrings.com?
@@RichSeversonGuitar forgot about them..Great suggestion..Thanks S
Too many variables to be useful. A worthwhile comparison would be with the same gauge flat and round.
Lets not!
🤷♂️
And not forgetting that lovely tone that you and your fingers create, one needs to be aware of your Amp and settings. I need to look back and find a video that covers this. Than you for all You do to share your views and experiences.