Flatwound's on a Fretted Bass

[Crash]

Just curius how this would work. I tend to slide alot when I play and with round wounds I get scratching sound that isn't real appealing. My bass right now has a pair of Elixir's on it and they're nice and quiet on slides but they're bloody expensive. I've played around with some fretless bass and the flatwounds on them felt even smoother and were even quieter than my elixir's. I've heard that they can have a pretty dull tone to them, but that's on fretless which is already duller than a fretted bass, so how much difference would it make? I'm not looking for a super-bright tone as I play bluesy/grungy/alternative stuff most of the time but I don't want the strings to sound dead.

[supermutt]

there are many ppl in your position. they are always trying to find that happy medium between roundwounds and flatwounds. string makers know this so they answer our prayers.
check out half wound srtings. they are prteey much roundwounds that are ground down or pressed until they have a little flat side to the windings. they arent exctly flatwounds but they wont sound like your strings are dead.
flatwound on fretted basssed doesnt sound to bad tho. its just to plain for me.

[Crash]

Thanks, I'll have to see if I can find a set of those. My elixir's are nice but they're too damn pricey.

[Crash]

Any suggestions on who makes half-wounds? I was at my guitar shop the other day and they didn't have any on the rack and I think the guy at the counter was a drummer, cause he didn't have a clue.

[Dante5Inferno]

Originally posted by Crash
Any suggestions on who makes half-wounds? I was at my guitar shop the other day and they didn't have any on the rack and I think the guy at the counter was a drummer, cause he didn't have a clue.

D'Addario makes them, but calls them "Half Round" (http://www.daddariostrings.com/ProductSRByType.asp?StringType=Bass%20-%20Half%20Round) but I haven't tried them. Let us know what you think of them.

[Crash]

Ok, I should be into my guitar shop by the end of the week and I'll let you all know how it works out, hopefully it's what I'm looking for because those Elixir's are just too damn expensive when I'm trying to save up for a new amp.

[Lenin]

try some nylon tapewounds by fender.

also, flatwounds tend to break a lot on fretted basses, especially if you slap.

[Dante5Inferno]

Originally posted by Lenin
try some nylon tapewounds by fender.
How do the tapewounds sound? I'm thinking of putting them on my fretless.

[supermutt]

tapewounds sound really warm. they have less sustain but they dont wear you fingerboard down as much. they do have a very smooth and light feel. you shouldnt put them on fretted bassed tho because they well get really messed up

[Dante5Inferno]

Have you compared them to flatwounds? The black looks really cool but sound is the more important part.