Thanks! Glad you liked the sounds! It’s honestly a great sounding pedal! Does roll off the low end but if you add it back in at your amp (preamp pedal in the video) it makes for a crazy cool drive time! Thanks!
I was really pleased to finally see a flat vs. round review where the term 'dead sounding' wasn't used! All too often fans of round wounds say that flat wound strings sound dead, and that is so far from the truth! Eighty percent of the basses I own are strung with flatwound strings because of the versatility of the tones available from them. But, in the end, it all comes down to personal preference. And, honestly, I hate the finger noise that comes from roundwounds! 😉
Thank you! I totally agree, to me that’s all just character which is exactly why flats are so iconic! Both have their uses and like all things bass, there’s room for both! if I’m honest I prefer flats as well though, other than couple all of mine use flats. Yeah that finger noise annoys me too haha Thanks for watching and commenting! I really appreciate it! Thanks Gavin
Have to say I've come down on the side of the flat wounds in this, that rubbery sound is just a bit magic. Whole vid is packed full of great sounds though and some epic bass face to boot!
Thanks man! Yeah can’t beat the flats! Especially for the fuzz tones! Rounds are the perfect fit for some things like slap and modern sounds but really can’t beat the classic flats tone! And noticing the bass face is the highest complement for this channel! Thanks man!
Thanks for the review, Gavin. I have a set of La Bella flat wounds that will be installed on my new to me 1975 Fender precision. Love your glorious Scottish accent.
Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. That’s great, I’ve recently started trying La Bellas too and am very impressed. That sounds like an awesome bass you’ve got there, bet it sounds awesome! Thanks, glad someone was finally able to understand me despite the accent hahaha Though I’ve just stayed up to watch the Super Bowl so not much of my voice left haha Thanks again for watching, I really appreciate it! Many thanks Gavin
Awesome! That’s great you got a chance to try them. And have to say, that’s a very good description of flats too! I am the same these days, love the rounds for that punch and for some growl on the fretless and driven tones. But can’t beat the flats for the old school vibes and for synth bass. Thanks so much for watching and for commenting! I really appreciate it. Thanks again Gavin
Gavin I am no musician and not a bassist so I enjoyed this just from the sheer pleasure of hearing different sounds and watching you create beautiful music. It occured to me as a bit of a physicist and computer nerd, that the bass has such a contradictory place in music. It has a low frequency so is used to fill out at the bottom and generally keep things moving along. Stereo separation and phase are not things of its concern. But but but what just hit me was. (Perhaps this is a bit technical) If CD quality music is sampled at 44100 Hz then a middle A of around 440 Hz has only about 100 sample points ever represented from its waveform (could you draw a face with just a 100 dots?). But a bass chugging away at 60-100Hz has 400 or more discrete points. With these points therefore you have much wider options to add colour and texture to the sound compared to other instruments that are tinkling away up with the fairies. I guess this is why different strings and playing techniques are really really important in your domain. Love it, keep playing for us.
Thank you for that, I really appreciate hearing that enjoying the music! That’s a description I’ve never considered before, but a very interesting view point. Definitely something I’m going to have to look at now, definitely got me interested in digging deeper! It definitely does make sense, I’ve often felt that the same thing played on a bass and guitar (even in the same octave) have a very different timbre to how it sounds. As I bassist I love that you’ve proved scientifically that it’s something special! Thanks for sharing that!
@@gavinforbesmusic5164 I am struggling with an idea over on the inner loop. You might well have given me a new angle too. I will call you out on my next vid if something germinates...actually I will call you out anyway cos you have a fab channel.
. Found your video through searching for Squire para as I bought one this morning and it's no coming till tomorrow. Cool video bud, I've subscribed. Was gonna get a set of flats to put on it but I love the growl without pedals you are getting and will probably stick with the strings it comes with for a while. I;n off tae check out the rest of your channel. Thanks for sharing.
Ah nice one, thank you for that really appreciate it! Yeah that bass does have a lovely growl, The stock strings still work for that growl (at least on mine- your mileage may vary), but I put a Rotosound swing 66 set on it and those are probably the perfect string for the growl. Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks again Gavin
Hi Mate... very nice demo video, didnt know how flatwounds sounded... I actually just bought a '54 paranormal bass(really nice bass for the $) , it has the stock strings and i really think i liked more the roundwound with it since they have a more"modern" and versatile tone. Really nice you showed what the pedals can do , i really liked the 1st pedal (think i am gonna buy one to play with my 54 paranormal)...thanks! And suscribed!!!
Thank you, really appreciate that! Yeah both very different and as you say, rounds are definitely the way to go for modern bass tones. Glad to hear your liking your 54 jazz too, it really is a great bass for that money! Ah nice one, that pedal sounds so cool, does lose the low end like most guitar designed boosts but if you bring up the low end (either at your amp or with an EQ pedal) that thing sounds awesome! Thanks again, Gavin
I love the flatwound tone too. And for me it’s the best option with synth bass tones/ fuzz and then of course the old school thing too. Thanks for watching!
Yeah me too. I do love and use rounds too, but there is definitely something special about flats that have been played in. I like the Squier as is, I know others may prefer better pick ups and wiring, and I would never try to speak for someone else’s experience as all basses are potentially gonna be a little different (could hear something different sounding in the pickups or ground buzzes etc that I am not getting with mine). But based off the one I have , I find this bass has a real growl and a bark that my other jazz basses don’t have (partially due to this being my rounds bass too) so I won’t be changing anything on mine any time soon. I do love the Volume and tone for each pick up too, wish they had kept that as standard after using it on this bass. But can always upgrade pots etc if you felt you wanted to. They are really nice basses, the neck feels great (is a poly finish- not everyone’s favourite but it does feel good on this one) and the finish looks really good so a really great starting point if you found you did want to change anything in it. Hope that is useful. Thanks Gavin
Flats man! Is it just me or do flats track better with bass synth pedals..less high octaves in the tone to confuse it..especially as the note decays a bit.I' m rockin a Royal Blood kinda approach and it helps me to have a flat low e and round light gauge top strings..that way the bass sounds bassier and top strings more guitar sounding.Appreciate your demo here in Austin Texas U S A
100% agree, flats are the best for synth and fuzz effects! Gets rid of any shrill brightness that those effects can emphasise and leaves just massive bass tones! That sounds like an awesome set up you are running, very creative! I bet that sounds awesome! Thank you very much for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it! Thanks Gavin
The sound difference between the 2 seems rather huge, could it be the electronic? I would be curious to hear the 2 types of strings on the same instrument... Cheers!
Hi Trashkhan To be honest, the electronics in these two are actually very similar when both have round wounds. Little more growl in the white jazz bass’s pick ups but not by much. Honestly, strings really can make a massive difference. Right out of the packet, flatwounds won’t be this different as still have some top end to them - particularly the rotosound ones. But as they age over time the dark, warm tones come out and the almost rubber band sound comes with that in a way that old rounds just can’t quite nail. Highly recommend checking out flats if you are after that old school tone or a smoother tone with fuzz / synth bass tones. They aren’t cheap though, so of those aren’t your thing, maybe not the best idea. They also feel very different to play as well. Tension can be different depending on the brand and do have a smooth but also different feel. I would love to do it on the same instrument though if I had the time, that could be a very fun experiment! Thanks for the suggestion. Also so sorry this went so long unanswered. Didn’t get any alert about your comment and only just seen it just now. Thank you so much for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it! Thanks Gavin
Good answer! For me, both definitely have their place! Also sorry about the delayed response - didn’t get any notification about your comment so only just seen it now. Thank you for watching and commenting! Thanks Gavin
I have a question as regards the kind of bass the strings can be used on. Obviously for the best test possible you used 2 Jazz bass. But are the same strings transferable onto a P bass, or would it need to be a different brand or type. Helps to know if I can buy the same strings I love for both types haha
Great question! I used two jazz basses purely as a result of having a more than one, and a great excuse to use the new Squier! Haha But both types of string would work perfectly well on a P bass as well! The only thing you really need to consider is the scale length (particularly for flats). Standard P basses are typically standard long/full scale (34 inch scale) so you’d need long/ regular scale strings. But 30 and 32 inch basses (short and medium scale) use shorter scales strings, and could actually break flats if you were to use the wrong scale set. But other than that, both these strings options would work on P basses and other regular scale basses! Just always check the manufacturers string spec to be sure will fit your bass properly! Great question, thanks for asking it!
@@kevbob yeah I love it! I really enjoy playing it, got a great bark to its tone, perfect suits roundwound strings, but totally think would sound great with flats too! I have a real soft spot for the squier line of basses, shows just how good you an instrument you can get for your money these days.
I’m definitely no music historian, especially when it comes to strings so if anyone else sees this please correct me if I’m wrong. But as far as I was aware, it was all flatwound strings initially- for the first electric guitars too. Pretty sure even strats had flats at first. Think was the 60s before we started to see rounds (especially on bass), when Rotosound (and others) came out with the bright sounding rounds. but before that it was really just flats.
@@gavinforbesmusic5164 Cheers mate. i wasn't trying to catch you out, it just occurred to me that roundwounds would be highly unusual on an upright bass. Nice vid btw. Many thanks.
No worries bud, I really like talking about these things with other bassists so thanks very much for commenting. It would be very cool to hear rounds on an upright! I’m defo gonna look into that. Thanks, appreciate that bud. Thanks for watching. Gavin
Holy smokes that Kalavera Rokan boost grabbed me by the throat and shook me around a few times. I dig that sound.
Thanks! Glad you liked the sounds!
It’s honestly a great sounding pedal! Does roll off the low end but if you add it back in at your amp (preamp pedal in the video) it makes for a crazy cool drive time!
Thanks!
I was really pleased to finally see a flat vs. round review where the term 'dead sounding' wasn't used! All too often fans of round wounds say that flat wound strings sound dead, and that is so far from the truth! Eighty percent of the basses I own are strung with flatwound strings because of the versatility of the tones available from them. But, in the end, it all comes down to personal preference.
And, honestly, I hate the finger noise that comes from roundwounds! 😉
Thank you! I totally agree, to me that’s all just character which is exactly why flats are so iconic! Both have their uses and like all things bass, there’s room for both!
if I’m honest I prefer flats as well though, other than couple all of mine use flats. Yeah that finger noise annoys me too haha
Thanks for watching and commenting! I really appreciate it!
Thanks
Gavin
Have to say I've come down on the side of the flat wounds in this, that rubbery sound is just a bit magic. Whole vid is packed full of great sounds though and some epic bass face to boot!
Thanks man! Yeah can’t beat the flats! Especially for the fuzz tones! Rounds are the perfect fit for some things like slap and modern sounds but really can’t beat the classic flats tone! And noticing the bass face is the highest complement for this channel! Thanks man!
Thanks for the review, Gavin. I have a set of La Bella flat wounds that will be installed on my new to me 1975 Fender precision. Love your glorious Scottish accent.
Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. That’s great, I’ve recently started trying La Bellas too and am very impressed. That sounds like an awesome bass you’ve got there, bet it sounds awesome!
Thanks, glad someone was finally able to understand me despite the accent hahaha Though I’ve just stayed up to watch the Super Bowl so not much of my voice left haha
Thanks again for watching, I really appreciate it!
Many thanks
Gavin
I have always used rounds for the punchy tone, but played a bass with flats at a music store recently and they play like butter! So smooth.
Awesome! That’s great you got a chance to try them. And have to say, that’s a very good description of flats too!
I am the same these days, love the rounds for that punch and for some growl on the fretless and driven tones. But can’t beat the flats for the old school vibes and for synth bass.
Thanks so much for watching and for commenting! I really appreciate it.
Thanks again
Gavin
@@gavinforbesmusic5164 I just bought a white Paranormal, as well. They get such great reviews, I had to grab one. Should be here in a few days!
Awesome! Exciting times! I love mine. I’m sure you’ll love it when it arrives.
Great demo and I love those cool effects tones you used!
Thank you! I had a lot of fun making this so am really glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching and commenting.
Thanks
Gavin
Gavin I am no musician and not a bassist so I enjoyed this just from the sheer pleasure of hearing different sounds and watching you create beautiful music.
It occured to me as a bit of a physicist and computer nerd, that the bass has such a contradictory place in music. It has a low frequency so is used to fill out at the bottom and generally keep things moving along. Stereo separation and phase are not things of its concern. But but but what just hit me was. (Perhaps this is a bit technical) If CD quality music is sampled at 44100 Hz then a middle A of around 440 Hz has only about 100 sample points ever represented from its waveform (could you draw a face with just a 100 dots?). But a bass chugging away at 60-100Hz has 400 or more discrete points. With these points therefore you have much wider options to add colour and texture to the sound compared to other instruments that are tinkling away up with the fairies. I guess this is why different strings and playing techniques are really really important in your domain.
Love it, keep playing for us.
Thank you for that, I really appreciate hearing that enjoying the music!
That’s a description I’ve never considered before, but a very interesting view point. Definitely something I’m going to have to look at now, definitely got me interested in digging deeper!
It definitely does make sense, I’ve often felt that the same thing played on a bass and guitar (even in the same octave) have a very different timbre to how it sounds.
As I bassist I love that you’ve proved scientifically that it’s something special!
Thanks for sharing that!
@@gavinforbesmusic5164 I am struggling with an idea over on the inner loop. You might well have given me a new angle too. I will call you out on my next vid if something germinates...actually I will call you out anyway cos you have a fab channel.
Thank you! I’m excited to see where this idea goes, definitely one I will be watching out for on your channel!
Thanks again!
. Found your video through searching for Squire para as I bought one this morning and it's no coming till tomorrow. Cool video bud, I've subscribed. Was gonna get a set of flats to put on it but I love the growl without pedals you are getting and will probably stick with the strings it comes with for a while. I;n off tae check out the rest of your channel. Thanks for sharing.
Ah nice one, thank you for that really appreciate it! Yeah that bass does have a lovely growl, The stock strings still work for that growl (at least on mine- your mileage may vary), but I put a Rotosound swing 66 set on it and those are probably the perfect string for the growl.
Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks again
Gavin
Hi Mate... very nice demo video, didnt know how flatwounds sounded... I actually just bought a '54 paranormal bass(really nice bass for the $) , it has the stock strings and i really think i liked more the roundwound with it since they have a more"modern" and versatile tone. Really nice you showed what the pedals can do , i really liked the 1st pedal (think i am gonna buy one to play with my 54 paranormal)...thanks! And suscribed!!!
Thank you, really appreciate that! Yeah both very different and as you say, rounds are definitely the way to go for modern bass tones. Glad to hear your liking your 54 jazz too, it really is a great bass for that money!
Ah nice one, that pedal sounds so cool, does lose the low end like most guitar designed boosts but if you bring up the low end (either at your amp or with an EQ pedal) that thing sounds awesome!
Thanks again,
Gavin
Flatwounds sound so much better
I love the flatwound tone too. And for me it’s the best option with synth bass tones/ fuzz and then of course the old school thing too. Thanks for watching!
I love the sound of flats😎 As far as the Squier Para, do you think the electrics are good as-is or would you upgrade the whole lot? Thanks✌✌
Yeah me too. I do love and use rounds too, but there is definitely something special about flats that have been played in.
I like the Squier as is, I know others may prefer better pick ups and wiring, and I would never try to speak for someone else’s experience as all basses are potentially gonna be a little different (could hear something different sounding in the pickups or ground buzzes etc that I am not getting with mine).
But based off the one I have , I find this bass has a real growl and a bark that my other jazz basses don’t have (partially due to this being my rounds bass too) so I won’t be changing anything on mine any time soon.
I do love the Volume and tone for each pick up too, wish they had kept that as standard after using it on this bass.
But can always upgrade pots etc if you felt you wanted to. They are really nice basses, the neck feels great (is a poly finish- not everyone’s favourite but it does feel good on this one) and the finish looks really good so a really great starting point if you found you did want to change anything in it.
Hope that is useful.
Thanks
Gavin
Flats man! Is it just me or do flats track better with bass synth pedals..less high octaves in the tone to confuse it..especially as the note decays a bit.I' m rockin a Royal Blood kinda approach and it helps me to have a flat low e and round light gauge top strings..that way the bass sounds bassier and top strings more guitar sounding.Appreciate your demo here in Austin Texas U S A
100% agree, flats are the best for synth and fuzz effects! Gets rid of any shrill brightness that those effects can emphasise and leaves just massive bass tones!
That sounds like an awesome set up you are running, very creative! I bet that sounds awesome!
Thank you very much for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it!
Thanks
Gavin
The sound difference between the 2 seems rather huge, could it be the electronic? I would be curious to hear the 2 types of strings on the same instrument... Cheers!
Hi Trashkhan
To be honest, the electronics in these two are actually very similar when both have round wounds. Little more growl in the white jazz bass’s pick ups but not by much.
Honestly, strings really can make a massive difference. Right out of the packet, flatwounds won’t be this different as still have some top end to them - particularly the rotosound ones.
But as they age over time the dark, warm tones come out and the almost rubber band sound comes with that in a way that old rounds just can’t quite nail.
Highly recommend checking out flats if you are after that old school tone or a smoother tone with fuzz / synth bass tones. They aren’t cheap though, so of those aren’t your thing, maybe not the best idea.
They also feel very different to play as well. Tension can be different depending on the brand and do have a smooth but also different feel.
I would love to do it on the same instrument though if I had the time, that could be a very fun experiment! Thanks for the suggestion.
Also so sorry this went so long unanswered. Didn’t get any alert about your comment and only just seen it just now.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting, I really appreciate it!
Thanks
Gavin
Gotta have both
Good answer! For me, both definitely have their place! Also sorry about the delayed response - didn’t get any notification about your comment so only just seen it now.
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Thanks
Gavin
I have a question as regards the kind of bass the strings can be used on. Obviously for the best test possible you used 2 Jazz bass. But are the same strings transferable onto a P bass, or would it need to be a different brand or type. Helps to know if I can buy the same strings I love for both types haha
Great question! I used two jazz basses purely as a result of having a more than one, and a great excuse to use the new Squier! Haha
But both types of string would work perfectly well on a P bass as well!
The only thing you really need to consider is the scale length (particularly for flats).
Standard P basses are typically standard long/full scale (34 inch scale) so you’d need long/ regular scale strings.
But 30 and 32 inch basses (short and medium scale) use shorter scales strings, and could actually break flats if you were to use the wrong scale set.
But other than that, both these strings options would work on P basses and other regular scale basses! Just always check the manufacturers string spec to be sure will fit your bass properly!
Great question, thanks for asking it!
@@gavinforbesmusic5164 the Squier is pretty cool, no? I picked one up too and at the price it sells for, it was totally a great deal.
@@kevbob yeah I love it! I really enjoy playing it, got a great bark to its tone, perfect suits roundwound strings, but totally think would sound great with flats too!
I have a real soft spot for the squier line of basses, shows just how good you an instrument you can get for your money these days.
Can someone answer this question; Before the invention of the electric bass by Leo Fender, did round wound strings for bass actually exist?
I’m definitely no music historian, especially when it comes to strings so if anyone else sees this please correct me if I’m wrong.
But as far as I was aware, it was all flatwound strings initially- for the first electric guitars too. Pretty sure even strats had flats at first.
Think was the 60s before we started to see rounds (especially on bass), when Rotosound (and others) came out with the bright sounding rounds. but before that it was really just flats.
@@gavinforbesmusic5164 Cheers mate. i wasn't trying to catch you out, it just occurred to me that roundwounds would be highly unusual on an upright bass.
Nice vid btw. Many thanks.
No worries bud, I really like talking about these things with other bassists so thanks very much for commenting. It would be very cool to hear rounds on an upright! I’m defo gonna look into that. Thanks, appreciate that bud.
Thanks for watching.
Gavin
@@gavinforbesmusic5164 Thanks mate. Keep up the good work!
I Was in love with flatwounds... until i tried them
Yeah while I do love them, they are definitely an acquired taste and not ideal for everything. Thanks for commenting.
What kind of language does he speak?
That’s maybe my Scottish accent coming through strong in the video haha
Sometimes it comes through quite strong.
I like my strings like I like my woman's chest. Flat
😂 honestly don’t even know how to reply to that 😂