Flatwounds on 335 style guitars..your opinions

Greco · #1 10-18-2011, 04:26 PM

I tried to do a search on this topic but had virtually no luck.
I didn't search "flatwounds" for obvious reasons ...LOL

I am curious as to how many of you have tried flatwounds on a 335 (or similar) style guitar and kept them on and/or how many have had tried them and took them off in preference to roundwounds.

I know it is totally personal choice....I am just interested in the experiences, thoughts, comments that might arise.

Cheers

Dave

BigDaddyLoveHandles · #2 10-18-2011, 04:33 PM

My 335 has always had flatwounds on it. I don't like finger squeak and I like the flatwound tone, so it's a no-brainer for me.

rpguitar · #3 10-18-2011, 04:42 PM

I would say that if you want to play flat wounds and use the 335 as a jazz box, then string 'em up. If you want to hear the 335 do its iconic blues/rock/jazz/funk thing, then round wounds are the way to go.

Jazzpunk · #4 10-18-2011, 04:46 PM

Anyone have demos of a 335 with flatwounds? I've been curious about trying this myself!

Greco · #5 10-18-2011, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzpunk

Anyone have demos of a 335 with flatwounds? I've been curious about trying this myself!

Jazzpunk....Thanks for thinking of/making this suggestion. If anyone does do a demo, would you please also indicate the amp being used.

Many thanks also for the responses so far.

Cheers

Dave

MortenFaerestrand · #6 10-18-2011, 05:21 PM

I've had flatwounds on my Roland g303 solidbody for a year and a half now, I love it, don't see me changing back in the near future anyway.. I play a lot with overdrive too, to me that works great! I have lots of videos of me playing it if you wanna check out how that sounds, the guitar is actually kind of similar in tone to a 335.

jorgemg1984 · #7 10-18-2011, 05:36 PM

I had flats in my 335 for a lot of time and have been really happy going back to rounds.. but I am also using rounds in my archtop! Unless you really hate finger squeak I don't see any other advantage of flat strings - you don't need them to have a jazz sound.

Allenl · #8 10-18-2011, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greco

I tried to do a search on this topic but had virtually no luck.
I didn't search "flatwounds" for obvious reasons ...LOL

I am curious as to how many of you have tried flatwounds on a 335 (or similar) style guitar and kept them on and/or how many have had tried them and took them off in preference to roundwounds.

I know it is totally personal choice....I am just interested in the experiences, thoughts, comments that might arise.

Cheers

Dave

I like strings that will allow my 335 to produce a nice clean electric jazz tone and can still do overdriven tones. I've had good luck with stainless steel sets (11s to 49s Fenders or D'Addario).

In general flatwounds are too lifeless for my taste. The only exception are the Thomastik flatwounds. I've had good luck with half rounds, such as GHS Rollerwounds, on some of my archtops. These are roundwounds that have been flattened a bit to minimize finger-noise while allowing a clearer tone to be generated. I believe D'Addario also makes a half-round set.

100% nickel round wounds are also nice and warm. I have them on my Sadowsky semi-hollow.

RoyaleT · #9 10-18-2011, 05:54 PM

Epi Dot with Seymore Duncans using D'Addario Chrome 12's since pickup swap.

mr. beaumont · #10 10-18-2011, 06:19 PM

I use flatwounds on all my electrics, including my Hofner Verythin, which is a semi hollow a bit like a 335. I have no need to play rock music so I don't miss roundwounds a bit.

jorgemg1984 · #11 10-18-2011, 06:27 PM

You don't need rounds to play rock as you don't need flats to play jazz. You can have rounds or flats in any type of guitar so its really a matter of taste. From my experience flats sound too dead and the only good thing is no finger squeak.

Flyin' Brian · #12 10-18-2011, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I use flatwounds on all my electrics, including my Hofner Verythin, which is a semi hollow a bit like a 335. I have no need to play rock music so I don't miss roundwounds a bit.

C'mon not even for fun? Hell I heard Metheny quote The Standells' Dirty Water in a show and he played Wipeout in the middle of "Turnaround" another time.

lpdeluxe · #13 10-18-2011, 07:51 PM

When I got my 335 the previous owner had installed .012 flatwounds on it and cranked the tail piece all the way down, a puzzling set up since he was a fingerpicker. The guitar sounded OK, but a little lifeless. I adjusted the tail piece height and put .012 round wounds, and I liked the sound much better. I love flatwounds on my basses (five basses, five sets of flatwounds) but they are not a good match with my style on guitar.

Little Jay · #14 10-19-2011, 03:00 AM

(Deleted, double post)

Little Jay · #15 10-19-2011, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzpunk

Anyone have demos of a 335 with flatwounds? I've been curious about trying this myself!

All the songs on this demo were recorded with my ES-333 with 0.012 flatwounds on them: Tracin' Tracy
(My ES-333 is fitted with classic '57s, so it's effectively an ES-335)
Also, on my MySpace (see sig), "Stella" and "Lady Bird" are recorded with the ES-333 with flats.
I use Thomastik Infields, I like those slightly better than D'Addarios

oldane · #16 10-19-2011, 03:33 AM

What I could have said has been said by many others above, and I too have used flatwounds on my electric guitars, solid bodies included, for more than 40 years. I do believe, though, that the choice of strings is a very personal matter. What one person loves is what another person hates. You can get hints on a forum like this, but your final answer is found only by yourself by trial and error.

So ..... go get a set of flatwounds and put them on your 335 to see if you like them.

AZanshin · #17 10-19-2011, 05:42 AM

I have got some chrome 13's on mine here is a random noodle plugged in direct into a mixer recorded through logic.Untitled_1#10.mp3 - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

gianluca · #18 10-19-2011, 06:31 AM

to me the question is this:
flats are warmer than roundwound;
roundwound are more dynamic than flats.

within roundwounds, the pure nickel ones are warmer than nickel plated ones. steel roundwound are still brighter.

so it depends on which tone you are looking for and which is the natural tone of your guitar.

my 175 has a very dark (to me) nature; soI use pure nickel roundwound on it: it becomes more acoustic and dynamic
my acoustic archtop the loar LH-600 is a little too bright (to me): some 012 d'Addario chrome flat smooth it enough. a woody tone.

I believe that it would be not so different for a 335 style guitar...

Pansy87 · #19 10-19-2011, 06:34 AM

Sorry if going a bit off topic,
I've recently started studying Jazz formally (finally!), but all I own are solid body guitars. Certainly, my Les Paul will suffice for the present; however, I would like to look into getting a more "jazz-worthy" guitar.

I don't have much experience with hollow bodies or semi-hollow bodies, but I've always wanted to try an ES-335, and I'm impressed with the variety of sounds I've heard from various 335 players. I've always heard that its versatility does lend itself to jazz as well.

Anyone here who would make an argument in favor of or against the 335 as a serious jazz instrument?

Much thanks!

Bflat · #20 10-19-2011, 06:39 AM

I use 11's flat on my ibanez as 80 which is a 335 style semi hollow guitar. I really like the feel of them. I would recommend you give them a shot. It is an inexpensive way to freshen up your sound. I go back and forth with flats and rounds. Makes things interesting.

Enjoy.

ESCC · #21 10-19-2011, 09:18 AM

Also give serious consideration to the guage of the strings. As you may have noticed throughout this thread, most players use a heavier guage string when playing flatwounds, that too has an impact on tone and playability.

mr. beaumont · #22 10-19-2011, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyin' Brian

C'mon not even for fun?

Nah...

I mean, I'd never tell these guys this...but this rock thing? It's a fad.

Jazzpunk · #23 10-19-2011, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Little Jay

All the songs on this demo were recorded with my ES-333 with 0.012 flatwounds on them: Tracin' Tracy
(My ES-333 is fitted with classic '57s, so it's effectively an ES-335)
Also, on my MySpace (see sig), "Stella" and "Lady Bird" are recorded with the ES-333 with flats.
I use Thomastik Infields, I like those slightly better than D'Addarios

Cool, thanks!

Kuz · #24 10-19-2011, 07:18 PM

Lee Ritenour uses Flatwounds on his 335. That would be reason enough for me to try it!!!! Plus he plays his 335 with a good bit of overdrive too.

kris · #25 10-20-2011, 02:31 AM

I like all kinds of strings...most of sound is in your fingers...:-)

mambosun · #26 10-20-2011, 02:36 AM

I tried both flat and round on my 335 Ibanez clone but did'nt notice a vast change in tone (52-11).
The big difference I found was the finger feeling, smooth vs rough.
On the other hand, flatwound doesn't blend well with other guitar styles such as rock,pop and blues, hence would hinder versatility.

va3ux · #27 10-29-2011, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pansy87

Sorry if going a bit off topic,
I've recently started studying Jazz formally (finally!), but all I own are solid body guitars. Certainly, my Les Paul will suffice for the present; however, I would like to look into getting a more "jazz-worthy" guitar.

There really is no such thing as a 'jazz worthy' guitar. A guitar does not have to be hollow or semi-hollow, and have 'F' holes in order to play jazz. Get a 335 if you want one. Ed Bickert played a Telecaster for most of his career. Lorne Lofsky used an Ibanez Roadstar with EMG pickups. Clint Strong plays a Les Paul. Genile Castro plays tele-like guitars.

Greco · #28 10-29-2011, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pansy87

Sorry if going a bit off topic,
I've recently started studying Jazz formally (finally!), but all I own are solid body guitars. Certainly, my Les Paul will suffice for the present; however, I would like to look into getting a more "jazz-worthy" guitar.

I don't have much experience with hollow bodies or semi-hollow bodies, but I've always wanted to try an ES-335, and I'm impressed with the variety of sounds I've heard from various 335 players. I've always heard that its versatility does lend itself to jazz as well.

Anyone here who would make an argument in favor of or against the 335 as a serious jazz instrument?

Much thanks!

Not a problem going off topic...I think this thread was winding down.
Did you try doing a search in this forum for more information...there have been several threads on this topic.

I think va3uz provided you with an excellent answer to your question.
BTW, 335's happen to be my favourite guitars and always have been...can't really explain why.

Thanks to everyone for their comments in the thread.

Cheers

Dave

Jazzpunk · #29 10-29-2011, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by va3ux

There really is no such thing as a 'jazz worthy' guitar. A guitar does not have to be hollow or semi-hollow, and have 'F' holes in order to play jazz. Get a 335 if you want one. Ed Bickert played a Telecaster for most of his career. Lorne Lofsky used an Ibanez Roadstar with EMG pickups. Clint Strong plays a Les Paul. Genile Castro plays tele-like guitars.

There's no such thing as a jazz worthy guitar but there is definitely an established tone in the jazz idiom (for better or for worse). Way more players on the scene play semi or fully hollow guitars than play solid body guitars.

I'm not saying that is good or bad or right or wrong but it is what it is. I always see the same few names come up when stating that jazz can be played on a solid body guitar but they seem to be the minority, at least amongst professional jazz players.

To the OP of this question, find out what types of guitar your favorite players are using and go from there!

jorgemg1984 · #30 10-29-2011, 02:33 PM

John Abercrombie Dave Holland Jack DeJohnette - Homecoming - YouTube

You can play great jazz on a solid body!