The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I’ve been back and forth over the years and I just can’t decide. What is everyone else doing with their 335 style guitar, flat wounds or round wounds?

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Rounds, I like a brighter tone and sustain on a semi-hollowbody.

  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by fep
    Rounds, I like a brighter tone and sustain on a semi-hollowbody.
    Ditto.

    John

  5. #4

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    rounds, i try flats every once in a while, and love them for a day or so, and get tired of them fast
    i should probably buy another and keep flats on it for those days when i want that sound

  6. #5

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    10-46s don't seem to squeak as much as higher gauge strings. They seem to do well on a semi-hollow.

  7. #6

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    12 DR flats. It's already bright enough for me, they mellow/smooth it out a little. I'm mainly using for a clean darker "jazz" guitar sound though.
    The D'Addario EJ21 rounds, however, were really good on it
    too; grittier Grant Green + kind of tone.

  8. #7

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    Flats (.012 TI Swings) on my ES-333 (the low budget ES-335 but very much the same) but I am the kind of guys that even uses flats on my Teles and Strats.....

    To me, flats give a better jazz tone. And soul tone. And blues tone. And funk tone. But I admit my tone is kind of old school.

    But it's just a matter of personal taste really. Just try and see what you like best.

  9. #8

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    Personally, I think the Gibson ES 335 is the most versatile guitar made. Having sad that, I use .010 round rounds on my 335. I do use .012 flat wounds on my archtop. If i didn’t have an archtop I’d try flat wounds on my 335. But I think I’d lose at least some of the versatility. Try it see what happens.

  10. #9

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    i like pure nickel rounds on 335 center block thinline type guitars..the rounds let it sound, and the pure nickel keeps it jazzy

    almost every company has pure nickel rounds...but i like dr pure blues and thomastik be-bops for their round inner cores...more vintage

    cheers

  11. #10

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    For semi-hollows in general round-wound 11's work best for me. I like the overtones and snap from them. Also, they seamlessly transition to a jazzy tone with the swap of a thicker pick.

  12. #11

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    I used to put Newtone round-wounds on my Seventy Seven Exrubato Jazz, which is a basically a 335 with no center block and a spruce laminate top, but they don't seem to be available in the US anymore. Those were really great round-wounds for both semis and archtops—I maybe preferred them to TI flats.

  13. #12

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    round on my 335 types. I find flats too dull. Too big a difference between the plain and wound strings.

  14. #13

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    Since I switched to flats on the ES-333 I find the bridge pickup much better sounding and use the middle and bridge positon of the switch much more.

    I use this guitar a lot for pop stuff, amongst others in a very successful Amy Winehouse tribute and find the bridge pickup the perfect sound for those afterbeat chops in the Ska-songs.

  15. #14

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    I've tried to run flats on my ES-225 and Heritage 535--but keep going back to roundwounds, lately Ernie Ball Beefy Slinky nickel wounds.

    I love TI flats on archtops, but on my semi-hollow 535 and hollow 225, the low E just mufflefarts.

  16. #15

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    I'm back to rounds. Heavy ass rotosounds. I'll work the amp, the pick, the fingers or the knobs to get stereotypical jazz tones.

    But I used to do flats and found it limiting, which is fine if you only need really dark tones. I eventually settled on a half flat system where plains were flat and the rounds were wound. Smooth on top, but not oatmeal on the bottom.

    Mind you, that was back in my maple neck days. Now I'm my warmer hog neck era, and don't find it as necessary. Results may vary.

  17. #16

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    I get more versatile sounds out of a 335 with rounds, so I use d addario 11s. With 12 flats, I get great jazz sounds, but for everything else (including Grant Green and more modern jazz sounds), I prefer rounds.

  18. #17

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    I no longer have a semi hollow guitar, but when I did I found I always had flats on it. That being said, I have flats on all my electric guitars... Les Paul and Telecaster included. Thomastiks usually, although I do like the Pyramid pure nickel flatwounds too. Roundwounds go on my acoustic archtops only.

  19. #18

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    Rounds.

  20. #19

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    I have Gibson brand rounds on my ES-335. D'addario flats on my archtop.

  21. #20

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    Another vote for rounds. I use 11's which seems to work well. I prefer to keep rounds on it for versatility, and keep the flat 12's on the archtop

  22. #21

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    For me, Thomastik Benson 14 flats on my 355 are So nice.


  23. #22

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    Rounds for me

  24. #23

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    On my 335's I now use Elixir nanoweb on them.

  25. #24

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    Good timing... I've had 12 flats on mine since I bought it a year ago but just switched to round 12's b/c the guitar just felt a little too dull. After installing the rounds I still wasn't satisfied so I moved the neck pickup UP closer to the strings and maybe I'm there now? Will probably put the flats back on when the current set-up starts bugging me. Sometimes I find whatever guitar I'm playing begins to drive me nuts. I'll case it and come back in a month or two and fall in love again.

  26. #25

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    So funny you ask that now: Just last night, I switched from Thomastik 11 Swing flats back to pure nickel rounds. I played all night last night with them and am much happier overall. I can still get my favorite jazz tone with them, but can also turn on my Dumble-like overdrive pedal and channel my inner Carlton.

    FYI, for rounds, I have been using String Joy strings for the past year. They're a small company out of Nashville that makes great strings. I've recently been using their new Broadways, which are their new pure nickels. They sound great...very balanced.