Seriously, having never played a set of flat wound strings, I'm wondering why some people use them, especially on Jags and Jazzmasters.

Is there a significant difference in tone, are they easier to play, or what? What is the attraction to flat wounds?

Just wonderin' out loud.

I just recently switched to rounds after playing flats my entire life. Flats do surf quite well. However rounds still sound great and they sound great for stuff that isn't surf. I still have flats on my Jaguar, which I rarely play.

Rounds are more sparkly, but you have to change them more frequently.

There's a difference between stainless steel, nickel plated, and pure nickel flats.

With rounds, if your style includes a lot of glissando's and slides, managing string noise is an issue and can get strange with a tape echo or heavy reverb --although it can also be an interesting effect. Bowstring simulations in Apache, fr instance. Flats enable really liquid glides. It's like skating on hot glass with sticks of butter strapped to your feet...

I put TI bronze flats on my Taylor acoustic, and TI flat classical strings on a classical guitar. I even got TI flats on a Spector bass.

I recently got a new AVRI Jag. I put the Fender strings that came with it on there--stainless steel flats--and did not care for them. I put on a set of Roto purples, after hearing so many good things about them--and they did have a nice recorded sound--but changed the way I typically play. I couldn't get happy till I put some TI flats on there. The Rotos lasted 2 days. It's a matter of individual taste.

Seamoor Glas
The Iterators

Ruhar
When I used rounds on my Jazzmaster, it sounded like somebody was inserting an ice pick directly into my inner ear.

That is exactly the same I felt, and after enjoying some playing with "normal" steel flats I can't wait until I play the Thomastiks.

DannySnyder
My experience with the TI's was that they are too dull sounding. Very little snap. I kind of like chromes when they're new - very twangy.

I have heard some people say that--but I don't really understand it. I get it that they are saying something important has been subtracted, something is missing--I think that is one of the main things I like about them.

They have a certain hollow metallic chime that I call 'clang'--that I don't hear from other, non pure nickel, flats. The overtones are more balanced and congruent. I can see how that might be described as 'dull' cause they don't 'splash'--but for me it means they are easier to control--plus they are longer lasting than Chromes. I've had sets on a guitar as long as two years and only changed them cause I wondered what new strings would sound like...they never lost their ability to fine tune. Of course I meticulously clean them after every use.

I had some of their Plectrum strings break during installation on a Parker Fly--the original bronze Fly model, and I wrote the Pres of the company. His head of research contacted me and asked me to return the broken strings and they spiffed me 3 new sets. That was cool. I am totally down with them.

Seamoor Glas
The Iterators

DannySnyder
My experience with the TI's was that they are too dull sounding. Very little snap. I kind of like chromes when they're new - very twangy. If you play long shows you'll really appreciate using flats, trust me.

Yeah, I felt the same way initially when I tried the TI flats after using Chromes for a while. It took me a little while to start to prefer the differences with the TIs. They let me be a little more aggressive with both the bright switch on the amp and increasing the tone knob on my tank for a really nice surf tone. With the Chromes, I always feel like I need to dial everything back a bit to cut some of the brightness. Horses for courses, I guess.

On an aside, I really liked the tone from the Pyramid Golds, but their really expen$ive and from my experience (YMMV) the quality control was not as good as with the TIs. (e.g., dead strings that wouldn't intonate and premature breaking).

Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook

I have tried flats a few times IMO they are just horrible no matter the brand and guage I can never get into them surf is about bright lively tones with presence not warm and thumpy tones so roundwounds have been my choice for years, I know Nokie has to be using roundwounds how do you think he gets that killer "Apache" sound in Diamond Head
The Ventures/ Diamond Head + Caravan

but.... it's all about personal taste if you think you'll get vintage tones with flats then cool more string power to you but you can still get jiggy with it I mean vintage with it with rounds as well

And I agree with Jake a 101% Rounds are more versatile if you wanted to jump into the mainstream genre or go juke joint jumpn' into the rockabilly realm or blues.

Danny I have to disagree with ya flats won't help ya play longer shows or longer in general I think it's more about stamina then the strings, I have done the three to four hour gigs and my fingers are fine playing lead on rounds I think it's just depending on the individual and the guitar set up IMO.

-Kyle

Beyond The Surf YouTube channel
Beyond The Surf Instagram
The Verbtones @ Instagram
The Verbtones @ Facebook
The Verbtones @ bandcamp

Yeah you can get phenomenal tone from rounds, no question. I just happen to prefer the dark tone of flats (listening to too much Kenny Burrell perhaps
As far as ease of playing, my hands get much more fatigued when playing flats. In fact, I've been having some terrible right hand cramps lately. Might be the .13 guage though.

Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook

diceophonic
surf is about bright lively tones with presence not warm and thumpy tones

funny-the first thing i think of when i think of a good surf guitar tone or just a good vintage tone in general is the warmth and thump. to me, the thump of old, dead flatwounds is what i love the most. of course, i am slowly becoming a complete traditionalist snob...

The Tremblors on Facebook!

The Tremblors on MySpace!

DannySnyder
fatigued is the wrong word, soreness is really what I meant. From the abrasiveness.

Yeah... Before I put round 12s on my jag, my callouses, so carefully built over years of acoustic work, had disappeared after only a year and a half of flats, even playing everyday, which I do. I put rounds on the jag, and in less than a month, my fingertips were suddenly had that "ET" quality back.

I'm happy with chrome flats on the JM and pure nickel rounds on the jag. I have no desire to put rounds on the JM too.