Flat wounds are made with a flat ribbon winding which produces a completely smooth outer wrap. This provides for effortless sliding and practically eliminates finger noise. They produce a flat, dark sound. Tension-wise, flat wound strings are stiffer and, thus, more difficult to bend. If your guitar has high action already, stay away from flat wounds. We are only aware of one flat wound acoustic set and it is not all flat wound, having a round wound 6th string. The D'Addario Flat Tops are half rounds and are excellent at reducing finger noise. A good example of flat wound electric strings is the Fender 50 series, known as Stainless Flats. Another is the D'Addario Chromes ECG24 Flat Wound set. Many southern bass players are familiar with flat wound bass strings. They produce a kind of dull thud but the quietness of sliding around your bass neck is great. |