Strung out

 Saw an interesting poll on a Facebook group Bass Upfront, and basically the question was: if you could only play one kind (not label) of strings for the rest of your life, what would it be? The overwhelming majority of answers was - roundwound. Not unexpected, eh? 

Well, yeah... I mean, that was my answer, too. That said, I do have flatwounds on one of my basses, and I like them, but the response was a no brainer. That, however, made me wonder why? After all, the flatwounds came first, being the standard on electric basses for more than a decade in the beginning. Innumerable popular smash hits were recorded on flatwound strung basses, often played with a pick (just ask Carol Kaye or James Jamerson). One would think that such a strong foundation would make everything else be secondary or peripheral, but the roundwounds really spread fast, once they appeared in 1962. 

Now, the way I see it, such popularity may be rooted in a couple different reasons, probably working in synergy. First of all, they were endorsed by a hugely popular/influential player at the time - The Who's John Entwistle. Yet, on its own, it couldn't have been enough. After all, Paul McCartney wasn't playing them... Plus, Entwistle's playing style was unique, as was his gig, so it is not very probable that there was a huge percentage of bass players at the time fancied themselves as is next incarnation. There's gotta be something else to it. 

Secondly, and probably more important was that one factor that in pre-MTV world of music "independent" of video was the main ingredient - the sound! Regardless of what or how Entwistle played, my guess is that legions of bass players back then thought their own playing, their own musical expression, would come through better with that roundwound sonic spice. Especially so with rock music, which was the staple of commercial entertainment business of the era from 1960's to 1990's. 

Interestingly enough, as the trends come and go in cyclical manner, the old-school sound became popular again and increased the popularity of flatwounds (and various coated strings), but the roundwounds remain undisputed. One of the main reasons, I'd wager, that it is easier to get the emulation of flatwound sound from the roundwounds than the other way around. In a way, that makes the rounds kind of more universal, or at least suited to a wider scope of music styles, hence the enduring popularity. 

Ultimately, though, you know what is the best part of that question at the beginning? That we do not have to make that choice :-)

Private practice

Let's face it - the process of practice isn't always exciting for the player, but for his or her family members it can be outright torture. Fortunately, unlike wind or percussion instruments (heck, my kid plays accordion!), we electric bass and guitar exponents have several options of making the woodshed process unobtrusive for the environment, without sacrificing the quality of tone (enjoyment) for ourselves. 

Nowadays a lot of amps have the headphone option, so if you are a person with a busy daily life (like I am) and forced to practice mostly at night, when kids and/or significant others are asleep, that is a life saver. Nevertheless, I like and use even more portable options, and here they are, from the most to least frequent use in the 'shed.

The one I use

Vox Amplug is a very convenient little preamp, whose main advantage is that it plugs straight into your instrument. It is also very small, easily fitting into pockets, so I sometimes carry it to work, if I can grab some time to practice there. The only additional thing you need is a set of preferred headphones, and you're all set to go! I have been using the first-generation acoustic model for years now, although the new bass model also features multi-positional option for plugging, as well as drum rhythms to play with.

New one

However, since the older model also has the AUX input jack, the ability to connect you phone or mp3 player makes the drum beat option pretty much redundant. Besides, if I want to add more spice to the practice session, there is the next option...

Korg Pandora mini is an actual sound processor with the whole bunch of sound effects (overdrive, distortion, envelope filters, octave effect...plus amp and cabinet modeling), along with tuner and couple dozen drum beats in various styles. Like the above piece, it also uses 1.5 volt batteries, but in contrast to Vox, Pandora has the battery level indicator. 

Being conceived as a full-fledged processor (albeit a very small one), it can be connected to a computer via USB for additional tone shaping options, and there is a full-size output jack to use it with your amp, as I did on several live gigs. That, however, raises the issue of having it connected to your instrument in a practical manner. And here is my solution:

The above option (double jack) essentially makes it plug directly into the guitar, and it works especially well with front mounted input jacks on instruments, although it worked fine for me with the lower edge jacks, too. The patch cable enables you to have it hanging on your strap or on the belt, i.e. still very mobile. 

Phil Jones Bighead HA-1 is a step into top echelon options. The HA stands for headphone amplifier, but the unit is actually a hi-fi bass preamp with excellent connectivity. Besides the headphone jack, there is also the AUX one and USB port that has a dual function: used to charge the device (yes, it has an internal battery) as well as to connect it to your computer DAW for recording! The headphone jack can also be used to connect it to a power amplifier, active loudspeaker or mixer, so it can act as a DI box, too. 

 

Compared to the first two pieces featured, this one is considerably larger and heavier (reflected in the price as well), so it won't just hang from your instrument, but the sound quality and other options for use make it a great option, especially if you don't move around much while practicing. Since I got mine a few years back, Phil Jones has put out a new model, HA-2, and other manufacturers have their contestants for the same position, so you may check them out to find one that best suits your needs. 

To recap, here are my reasons for keeping all three at hand. For sheer ease of use and small size - Vox; for fun with effects and tonal options, plus gig flexibility - Korg; for quality of sound, both live and recording - Phil Jones.

The bottom line is, all of them will serve you very well for the original purpose espoused by this post, which is keeping your practice sessions quite to all those not partaking in it, while still offering you enough sound volume to fully expose any mistakes you make in practice, so you don't overlook anything that needs to be worked on.... Win-win situation!