- Cost. Flatwound strings (FW), across brands, cost more than their regular roundwound (RW) counterparts. Snob appeal? No, it's the production method contributing to this. However, I'm not swallowing this whole; how much more can this be? If it's about the machinery (as opposed to man-hours spent on production), there should be economies of scale along the way, yes?
- Durability. FWs last longer than RWs. FWs do not feature any gaps in between the windings to trap dirt & moisture, that's the reason. In fact, if you wipe down the FWs, they will even last longer.
- Tone. This is the make / break part, in my opinion. FWs do not sound as bright as the RWs. Now you understand why the jazz-ers among us prefer this string type. If you are coming from the warm tones camp, this is definitely your gem. Folks, if you think your tones are a tad too bright in the mean time & you are not keen in swapping out your guitar's electronics to address this, do give FWs a try.
The 9s you see above cost $26. I'm currently using the Olympia brand of 9s & it's about a fifth of the price.
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