D'Addario ENR71 Semi-Flatwound Bass Guitar Strings - .045-.100 Regular Light Long Scale Reviews

Been playing bass for quite some time, 40 yrs to be exact. Started with Roto Sound rounds and then finding D'Addairo Rounds when I picked up bass again about 5-6 yrs ago. Never really liked Flats. Then I was researching strings and came upon these. I bought a set and strung my Squire P/J bass with them. These are great. I get the tone I was looking for, good bottom with articulate mids and highs. There is less finger squeak when playing and the strings feel like a hybrid of rounds and flats. Very happy. With that being said I got a ser for my Squire VM J bass(have not mounted them yet)to replace the D'Addairo rounds. I'm sure the J bass will sound as if they have flats on it. Try these out. The price is in line with others.

These are nice strings at a great price. The round wound sound without finger noise, smooth, easy to slide from note to note. Will buy another set for the next string change. Thanks Sweetwater

These strings are great they sound awesome great time and feel. I put these on my PJ bass and the sound unbelievably cool

Got these D'Addario Half Rounds' to transform my new Bass (thanks for deal!) from a "bride" to a "BEAST." THESE strings never disappoint - my Ovation Elite Bass grew some "stones." If your bass sounds too pretty - put some these on.

I have tried rounds, flats, and tapes, and these strings are my favorite. Very even sounding across the strings and easier on the fingers than flats or rounds. Definitely a bit brighter and more crunch than flats on my Fender P.

The D' Addario Half Round Semi-Flat Wound Bass strings give me the deep bass sound that I am looking for which is similar to flat wound strings. What they don't give me is all of that finger to string noise which is what I don't like about regular Wire Wound bass strings. Yet, these strings are capable of producing the chirps sounds that is necessary for the Slap Bass playing style. These strings are very easy on your fingers especially if you do a lot of octave slides in your playing style. The life of the string will depend on the amount of playing you do, but will still last a lot longer than Flat Wound bass strings. I do not play professionally, but still play in a weekly band secession and a lot of practice at home. With all of that, I only need to replace my strings about every 12 to 18 months. Your needs will depend on your playing activities and your own perception of the tone quality. With the great prices that Sweetwater gives you, these strings are a great buy.

I had a set of strings on my squire jazz bass ever since I bought it 4 years ago. Draw back is that there were a lot of finger noise but I didn't really care to change them until I noticed there was dirt and black stuff when I pulled my bass out, so it was about time the neck needed to be cleaned and oiled and I needed to get a new set of strings. I found half wounds by D'addario and man these are perfect, eliminated squeaks, same sound of a normal wound string but with a warmth deep bass response. They are very loose and really easy to press. I'm happy with these strings and appreciate D'addario and Sweetwater for there support!

I'm a D'Addairo string player for quite some time. Use them on my electrics, acoustics, and basses. I've been using the EXL170... They are very good, but there is a lot of finger noise,however they do last a long time. I was looking for a compromise between flats and round. I found it in these. They feel different than round wounds yet produce the sound I'm looking for, good bottom and treble response. You can get Jazz type tones and rock tones very easily. don't think they are for hard rock or metal. Right now these are on my Squire PJ Bass, have yet to mount them on my Squire CV Jazz Bass. I highly recommend these for those looking for flat wound feel and round wound punch.

Now that the strings are finally getting broken-in:

Still a bit dark and less full sounding than a decent set of rounds.
Still really high tension...I like how they feel to my left hand, but the tension really makes you work and dig hard to get them to shine....they can sound really good, but you really have to spank them hard so my right fingers get a lot more raw to get the tone I crave than they would pushing for the same brightness as rounds...BUT the bright is more hollow/scooped and very Geddy with the right settings...so there's that I guess.

Really need to find out what strings are on my 5 string Ibanez as they have the best blend of tone and super low tension for the same nut to bridge length.


I love my fender with these strings, but I can't play it all day like I can with my Ibanez.

My bass playing is mostly on upright and fretless electric, and I love Thomastik flats on both. I have a P bass that I use for a more contemporary sound and have tried various flats and roundwounds on it. The flats were always too mellow, and the roundwounds hurt my fingers after a while. The D'Addario semi-flats feel a lot like Chromes (actually a little smoother) and sound pretty close to roundwounds. I'm getting the sound I want out of this bass now, and I can play it for hours.

Excellent qualit, and excellent customer service. I am very pleased with my first online experience purchasing from Sweetwater gear. I will be ordering again in the near future. Thank you

I'm a weekend-type player so I don't really gig except for at church. But I've been playing these strings for as long as I can remember...maybe 20 years or so? These are the only strings for me. I like to slide into the note a lot, and this gives smooth action while being bright enough to provide distinct tone. A great blend of the feel of flats with the crisper sound of rounds. If that's what you are looking for, give these strings a go!

I put these strings on a jazz bass copy and was immediately pleased. Not only do they have a sweet, musical tone but they are very easy on the fingers. String talk is almost nil and they play very fast.

These strings are truly a hybrid between rounds and flats. I put these on my MIA P bass and the first thing I noticed is that they have a sticky feel to them. They take a bit to get used to and it makes my fingers feel like there's a film on them, but there's no residue left behind so it's in the feel of the string. I retain the woody P vibe but lose the finger noise when moving around the neck, so it's the best of both worlds if you can get past the feel. My big gripe with flats is that they are too subby and I feel too much of the fret, so this was a nice risk I took with these.

I really like the feel of the D'Addario ENR71 XL Half Round Semi-Flat Wound bass strings. They provide a nice rich tone and yet will produce the crisp sound characteristic of the Round Wound strings. I never liked the finger noise you get with Round Wound strings. The trade off between using the Half Round Semi-Flat Wound strings and the standard Round Wound strings is that they need to be replaced more often to keep their crisp sound. That's a small price to pay for your finger comfort and a great sound. If you buy your strings from Sweetwater, its even less painful.

I've been using D'Addario strings for about 10 years. I've tried all the expensive brands (DR, Thomastik etc) and the cheap brands and I keep going back to D'Addario for my strings. The craftsmanship is very consistant and I've never gotten a flawed string. I mainly use XL's for my fretted basses but use Half Wounds for my fretless basses so they don't chew up the fingerboards. These have a round wound punchy, clear tone with great harmonics and bottom. But they aren't as "sticky" as flat wounds so they are very fast in my hands. I've been using them for about 5 years on my Pedulla, Fender Jazz and Warick fretless basses. You won't be disappointed.

My first pair of half rounds. Definitely have a better feel and less string noise than rounds which is what I was looking for and brighter tone that my Thomastik flats (that I love1) on my other bass but the strings have a sticky feel to them which is weird. I hope that is something that works itself out after using them for a while.

I quit using Rotoounds 30 years ago and replaced them with GHS Pressurewound.
I've been using them ever since, But I'm always looking for "the same but different".
These strings sound good that they're sticky. They stick like roundwounds, but without the feel.
I've settled on three string brands. For all my basses. GHS Pressurewound, Fender 9050 flats, and D'Addario ETB92 tape.
I give them all five stars, and I'll keep trying others.

Kinda disappointed,, really dark and lacking any character...no sign of bright...maybe after they stretch for awhile? Really expected the tone to be fuller more like my cello, but what I have right now is mud.

That said they're really friggin loud...not by themselves, but they must have something in their alloy that my p-ups like as they make my pre-amp clip like a mofo (which makes the lackluster tone even more confusing).

Oh well, maybe they just need a breaking in before they open up....in which case I'll adjust my review to reflect the improvement.

Might have dodged a bullet cancelling my order for full on flats.

The finish was extremely uneven, with some parts of the string feeling rougher or stickier than others. The tone was ok, but somewhat inconsistent due to the unevenness. Expectedly warmer than a roundwound but brighter than a flatwound. I've played various round, flat, coated, and tapewound strings over the years and enjoyed them all for their strengths and weaknesses. Maybe I got unlucky with a bad batch that should have been QC-ed out, but these strings felt just awful to play.