D'addario & Fender Tapewounds

[PBnJBassist]

These have entered my radar and that's solely due to Music123's description that these suckers give that "old school vintage tone" and has the "thump similar to an upright bass". Has anyone had experience or heard of testimonials from other players for either of these to the point where they have been broken-in well enough to compare with good set of broken-in flats? And if so, do they get more "thump" than flats?

I've been itching to try some of these out, but it is not going to be worth it if they are unable to bring more "dead thump" than my current set of Fender flats. I'm also specifically talking about these two sets:

[Sparkdog]

I recently tried a set of the DAD's so I'll share my experience with them.

I love that real old school thump too and that's what I was after with the tapes...didn't get it though. For me, a set of really broken in flats with a foam mute is where that tone comes from.

The tapes sounded somewhere in between nickel rounds and flats in terms of brightness and definition. In my case those were DAD EXL160's (50-105) and DAD Chromes (also 50-105). The Chromes definitely had more of an upright vibe to me, but it's worth pointing out the tapes were brand new. Maybe over time they mellow out and get thumpier.

These are very intriguing strings...unbelievably smooth and nice to slide around on, and well balanced tonally. The tension is definitely something I would have to get used to, it's so low they feel like rubber bands compared to the DAD's mentioned above, but it also makes them very easy to play and bending, vibrato, etc is effortless.

I tried them on a Fender Jazz and a Lakland DJ4, they were nice on both but just not what I was after. I've learned though that different basses "like" different strings..the 2 in question here normally wear Rotosound 66's and the EXL160's...that's just what works best on them.

I'm thinking the tapes could be really special on the right bass, maybe a hollow body to bring out the unique timbre they seem to have.

So guess what I'm looking for now

[PBnJBassist]

Thanks Sparkdog! That's one hell of a response for the D'addario's. Much, much appreciated on that front. Now, does anyone have experience with the Fender Tapes?

[Mark Olson]

The 9120's are tapewound ROUNDwounds. Pretty sure the D'addarios are tapewound flats. Fender has made, probably still does make tapewound flats, I've owned those too. The 9120's are pretty bright and, well, roundwound-y, just without the clank and string noise, etc. The other fender tapes I've owned were great for a thumpy, old school sound. I put them on same manner of jazz years ago, gave me an instant Curtis Mayfield "Superfly" tone.

[CopperheadLXXIX]

The cool thing about tapes is that you never have to worry about them ever going dead. Had them on a fretless some time ago, liked the sound a lot. Can't remember the brand, but even though they were "thumpy" they were also surprisingly bright.

[PBnJBassist]

Originally Posted by Mark Olson

The 9120's are tapewound ROUNDwounds.

Darn. That's just a shame to hear. I did more digging around and the best assumption I could come up with is that the D'addario's seem to be flats (like you stated, Mark); but that's just bumming off of JustStrings.com's category listings, since they place the Black Nylons under "Flatwounds". The Fender Tapewounds are categorized under the general "Electric Bass Strings" with the rest of the roundwounds, and if I recall correctly, I think I read a post of someone saying that the string started to unwind or something and they found a roundwound underneath. I'll have to search again to confirm, I may just be thinking of another thread for another string

Thanks very much TB'ers, I believe I have found my answers, and I think I'll just stick with my Fender flats since Copperhead stated that tapes never fall dead. Truth be told... I love it when strings go dead, especially flats!

[Sparkdog]

The DAD's are tape wrapped rounds too. In fact, the only tapes I know of that are flats (and still in production) are the Rotosound Tru Bass. I have not tried those or the La Bellas for 2 reasons...they are both very expensive and both come in odd gauges. I didn't want to drop that much coin or have to re-notch my nut for the sake of an experiment.

DAD's and GHS come in pretty standard gauges so I narrowed down my search to those options. I chose the DAD's because the folks at JustStrings.com told me the GHS would be lower tension than the DAD's, which are already low. I may try the GHS anyway though, just to see how they compare.

You might try contacting JustStrings and get their take on the available tapes. The guys there are actually knowledgeable about the products and very helpful. Try having that conversation at Musicians Friend or Guitar Center...it's like discussing nuclear physics with a hotdog vendor.

Happy hunting!

[ichadwick]

I'm new, so excuse me if this has already been asked, but...

Are these tapewound strings suitable for any bass, or just piezo/fretless?

I got an Epiphone Viola bass and was going to exchange the strings for flatwound, but these tapewound seem like they might be even better. And I bought a used Ibanez 6-string that needs new strings, and thought it, too, might benefit from them.

[Sparkdog]

Tapes still have metal cores so they will work on any bass.

[Sicktress]

Actually I'm using the D'Addarios and they are flats. The chart on the back of the box puts then right under Chromes.

[jasper383]

Originally Posted by Sicktress

Actually I'm using the D'Addarios and they are flats. The chart on the back of the box puts then right under Chromes.

Just because they are on the chart next to the flats, does not mean that they are flats under the plastic.

I would be willing to bet that there are rounds under that wrap.

[Rezlax31]

Rotosound Tru Bass are actually roundwounds under the black wrapping as well. Curiosity got the best of me once when I was taking them off of a bass.

[TL5]

It's interesting that you are saying these are low tension.
I put a set on my ABG and was concerned that it was going to pull the bridge off the body. Maybe it was because the tapes are so much thicker/heavier gauge?
I have chrome flats on it now and I do not have that concern.

I used the Fender tapes. You don't have to remove the nylon on those to know it's a round string underneath.

[ichadwick]

Originally Posted by Sparkdog

Tapes still have metal cores so they will work on any bass.

Thanks. local music store has Fenders I will try on my Epi. Have to special order the six string sets, though.

[bryan gibson]

I've run the Fender tapewounds for years on my fretless with good results. On the fretted Jazz, however, they seem to be a bit too low-tension-flapping around and rattling everywhere. They're a god-send if you have tendonitis and/or play alot, though. I tried the DAD chrome flats (45-105) for ahwile and they felt extremely stiff compared to the tapewounds. YMMV

[jasper383]

Originally Posted by bryan gibson

I've run the Fender tapewounds for years on my fretless with good results. On the fretted Jazz, however, they seem to be a bit too low-tension-flapping around and rattling everywhere. They're a god-send if you have tendonitis and/or play alot, though. I tried the DAD chrome flats (45-105) for ahwile and they felt extremely stiff compared to the tapewounds. YMMV

Yes.

I have tried, I think, every major tapewound string out there, and none of them struck me as having any more tension than a set of light rounds. Easy on the frets, hands, and ears.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Rezlax31

Rotosound Tru Bass are actually roundwounds under the black wrapping as well. Curiosity got the best of me once when I was taking them off of a bass.

This may be true, but they are a lot thumpier than the Fenders. Don't know about the D'addarios but I have a set of Fender tapes here that lasted about 2 days before I took them off. They sound like rounds covered in plastic. Rotos rule tapewound kingdom IMHO.

[jallenbass]

Originally Posted by jasper383

Yes.

I have tried, I think, every major tapewound string out there, and none of them struck me as having any more tension than a set of light rounds. Easy on the frets, hands, and ears.

Yep.

[Sparkdog]

Going to quote myself here...a little weird, but:

"I've learned though that different basses "like" different strings"

I just acquired a Fender Classic 70's Jazz and for reasons I won't go into here it needed lower tension strings than the heavy rounds and flats I usually favor, so I strung it up with the DAD tapes I had laying around.

That is a match if I ever heard one! I set it up and took it to last night's gig. The tapes sounded huge, fat, and full, but I could still dial in an edge to them with the EQ. Everyone in the band complimented my tone and I was really happy with the sound.

I also found myself playing very expressively, i.e. using a lot of subtle bends and vibrato because it's so easy on these strings. The tone is different than flats, more growl and presence, but still has that essential old school character.

These are staying on this bass.

[Ukiah Bass]

I use black nylon tapewounds on a fretless acoustic bass guitar (Tacoma Thunderchief). Very upright-type vibe. I use strings from Status. Here are some gig recordings:
The Stormy Weathermen - original acoustic music from Mendocino County, California

Don't like tapewounds on my fretted Fender Jazz bass. I prefer ground wounds on that one.