Fender 9120 Nylon Tapewounds vs. La Bella 760N Black Nylon Tapewounds

Ryan Mohr · #1 09-06-2009, 06:38 PM

A few weeks ago, I bought this bass: http://www.rondomusic.com/spb62lpbfl.htm It's a 4-string SX passive alder/RW fretless P bass. As my band is playing a lot of acoustic stuff lately, I wanted a mellower DB-like tone to go along with the J bass with rounds that I usually play. So, I would like deep, fat, and round lows and low mids, warm and woody detail in the mids, and clean, clear, and mellow highs. I think tapewounds will give me this DB-like tone while preserving my fingerboard. The Sadowsky blue label nickels I have on the bass now have a lot of mid presence and articulation, so the mwah on the G string can be a bit overwhelming at times. I would like the upper mids to be soft and warm. To sum it up, deep lows with warm and woody mids and mellow highs. Between the La Bellas and Fenders, which would get me closest to this tone?

On a side note, are these La Bellas?

.

fretlessguy · #2 09-06-2009, 09:58 PM

Fenders have black silk. LaBellas have a purple silk winding. If it's gold, it's Rotosound. I have not experienced GHS Tapes yet, so I do not know about them. Labellas have more tension than the Fenders, providing more of an "uprite-ish" sort of sound. The Fenders have less tension. On a fretless they have more of a roundwound sound.
Be aware that on some basses that use the bridge for a ground that the tapewounds break the ground (since they are tapewound, which acts as an insulater and disrupts the grounding) creating a very annoying humm.

Congrats on your new bass. Hope it gives you years of enjoyment.

FG

Ryan Mohr · #3 09-07-2009, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretlessguy

Fenders have black silk. LaBellas have a purple silk winding. If it's gold, it's Rotosound. I have not experienced GHS Tapes yet, so I do not know about them. Labellas have more tension than the Fenders, providing more of an "uprite-ish" sort of sound. The Fenders have less tension. On a fretless they have more of a roundwound sound.
Be aware that on some basses that use the bridge for a ground that the tapewounds break the ground (since they are tapewound, which acts as an insulater and disrupts the grounding) creating a very annoying humm.

Congrats on your new bass. Hope it gives you years of enjoyment.

FG

Thanks for chiming in. I am really pleased with the bass, and it's definitely going to be one of my main players for many years to come.

If La Bellas have purple silks, it looks like they are on that Alleva Coppolo KBP4.

Regarding the grounding issue, that would mean that all Fender style basses that ground to the bridge would hum with tapewounds?

mongo2 · #4 09-07-2009, 05:43 AM

The many sets of Labella tapes I have are very smooth, whereas on the Fender tapes I've had the nylon wrapping isn't as smooth and the edges of the wrap can be easily felt (which I find very annoying).

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretlessguy

Be aware that on some basses that use the bridge for a ground that the tapewounds break the ground (since they are tapewound, which acts as an insulater and disrupts the grounding) creating a very annoying humm.

What it actually does is isolate your hands from ground thereby preventing your body from acting as a shield.

One of the reasons I like Bartolini pickups (besides their sound) is they have absolutely no hum even with tapewounds.

Ryan Mohr · #5 09-07-2009, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mongo2

The many sets of Labella tapes I have are very smooth, whereas on the Fender tapes I've had the nylon wrapping isn't as smooth and the edges of the wrap can be easily felt (which I find very annoying).

What it actually does is isolate your hands from ground thereby preventing your body from acting as a shield.

One of the reasons I like Bartolini pickups (besides their sound) is they have absolutely no hum even with tapewounds.

So if the bass doesn't hum without the tapewounds, it wouldn't hum with the tapewounds? But, if you bass creates hum that is only aleviated from your hands acting as a ground, it will hum with tapewounds?

mongo2 · #6 09-07-2009, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Mohr

So if the bass doesn't hum without the tapewounds, it wouldn't hum with the tapewounds?

Not necessarily, it depends on the pickups and shielding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Mohr

But, if you bass creates hum that is only aleviated from your hands acting as a ground, it will hum with tapewounds?

It's highly likely.

Fajah · #7 09-07-2009, 07:12 AM

I've been a long time user of both LaBella and GHS tape wounds. From the standpoint of feel and tension, they're both the same. The B, E, and A strings sound the same to me from a tonal perspective. The GHS D and G strings seems to have a bit more articulation which I happen to like better.

My fretless jazz bass is quiet as a mouse. I've used both brands on the bass and there's no increased hum related to the tape wounds. I also have not experienced any increased hum on my fretted P due to having tape wound strings on it.

Here's some sound samples of the GHS on my fretless jazz. A low end bass line:

http://www.box.net/shared/ya0jlpqudd

High end bass line:

http://www.box.net/shared/gnuxcfg4dp

Here's a sound sample of the GHS on my fretted P:

http://www.box.net/shared/jeeam6umuv

fretlessguy · #8 09-07-2009, 12:18 PM

I never had an issue of hum with tapes on my Fender or Fender style basses. With an Ibanez soundgear 480 it was a whole different matter. Regardless whether my hands were on the strings or not it hummed. I would turn the Jazz pup off and just run the P pup it hummed. When I put nickels back on it it was fine. Like others have said, it depends on the bass. Seeing how SX basses are so much like Fender you probably won't have that experience. My Fender P Bass fretless had no problems with the Fender tapes and sounded awesome with them. It seems to me now (you may run a search on this) that someone else has used tapes on their SX with great results.

chris lykins · #9 09-10-2009, 01:41 PM

Anyone experience a significant volume difference between the E/A and D/G strings when using Labella tapes. Its very pronounced on my roscoe fretless.

senorblues · #10 09-10-2009, 01:57 PM

The Fenders are rough on your fingers and do not sound nearly as uprighty as the Labellas. I hated the Fenders and LOVE the Labellas. Volume difference? No. Perfectly balanced, great tone, nice tension.

Jo6Pak · #11 09-10-2009, 02:40 PM

I use the GHS 3060 (50-105) on two of mine. One is a fretless, the other fretted. No complaints about either...

Langenschwert · #12 09-11-2009, 08:36 AM

I've never used the GHS tapewounds. Didn't care for the Fenders, though that was YEARS ago.

I picked up a set of LaBella's for my Steve Bailey fretless last night, and let me tell you, they're a revelation. I was prepared to be disappointed, but I was blown away by the woodiness of the sound, and they feel really nice. The tension is a bit higher to the point where I think my neck actually bowed a bit more, so I might have to lower the action a bit.

They give a nice upright-ish sound in the low end, and the upper register is sounding sweet and creamy. Good strings, for sure.

-Mark

morebass! · #13 11-26-2009, 08:24 AM

I recently picked up a set of the .06-.115 La Bellas for my Jazz deluxe 4. I tune down a half-step so I was concerned about them having enough tension but it is enough, albeit just barely. The lows are wonderful - deep and articulate.

Maybe a bit too wonderful though as I'd have to agree that the output of the lower strings is more that the higher strings. I seem to have that trouble with jazz basses in general though.

Overall I'm pleased. I've been on a flats kick lately after playing rounds for years. The tapes are a nice in-between although they resemble rounds more than flats. An important factor for me is the slap sound which I can't seem to make happen with flats. With the tapes its a bit muted but the basic cut from the rounds underneath the nylon is there.

I may buy another set for my Precision as I think they'd work well there too.

Root 5 · #14 03-18-2010, 05:29 PM

I prefer the Labella strings. I also like the Rotosound tapewounds. GHS tapes are nice too but they are roundwounds covered in tape so they have a brighter tone. You want either Labella or Rotosound for an upright sound.

lmfreeman9 · #15 03-18-2010, 06:03 PM

To each his own. I love the cheap Fenders, preferring their tension and feel over the Labellas and the Rotos and the Pyramids which are similar to the Labellas.

Volume4 · #16 03-18-2010, 10:25 PM

Many years ago I tried both on the same JV 62 P-Bass and liked the Fenders way better.

I had bought the LaBella with the intention of putting them on a string through MIJ 51 P RI....but they were not long enough...so I took the Fenders of the JV and put the LaBellas on. I wasn't happy with the change.

As you can tell from previous comments....ymmv.

Fender may not make the best bass strings out there, but they might make be the best ones for the $

lunarpollen · #17 03-20-2010, 08:27 PM

LaBella tapewounds on a low-end Squier P-Bass through a Markbass LMII:

http://www.esnips.com/doc/20670202-7...hy-Pretty-song

This was just a couple of friends and me just jamming, trying to write stuff, recording the live results on my Zoom H2 recorder. I was playing the dodgy guitar, my friend was playing bass, his GF was singing... I lent him the LaBella's off my Hondo Ric copy so he could get a more vintage tone... I believe he still has the strings on his Squier, although we haven't gotten together in many months