Nylon/tapewound strings question

[dajones]

I've read that ...
"Tapewound strings are long lasting" compared to traditional strings. Any truth to that?
I used nylon strings years ago and liked them very much. I'm now using regular strings but am thinking about using nylon again. I'm curious about what the community thinks. Thanks. Dave

[Twocan]

I have used them before and loved the tone but found that I was not grounded with them on my bass. As a result, I had a constant hiss at higher volume. I never had them on very long as a result.

[lunarpollen]

They do last very long because the metal cores can't get impregnated with filth. If you love how they sound, chances are you will love them for years (unless you break one). I had a set on a bass for the better part of a decade until I loaned them to someone else.

[Twocan]

Follow up: I was playing basses with exposed poles (jazz/Precision) which may have had something to do with it. I play over the pick-ups and the lack of a ground caused a pop whenever my finger brushed a pole.

[peterpalmieri]

I had a set of Labella Black Nylon tape Wound strings on a fretless Ernie Ball for a long time. I never had the hum issues spoken about above but if you are using them on a single coil jazz you may have issues, I don't know.

In any case the bass was from the early 90s the guy I bought it from said they went on the bass months after he bought it new. I had those same strings on the bass until I sold it about a year ago and they sounded great!

[lmfreeman9]

I have used them occasionally but never for a long time. The criticism most round wound guys have for flats, I have for tapewounds-they are somewhat one-dimensional.

I also greatly prefer the Fenders to the LaBellas and Rotos. Never tried the GHS, has anyone else tried them? How do they compare?

[pbass888]

Tapes sound good but a well worn in pair of la bella flats sound better. playing straight jazz and reggae on a fender jazz bass active and passive. more bottom end clarity and thump... which is what im looking for. tapes sometimes sound like not enough spice in the gumbo.

[Fajah]

Originally Posted by lmfreeman9

Never tried the GHS, has anyone else tried them? How do they compare?

Apart from being less expensive, I found the GHS strings to be a bit brighter and more articulate as compared to LaBella's. Most noticeable on the G and D strings. The B and E strings sound about the same to me and the A string is somewhere in between.

Although I don't play them now, I preferred the GHS tone over the LaBella's. You can hear the GHS here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Noxejf1ZF2o