Which nylon tapewounds are these?

spigmu · #1 10-05-2011, 11:20 PM

These came on the Yamaha RBX 250 that I posted about here:

My lefty fretless nylon wrapped Yammy refinish!

I've been enjoying it a lot but am a little curious about how the strings are nylon covered but not as tape-y feeling as I was assuming they'd be. What exactly are these? Are these coated roundwounds and not actually tape wrapped strings? Or is this just an example of one manufacturer's nylon tape wrap that's using less or thinner tape so that the grind is more apparent?

Is the flatter, more tapey exterior that I'm thinking of a different category than this, or do some companies use flats and others rounds for their tapewounds?

I'm wanting to put something smoother on it, but if I know what these are I'll have a better reference point.

Thanks!

lunarpollen · #2 10-05-2011, 11:25 PM

Those just look like coated rounds to me

SLaPiNFuNK · #3 10-06-2011, 01:47 AM

I have no idea what those are... but they are not Rotosound, LaBella, D'Addario, or GHS...

The above also have a very silky smooth feel.

The only "Black Silk Black Nylon Tapewounds" I have heard of are from Status-Graphite... I never played these / seen these / or heard these... But I have also heard that they are "bumpy" in comparison to the others...

mongo2 · #4 10-06-2011, 06:02 AM

Fender.

TC2112 · #5 10-06-2011, 06:49 AM

yep -
the Fender wrapped strings look and feel like rounds. Sound like 'em too, IMO. I bought a set and hated 'em

fretlessguy · #6 10-06-2011, 07:08 AM

They do appear to be Fenders.

Root 5 · #7 10-06-2011, 09:09 AM

I concur. I believe they are Fender tapewounds.

spigmu · #8 10-06-2011, 10:01 AM

Thanks everyone. Verified, they're Fenders. I don't hate them, but they're definitely not giving me what I had in mind the tapewounds already on it would, or at least planned on using this bass for. I've used Mr. Searchy and found helpful info, but I might as well ask here in case anything had changed: What do you recommend for one of the less expensive nylon tapewounds where goal is for some upright or at least acoustic bass woodiness, more tapey/less of the feel and sound of rounds, and any other attributes would just be gravy? And second choice would be to include the more expensive ones.

Thanks very much.

s

Darkstrike · #9 10-06-2011, 10:29 AM

I've heard that GHS tapes are a good cheap choice for that kind of thing, have a set on order myself to try(along with Daddario and Fender tapes). Roto's will do it well, but I dunno would I recommend them, every set I've had, the G string went all weird and buzzy/fizzy straight away.

Labella's are *the* choice for woody, but danged expensive.

jasper383 · #10 10-06-2011, 10:39 AM

Yes, GHS tapes are where I would go. Smooth, inexpensive, and you won't likely have to mess around with the nut.

Tapes are usually rounds underneath the plastic.

The best place to get La Bella tapes is Carvin. IMO, the best tapes for the woody, acoustic sound.

The Fender tapes are more nubbly than other sets, although I haven't tried the new Fenders or the new D'Addarios yet.

Darkstrike · #11 10-06-2011, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasper383

Yes, GHS tapes are where I would go. Smooth, inexpensive, and you won't likely have to mess around with the nut.

Tapes are usually rounds underneath the plastic.

The best place to get La Bella tapes is Carvin. IMO, the best tapes for the woody, acoustic sound.

The Fender tapes are more nubbly than other sets, although I haven't tried the new Fenders or the new D'Addarios yet.

Nubbly?

I'm hoping the new Fenders are like these old windy ones, just to see how they feel, but I have a suspicion they're gonna be awful close to the Daddarios, which I've heard are very bright.

FretlessMainly · #12 10-06-2011, 11:08 AM

I actually like the "nubbly" feel of the Fender tapes. The LaBellas do sound good, but I had been warned about possible manufacturing issues and the set I got (760N) did indeed have a flawed D string - burrs that rendered it unplayable. Normally I love the LaBella DTB flats and rounds, so I'm not bashing here.

IMO the best tapes for approaching that DB sound are the Rotosound TruBass 88s. They are smooth as glass, but are pretty thick, so some nut modification may be in order. They're probably more expensive than the GHS tapes.

fjadams · #13 10-06-2011, 03:20 PM

I can recommend the GHS 3060 Tape Wounds. I've been using them for over 40 years.

chunkstyle · #14 10-06-2011, 09:11 PM

Just put some LaBella tapes (from Carvin!! Cheap!) on my G&L L-1500. In passive, parallel and the treble backed off about a third I'm in tonal bliss... Except for the buzzing. Sounds like a grounding problem, if I touch a tuning key or the bridge the buzzing stops. I don't remember this ever being a problem with the LaBellas but I get the sense that the nylon is isolating me. The bass didn't have this problem before. Anyone else?

Root 5 · #15 10-14-2011, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FretlessMainly

IMO the best tapes for approaching that DB sound are the Rotosound TruBass 88s. They are smooth as glass, but are pretty thick, so some nut modification may be in order. They're probably more expensive than the GHS tapes.

I agree. Roto tapes are the best sounding imo if looking for an uprightish tone. But the E string is a whopping .115 so a nut file may be needed for the E & A at least. Measure your nut.

Some complain of a 'plastic' feel but it's not a real issue to me. I think they feel fine.