Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzzbass  Has any of you done a comparison between Roto TruBass and LaBella Deep Talkin' Bass nylon tapes? |
I have these exact strings on two basses. The 88s are on a Shuker 60/61 style Jazz with Rio RW neck and the Labellas 760N are on a 79 maple P.
Firstly, both strings feel great, I am liking the feel and musicality of the nylon over steel more these days. Both sets are softer sounding than steel. I am looking for warmth so I figured it makes sense to work on the source ie: the bass itself.
IME the Labellas (which are currently only two weeks old) are livelier and brighter and
when compared to the 88s, have more of a roundwound sound. The gauge of the 760N set is quite chunky at 060 - 070 - 097 - 115 but this is exactly what I want. I'm finding that these days I like my basses to have 4 bass strings not 2! When I play the G I still want thick warm tone. I love the sound of TIs but the D and G strings don't feel enough like bass strings for me to be totally satisfied with them.
With low action the La Bellas are able to get funky (with muted zing) and I doubt your bandmates would really notice that you have switched to black nylons unless your normal sound is in sizzly Mark King territory.
The 88s are mostly chunkier at 065 - 075 - 90 - 115. They are certainly deeper sounding strings and a little stiffer but not overly so at all - and the stiffness changes relative to playing position of course. Nothing like the Jamerson 1954 gauge La Bellas for instance which are serious tension.
What I find with the 88s (on the E) is they can
creak (to call it fret buzz seems wrong somehow). To get a real pure note you need to raise the action to get rid of the acoustic string on fret noise. I generally like quite low action so I'm sensitive to raising action. Maybe it's a set up issue but I come across this every time I put on a set of 88s on any bass and truss rod adjustment seems to makes little difference. It seems to be a quirk of the strings though it's not a big problem.
The 88s are still able to sound nice and groovy with plenty of definition but what you lose in funky sharp snap you gain in rounded thump. Playing nearer the neck yields a lovely big pillow of air on each note. I would echo other comments about them sounding like there is almost a note an octave below as well. The open 'E' is lovely when this happens. Each note feels rich and strong. I would echo the comments made on tuning though - I think they need to wear in before the tuning properly settles.
I like both sets and found that I currently prefer the 88s on a Jazz (if it's good enough for Herbie Flowers etc...) and the 760Ns on a P.
A warning though. Once you get used to nylons, steel rounds feel like coarse sandpaper.
