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Compare LaBella White Nylon Tapes with Elixirs? Also, compare various tapes??

tallboybass

tallboybass

Supporting Member
Feb 25, 2003
4,573
1,163
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Tulsa, Oklahoma
#1
Just wondering if anyone has tried both of these. What are the similarities and differences, tonewise and feelwise?

Which sounds more like a 'normal' uncoated roundwound?

I know what black tapes are like, how do they compare to those?

What are the brightest tapes and how do the white, gold, copper and black tapes compare to each other?

Sorry, lots of questions. Thanks in advance!
 
#2
The white nylon material is softer and smoother feeling than black nylon. While each manufacturers black nylon tapewounds feel different as they use a slightly different material and polishing specs...

White nylon tapes (only from La Bella at this time) are softer and smoother compared to the already smooth black nylon LA Bella tapes.

Gold are brightest. Copper and white are a close second. But all three are brighter than LA Bella black tapes.
 
#6
I think the whites are brightest, then golds, then coppers and then blacks.

I have tried the labella blacks and labella golds and the dadarios blacks. I am going to try the labella whites and coppers very soon.

I loved how the golds felt, so smooth and easy to play, but I felt that the low end and punch factor were lacking. I love how tapewounds feel and the blacks sound very very warm by themselves but I am still trying to get them to sit well in the mix with the band. I have also played elixirs but I did not like them because I don't like finger noise at all and love the comfort of the tapes.
 
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#7
This is the thread I was looking for. I'm trying to decide if I want some La Bella Tapewounds for my Squier Precision V (the one with two J pickups). I've had D'Addario Tapes on it. I'm thinking either White, Gold or Copper.

So far the White sound like what I'm looking for.
 
#8
iiipopes said:
Really?
In my experience:
white are the brightest
gold are in the middle
black are the darkest
copper have a different midrange characteristic.

YMMV.
Click to expand...

This. :thumbsup: Spot on the sugar.

As noted, the white and gold have a very similar tonal quality - but varying degrees of brightness. The coppers have a very different (to my ears) tonal color.

I never once found a set of black nylons by anybody that remained on any bass I owned for more than a day. I do not like black nylon strings at all. (Or at least so far.)

The LaBella white series is a whole 'nother smoke.

I don't care too much for the plain whites because I find them to be too bright. I could see using the golds for some things. They're actually a pretty good compromise. But I very much do like the coppers. That extra complexity in their mids hits me where I live. The coppers are the set I use. And probably the only set of nylons I can say I actually do like. On an active VM Jag, they're a match made in heaven. I may also load one of my PBasses with a set come next string change. (Very nice strings!)

Highly recommended if your tastes run similar to mine. YMMV.
 
#9
I just tried both the whites and coppers tonight. So now I have tried all the labella tapes, gold, black, white and copper and I have also tried the dadarrio blacks.

I love the coppers! They sound more modern and brighter than the blacks (as expected) but they have a nice warm tone also. Never played anything like them before, perhaps the closest would be brand new chromes, but not quite. They feel fantastic even better than the blacks. The golds I did not like as I described in my post above. The whites did not sound as good to me as the coppers, the whites and coppers are definitely clearer sounding than the blacks. The coppers sounded great alone tonight the next test will be how they sit in the mix with the band. I also got a set of GHS black tapes that I am going to try out too but so far the coppers take the Gold Medal for me.
 
#10
@Flatwoundround - let me know how you make out. I've used the coppers for classic rock, some jazz, and a lot of blues recently. My experience was they fit right in, and had just enough presence (with a hint of reverb added via an Iron Ether Nimbus) to cut through very nicely without being obvious about it. Very musical strings. I think they'll get you exactly what you're looking for.
 
#11
40Hz said:
@Flatwoundround - let me know how you make out. I've used the coppers for classic rock, some jazz, and a lot of blues recently. My experience was they fit right in, and had just enough presence (with a hint of reverb added via an Iron Ether Nimbus) to cut through very nicely without being obvious about it. Very musical strings. I think they'll get you exactly what you're looking for.
Click to expand...

You got it brother!

Looks like I finally found my dream string. Tapes in general sound clean to me in that there is no finger noise and less buzzing and clacking and ringing etc.. But the copper seems to take a step further by having the actual tone souding clearer and cleaner than the black tapes. I would say the black tapes are a little deeper sounding than the copper but since the coppers are clearer and more modern sounding the coppers win out - what good is the exra low end if it sounds sort of muddy?

I gave the copper the test last night by myself, I recorded myself and played slap, tapping, pick and fingers and they all sounded good. These strings are so easy to play I have the action pretty low and not really getting any buzzing etc. Like I said the big test will be with the band but I got a good feeling about these strings.
 
#14
Elixirs sound just like regular rounds with a nicer feel and little finger noise. The wrap adds very little to the mass of the string. They are a very nice, mellow string and last a long time.

Nylon tape used on tapewounds is much heavier and contributes to the unique sound of tapes.
 
#15
Bassamatic said:
Elixirs sound just like regular rounds with a nicer feel and little finger noise. The wrap adds very little to the mass of the string. They are a very nice, mellow string and last a long time.

Nylon tape used on tapewounds is much heavier and contributes to the unique sound of tapes.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I knew someone would eventually answer the main question! ;)
 
#16
40Hz said:
@Flatwoundround - let me know how you make out. I've used the coppers for classic rock, some jazz, and a lot of blues recently. My experience was they fit right in, and had just enough presence (with a hint of reverb added via an Iron Ether Nimbus) to cut through very nicely without being obvious about it. Very musical strings. I think they'll get you exactly what you're looking for.
Click to expand...

40hz

i played tonight with a drummer friend of mine (he is more of a jazz drummer but plays all styles and has a great ear). I compared the coppers to the dadarrio blacks. Virtually identical P bass setups. He said he liked the blacks better because it had much more low end and punch, i tried to boost the bass up more on the coppers but it still fell short in terms of low end as compared to the blacks. So I have a dilemma because I like the tone of the coppers and they have much less pick click noise as compared to the blacks (I am primarily a picker). But I fear in my Funk R&B band the coppers might get lost in the mix with the guitar, keys and occasional horn but I will have to test it out. But with the drums alone it did have more presence due mostly to that bigger bottom end. Neither string sounds muddy at all and its not like the coppers sound thin. Perhaps it is his jazz background that makes him prefer the blacks as they are closer to the acoustic bass tone. The coppers feel even easier to play compared to the blacks but both strings are super easy to play and sound good. Tough choice but on the bright side I have two sets of strings that I really like. Those coppers sound so good going through my Mark Bass Amp.
 
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#17
Flatwoundround said:
40hz

i played tonight with a drummer friend of mine (he is more of a jazz drummer but plays all styles and has a great ear). I compared the coppers to the dadarrio blacks. Virtually identical P bass setups. He said he liked the blacks better because it had much more low end and punch, i tried to boost the bass up more on the coppers but it still fell short in terms of low end as compared to the blacks. So I have a dilemma because I like the tone of the coppers and they have much less pick click noise as compared to the blacks (I am primarily a picker). But I fear in my Funk R&B band the coppers might get lost in the mix with the guitar, keys and occasional horn but I will have to test it out. But with the drums alone it did have more presence due mostly to that bigger bottom end. Neither string sounds muddy at all and its not like the coppers sound thin. Perhaps it is his jazz background that makes him prefer the blacks as they are closer to the acoustic bass tone. The coppers feel even easier to play compared to the blacks but both strings are super easy to play and sound good. Tough choice but on the bright side I have two sets of strings that I really like. Those coppers sound so good going through my Mark Bass Amp.
Click to expand...

@Flatwoundround - It's all about the mix - so what we sometimes most prefer doesn't always cut it in a live situation. Or with some of one's other band members. Such is life. I'm more a mids sort of bass guy. My main instrument is a Ripper so that's no surprise, right?

For getting really low and punchy, I prefer a short-scale bass. An inexpensive Gretsch Junior Jet (either loaded with a TV Jones Thunder'Tron pickup or the TV Jones designed single pickup the original G2002 model came with) is what I use when I want that sort of sound. I've got the older G2002 single pickup model.

Here's a guy with a Junior Jet with black nylons on it to give you some idea of how one would sound:



All the punch and bottom you could ask for.
 
#18
Elixers don't have a wrap per se, they have a very thin coating so they are slightly smoother feeling than most typical nickel rounds. They have less finger noise, but it won't eliminate it altogether. They last a long time but the sound to my ears isn't as good as most strings to begin with, to me they sound a bit choked for lack of a better word. If you like the sound of them that's cool because they last a really long time,like a year or so for most folks. I like D'addario tapes,they retain some of the high end of rounds, have virtually no finger noise, they have a nice bottom end and last for years like flats do. They are a bit low on the tension side because the roundwound inside is of a lighter gauge however, if that is an issue for you.
 
#19
1stnamebassist said:
Elixers don't have a wrap per se, they have a very thin coating so they are slightly smoother feeling than most typical nickel rounds. They have less finger noise, but it won't eliminate it altogether. They last a long time but the sound to my ears isn't as good as most strings to begin with, to me they sound a bit choked for lack of a better word. If you like the sound of them that's cool because they last a really long time,like a year or so for most folks. I like D'addario tapes,they retain some of the high end of rounds, have virtually no finger noise, they have a nice bottom end and last for years like flats do. They are a bit low on the tension side because the roundwound inside is of a lighter gauge however, if that is an issue for you.
Click to expand...

I really like the dadario black tapes also. I am torn between the labella coppers and the dadario tapes, I like them both so much, lucky for me I got set of each on each of my precision setup basses. i call the bass with the coppers "Sunshine" and the one with the black tapes is called "Big Birtha". Like I am dating two women and enjoy them both so much but cannot decide who to marry. Sunshine sounds better playing softer and alone but big birtha has got that big fat bottom end and punch.
The dadario tapes have a much louder harsher pick click than the coppers. If I play the jazz 3 nylon pick then the noise gets reduced a lot but I am totally comfortable with those picks, as they seem to sharp pointed and sort of too hard. I guess things will never have perfect feel and tone but I feel like I am as close as I have ever been to it with these tapes, I love them a lot.

By the way on youtube there is a demo of some new 2016 tapes from labella, they look completely new and different, but I have not seen them on labella website. Anybody know anything about those?

Thanks.
 
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#20
Flatwoundround said:
I really like the dadario black tapes also. I am torn between the labella coppers and the dadario tapes, I like them both so much, lucky for me I got set of each on each of my precision setup basses. i call the bass with the coppers "Sunshine" and the one with the black tapes is called "Big Birtha". Like I am dating two women and enjoy them both so much but cannot decide who to marry. Sunshine sounds better playing softer and alone but big birtha has got that big fat bottom end and punch.
The dadario tapes have a much louder harsher pick click than the coppers. If I play the jazz 3 nylon pick then the noise gets reduced a lot but I am totally comfortable with those picks, as they seem to sharp pointed and sort of too hard. I guess things will never have perfect feel and tone but I feel like I am as close as I have ever been to it with these tapes, I love them a lot.

By the way on youtube there is a demo of some new 2016 tapes from labella, they look completely new and different, but I have not seen them on labella website. Anybody know anything about those?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

are you talking about the NAMM 2016 with the blue nylon underneath the clear? Unfortunately there's no sound demo of these.

I got here late..so the consensus seems to be the whites are brightest? I have a few other questions though:

I am assuming whether copper.80/20, or steel core, they all will work with a piezo and magnetic setup, unlike thoms. yes? Any difference in the mag pickup volume between all these? or flexibility?

I keep seeing here there's a 5 string set with a high C which is what I need, but not for sale anywhere. Jason?

On my Turner Ren, the dadarrio chromes short scale fits fine..so I am looking at the LaBella ss set?

thanks .
 

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