La Bella Copper White Nylon Tapewounds:

[Flatwoundround]

Okay here I go. Everything here is I believe medium gauge in that I did not get the thicker gauge strings in that I would need to file down my nut.

GHS discontinued Black Tapes - these sounded lifeless to my ears, they were very thumpy and very similar to an upright bass tone in certain respects but the lifeless tone did not do it for me. I used to play Labella deep talkin flats which are pretty dark and these were even more dark to my ears. These were the farthest from rounds.

Daddarrio Black Tapes - After the coppers these are my second favorite tapewound. They are plenty deep and punchy and they feel pretty good too. Not quite bright enough for what I wanted and like all the black tapes the pick click noise was too much - although some picks did not have as much of that noise but still I prefer the coppers here. You can even slap on these tapes and it sounds decent but of course not as good as rounds for slapping IMO

Labella Black Tapes - The brightest of the black tapes I tried but did not quite have the same low end and punch as the daddarrio black tapes.

Labella Golds - did not work for me at all. Noticable loss of low end and punch and did not seem as good of a tone as the coppers. These were however my first pair of tapes and they felt amazing on my fingers and the slides, bends, trills, stings all felt like butter. So these strings started me on my tapewound string hunt.

Labella Whites - similiar to the golds in almost every way described above.

Labella Coppers - as mentioned my favorite string by far period. Coppers sound the most like rounds of all these tapes and feel as good as the golds.

In terms of tension I would say all these tapes had pretty low tension but none felt "floppy" to me. As mentioned I did not try any of the higher gauge strings since I did not want to file my nut and all that stuff and those thicker gauge strings will have more tension for sure. I personally love the lower tension and smooth feel of all these tapes but i would say the golds and the coppers felt the best in terms of smooth and comfort. But as mentioned the golds did not have a good tone IMO.

Hope that helps.

 

[pnchad]

I have to agree on the coppers. Very nice feel & sound.

Don't totally agree with the LaBella blacks review. They were my go to choice forever. But, I play almost exclusively fretless.

 

[Flatwoundround]

I have to agree on the coppers. Very nice feel & sound.

Don't totally agree with the LaBella blacks review. They were my go to choice forever. But, I play almost exclusively fretless.

Yeah, I agree the Labella blacks are pretty good also.

I wonder if anyone here would know why tapes do not have as much of the sympathetic vibration noise on them. I played some rounds today on a bass at GC and I was amazed on how much ringing I was getting from some of the strings when I was tapping - I don't get nearly as much of that on the tapes. I am guessing it is because the nylon wrap does not sympathetically vibrate with overtones and unwanted noises as much? I am sure somebody would have a much more scientific explanation. But bottom line is the tapes are generally very clean sounding strings in every way.

 

[pnchad]

I would guess that naked rounds have a differing set of overtones than a coated string as would different coating materials and different metals.

 

[Flatwoundround]

I would guess that naked rounds have a differing set of overtones than a coated string as would different coating materials and different metals.

I was also thinking that maybe because the actual round wound string underneath the nylon is much smaller gauge. Guitars generally do not have as much ringing and overtone issues as bass and that relates to the thickness of the strings. So it could be that the much smaller gauge round underneath the nylon has inherently less of an issue because of this. It would be interesting to find out if the thicker gauge tape wounds tend to ring more than the regular gauge. I also think as you say above that the nylon coating has something to do with it too but perhaps it is both the nylon coating and the fact that the actual round wound gauge is much smaller underneath. Either way I am just happy to have a cleaner sounding string.

 

[ZenG]

Had those on one of my shorties.

Nice warm cozy tone.

They seem, to me, to be fairly low tension.

I like them but for some strange reason they feel different to play than,say, black tapewounds or steel flats.

I don't know how to describe it, but they took some getting used to for me...

 

[bassist4dalord]

I've got a set of the 45-105 Copper Whites on their way to me from BSO and I'm pretty dang excited. As soon as they get here they'll be going on my Schecter Raiden Special-4. I'm pretty stoked!

 

[Flatwoundround]

I've got a set of the 45-105 Copper Whites on their way to me from BSO and I'm pretty dang excited. As soon as they get here they'll be going on my Schecter Raiden Special-4. I'm pretty stoked!

Let us know how it turns out. I have played a few schecter basses and am impressed with them, lightweight, well balanced and low action with no buzzing and good tone.

 

[bassist4dalord]

Okay so first impressions are very good. I put them on my bass last night and have noodled around unplugged and I've been really pleased. They look cool and feel great!

I haven't had a chance to plug them into my little Acoustic combo amp yet but so far, so good!

 

[jallenbass]

Does anyone know of any sound clips of these strings? If not, who would like to be the first to do that?

 

[ZenG]

I like the "old school" tone of the White Copper tapes. Nice and warm and rich but they do have mids too.

If I was a slapper they wouldn't be my choice. I don't think any tape would be good for slapping generally.

I don't use a pick too much so I don't know how long any kind of tape string stands up to picks.

So my recommendation for any tape is a bit biased because I'm a finger player 98% and I like old school tone.

 

[Mokolotivet]

I have to agree on the coppers. Very nice feel & sound.

Don't totally agree with the LaBella blacks review. They were my go to choice forever. But, I play almost exclusively fretless.

Which one do you like best for fretless only? Black or copper?

 

[SeayBass]

man I wish I'd seen this post before I bought the gold tapes! I love the coppers and thought I'd find out what the brighter golds were all about. oh well ea$y come ea$y go... coppers all the way for me. Good balance from string to string and even tone across the spectrum. And to top it off, they play nice, with a soft smooth feel that sounds good plucked picked and slapped.

 

[ek1949]

I have the copper whites on a Mensinger 5 string short scale and they are outstanding, both bright and deep as well as super comfortable. This last is important because I wouldn't want to sacrifice either SQ or comfort for each other if I don't have to, and with these strings I don't. Also, since the bass is a short scale I'd better have a really good B string and this B is up to it.

 

[Aidil]

Thread resurrection...

I've just had these Copper White Nylons for nearly a month on my latest Ibanez Aerium SRH505F fretless. The bass previously carried factory D'Addario Chromes ECB81-5 strings which total tension is well known on the high side. Obviously, I had to loosen the truss rod upon changing to the Copper Whites, and it did require quite amount of turns. The set I have is the 750C-B.

I'm quite familiar with nylon tape wound strings. I have another Ibanez SR fretless bass, the Portamento SRF705, which has been strung with D'Addario ETB92-5 Nylon Tapewound in the last 4 years or so. The ETB92-5 has the same 50-135 gauge as La Bella 750C-B. Both basses have been set up with more or less similar neck curvature and string action.

SRH505F w/ stock Chromes ECB81-5 and SRF705 w/ ETB92-5

I'm not going to assess the sound. But, the most important thing I've found from playing the 750C-B back to back with the ETB92-5 in the last couple of weeks is that the Copper White low-B and E are more flexible than D'Addario's. More so on the low-B, which is most likely due to its tapered construction on the ball end side. And it bugs me that the Copper White low-B is making quite an annoying rattle sound as it hits on the fingerboard. Obviously, the action needs to be set higher. And now that I have raised the action on the low-B and E, I can have an acceptable E string but not the low-B. I've continued raising the action on the low-B, even up to the position which is way too high than what I'd normally have, still it rattles.

Copper White Nylon tapered low-B

I'm aware there's La Bella 760C-B set. But, this set has the same .135 low-B as the 750C-B. I'd love to keep these Copper White Tapes, but the rattling is just too much.

On a side note, I don't play with aggressive attacks on my plucking fingers. As mentioned, I'm used to playing my other bass with nylon tape wounds. Also, my main bass with round wound strings is carrying Dunlop Super Bright 40-120, which is known as quite flexible strings, even with the regular 45-125 gauge.

 

[SeayBass]

yah. those low B's are huge, and can be a problem on some basses. However, the string will tighten up some if you play it for a week or two. I'd recommend giving it some time before you decide.
ON several of my basses, (hipshot bridges, mostly) I put longer screws for the B and E saddles. I wrote the bridge maker an email asking for longer screws for string height and shorter screws for the intonation This helps set up the low strings- it was otherwise impossible.

 

[Aidil]

yah. those low B's are huge, and can be a problem on some basses. However, the string will tighten up some if you play it for a week or two. I'd recommend giving it some time before you decide.
ON several of my basses, (hipshot bridges, mostly) I put longer screws for the B and E saddles. I wrote the bridge maker an email asking for longer screws for string height and shorter screws for the intonation This helps set up the low strings- it was otherwise impossible.

Indeed, the low-B's are quite huge. But, those guys at the Cort Indonesia factory who built my Ibanez basses nicely slotted both basses' nut to fit D'Addario Chromes .132 low-B and none of the 2 fretless basses gave me any problem when I put on the .135 low-B either from La Bella or D'Addario. They fit in the nut slots perfectly.

As mentioned, I've put on these Copper Whites for almost a month. So, I don't know whether it would get any tighter.

 

[GBassNorth]

Thread resurrection...

I've just had these Copper White Nylons for nearly a month on my latest Ibanez Aerium SRH505F fretless. The bass previously carried factory D'Addario Chromes ECB81-5 strings which total tension is well known on the high side. Obviously, I had to loosen the truss rod upon changing to the Copper Whites, and it did require quite amount of turns. The set I have is the 750C-B.

View attachment 4196464

I'm quite familiar with nylon tape wound strings. I have another Ibanez SR fretless bass, the Portamento SRF705, which has been strung with D'Addario ETB92-5 Nylon Tapewound in the last 4 years or so. The ETB92-5 has the same 50-135 gauge as La Bella 750C-B. Both basses have been set up with more or less similar neck curvature and string action.

View attachment 4196458
SRH505F w/ stock Chromes ECB81-5 and SRF705 w/ ETB92-5

I'm not going to assess the sound. But, the most important thing I've found from playing the 750C-B back to back with the ETB92-5 in the last couple of weeks is that the Copper White low-B and E are more flexible than D'Addario's. More so on the low-B, which is most likely due to its tapered construction on the ball end side. And it bugs me that the Copper White low-B is making quite an annoying rattle sound as it hits on the fingerboard. Obviously, the action needs to be set higher. And now that I have raised the action on the low-B and E, I can have an acceptable E string but not the low-B. I've continued raising the action on the low-B, even up to the position which is way too high than what I'd normally have, still it rattles.

View attachment 4196457
Copper White Nylon tapered low-B

I'm aware there's La Bella 760C-B set. But, this set has the same .135 low-B as the 750C-B. I'd love to keep these Copper White Tapes, but the rattling is just too much.

On a side note, I don't play with aggressive attacks on my plucking fingers. As mentioned, I'm used to playing my other bass with nylon tape wounds. Also, my main bass with round wound strings is carrying Dunlop Super Bright 40-120, which is known as quite flexible strings, even with the regular 45-125 gauge.

There's an outside chance that your B string might be twisted. This can cause the string to have an odd non elliptical oscillating path in some cases. It might be worth a try to bring that string to total slack, such that the ball end is free to spin then pinch the string between two fingers up at the nut and slowly slide down the full length of the string allowing the ball end to turn if necessary. Then reseat the ball end in the bridge and retighten and tune the string. This solved a similar issue I was having on a finicky La Bella Black Tapewound B string. If that doesn't work, you might consider calling La Bella and asking for a new B string, yours might be defective.

I haven't tried the white copper set yet, so looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how they sound and feel.

 

[Aidil]

There's an outside chance that your B string might be twisted. This can cause the string to have an odd non elliptical oscillating path in some cases. It might be worth a try to bring that string to total slack, such that the ball end is free to spin then pinch the string between two fingers up at the nut and slowly slide down the full length of the string allowing the ball end to turn if necessary. Then reseat the ball end in the bridge and retighten and tune the string. This solved a similar issue I was having on a finicky La Bella Black Tapewound B string. If that doesn't work, you might consider calling La Bella and asking for a new B string, yours might be defective.

I haven't tried the white copper set yet, so looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how they sound and feel.

Could be. Although, I'm quite careful when stringing. I'm familiar with the twisted string symptoms. Still, I'll look into it when I'm home. Thanks.

What I have in mind is that it would be better if La Bella had a non-tapered low-B copper white. Is there such option?

 

[GBassNorth]

Could be. Although, I'm quite careful when stringing. I'm familiar with the twisted string symptoms. Still, I'll look into it when I'm home. Thanks.

What I have in mind is that it would be better if La Bella had a non-tapered low-B copper white. Is there such option?

Good question. Until I saw your pic I had never seen a tapered tape from La Bella. Neither of my Black Tapes or White silver Tapes have a tapered B.