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Double Bass Labella 7710T (White Nylon Tapewound)

#4
To clarify; Ron Carter assisted in the development of the black tapewounds - now called the 7710N - but it's unclear whether he had anything to do with the new white tapewounds (7710T). I suspect perhaps not.

I modified the wording on the site a bit to hopefully make that a little less vague.

We haven't gotten them yet, but they are on order. We just got the press release on them a few weeks ago.
 
#5
I spoke with Ron Carter last June about the strings after seeing that he wasn't using the black ones. IIRC, he told me that they were a new white tapewound string by Labella that he had been trying and he liked them. I don't recall whether he mentioned if he was 'helping' them with the design. However, I suspect that due to his value as an endorser Labella would avail themselves of his input.
 
#6
Hello! This is La Bella Strings. The nylon used for this set is a proprietary formula but we worked with Ron Carter and a number of other La Bella "Inner Circle of Artists" to come up with the correct construction to maximize the 7710Ts potential. It was months in the making and we hope you enjoy them!
 
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#7
LaBellaStrings said:
Hello! This is La Bella Strings. The nylon used for this set is a proprietary formula but we worked with Ron Carter and a number of other La Bella "Inner Circle of Artists" to come up with the correct construction to maximize the 7710Ts potential. It was months in the making and we hope you enjoy them!
Click to expand...

Great to get this response but can you give some more details about these strings eg the difference between these and the black ones? Thanks!
 
#8
To the previous poster, this is what the Gollihur page says (which likely answers your question):

"The newly developed strings are, like the original version, metal rope core strings, surrounded by a proprietary nylon wrap. The new 7710T strings are wound with a clear proprietary nylon, which makes for an an even smoother-to-the-touch string with brighter tone and clarity than the original black-tape strings.

Since the black strings were originally designed to emulate gut, but to have a bit more of the feel and sustain characteristics of steel strings, this new version is a bit of a departure - the strings are brighter than the original 7710, so they should offer a whole new experience for the player, tone-wise."
 
#9
Clarkybass said:
To the previous poster, this is what the Gollihur page says (which likely answers your question):

"The newly developed strings are, like the original version, metal rope core strings, surrounded by a proprietary nylon wrap. The new 7710T strings are wound with a clear proprietary nylon, which makes for an an even smoother-to-the-touch string with brighter tone and clarity than the original black-tape strings.

Since the black strings were originally designed to emulate gut, but to have a bit more of the feel and sustain characteristics of steel strings, this new version is a bit of a departure - the strings are brighter than the original 7710, so they should offer a whole new experience for the player, tone-wise."
Click to expand...

Of course, since we haven't tried the strings ourselves yet, much of the content there is gleaned from the press release that LaBella sent. We'll definitely update it with our own personal thoughts once we actually have them in hand.
 
#10
Here's a review we received from a top NYC/Broadway player on the 7710T - unsolicited:


I have been using the 7710 White Nylon Tape Wound Rope Core strings for about two weeks now on my 7/8 Juzek bass (44" String length) and I would like to share my thoughts with you. I am really enjoying the overall feel, touch, and sound that I am getting from my bass using these strings. From the beginning, I could tell a significant difference in the sound quality of my bass and I think that these strings have allowed my bass to open up quite a bit. Having used many different brands and gauges of strings on my basses throughout my career, the 7710 strings stand out in a number of areas.

Right away I enjoyed the ease of tension and playability, and noticed a big difference in the sound projection from the bass. My bass has become much louder with the 7710's. I enjoy the vintage sound quality that I have been able to achieve with these new strings, much like the vintage sound of some of my favorite bassists including Oscar Pettiford and Paul Chambers, who may likely have used gut strings in their day. Nonetheless, these strings seem to provide the clarity and brightness of steel strings while providing the feel and ease of playing gut strings so in essence the player is getting the best of both worlds. After installing the strings which was a slight challenge due to the small size of the end ball, the 7710's hold pitch very well and play evenly throughout the fingerboard making articulation in both the lower and upper regions of the bass very playable while producing harmonics in varying degrees with ease.

Playing Arco with the 7710 strings was a bit challenging at first. Upon first installing the 7710's, the strings seem to have a real bright sound which is often great for pizzicato but not always preferred for bowing. After spending some time playing the new strings with the bow the strings seem to mellow and playing Arco was not a problem. However, I believe that using a bow with black hair might work quite well with these strings. With the 7710 strings I had no problems starting, stopping and sustaining while playing Arco, but it does take some getting use to and I am not sure all players will prefer the bowing sound.
Slapping the 7710's strings was quite fun. Since they are easy on the hands and have a fast response, I think most players should find fulfillment when playing this style.

With the introduction of the new 7710 White Nylon Tape Wound Rope Core upright bass strings I think that the developers at La Bella have produced a revolutionary new product, one that will likely gain strong popularity among upright bass players performing all styles of music. I look forward to further using the 7710 strings in both live and recorded settings of music. Thank you again for allowing me to be one of the first players to play this new and exciting bass string.
 
#14
Well you have to understand, some people consider the Tapewounds unbowable - myself included. It can be done but it's just really really hard. Not sure how much weight I'll put into that review.

That said, I'm fan of the 7710N - it helps give me the sound I want and mainly the sustain I can't get from most other strings. I'm tempted to try the new strings but I'm really enjoying the black ones right now.
 
#20
After lurking on here for a week or so waiting for some more reports about these, curiosity got the better of me and I ordered a set that arrived today (thanks for the prompt shipping, Messieurs Gollihur). (I was loathe to take off my Animas, but I've got a couple lengthy Christmas party gigs coming up, one of them 6+ hours, and the copper surface is considerably less appealing after 3 hours or so.)

I've only been messing around with them for an hour so far; I've already got a lot of opinions but they may all change by tomorrow so I'll wait a while to give a detailed review. I will say this though: my first attempt at bowing them was surprisingly different than my experiences attempting to bow my set of black 7710s. I only ever acheived partial success with the bow on the black strings - I could usually get the G to sing out okay, especially higher up, but getting the A and E to speak at all was a crapshoot almost every time (especially the A for some reason). (The black bow hair on my cheap bow seemed to help a little but not enough, and my nice bow really seems to prefer the white hair anyway.) On the new white 7710s, so far all the strings are bowing quite reliably for me *except* the G which has a tendency to squeak. Kinda reminds me of bowing on Garbos.
 

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