LaBella - best kept secret in strings (or not)

[Arthur U. Poon]

Can any La Bella Nickel round wound users give me their thoughts on tonality, lifespan, consistency from set to set of La Bella's nickel round wounds compared to D'Addario XL's? Also, how does La Bella's B-string compare to D'Addario's in these areas as well? I'm in the process of trying different strings on my 35" scale Ristola-6, and I'm a longtime D'Addario user, I just find their B-strings die rather quickly. Thanks

 

[SoVeryTired]

LaBella is the only manufacturer where I've had a bad string from the start (nickels, B string on a 35" bass). Dead, all thud and no sustain, impossible to intonate. They did send me a new one but it put me off, particularly as they're not cheap.

Daddario haven't let me down yet, cheap as they may be.

 

[cnltb]

If you are a bassist (and if you're reading this, you should be), you owe it to yourself to try a set of LaBella strings, if you haven't yet done so. You can get get virtually any formula/construction/gauge/scale length for your style of playing and every series delivers EXACTLY what LaBella promises. I'm a huge fan of the Deep Talkin' Roundwounds, but I also use the DTB Flats, HRS (now called "Stainless Steel Series"), Nickels (formerly "Slappers") and Super Steps, depending on the instrument and the type of gig. They offer the widest variety of gauges in their sets, and you can "custom gauge" your own set through BSO or JS. A shout out to their Customer Service folks for OUTSTANDING support. Buy a set NOW or check them out at NAMM! I'll be glad to share my experience and results if you're interested!

Labella a secret???

I tried them but settled with someone else that seems more flexible and accommodating.

 

[ProgRocker]

LaBella is the only manufacturer where I've had a bad string from the start (nickels, B string on a 35" bass). Dead, all thud and no sustain, impossible to intonate. They did send me a new one but it put me off, particularly as they're not cheap.

Daddario haven't let me down yet, cheap as they may be.

That can happen with any brand. The first time I tried Thomastic strings I got a dead A string. The fact that LaBella took care of it for you would have renewed my faith in them.

That's only my opinion though.

 

[SoVeryTired]

That can happen with any brand. The first time I tried Thomastic strings I got a dead A string. The fact that LaBella took care of it for you would have renewed my faith in them.

That's only my opinion though.

I'm sure it can happen with any manufacturer, but it's the only time it's happened to me! And them taking care of me involved me having to send the string across the Atlantic at my cost and waiting for a replacement, during which time I had to buy another set of strings locally so that I had something to play. Not all directly the comapny's fault, but lots of additional cost and inconvenience for me. So I'll stick to brands that haven't let me down (yet!).

 

[ProgRocker]

I'm sure it can happen with any manufacturer, but it's the only time it's happened to me! And them taking care of me involved me having to send the string across the Atlantic at my cost and waiting for a replacement, during which time I had to buy another set of strings locally so that I had something to play. Not all directly the comapny's fault, but lots of additional cost and inconvenience for me. So I'll stick to brands that haven't let me down (yet!).

Whatever man. Like I said, just my opinion. :scowl: They're just strings, relax.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

LaBella is the only manufacturer where I've had a bad string from the start (nickels, B string on a 35" bass). Dead, all thud and no sustain, impossible to intonate. They did send me a new one but it put me off, particularly as they're not cheap.

Daddario haven't let me down yet, cheap as they may be.

Thanks for your input. I tried Slappers quite a few years ago, and had intonation problems on a 5-string set. The B-string was tapered at that time, which I personally don't care for. The thing I really like about D'Addario's is their consistency from set to set, and the fact they're reasonably priced is a real plus too!