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LaBella White Tapewounds and Drop Tuning

L0ckett

L0ckett

Apr 24, 2022
141
303
#1
I've been doing a lot of reading on the different LaBella tape offerings and I think the 760T-B Whites might be what I'm looking for. Ideally, I'm looking for a tapewound that sounds as close as possible to stainless rounds.

In all of my readings on the Whites I didn't see any comments about lower tunings. I'm using a 35" scale 5-string in a metal band that plays in drop A, so AEADG. I do a lot of hybrid picking (think Clay Gober style) so my concern is with the low A. I can't find anything referencing the tension of these strings. Even at .135, would this be too floppy/loose?
 
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#4
L0ckett said:
Good call. I definitely would need the XL's.
Click to expand...

One thing to keep in mind about tapewounds in general is the outer nylon cover contributes very little to either tension or stiffness. So, 60-70-94-115-135 in tapes would play more like 50-65-85-105-125 in rounds. Also, the 135B is tapered at the ball end, which may affect the way it feels overall. Whether it's going to be too loose tuned down to A on a 35" scale or not, I can't tell for sure since I have no personal experience with tapewounds.
 
#5
I tried tuning one of my basses down to D Standard. At the time, that bass had light gauge (50-105) La Bella Gold White tapes on it. It simply did not work! They were way too floppy, so I had to change them out for some Rotosound 55 pressurewounds that have more tension. I recommend the Rotosound 55s to suit your needs even though they're not tapes. They're softer to the touch than rounds while retaining the brightness.
 
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#7
ajkula66 said:
Pretty much my experience. I love the sound of White Nylons, but they are borderline floppy even in standard (60-115/135 B) gauge, tuning down is simply not a pleasant option IMO/IME.
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I have a set of light gauge Whites on my main bass, which is in standard tuning. They're the best sounding tapes on the market IMO, but I actually like the pressurewounds more. Lately, I've been thinking about replacing them with pressurewounds so that all my basses have the same type of string.
 
#8
MrAB4003 said:
I have a set of light gauge Whites on my main bass, which is in standard tuning. They're the best sounding tapes on the market IMO, but I actually like the pressurewounds more. Lately, I've been thinking about replacing them with pressurewounds so that all my basses have the same type of string.
Click to expand...

Horses for courses and all that...:)

There was a phase in my life - roughly 35 years ago - when all of my dozen or so basses at the time were strung with the same strings, first it was RotoSound then Dean Markley. I can understand the allure of such an approach very well. If La Bella still had Deep Talkin' Rounds in production chances are that 90% of my basses would be wearing those.

But back to the thread subject...the only tapes that I haven't tried are GHS ones so I can't speak of their performance when tuned down, but everything else that I've come across in the tapewound world doesn't seem to like the concept whatsoever.

My $0.02 only...
 
#10
HOLD THE BUS!!! I played both white and black La Bella regular (60-115) tapewounds for several years for gigs. Underneath the nylon tape, which does not have enough mass to change the tension, a set of the regular gauge tapes has the tension of roughly a set of conventional 45-100 round wound strings. The tape is roughly 7 mils thick, which when you wind it gives that extra 14 to 15 mils of diameter.

I'm not going to use the modifier "somewhat." They are floppy when tuned down. Since the OP is keeping the EADG in regular tuning, he is correct: I know of no manufacturer that makes a nylon tape B string in anything larger than a 135, which is roughly equivalent to a 120 round wound in tension at normal pitch. That never bothered me, because I go the other way: I tune my B string up to C. I am also changing out all my basses, selling all my 34-inch scale and going to 32-inch for the 4-stringers. My one remaining 5-string I had a custom neck made for 33-inch scale. But after much experimentation, I use a conventional 130 round wound tuned up to C so it isn't floppy.

A 35-inch scale bass with the B string tuned down a full step to A is roughly the same tension as a 33-inch scale bass tuned to B-flat, so I know how a string with this tension gigs. I would look for a 140 in a round wound that is not bright to coordinate with whatever E-G set the OP prefers, or something like an Ernie Ball Stainless Flat 130 to get a similar tone and feel.
 
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#11
MrAB4003 said:
I tried tuning one of my basses down to D Standard. At the time, that bass had light gauge (50-105) La Bella Gold White tapes on it. It simply did not work! They were way too floppy, so I had to change them out for some Rotosound 55 pressurewounds that have more tension. I recommend the Rotosound 55s to suit your needs even though they're not tapes. They're softer to the touch than rounds while retaining the brightness.
Click to expand...
Update - I've since changed out the 55s to D'Addario Nickel rounds (50-105 gauge for D Standard)
 
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