I dug through some old concert programmes today and I came across Blizzard of Ozz from 1980. Yes I did get to see Randy Once... after graduating public school. I used to listen to early Quiet Riot as well and watched Rudy Sarzo quite a bit. He was a good solid player. All this string talk made me remember something very unique about his playing...anybody remember?
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Still in Search of My Perfect String. Does it Exist?
- Thread starter Flatwoundround
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Thanks for the idea. I actually tried the gold tapes again tonight and absolutely loved them! They are only 50-105 but they did sound pretty darn good, I know I said they were not as deep and punchy as the chromes but when I played them tonight without the comparison they sounded pretty good to me. But the real kicker is how comfortable they feel and they do not have the sticky grip factor of flats, and are also very low tension which makes the playing feel like butter.
So now I am convinced that tapes are for me. The options are definitely there because as you pointed out I could go thicker gauge on the golds to get more low end. First I am going to try the black d'addarios cause those are certainly going to be deeper than the golds. There are also the whites and the coppers to try out as they sit somewhere between the blacks and golds. And believe it or not the golds sounded pretty good for slap. I did not get any of that lack of grounding noise either. Okay, so I think I finally found my perfect strings.
Want to say thanks for everybody for their help and input.
To express my appreciation I am giving away 3 sets of strings to whoever claims them first (only one pair per person though)
1. Labella Flats about 2 years broken in
2. Chromes - medium light gauge only a 2 months broken in
3. GHS pressure wounds, medium gauge, 2 weeks broken in
So send me an individual message if you want one of these sets and they are free.
Thanks again. I will say finding a string that satisfies all your needs feels amazing and I think my playing is going to be a lot more joyful.
Good choice. It's true that D'Addario tapes are `deeper` than LaBella black (both black, both 50-105). The latter have more trebly and rich sound, but when it concerns the low end, D'Addario is ahead. At least this was my experience with my ABG.
Thanks. I recorded myself on the golds and I am really happy with the sound and like I said the feel is like butter. I now know Tapes are for me. They are so clean sounding, no finger noise, but also other unwanted noises seem to be a lot less. No longer have to worry about the grippy factor of flats.
Just to resolve this thread I did find my perfect string. The D'addarios black tapes were put on and played two days ago and I could not be happier.
Here is why I love these strings:
They are super smooth and so easy to play
They have plenty of low end and punch (unlike the gold tapes)
They have much less tension than chromes but more tension than the gold tapes. I am able to get super low action with virtually no fret buzz. Its strange because they are not floppy but they are not real firm feeling either. You can bend the strings and get some cool sounds. They sound great doing trills and stings and hammer ons, slides, etc.. All the articulations sound great on these.
There is absolutely no finger noise
They do not get grippy like flats. Sometimes they felt a little grippy but this is so slight compared to the flats.
They do have less sustain than say pressure wounds, but i like it that way. This helps a lot with a cleaner tone IMO. Less overtones and ringing. Almost like you have a very light fretwrap on.
They do not bother your fingertips. I have a big cut on my left pinky fingertip and these strings are not bothering it much at all - unlike the chromes or the pressure wounds.
Believe it or not they sound real good for slap. They are so easy to slap also, much less strain on your hands.
If I have only one complaint it would be that the ghost notes don't sound as good to my ear as other strings, but just on the A and E strings. But this is a pretty minor thing and not a big deal compared to all the positives.
They feel so nice to play as I don't feel like my instrument is giving me resistance and strain. I honestly have never felt like this with bass before. I am now a big tape wound guy and will order another pair for my other bass but I am also going to try out the labella copper whites as I have heard good things about those too.
Take Care.
Here is why I love these strings:
They are super smooth and so easy to play
They have plenty of low end and punch (unlike the gold tapes)
They have much less tension than chromes but more tension than the gold tapes. I am able to get super low action with virtually no fret buzz. Its strange because they are not floppy but they are not real firm feeling either. You can bend the strings and get some cool sounds. They sound great doing trills and stings and hammer ons, slides, etc.. All the articulations sound great on these.
There is absolutely no finger noise
They do not get grippy like flats. Sometimes they felt a little grippy but this is so slight compared to the flats.
They do have less sustain than say pressure wounds, but i like it that way. This helps a lot with a cleaner tone IMO. Less overtones and ringing. Almost like you have a very light fretwrap on.
They do not bother your fingertips. I have a big cut on my left pinky fingertip and these strings are not bothering it much at all - unlike the chromes or the pressure wounds.
Believe it or not they sound real good for slap. They are so easy to slap also, much less strain on your hands.
If I have only one complaint it would be that the ghost notes don't sound as good to my ear as other strings, but just on the A and E strings. But this is a pretty minor thing and not a big deal compared to all the positives.
They feel so nice to play as I don't feel like my instrument is giving me resistance and strain. I honestly have never felt like this with bass before. I am now a big tape wound guy and will order another pair for my other bass but I am also going to try out the labella copper whites as I have heard good things about those too.
Take Care.
I am going to try this. The D addarrio tapes are pretty darn good but when I heard the recording with my band the bass just loses a little bit of low end, punch, and definition as compared to the prior chromes - the chromes just sounded better in the band mix due to this.
I think I am going to try the 60-115 labella tapes, probably all kinds like black, coppers, gold, and even the whites. Any other brands in the 60-115 gauge for tapes that anyone can highly recommend for low end, punch and clarity?
In other words would the 60-115 coppers compare with the 50-105 blacks in terms of low end? I know the coppers are supposed to be brighter. There are two youtube videos with 60-115 golds and whites and they sound really good, like there is a lot of low end but much brighter sounding than the black tapes.
Looks like the nut will have to be filed for this.
Thanks.
1. AFAIK, black tapes are low end deeper than white or copper. Only tried the blacks myself though.
2. 60-115 La Bella blacks seem to give me more low end than D'Addario 50-105 (although, the latter are great strings)
3. Rotosound TruBass 88 have good reputation, although I didn't try them.
4. I would highly advice you to boost the lows on amp/preamp and see if that fits you. Many folks use lighter strings, but EQ them to sound more bottom-heavy.
2. 60-115 La Bella blacks seem to give me more low end than D'Addario 50-105 (although, the latter are great strings)
3. Rotosound TruBass 88 have good reputation, although I didn't try them.
4. I would highly advice you to boost the lows on amp/preamp and see if that fits you. Many folks use lighter strings, but EQ them to sound more bottom-heavy.
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Thanks for all of the tips and ideas. The 60-115's, are you saying the open strings have more sympathetic vibrations or did you mean that there is more fundamental note in the lighter gauge? In other words are you saying the lighter gauges sound cleaner and don't ring as much. Would be good to know that and I may mess with eq more to see if I can just stick with the daddarios.
Thanks again.
Aloe, you are right on about this. The blacks are low end deeper as compared to the whites, golds and coppers. I really liked the coppers the most but the blacks have so much more low end and it is hard to give up that low end in a band when you have guitar, keys, and occasional horn. By themselves I think the coppers sound the best but I fear I will lose too much low end in the band. I boosted the low end on the amp for the coppers but it still does not get to the low end of the ddario blacks.
In my post above I said I felt I lost low end and punch on the ddario blacks compared to the chromes. I was wrong here because I find with the tapes you can boost the low end on the amp a lot more before it becomes muddy as compared to the chromes (at hight volume chromes I could not go above 11 on low range before mud kicked in whereas on the tapes I can go up to 12:30 or 1:00 and what a difference it makes just like you said in number 4, I don't know why it seems to work this way with tapes, they seem to be a different animal for the eq setup). I also tried out the discontinued GHS blacks but did not like them as they were muddier sounding than the other tapes and they also had very short sustain much more like an upright but unclear tone which would never work for a funk and R&B band.
So now I have a dilemma, do I play the coppers which I like the tone better and has less pick click (I am a picker) or do I go with the dario blacks which give more low end and punch but have more pick click and even though they are very comfortable they are not quite as comfortable as the coppers (but I am becoming spoiled with comfort as all tapes seem to be so easy and comfy to play compared to rounds and flats). My drummer friend said he liked the blacks better due to the low end.
one more suggestion: if you like deep low end of the blacks and zinginess and richness of La Bella tapes, try EQing out La Bella blacks 50-105.
according to my experience, they have a really nice sound, which has a bit less of low end and punch than D'Addarios. D'Addarios are punchy and bassy with a thick and solid nylon wrap, but their tone is somewhat `simple'.
personally I liked La Bella's tone more when plugged in, but as soon as I have tapes only on my ABG (and I'm using it mostly unplugged), I'm happy with D'Addarios.
according to my experience, they have a really nice sound, which has a bit less of low end and punch than D'Addarios. D'Addarios are punchy and bassy with a thick and solid nylon wrap, but their tone is somewhat `simple'.
personally I liked La Bella's tone more when plugged in, but as soon as I have tapes only on my ABG (and I'm using it mostly unplugged), I'm happy with D'Addarios.
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