Still do. OK, well they don't MAKE make them, but a lot of dept stores sold them at one time.
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tape wounds and noise
- Thread starter Green Knight
- Start date
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I have used DR neon coated strings for years, and I have never had an issue with non-conductive coatings. And I have checked with a multi-meter.
Just sharing my experience.
And Sears too. Starting in the fifties they sold guitars and amps under their house brand "Silvertone" that were privately labeled as such and manufactured for Sears by various companies over the years.
I only use tapewounds on basses with active EMGs (no string ground)
No Exceptions!
No Exceptions!
- Jan 26, 2014
- 1,525
- 1,946
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- I teach lessons and perform live music in and around San Diego CA. Sometimes I even make money doing it!
yes, the one string trick would work, provided you’re always in contact with it. Simply grounding the ball end to the bridge wouldn’t do anything, your body needs to connect to the circuit ground. Keeping the heel of your hand on the bridge would also work; I would venture a guess that a lot of tapewounds have been played with a thumb or a pick in that arrangement.
This is a well known and very real issue. I’ve had buzzing even with DR black beauties, which was a big disappointment, since that didn’t used to happen with DR‘s older series of coated strings (granted I used to use peacock blue which was a metallic color, perhaps there was enough metal in the coating to complete the circuit). This was on my totally shielded bass with Dimarzio Ultrajazz pickups which are humbucking to begin with.
It all depends how close you listen I suppose, but I can’t concur with the many folks saying they get no buzz or to just shield your bass. I do have picky ears, and I would have been listening with either headphones or full range speakers, so perhaps the buzz was more of an issue for me than others. I imagine some dark sounding basses through a lo-Fi amp and cab could negate the issue. The only time I’ve ever used tapewounds extensively was on a bass my high school band director lent me, an old Gretsch, which I played through god knows whatever Public School Brand amp, and at that point, ground noise was either not an issue, or it was there and I was completely unaware of it.
I did end up recording with the black beauties because they did sound great and, well, I spent the money on them, but they weren’t long for my collection. I used a wire tied around part of the bridge to my ankle, I’m not kidding. The grounding strap method mentioned above would certainly work as well, I even tried that, but the coiled wire was too short to make things comfortable.
It depends on your electrical environment overall in the room, how much of a problem you face.
As @Nickweissmusic says, it may vary with color on DRs - or they may have altered their coating since the time Sadowsky wrote his piece - and I doubt he tested every string they make. I have experienced it with Black Beauties. Easiest way to test is just touching the bridge or the jack vs the strings and seeing if there's a difference.
Also the old recording studio trick of running a wire from the bridge and tucking it in under the belt.
- Jan 26, 2014
- 1,525
- 1,946
- Disclosures
- I teach lessons and perform live music in and around San Diego CA. Sometimes I even make money doing it!
yep, they looked and felt different than the metallic blue ones I used for years as well. I haven’t tried the neons, will give them a shot.
- Jan 26, 2014
- 1,525
- 1,946
- Disclosures
- I teach lessons and perform live music in and around San Diego CA. Sometimes I even make money doing it!
so you’re saying I didn’t invent that technique c. 2013? My legacy is weakened...
Yes, I have Black Beauties on my T40 and it's quiet as a mouse. The tape on these new strings is clear and seemingly much thicker. It's a medium scale but the B string from this set sounds and feels really good.
I definitely experienced the same problem as the OP when i put Labella white nylons on my P-bass. I checked the connection of the grounding wire under the bridge, but the noise remained. So then I put Rotosound 66s back on the P-bass and put the Labellas on my Jazz, which has active EMG pickups. Now no problems at all.
Some were definitely made by Danelectro - as well as Kay, Harmony and others - Sears used a number of different manufacturers.
Sawtooth is it's own thing that happens to be sold by JC Penney as well as elsewhere.
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Five basses with GHS black tapewounds.
Three with D'Addario black tapewounds...two are acoustic.
No noise whatsoever.
I resolved this problem some time ago and am embarrassed to admit it was the little cable for my compressor that was the source of the hum. Thanks everybody for helping out!
