Tape wounds on a Jazz?

[Peter - Oregon]

I recently purchased a Stingray with I believe medium D'Addario ETB92 tape wounds on it. I really like the deep, woody sound of the strings, and love the feel. I also have a ray with rounds on it. I recently changed the flats on my P bass from Fender flats to LaBella 760FLs, which I really like.

I am becoming less and less fond of the feel of round wound strings, and am thinking of changing the rounds on my J to either flats, tape wounds, or something else that someone may recommend.

I am a fingers player of primarily rock and alternative. I am curious if many people play tape wounds on their jazz, and how they like them compared to flats and rounds on that bass. I am thinking I would like tapes that might sound somewhat brighter than the ones I have now, if that's even a thing.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

 

[subdude67]

I have had tapewounds on all sorts of basses and I like them universally. There is a wide variety of tapes available from very dark and woody to surprisingly zingy and bright. Some are rather high tension, some feel supple. you will have to try and find out what you like best.
The one downside is that on certain basses you will have ground buzz as your body cannot act as ground to the strings.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

I'm generally not a fan of tapewounds, for two reasons:

1) They are always floppier than I personally like. At the gauges/tension I generally prefer, tapewounds would be excessively "thick", when adding the nylon wrapping on the outside of the actual string.

2) I generally find them too "clacky" for my playing style. They can have a wonderful, warm tone when playing softly but once you start to dig in a bit harder it gets too clacky for my taste.

There's one exception though. I like Pyramid Tapewounds on my Höfner President. Maybe it's because I tend to play more softly (or with a pick) on Höfners. The inherently deep, fat tone of that bass somehow works for me with tapes. I still like it even better with Pyramid Golds but I can't have Golds on ALL my Höfners.

On a Jazz Bass? I don't think I've ever tried tapewounds on a J but I've tried them on P-basses a couple of times. I didn't like it at all. But it was probably more about the strings than about the bass. Tapewounds just isn't for me, but if you like tapes on a Stingray I don't see any reason whatsoever why you shouldn't like them on a J.

If tapewounds work for you: DO IT!

And if turns out you don't like J+tapes... well, it's not exactly irreversible, is it?

 

[blr2]

Back when I had two JBs I could experiment with strings on one of them (the other was rounds only). I tried different flats, semi flats and tapes. At the end I had two JBs with rounds, and sold one of them. To me the Jazz Bass is to be played with rounds. A roundwound string with a solid mid presence, like Rotosound, brings the best out of the Jazz. Direct, burpy and somewhat bright tone. This is the sound of JB for me. It works wonders in simple mixes with not too busy arrangements and overdubs.

 

[Peter - Oregon]

I really appreciate, the very different, opinions so far. I am early in the journey through strings, having played the ones mentioned in the original post. It is rather overwhelming, and expensive, to try out a lot of strings in the short term, and the reason people ask opinions on here. Since you really like tapes Subdude, i would be interested to hear about some of your favorites.

 

[Peter - Oregon]

Back when I had two JBs I could experiment with strings on one of them (the other was rounds only). I tried different flats, semi flats and tapes. At the end I had two JBs with rounds, and sold one of them. To me the Jazz Bass is to be played with rounds. A roundwound string with a solid mid presence, like Rotosound, brings the best out of the Jazz. Direct, burpy and somewhat bright tone. This is the sound of JB for me. It works wonders in simple mixes with not too busy arrangements and overdubs.

The only strings I've had on my jazz so far are D'Addario nickel wounds EXL170 45-100. Would you say they have the attributes you mention for the Rotosounds?

 

[subdude67]

. Since you really like tapes Subdude, i would be interested to hear about some of your favorites.

I started with GHS tapes about 10 years ago that original set is still on the same P bass. Very dark, with quick attack and not a lot of sustain. But very even and articulate tone. Smooth and certainly on the low end of tension I really like the feel and sound of these strings.
On my acoustic bass I have the LaBella White Nylons, the 2nd brightest of the 4 La Bella models available. Much brighter than the GHS but no zing in the upper register. Very smooth to the touch but higher tension than the GHS. I had the Gold White on a Jazz bass but those being the brightest of the La Bella offerings went quickly. Tension and feel was pleasant but they sounded like roundwound stgrings minus the finger noise. But many may find merit in that bright sound so keep an open mind.
What all have in common is the absolute smooth texture and zero fingernoise as you move up and down the fretboard.
Remember that tapes will last you over a decade or 2 so there is a lot of return on the hefty price some of them command.
I suggest you give it a go on Youtube and listen to some of the many samples available to get a basic feel for how they can sound.

 

[Peter - Oregon]

I started with GHS tapes about 10 years ago that original set is still on the same P bass. Very dark, with quick attack and not a lot of sustain. But very even and articulate tone. Smooth and certainly on the low end of tension I really like the feel and sound of these strings.
On my acoustic bass I have the LaBella White Nylons, the 2nd brightest of the 4 La Bella models available. Much brighter than the GHS but no zing in the upper register. Very smooth to the touch but higher tension than the GHS. I had the Gold White on a Jazz bass but those being the brightest of the La Bella offerings went quickly. Tension and feel was pleasant but they sounded like roundwound stgrings minus the finger noise. But many may find merit in that bright sound so keep an open mind.
What all have in common is the absolute smooth texture and zero fingernoise as you move up and down the fretboard.
Remember that tapes will last you over a decade or 2 so there is a lot of return on the hefty price some of them command.
I suggest you give it a go on Youtube and listen to some of the many samples available to get a basic feel for how they can sound.

I started with GHS tapes about 10 years ago that original set is still on the same P bass. Very dark, with quick attack and not a lot of sustain. But very even and articulate tone. Smooth and certainly on the low end of tension I really like the feel and sound of these strings.
On my acoustic bass I have the LaBella White Nylons, the 2nd brightest of the 4 La Bella models available. Much brighter than the GHS but no zing in the upper register. Very smooth to the touch but higher tension than the GHS. I had the Gold White on a Jazz bass but those being the brightest of the La Bella offerings went quickly. Tension and feel was pleasant but they sounded like roundwound stgrings minus the finger noise. But many may find merit in that bright sound so keep an open mind.
What all have in common is the absolute smooth texture and zero fingernoise as you move up and down the fretboard.
Remember that tapes will last you over a decade or 2 so there is a lot of return on the hefty price some of them command.
I suggest you give it a go on Youtube and listen to some of the many samples available to get a basic feel for how they can sound.

Great info, thanks so much! I really appreciate you putting the time in to write that!

 

[blr2]

The only strings I've had on my jazz so far are D'Addario nickel wounds EXL170 45-100. Would you say they have the attributes you mention for the Rotosounds?

I don't like 45-65-80-100 sets. The difference in tension and tone between bass and treble side (especially between 65-D and 100-E) is very big. On such sets, E and A sound dark and a bit muddy. E doesn't have much tone definition in the mix. Lately, I've been using Rotosound's Billy Sheenah custom set of SS strings. It's 42-65-80-110. IMO these are the best strings for a true Jazz tone.
For D'addario, I like their NPS balanced set (45-60-80-107) better than the usual 45-105 and much much better than 45-100.
Do not be afraid to use heavier E. It feels tighter, but sounds tighter and more focused too.

 

[Slade N]

For a Stingray I suggest EBMM Cobalt flats.

For a jazz, I suggest Chromes or Pressurewounds.

All three need to be broken in to get to where they are really good.

Tapes weren't my thing in the end, I didn't care for the plasticky clack and sticky feel.

 

[Killing Floor]

Try a set. Do it. There’s no best. Experiment

 

[Peter - Oregon]

I don't like 45-65-80-100 sets. The difference in tension and tone between bass and treble side (especially between 65-D and 100-E) is very big. On such sets, E and A sound dark and a bit muddy. E doesn't have much tone definition in the mix. Lately, I've been using Rotosound's Billy Sheenah custom set of SS strings. It's 42-65-80-110. IMO these are the best strings for a true Jazz tone.
For D'addario, I like their NPS balanced set (45-60-80-107) better than the usual 45-105 and much much better than 45-100.
Do not be afraid to use heavier E. It feels tighter, but sounds tighter and more focused too.

Interesting thank you! I bought those strings based on a recommendation from my brother. I bought his 2004 Stingray 3 EQ from him. I have the same D'Addarios on that. Maybe that's not the best choice either?

 

[N4860]

Interesting thank you! I bought those strings based on a recommendation from my brother. I bought his 2004 Stingray 3 EQ from him. I have the same D'Addarios on that. Maybe that's not the best choice either?

Honestly, you probably won't really know until you try it. Asking here is fine and all but you're gonna get just a bunch of people saying what there favourite options are. I personally don't really equate any particular style of string with a specific type of bass. I have a jazz style bass that sounds fine with both rounds and flats. Same goes for Stingrays.

 

[Peter - Oregon]

Not familiar at all with pressure wounds. Just watched a couple of videos on them. Sounds like they are between rounds and flats as far as the physical feel on the fingers goes. I guess that's another whole topic regarding favorites on a jazz.

 

[trothwell]

I rather like tapewounds in general, and in particular I do think they sound good on a Jazz bass. Like another poster here said, I am at the moment in possession of only one Jazz bass, and while part of me wants to have tapewounds on it, part of me thinks it would be more practical to devote it to roundwounds...

Anyway, I actually rather like the D'Addarios on a Jazz bass. I've tried the other brands readily available in the U.S. -- GHS, Rotosound, [edit: Fender ], and Labella (black, copper, gold, and white), and I think the D'Addarios are my favorite, with the Rotosounds as a strong contender as well. As always, I'm sure a big factor is the specific bass you are putting them on, and maybe the D'Addarios wouldn't be as good on your bass as they were on mine.

 

[mrperkolator]

Depends on how you’re using it. I’ve got Labella black tapes (bigger gauge… worth it) on my Sire J and I love it. They did mellow the bass and loose a bit of that J brightness. I’ve also used labella white tapes and they’re a lot closer to rounds. In my experience with labellas, they all seem to have better sustain than flats and hold their voice more consistently than other types. Unless you’re playing bootsy style funk, I think they’re great. But the nylon gets rid of the clank that a few styles need (metal and some funk styles). To my ears the whites sound like a slightly worn in nickel rounds, blacks like new flats. The other colors are supposed to be in between. I’m approximating the sound and timbre, which is hard to be exact. All of Labella’s are rounds with nylon tape. Other brands may mix what kind of string is under the tape.

tapes are the style of string I tend to circle back to. I’ll try other types hoping for a better sound… and I end up back at tapes.

Oh and on the Sire… when I play another bass with flats to reset my ears and go back to the J, I can hear all that J character in the tapes. It’s just a dark woody J with the black tapes.

 

[Wesley R]

Tapes on a jazz? You betcha!
I love em.

 

[Jscriv]

I'm a huge fan of ernie ball cobalts for whenever I don't have rounds on a bass. My stingray is currently wearing a set as is my fretless jazz. I did just pick up a set of chromes and another set of eb cobalts, one of which is more than likely destined for one of my jazz basses. I'm also reaaalllllyyyyy contemplating a set of tapes for one just to see what it's like.

 

[Keither]

My primary bass has jazz bass pickups, nearly in the appropriate positions.
It has la bella copper whites.
I really enjoy how the tone varies by how and where the strings is plucked. The harmonics are nicely pronounced like rounds but a little less highs. "Woody" mids and deep potentially boomy low end. Which tightens up well with a jazz bass back pickup. The slap sound can be good.
I find tapes tend to mute quickly in general compared to all metal strings.

 

[Maxi Funkl]

Great post with great answers thanks TB!