Tape wounds on a Jazz?

[Just Wrong]

Black tapes on a Jazz =

Pyramids are my favourite.

 

[Aussie Player]

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!

Depends in the bass.
I have a couple of jazz 4's and one is a great player with Labella Black Nylons and the other doesn't sound or feel right, preferring nickel rounds as a better match.

 

[ATLbassist]

Tapes on a Jazz? Paging Herbie Flowers...



I have D'Addario tapes on a couple basses, including my '72 Jazz. I like them! They provide the snappiness and burpy tone you expect from a Jazz, but without a ton of clanky high-end (unless you dig in extremely hard). D'Addario tapes are smooth as glass and very easy to play, but the low tension can take some getting used to.

 

[rodl2005]

Fender tapes I like. They're slightly ribbed.

I've GHS tapes on my, very much used Gibson EB4, they're very smooth, flat finish. They've been on since I took off the very well liked Labella White Nylon... which are clear, and slightly ribbed.
I like EB Cobalt flats, but they go rusty in weeks for me

 

[klattman]

White nylon tapes on a fretless are great, but I stick to EB cobalt flats for fretted.
Black nylon tapes are more thuddy if you need that.
Tapes can get a good clack sound if you hit them hard, which I like for jazz but not for Rock where I want more mid presence.

 

[Jinbu]

I have labella blacks on my jazz, they have a cool sound on their own, but i find myself not using it much since they're not the sound I need for the hard rock/metal band I play in.

 

[WG Plum]

Love the La Bella black tapes on my fretless Jazz. My only gripe is I wish they had a slightly stiffer feel. Tone-wise, however, they're absolutely perfect.

 

[Hundred proof]

There was a time I was using them on everything J bass, P bass … Peavey PJ and Rays … later switched to flats which is where I stayed.

 

[iiipopes]

My observation from decades of playing tape wounds:
1) Tapewounds come generally in two gauges: light and regular. The lights are roughly equivalent under the tape of a set of 35-90, because the nylon wrap adds @ 15 thou to the diameter of the strings. To me, they are floppy to the point of unusable. The regular gauge, as La Bella, is 60-115. This is roughly the equivalent in tension to a set of 45-100 conventional roundwounds, because the nylon tape adds no tension.
2) There are slight variations in tone. All are relatively dark, but there are subtle differences. For La Bella,
a) black are darkest;
b) white are brightest (in a subdued context);
c) gold are like well-seated NPS rounds;
d) copper have a different midrange, good for jazz, fusion, etc.

3) because the nylon wrap is a disconnect between the strings and the ground, they will hum and make noise. My solution was to change to EMG actives, which do not use a bridge ground, and when I play tape wound strings, they are dead silent. Your experience may vary.

 

[Just Wrong]

My observation from decades of playing tape wounds:
1) Tapewounds come generally in two gauges: light and regular. The lights are roughly equivalent under the tape of a set of 35-90, because the nylon wrap adds @ 15 thou to the diameter of the strings. To me, they are floppy to the point of unusable. The regular gauge, as La Bella, is 60-115. This is roughly the equivalent in tension to a set of 45-100 conventional roundwounds, because the nylon tape adds no tension.
2) There are slight variations in tone. All are relatively dark, but there are subtle differences. For La Bella,
a) black are darkest;
b) white are brightest (in a subdued context);
c) gold are like well-seated NPS rounds;
d) copper have a different midrange, good for jazz, fusion, etc.

3) because the nylon wrap is a disconnect between the strings and the ground, they will hum and make noise. My solution was to change to EMG actives, which do not use a bridge ground, and when I play tape wound strings, they are dead silent. Your experience may vary.

My current bass is strung with light La Bella tapewounds and my experience is quite the opposite: they are floppy to the point of being the best strings I've played feeling wise. However, my favourite sounding tapes are the Pyramids. I'm hoping the D'Addario (50-135) will give me the best of both worlds.

 

[Just Wrong]

Some believe this was also Herbie Flowers on a Jazz with tapes, though it's not exactly clear who played bass on this track: