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Tapes brighter than flats?

#23
dralionux said:
Are they brighter than Chrome flatwounds ?
Click to expand...

Sort of. Tapes are more articulate, have maybe more clarity in the mids. They don't have the metallic top end click/clank or don't have that low down Jamerson thump. They can be great depending what you are after...

I have 3 main basses:

Duesenberg Semi acoustic short scale- which I use for ska/reggae and a pop band - loaded with tapes gives it a nice solid fundamental note and being short scale tapewounds help with clear articulation. just swapped out the Chromes on this. Tapes are lower tension for sure. I will need to tweak the truss when I get a minute.

Fender Jazz - used primarily for 60's deep funk: Using Labella FLs here for the characteristic 60s sound - the thumpy texture of metal flats is important.

..and a 5 string "super J" (STR ASKA similar to a Bacchus) - which I use for covers/studio work. Load with GHS tapes gives a huge amount of versatility. It can sound like flats in the mix, or generic clear round wound fingerstyle with a solid fundamental. The slap sound is quite good too ... but I rarely use slap in performance.
 
#24
I have the Fender tapewounds on my fretless, and was rather suprised with their brightness as well. Use D'Addario rounds on all of my other basses, specifically for their brightness. Thought the tapewounds would be a little more smooth.
 
#25
I picked up a set of D'addairo tapes a few weeks ago. I had to have a bad one replaced (E) since it had a knot/bump on the tape in the plucking area on the string. BTW Great CS for D'A on this.
I am a long time chromes player and have thought about tapes since they are smooth and feel nice so I did. I strung up my 84' SQ bullet and man they feel great and sound awesome love the tension. My question is what is the life like on tapes? Doe's the tape break up or wear out? I know chromes last for years and have never changed a set yet.
 
#26
Most tapes are brighter than flatwounds the exception being maybe the rotosounds cause those have ALOT of tape on em and I think they are flats instead of taped rounds. I think the E is like 115 lol.

I tried some Status graphite tapes. I was amazed that the lower register was so smooth and deep, but at the same time highs were so clear. I decided to take the tape off one day to investigate. Lo and behold the G and D strings were steel roundwounds, but B-A were some type of half wound string that were very smooth to touch.
 
#27
bassbully said:
I picked up a set of D'addairo tapes a few weeks ago. I had to have a bad one replaced (E) since it had a knot/bump on the tape in the plucking area on the string. BTW Great CS for D'A on this.
I am a long time chromes player and have thought about tapes since they are smooth and feel nice so I did. I strung up my 84' SQ bullet and man they feel great and sound awesome love the tension. My question is what is the life like on tapes? Doe's the tape break up or wear out? I know chromes last for years and have never changed a set yet.
Click to expand...

I think the longer than flats since you dont actually touch the string just the tape coating.
 
#28
Tape wound strings strings have a strange friction coefficient. Beware fast slides. Those muthers get HOT!

But to answer the question, yeah they are brighter than flats IMO.
 
#30
To my ear the tapewounds are more mellow sounding than flatwounds. I've tried the Rotosound 88's, the Fender tapewounds and the best yet, the D'Addario tapewounds. all of these on a crafter fretless acoustic. The Rotosounds are thick and phat, but with little sustain. The Fenders have more sustain and retain the 'thump' but are not as smooth as the RT's or Ddrs. The D'Addarios are the smoothest to touch I've tried so far and sound incredible, there's an immense thump when palm muted and great fretless growl and sustain when played fingerstyle, especially by the neck. I want to compare them to the LaBellas, which seem to be the first choice of quite a few luthiers.

I tried chrome flatwounds on the crafter, and tone ws noticeably brighter, I could not emulate the thickness of the tapewounds despite frantic EQ adjustment.
 
#33
IME, no tapewound strings have what I would consider high tension. I have tried GHS, Roto, Fender, La Bella tapes, and they all were very easy on the hands.

There is a very light gauge roundwound under all that nylon, and the nylon doesn't seem to add to the tension.

I found the Rotos to be the "brightest" of the tapes, the La Bellas the warmest. The Fenders felt most like rounds.

For a 4 or 5 string set to start, I suggest the Carvin/La Bella tapes. Best price anywhere.
 

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