TapeWound Club~Anyone?

[woodyng]

Chromes will feel much stiffer. Fender flats will growl. GHS Precision flats are closest.

But really, just show up. Tell them, if they notice, and they probably won't, that the tapes are the same as flats, and just go with it.

Lol,true enough! I don't think the other bandmembers notice that much difference in the timbre of bass strings over their own noises!

 

[project_c]

Just randomly came across this, LaBella GOLD Tapewounds?? They're coming out very soon apparently. The dude in the video does a good job of showing it in different settings, they sound a bit like worn in nickels to my ears, I'm tempted to try them on my jazz bass. Opinions?

 

[iiipopes]

I agree. Good versatile "settled-in-nickel-plated" tone. BUT - why do all demo videos have to be slap until your ears turn tinny? I would have like a lot more of the fingerstyles - yes plural - fingerstyles on the different pickups to span the "classic" range of bass tones. I want to see how they slot the groove, provide sustain and foundation for upper voices, whether guitars, horns, keys, or singing. I think these strings will slot the mix very well indeed, even though the person demonstrating the strings didn't go there, where still the vast majority of bass players play: fingers on the first five frets.

 

[project_c]

I agree. Good versatile "settled-in-nickel-plated" tone. BUT - why do all demo videos have to be slap until your ears turn tinny? I would have like a lot more of the fingerstyles - yes plural - fingerstyles on the different pickups to span the "classic" range of bass tones. I want to see how they slot the groove, provide sustain and foundation for upper voices, whether guitars, horns, keys, or singing. I think these strings will slot the mix very well indeed, even though the person demonstrating the strings didn't go there, where still the vast majority of bass players play: fingers on the first five frets.

I hear you. I always skip all the slap stuff on these kinds of demo clips, it's of no interest to me whatsoever..

 

[BigBeatNut]

The dude in the video does a good job of showing it in different settings, they sound a bit like worn in nickels to my ears

I agree. Good versatile "settled-in-nickel-plated" tone.

Honestly guys, I don't know how you could tell ... I could hear nothing but clattering.

BUT - why do all demo videos have to be slap until your ears turn tinny? I would have like a lot more of the fingerstyles - yes plural - fingerstyles on the different pickups to span the "classic" range of bass tones. I want to see how they slot the groove, provide sustain and foundation for upper voices, whether guitars, horns, keys, or singing. I think these strings will slot the mix very well indeed, even though the person demonstrating the strings didn't go there, where still the vast majority of bass players play: fingers on the first five frets.

Couldn't agree more ... speaking personally, as a fingerstyle player using primarily flats and tapes, that video told me nothing.

 

[beate_r]

I agree. Good versatile "settled-in-nickel-plated" tone.

Which is to be expected as for technical reasons there is always a layer of nickel plating under the gold layer. Otherwise they sound surprisingly similar to the Maxima Gold strings which do not have the nylon tape layer. Which means that that layer shout be really thin. Are there already experiences on the longevity of LaBella's white Nylon layer?

 

[GBassNorth]

Which is to be expected as for technical reasons there is always a layer of nickel plating under the gold layer. Otherwise they sound surprisingly similar to the Maxima Gold strings which do not have the nylon tape layer. Which means that that layer shout be really thin. Are there already experiences on the longevity of LaBella's white Nylon layer?

I've had a set of La Bella white tapes on one of my daily player basses for about a year now and see absolutely no signs of wear and hear no difference in tone. I'd expect them to remain that way for a good long time. Just for reference, I'm past year 10 on a set of La Bella black tapes and they look and sound brand new.
FWIW - I only pay finger style and don't slap.

 

[project_c]

Honestly guys, I don't know how you could tell ... I could hear nothing but clattering.

I could hear a lot more than just clattering, there's enough there to give me a decent enough idea about the tone but yeah, I know what you're saying. (I can't stand the slapfest either but we can just skip past the parts we don't like…) Aside from all that I just wanted to see what you guys thought about the strings and thats about the only thing I can find about them online at the moment. I'm sure there will be more demos of them once they're released, I'm personally quite intrigued by the possibility of a nickel tone with a tapewound texture.

 

[beate_r]

A real nickel tone would probably require a pure nickel string below the tapes.

 

[iiipopes]

A real nickel tone would probably require a pure nickel string below the tapes.

Well, I don't think the string is trying to be a "pure nickel" tone, but rather what we commonly call nickel: nickel-plated roundwounds.

 

[JustForSport]

If they are brass plated, is it 'bell brass'? They could be brighter than the Copper Tapes, 'cause copper may be even deader than copper/nickel, tho the Copper Tapes have a measure of brightness to them, and very clean sounding.

 

[Gorn]

If they are brass plated, is it 'bell brass'? They could be brighter than the Copper Tapes, 'cause copper may be even deader than copper/nickel, tho the Copper Tapes have a measure of brightness to them, and very clean sounding.

D'Addario EXP reds are copper coated steels. They're plenty bright.

 

[JustForSport]

Yeah, I think the plating has less to do with the tone, really than the nylon for example on the Copper Tapes.
But Gold (looking) strings that sound great at a reasonable price should go over pretty good.
A clear poly type coating like DR has on their Dragon Skins over brass plating could work good as well- don't know whether the nylon wrap or the coating would affect the string tone more, tho.

 

[Cat-A-Tonic]

I went from steel strings, to weedwackers, to Presto tapewound on my upright bass.

I feel the time has come to get an electric bass again.

I love the feel and sound of tapewounds.
They're so much easier on your fingers.

When I do find the right electric for me, it's going to have tapewounds on it.

Nylon FTW.

 

[Baird6869]

I notice a huge drop in volume when I move from SS rounds to LaBella tapes.

Anyone else?

The basses in question are active, non piezo.

 

[iiipopes]

Seems the best place to ask....
Can anyone recommend a good 5 string set of tapes in balanced tension?
Don't care about color.
These are planned for a Hondo II professional I just aquired.(DiMarzio P pickup).
I've used black beauties in the past on an acoustic that's long gone. They didn't feel terribly balanced. Wimpy E string.

I gig with La Bella black tapes regular gauge. I have D'Addario on my 4002, Fender on my custom P/J, and Rotosound on my acoustic bass. The La Bella are very balanced.

 

[iiipopes]

I notice a huge drop in volume when I move from SS rounds to LaBella tapes.

Anyone else?

The basses in question are active, non piezo.

Do you lower your bridge saddles or raise your pickups to account for the thickness of the nylon? Because of the nylon wrap, the metal part of the strings is both a little bit lesser diameter and a little farther away from the pickup. Farther away means less output.

 

[PSR B1919+21]

Have asked la bella about gold tapewounds too. Here's their answer:

Thanks for your email! They're still not released yet but will hit retailers in the next 3-4 weeks, likely BassStringsOnline.com first! Please keep an eye out on Facebook and Instagram for updates.

 

[nerkoids]

I just ordered some Fender Black Nylon Strings (9120s?). They were really really cheap at juststrings.com (sorry Jason from BSO) and my Brite Flats broke, which was a shame, because they sounded nice on my cheapo P-bass.

Been looking for a place where the Nylons from the different companies compare to one another. I know the D'Addarios and Labellas get plenty of videos (I've seen a few GHS ones too -- almost went for those, although they were mildly more expensive)

Sorry if the thread covered this already. Haven't had time to read the entire thing. If anyone has tried a few of them, impressions, etc... that would be mighty kind of you to share

The gauges seem pretty thick (like the Rotosound 88s, which I did try and did like the tone, but were not all that great on my VB)

 

[iiipopes]

Been looking for a place where the Nylons from the different companies compare to one another. I know the D'Addarios and Labellas get plenty of videos (I've seen a few GHS ones too -- almost went for those, although they were mildly more expensive) Sorry if the thread covered this already. Haven't had time to read the entire thing. If anyone has tried a few of them, impressions, etc... that would be mighty kind of you to share The gauges seem pretty thick (like the Rotosound 88s, which I did try and did like the tone, but were not all that great on my VB)

The gauges are thick because the nylon has very low mass and does not significantly, if at all, contribute to the tension. OK. Here goes. These are my observations. YMMV:

D'Addarios sound like well-broken in rounds with a little less articulation, and the E string is a little looser; tension-wise, they feel a lot like a conventional set of round 40's.
La Bella blacks are dark and round but have good sustain. Tension-wise, the lights feel like the D'Addarios, the regulars feel like a conventional set of 45's.
La Bella whites are bright with the edge off.
La Bella coppers have more mids.
Fenders sound fairly bright, with good medium-light tension.
GHS are wrapped brite flats and have a little bit of rock-a-billy twang to them. They don't feel balanced to me, with the D and A having more tension.
Rotosound are big, round, dark and thumpy, designed to emulate a double bass with guts, both sound and tension-wise.