Ended up ordering a set of La Bella 760N-M and also a set of Pyramid 648. This is for string thru-body, so I need 33-34" silk-to-ball length for proper fit. Short scale silk-to-ball is not long enough. Might try D'Addario later on. Thanks!
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TapeWound Club~Anyone?
- Thread starter .BumeStik.
- Start date
Just ordered a set of Labella White tapes to go on my Peavey Forum PJ. I will let you know how I like them.
My medium & short scale LaBella white tapes have red silks, and my medium & short scale LaBella black tapes have purple silks. (Have never tried the gold or copper white tapes because as far as I can tell, they don’t make them in medium or short scale 5 string sets... I’m happy with the ones I have, though!)
Hello Mekana... curious what Birdsong bass you have and what strings are you using on it? I plan to try the tapewounds mentioned above (La Bella 760N-M and also a set of Pyramid 648) on a 2010 Birdsong Sadhana that I got very recently.
My medium & short scale LaBella white tapes have red silks, and my medium & short scale LaBella black tapes have purple silks. (Have never tried the gold or copper white tapes because as far as I can tell, they don’t make them in medium or short scale 5 string sets... I’m happy with the ones I have, though!)
I have a Birdsong Hy5, and played it almost exclusively for years! Love it... but it needs some repairs, and I’m mostly playing my Brice short scale 5 strings currently. (To answer your question, the Birdsong has regular scale TI Jazz rounds on it; before that I mostly used the Curt Mangan round wound strings Scott recommends... so I can’t help much w/tapewound info on the Birdsong.)
I am using the LaBella medium scale 5 string (light) white and black tapes on my string through short scale (30”) Brice basses, and they fit perfectly, and sound and feel great. Almost like those strings were made for those basses!
The short scale 5 string Labellas (also both white tapes and black tapes) go on my Ibanez Mikro (28.6” scale) 5’s. They fit ok/fine. Tiny bit of the main part of the B string wraps around the post, which doesn’t seem to affect anything negatively. But they would fit perfectly if the Mikro was string through, I bet.
Does the Sadhana need medium scale strings? I only really paid attention to the Hy5... Think I remember Scott recommended on his site regular scale strings for E-G and an extra long B. (I just got regular 5 string sets and they fit fine.)
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I’ve used 3 of these sets on various basses. Out of the black,white,and copper variants, I greatly prefer the sound and feel of the white copper set.
I’d be interested in trying out the gold set to see/hear the difference, too.
I have the lighter copper sets on these 2 very different basses. I love them on the Rickenbacker,
but not quite sure if they are the best match for the Tune fretless piezo I just got recently.
By the way, the set on the Rick has been on there for years, has orange (copper?) silk windings.
The set i bought recently for the Tune has black silks.
Here are some A/B(/C) recordings of three different tapewound sets on a Fender Jazz Bass (neck pickup only, ash wood body):
D'Addario, GHS, and light gauge LaBella 750N.
I had initially put flatwound strings on this bass, but a few months ago tried a set of tapewounds, and was duly impressed. It retained a lot of the same vintage-y character that I liked about the flatwounds (not identical, of course), but brought a new dimension to the sound that I really enjoyed. Then wanted to try a variety of tapewound sets to see which I preferred.
While it's not a huge deal, I didn't really want to file or replace the nut, so I tried a few sets that were of a "normal" gauge. I like all three, but I think overall the D'Addario set is most pleasing to my ear.
D'Addario, GHS, and light gauge LaBella 750N.
I had initially put flatwound strings on this bass, but a few months ago tried a set of tapewounds, and was duly impressed. It retained a lot of the same vintage-y character that I liked about the flatwounds (not identical, of course), but brought a new dimension to the sound that I really enjoyed. Then wanted to try a variety of tapewound sets to see which I preferred.
While it's not a huge deal, I didn't really want to file or replace the nut, so I tried a few sets that were of a "normal" gauge. I like all three, but I think overall the D'Addario set is most pleasing to my ear.
Thank you. Can you comment regarding how the D'Addario vs the La Bella feel under the fingers? Both hands? Thanks.
The light LaBella set feels pretty light indeed. Very flexible. Perhaps annoyingly flexible if you're not used to it. The D'Addario set, even though of a comparable gauge, feels less flexible; not stiff, but not as loose.
Under the fretting hand, it could be easy to go overboard fretting the LaBella G string and yank it off the side of the fingerboard. Not insurmountable, just would need to adjust how you approach the string.
I've used the heavier 760N LaBellas in the past, and those were nowhere near as flexible as the 750N.
The LaBellas feel smoother; the D'Addarios have a bit of a texture to them, like an extremely light bit of sandpaper. Not harsh, just lightly textured.
I found the D'Addarios more comfortable to play on, though I would have gotten used to the LaBellas had I preferred the sound. Or gave in and filed the nut for 760N. But I like the D'Addarios, so sticking with those for now!
Yesterday I received a set of Galli tapes. The best I've tried so far! The gauge is 55-115 which is actually a bit heavy for the nut on my P bass but I love the tension and feel. I've previously used GHS and D'Addario tapes and they were loose like spaghetti! Highly recommend Galli!!!
Added Rotosound 88 to the Soundcloud playlist.
I find these sounding perhaps surprisingly close in sound to the D'Addario set. The low notes on the Rotosounds are stronger, fuller, while the high notes are more subdued. While this sample recording showcases only the neck pickup on the Jazz Bass, with both pickups on, the Rotosound set is much fuller tone -- definite winner there, in my opinion. Slap tone sounds better on the D'Addario's, but while I enjoy practicing slap, I almost never use it for real, so no big deal for me. Rotosounds are unsurprisingly stiffer, given the higher gauge. I'm almost at a coin toss for picking between D'Addarios and Rotosounds based purely on tone, so physical feel may ultimately be my deciding factor.
Officially in the club. My first set of tapes ever. Labella white tapes on the Peavey Forum I just bought. I really like them. Are we suppose t
o post a pic? Is that TB rules?
Love the sound and smooth feel of the Labella 750T but I am not liking how floppy/flexible they are. Any tapewounds with more tension?
Based on my experiments recently, I might think, "all of them"? To me, both the "normal gauge" D'Addarios and GHS felt at least a little stiffer than the 750 Labellas. But if you like the sound of the Labellas, maybe try their heftier 760 gauge?
I’m using the 760N-M set (60–115) on one bass and it compares nicely with the 760F-MUS set (43-104) that I have on another bass. Not an apples to apples comparison, but I feel that I can go from one bass to the other without much adjustment to the way I play.
Agree. I have La Bella Copper White Tapes 750C-B (50-65-85-105-135T) and D'Addario Nylon Tapewound ETB92-5 (also 50-65-85-105 but w/ non tapered 135) on a couple of 34" scale fretless basses. D'Addario set feels stiffer than La Bella's.
I guess no one saw my post above. I recently tried Galli tapewound strings. Much less floppy than D'Addario or GHS; which are the other 2 brands I have tried.
I am going to keep them on for a little while longer to see if my opinion changes. I will look at other options in the meantime.
