I LOVE my rotosound tapes on my fretless Jbasses. I have some Jbasses that are practically identical but string with flats, and they just dont have the same growl.
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TapeWound Club~Anyone?
- Thread starter .BumeStik.
- Start date
You know Bobby Vega? He said in an interview that when he saw Larry live, there were black tapes on his Jazz bass. If jlane72t up there says his roto tapes growl, I might have to try some. Is there a tape wound that stands out in terms of being more aggressive and geared to rock and pick playing more than the others?
I have used LaBella's and GHS.
Both are good strings with LaBella being pricier.
I find the LaBella's stiffer feeling than the GHS though.
I go E A D G C on one bass using GHS but have to substitute
the C string with LaBella because GHS does not offer one yet.
Also found Carvin sells LaBella tapes on their site for less $ than other places.
Both are good strings with LaBella being pricier.
I find the LaBella's stiffer feeling than the GHS though.
I go E A D G C on one bass using GHS but have to substitute
the C string with LaBella because GHS does not offer one yet.
Also found Carvin sells LaBella tapes on their site for less $ than other places.
Good info MrLenny1. Are there any other Granite state bassists that would care to chime in? Live Free or Die! 
So how would you compare the white and black Labellas ? (I only know the blacks).
Here's a post that I made in another thread a few days ago...
Tapewound strings (as compared to flats) will have slightly less wear on your frets and slightly less finger noise on slides and will feel slightly more slippery than what you have today. Depending on which tapes you try your sound will be at least as bright as it is with typical flats and maybe much brighter. There are a lot of different tapes out there but the rundown on the three I've used is a follows:
La Bella Black tapewounds - I like them a lot, relatively low tension, sound a little closer to flats than rounds. Nice deep dark tones, lots of thud and power in the notes (not thin sounding at all), a somewhat woody tone, good sustain, very long lasting (going on year 9 with one set), very balanced tone across all strings. Not sure how they would hold up to picks (other than felt) or slapping. A standard thickness size will most likely require filing your nut and may be too thick for through body stringing on a low B string.
La Bella White tapewounds - I love em, same low tension as the blacks, sound a little closer to rounds than flats, nice deep tones but slightly more mid focused than the blacks, not thin sounding, I assume they will last as long as the blacks, clear wrap over steel strings gives them more of a normal string look vs the blacks. Very well balanced, a little more slippery than blacks. I got a light gauge set and they fit my nut perfectly. If you are a round wound nickel player you have to try these strings they really are the best of both (flat and round) worlds in my opinion. For a great deal get them from Bassstringsonline.
Rotosound Tapes - not my cup of tea, high tension, plastic feeling, very much a dead flat wound sound on my Jazz, less sustain and not very well balanced across all 5 strings. Long lasting (unfortunately), not as smooth or slick as the La Bella tapes.
Hope this helps!
Just discovered La Bella do 'copper White' too, allegedly 'warmer and more supple' than white. Is there a TB verdict on those yet ?
I haven't tried the copper white yet. But if you think about it, La Bella has kind of positioned the Black tapes at the flat wound end of their tape spectrum and the White tapes at the round wound end of their tape spectrum. Maybe they've positioned the Copper tapes right in the middle, kinda in the Tapewound end of the tape spectrum. If so, I want to try a set.
Just got the white tapes, installed them on both my fretted and fretless jazz bass. Initial impression is good, though not exstatic.
I think they will be great on the fretless, love the smooth feel and lower tension compared to the Chromes. Not sure about the E and B strings though, maybe they don't sound quite as good, but I need to hear it at volume to decide.
On the fretted I feel I may be missing quite a bit of top end and that "string character", but that could also be a good thing. I think my overdrive sounds could benefit from this, and the guys keep pestering me about P basses so I think my sound ideal is a bit too modern for what we play.
I have a rehearsal tonight, so we'll see. The jury is still out on this one.
I think they will be great on the fretless, love the smooth feel and lower tension compared to the Chromes. Not sure about the E and B strings though, maybe they don't sound quite as good, but I need to hear it at volume to decide.
On the fretted I feel I may be missing quite a bit of top end and that "string character", but that could also be a good thing. I think my overdrive sounds could benefit from this, and the guys keep pestering me about P basses so I think my sound ideal is a bit too modern for what we play.
I have a rehearsal tonight, so we'll see. The jury is still out on this one.
I am Really looking forward to trying the Whites. I got some ordered the other day. I didn't want to try them on my P-Basses, or my MM style Kingston Artist though, so I ordered a MTD Kingston Saratoga Jazz to put the Whites on. I am VERY money conscious when it comes to trying new things. 
I have never owned a Jazz bass, so I figured it may kinda be time anyway....
I have never owned a Jazz bass, so I figured it may kinda be time anyway....
Back from rehearsals and I like the white strings ... as others have said they are a good middle ground between rounds and flats. With a bit more thump and a bit less sustain than my usual rounds they sat well in the mix and actually made the band sound tighter - super long sustain isn't always good for the groove.
The feel of the strings takes some getting used to, needs a lighter touch for the plucking since the strings are quite flexible. Also needs good precision for the fretting, get it right and there is minimal fret noise, fret a bit off the mark and you can get some ugly clicking and buzzing, actually worse than with the roudwounds I think. I count this as a plus, it should force me to work on my technique.
Finally, I also had to tweak the EQ quite a bit, I took out some mids and added some bass, the strings are brighter, or have more mids, than I expected.
The feel of the strings takes some getting used to, needs a lighter touch for the plucking since the strings are quite flexible. Also needs good precision for the fretting, get it right and there is minimal fret noise, fret a bit off the mark and you can get some ugly clicking and buzzing, actually worse than with the roudwounds I think. I count this as a plus, it should force me to work on my technique.
Finally, I also had to tweak the EQ quite a bit, I took out some mids and added some bass, the strings are brighter, or have more mids, than I expected.
I must add this caveat, my jbasses are loaded with Dimarzios, I dig in aggressively, and spent a lot of time bouncing off the gain warning light....so my growly tone may not be your growly tone just 'cuz of the tapes.
Hey all. I have had D'Addario BLACK tapes on my MTD CRB 5 string for a couple months now (I think it has only been a couple months anyway). I have been playing my 4 strings more recently and have found that I am preferring the La Bella's feel and tension to the D'Addarios. So, I ordered a set of La Bellas for my 5 string the other day and they are on the way.
If anyone here has been wanting to try the D'Addario 5 string Tapewounds, post here and I will mail them to you. Like I said, they are a couple months old (I prefer my strings a bit older anyway), so they might not be As Bright as fresh out of the package, but they will work if you wanna try them out!
Here is some info on this set from bassstringsonline.com :
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My CRB is 34" scale and were cut accordingly. Post up if you want them and I will message you for your mailing info. Thanks all!
If anyone here has been wanting to try the D'Addario 5 string Tapewounds, post here and I will mail them to you. Like I said, they are a couple months old (I prefer my strings a bit older anyway), so they might not be As Bright as fresh out of the package, but they will work if you wanna try them out!
Here is some info on this set from bassstringsonline.com :
Invalid Link Removed
My CRB is 34" scale and were cut accordingly. Post up if you want them and I will message you for your mailing info. Thanks all!
These have been Claimed! Not that anyone looked, Anyway.Hey all. I have had D'Addario BLACK tapes on my MTD CRB 5 string for a couple months now (I think it has only been a couple months anyway). I have been playing my 4 strings more recently and have found that I am preferring the La Bella's feel and tension to the D'Addarios. So, I ordered a set of La Bellas for my 5 string the other day and they are on the way.
If anyone here has been wanting to try the D'Addario 5 string Tapewounds, post here and I will mail them to you. Like I said, they are a couple months old (I prefer my strings a bit older anyway), so they might not be As Bright as fresh out of the package, but they will work if you wanna try them out!
Here is some info on this set from bassstringsonline.com :
Invalid Link Removed
My CRB is 34" scale and were cut accordingly. Post up if you want them and I will message you for your mailing info. Thanks all!
Anybody try tapes on a Jack Casady bass? Didn't care for it with flats but I was thinking the LaBella white tapes may be good fit for it.
