TapeWound Club~Anyone?

[FeltTipPen]

I tried the La Bellas (and other tapewounds) over the years because I could,
I still like the GHS best, to me, they are the most comfortable and pleasing sounding tapes of them all. But I enjoy the copper and white La Bellas too, it seems harder and harder to buy truly crappy strings these days

Now I'm curious to try the GHS tapewounds

Yep, good choices are plenty and bountiful!

 

[mrperkolator]

Now I'm curious to try the GHS tapewounds

Yep, good choices are plenty and bountiful!

Same, but partially because my 5 string is a 35". So for some of La Bella I have to go XL, which is only available in black. 37" is roughly my wound length. That gets rid of several sets out there. La Bella (black) and GHS seem to be the top contenders based on my specs....

@subdude67 I'm open to any suggestions. Out of curiosity... does GHS's use of mixed flat/round under the tape make sonic differences? I'm looking for a clearer B...

Can anyone compare Pyramid or Magma tapes to La Bella? (sorry it's my point of reference).

 

[Barton Lee]

I recently used GHS tapes for the first time on my Fender Tony Franklin fretless P for a gig with a nine piece horn-driven band and got rave reviews for the tone from the band and sound man mixing FOH. I'd had La Bella black tapes in the lighter gauge on the bass previously and prefer the GHS to those for both tension and tone. I didn't want to use tapes that would require altering the nut or I would've tried the heavier La Bellas or the Pyramids. Tapes are new for me and I'm not entirely sold but I'm liking them so far for certain things.

One thing I discovered was that the silk on the GHS tapes E string didn't clear the nut when used on a string through Fender that I'd tried them on previously, which surprised me.

 

[subdude67]

Same, but partially because my 5 string is a 35". So for some of La Bella I have to go XL, which is only available in black. 37" is roughly my wound length. That gets rid of several sets out there. La Bella (black) and GHS seem to be the top contenders based on my specs....

@subdude67 I'm open to any suggestions. Out of curiosity... does GHS's use of mixed flat/round under the tape make sonic differences? I'm looking for a clearer B...

Can anyone compare Pyramid or Magma tapes to La Bella? (sorry it's my point of reference).

The main reason I love the GHS is the feel of the strings both the smoothness and tension, For the sound, I don't have anythiong bad to say about any of the tapes i have ever tried. But there is something special about the GHS. and they are quite standard gauge with .50 to 105.
Pyramid and Magma I use both but flats, not tapes. But if I was to try a new tapewound, it would be the Magmas, their flats are phenomenal!

 

[ajkula66]

Can anyone compare Pyramid or Magma tapes to La Bella? (sorry it's my point of reference).

Pyramids are much darker-sounding than any of the LB tapes, and have a very different texture as well. I like them for certain applications but wouldn't be my first choice if I were ever to start using just one type of strings on all of my basses.

I've never ever played Magma strings of any kind.

 

[kbraker510]

I ordered my first set, Warwick black tapes for abs on my Washburn AB10... its rather Dope AF. what is the general consensus on a jazz with an Audere Pre?

 

[mrperkolator]

I ordered my first set, Warwick black tapes for abs on my Washburn AB10... its rather Dope AF. what is the general consensus on a jazz with an Audere Pre?

I have a J with an audere. It’s great and my only complaint is the lack of active / passive switch. It’s not possible with his circuit. So you gotta stay on top of batteries.

It works fine with tapes and is noise free.

 

[Gary Rosen]

Several people here have complained about the LaBella gold and copper tapewounds having lower output. I have never tried them but did get a set of LaBella gold flats once, loved the tone but the output was definitely lower. I contacted LaBella and they said the "golden" alloy (80/20 brass) used for the wrap, same as the underlays in the gold tapewound, has less magnetic output than stainless steel. My guess is the same may be true for the copper. So it is not an illusion.

 

[soulstar89]

Anybody catch the limited edition release of these Bubby Lewis Kobura tapes from La Bella today?

They describe them as “limited edition white nylon tape wounds”. Do they sound any much different from the standard white tapes? I dunno! I doubt it. But they look pretty darn cool IMO. I’m not buying them at that price plus shipping to Canada… Too much $$$ for me. But they look nifty anyhow.

View attachment 6985147View attachment 6985148

I’ve just been gifted some La Bella copper strings. Really like the tone, although a tad loose in tension from coming from heavy gauge flats.

I’m actually very much interested in how these Bubby Lewis strings compare to the white tapes. I emailed La Bella l, just waiting on response. If anyone has used any of his signature strings would love a comparison.

 

[soulstar89]

Had communication with La Bella strings via email. They are amazing with regard to communication. Extremely helpful.

I asked on the tonal difference of the bubby Lewis signature strings. The white nylon are the closest to his strings. A lot of the difference is in the cool design overlays.

These are the ones I asked on. Hope this helps:

 

[mking]

Several people here have complained about the LaBella gold and copper tapewounds having lower output. I have never tried them but did get a set of LaBella gold flats once, loved the tone but the output was definitely lower. I contacted LaBella and they said the "golden" alloy (80/20 brass) used for the wrap, same as the underlays in the gold tapewound, has less magnetic output than stainless steel. My guess is the same may be true for the copper. So it is not an illusion.

I have the copper tape wounds on a Rob Allen MB-5 5 string fretless and they are great! The have a rich, warm sound. The pickup is piezo, so not dependent on output of the strings. In fact, the output of the piezo is quite hot going into the amp.

 

[soulstar89]

I’ve copper nylon tape la bellas and the output is definitely lower than my nickels or flats. I just increase the volume or gain. The tone of the coppers are unique to my ears on this bass.

 

[Just Wrong]

does anyone make tapes for a 5 string medium-scale (32") bass? I know Pyramid can make them custom, but I'm not really a fan of their tapes. much prefer D'Addario (and La Bella). thanks!

 

[Prodigus Filius]

does anyone make tapes for a 5 string medium-scale (32") bass? I know Pyramid can make them custom, but I'm not really a fan of their tapes. much prefer D'Addario (and La Bella). thanks!

Galli do
This is the 6 string set at LOTS Galli G77-6M Medium Scale Black Nylon Tapewound Bass Electric 6 string

Or you can get the 5 string set directly from Galli by selecting medium scale in the drop down box

G77-5 Bass 5 strings

Galli® Strings - 5 strings set Black Nylon tape wound .055 - .130. You can choose your preferred scale length 30\

www.gallistrings.com

 

[mikeoso]

Don't think I've posted in here before. I play strictly ABGs, and all of them wear Roto 88s. I'm playing out every week at a community Old Time jam, using the bass in my avatar. The Old Time does paid gigs as they occur. Another weekly is a discursive R&B, pop, folk, whatever jam, that goes plugged in once a month. That group takes paid gigs a few times a year. For that I use a Martin B-1e. Tapes on the big one come close enough to a DB, and on the Martin I get a nice funky thud. My third bass is a Tacoma Thunderchief. It's kind of capable for both groups, and serves as my "what if something breaks" backup for both.

 

[Count Bassie]

Not sure what these are, but they're nylon tapes with Cobalt blue silks. The bass came with them, and I'm liking them a lot. I like what they're doing with this bass: they're a little dark sounding with a slightly woody bark. On the Stingray it's a really nice sound to my ear, and I don't think I'd have bought them if they weren't already on it- but now I think they're going to stay.

 

[bassboysam]

Not sure what these are, but they're nylon tapes with Cobalt blue silks. The bass came with them, and I'm liking them a lot. I like what they're doing with this bass: they're a little dark sounding with a slightly woody bark. On the Stingray it's a really nice sound to my ear, and I don't think I'd have bought then if they weren't already on it- but now I think they're going to stay.
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i think those are d'addario tapes....

 

[thisheregiraffe]

Looks like D’Addario ETB92 tapes to me too. Colour coded ball ends? (E to G: Gold, red, black, green)

 

[Count Bassie]

Looks like D’Addario ETB92 tapes to me too. Colour coded ball ends? (E to G: Gold, red, black, green)

Yep! Gold/E, Red/A, Black/D, Green/G.

Thanks guys, if I'd looked under the tailpiece I might've recognized those colors...
Didn't think I'd use these on a Stingray. Seems like breaking a rule or something. Which I'm good with.

 

[thisheregiraffe]

I really like the sound of tapes on my fretless Warmoth bass with an MM pickup in the sweet spot. Not exactly a StingRay, of course, but a Ray is part of the inspiration for it. I bet tapes on the real thing would sound great too!