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Tapewound sets - HELP please!
- Thread starter 6mn8zm3
- Start date
One thing to keep in mind about tapewounds...
Most of them are roundwound under the nylon cover, GHS Tapes being an exception. If you're looking for 40-95, you'd actually be looking at 50-105 in tapewounds. The outer nylon cover contributes very little in terms of overall tension or stiffness, so they would feel more like 40-95 in roundwound.
Most of them are roundwound under the nylon cover, GHS Tapes being an exception. If you're looking for 40-95, you'd actually be looking at 50-105 in tapewounds. The outer nylon cover contributes very little in terms of overall tension or stiffness, so they would feel more like 40-95 in roundwound.
As pointed out above, the nylon tape adds negligible mass (and tension) but significant, um, gauge. The reason why you couldn't find a tapewound set with a .095" low E is that the metal roundwound underneath would necessarily be *a lot* thinner than the final .095". Even sets of "standard" gauge (which, for tapes, means "low E anywhere between 110 and 118", for the above-stated reasons) tend to be of only moderate tension, precisely because the metal string within has only so much thickness.
The above having being said, if in your case final diameter is really at a premium,
apart from the La Bella 760NHBB (a Beatlebass-specific - ergo too short for a long-scale bass - 50-100 set) the only tapes than come with a 100 low E are the Warwick Tapewound Bronze,* set 34210 ML LOS 4, 40-100 (but they also do 45-105). Here it is, from a German store, in German only, but good price and only 10 euros shipping to Großbritannien:
WARWICK Black Nylon Tapewound 4 Bass MedLi 040-100 Long Scale Bronze. Saiten für E-Bass | shop2rock
Anything else by any other manufacturer has a low E at least .105" thick.
* [Only the outermost metal layer under the nylon is bronze: core is steel, and intermediate wraps probably are as well, so these can work on electric basses.]
Hey thanks for your detailed reply! As I'm based in the U.K., these Warwicks from Germany, seem perfect... would you still recommend black tapewounds for an electro-acoustic (Ovation) bass? Am so new to this type of string!
lots of variations in tapewound sounds these days. if you want the bright stuff, get the labella 'white' tapes.
lightest gauge is 50/65/85/105, so that may not work for ya ...
lightest gauge is 50/65/85/105, so that may not work for ya ...
for a bass like that, i'd go with those warwicks
Yeah it looks like they'll be closest to what I'd want...
That I mentioned the Warwicks seems incidental at this point (basically, that's the closest tapewound set, in final diameters, to what you asked for in the opening post), but I believe, like yodedude above, that they're not a bad place to start.
Should you give them a fair chance and find them wanting (/or, um, yourself wanting...something else?), notes on what to expect from other makes and models can be found in the present subforum, especially (but not limitedly to) in these two threads:
The Comprehensive List of Black Nylon Tapewound Strings!!!
TapeWound Club~Anyone?
[Just note how, while a good number of testimonials are from users of tapewounds on acoustic-electric (piezo-pickupped) basses like yours, many are about tapes through electric (magnetic-pickupped) instruments, which changes things.]
The La Bella White Nylon (specifically Gold White and Copper White) are likely to be in roughly the same ballpark as the Warwicks, based on materials alone.
Conversely, if you yearn for a double-bass tone, the usual suspects tend to be La Bella Black Nylons (the standard-gauge, 760N set), Rotosound Tru Bass 88 (the earliest ever, famously used by Paul McCartney on the rooftop), and Pyramid tapes (also from Germany). I would also not discount GHS tapes for such a tone goal, personally.
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The closest you'll get is the LaBella 6 string set, 760N-CB, and only using the A–C strings, tuned down a fifth to E–G. You'll end up with 43, 60, 70, 94 that way.
That will result in an extremely flabby set that will require very high action to sound clean notes, and very little in the way of overtones – i.e. it can easily lack definition and get lost in a mix.
Tapewounds are actually light gauge rounds underneath the nylon coatings (except the D, A, E, and B strings on GHS sets, which are very light gauge flats). Therefore if you match the gauges to certain gauges of rounds or flats that you like, you will get much less stiffness on the tapes. You can assume that there's about .020" of nylon adding thickness to each string – maybe more or less, but around there.
The best thing for you to do when entering the tapewound realm is to just try a common pre-packaged set and see what you think. Then go from there. GHS and Rotosound are go-tos. I like the Fenders a lot too (they have a rubbery feel and sound really good). The LaBellas are pretty good, but not my favorites.
The GHS set has a weak/indistinct sounding E string that is way too floppy, IMO. It sounds a lot better if you get the five string set, and use the B string tuned to E, instead of using the supplied E string. This better balances the tone and stiffness across the four strings...but getting used to the big gap between a .130" E string and a .090" A string can take time, as well as requiring some non-standard setup adjustments.
That will result in an extremely flabby set that will require very high action to sound clean notes, and very little in the way of overtones – i.e. it can easily lack definition and get lost in a mix.
Tapewounds are actually light gauge rounds underneath the nylon coatings (except the D, A, E, and B strings on GHS sets, which are very light gauge flats). Therefore if you match the gauges to certain gauges of rounds or flats that you like, you will get much less stiffness on the tapes. You can assume that there's about .020" of nylon adding thickness to each string – maybe more or less, but around there.
The best thing for you to do when entering the tapewound realm is to just try a common pre-packaged set and see what you think. Then go from there. GHS and Rotosound are go-tos. I like the Fenders a lot too (they have a rubbery feel and sound really good). The LaBellas are pretty good, but not my favorites.
The GHS set has a weak/indistinct sounding E string that is way too floppy, IMO. It sounds a lot better if you get the five string set, and use the B string tuned to E, instead of using the supplied E string. This better balances the tone and stiffness across the four strings...but getting used to the big gap between a .130" E string and a .090" A string can take time, as well as requiring some non-standard setup adjustments.
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Why exactly are you looking for tapewounds instead of flatwounds? You can get whatever strings you want, but if gauge is that much of a priority, you might be better served going in another direction.
Hi; I really appreciate your pointing me in the direction of these sub-forums - many thanks!
Keep an eye out for Hot Wires from Status Graphite , I've two sets of their nylon tapes 40-100, sorry not for sale
Sadly discontinued a few years now, eBay is your only option.
Status had Picato make their strings so widen the search to Picato
I'm a big fan of the D'Addario black tapewounds (roundwound core, 50-65-85-105) which aren't quite as bright as the Labella black tapewounds. They really work well on my Epiphone Jack Casady bass, bringing out (to my ears at least) the woody character of the instrument. Makes me think they's do well on a piezo-equipped as described by the OP. Tapewounds from Labella and Innovation (I've used the Ultra-Blacks) have a lot of users for acoustic upright bass and they have a warm, but distinctly-pitched character that you can hear on a lot of Ron Carter's recordings. Much to be appreciated with this sort of string.
Well, I finally pulled the trigger on these Warwick tapewounds.... £31.74, delivered from Germany - it would've been SO much easier if the U.K. was still within the E.U. ... :-( Thank you once again for your help and advice - they certainly look nice and skinny, from the specifications!
Hey... a fellow Scot!!! From an expatriate Fifer, to a Falkirker, many thanks for the advice. Ironically, my go-to nickel roundwounds are always Picato - love the 40-60-75-95s but loathe their stainless steel rounds & flats. I'll keep an eye out for Picato nylon tapes tho', as I didn't know they did them...? I believe their original factory in South Wales has now closed down... probably made in the Far East now, like everything else....Keep an eye out for Hot Wires from Status Graphite , I've two sets of their nylon tapes 40-100, sorry not for sale
Sadly discontinued a few years now, eBay is your only option.
Status had Picato make their strings so widen the search to Picato
