Tapewound Strings Info

[mdlewis]

I know there's a lot of threads on this topic, but I haven't been able to piece together exactly what I'm looking for, so I thought I'd try a new post. [edited at 12:47 EDT to clarify some poor wording on my part]

I have never used tapewound strings, but have recently been intrigued by some you tubes in which players with short scale basses are using them. The sound seems intriguing close to an upright to me.

Are tapewound strings, as a category of strings, similar to each other, or do they vary widely from brand to brand? I ask this because I hear a very wide variation in normal flats. They seem to have different frequencies they emphasize, wildly different flexibility, and they all seem to wear differently. I find it hard to talk about normal flats without talking about a specific brand. I am very familiar with LaBella FL's, Chromes, and TI's, so as reference comparisons, those work best for me.

How would you characterize tapewounds versus normal flats in terms of sound (attack, decay, harmonic series; e.g., do they favor fundamental, mids etc.)?
How would you characterize them in terms of flexibility?
What level of signal do they generate? Is it comparable to normal strings, or is it reduced in voume?
How long do they last? Does the nylon tape present any particular issues?
If you use them regularly, why, and what is your intended musical application?

Thanks for my indulging my ADD...

 

[michael_t]

Why start a new thread when there already is a thread dedicated to it?

Thread 'TapeWound Club~Anyone?'

Apr 28, 2014

I am a Tapewound convert. I have gone from playing Nickels, to rounds, to flats, to STRICTLY Tapes. I LOVE Tapewound strings. I have played D'Addario and La'Bella Tapes. I love them BOTH on specific basses. Anyone else out there in LOVE with Tapewounds??? From Fretted to fretless, country to metal, I have found the sound I dig by going Tapes.... Chime in if you are a Tapewound Fan, too PLEASE!

PS... I searched to see if a Tapewound club already exists. I found nothing....

• .BumeStik.
• Replies: 1,869
• Forum: Strings [BG]

• 

I'm simply suggesting you post your questions in the existing thread, not necessarily read through all 91 pages.

 

[mdlewis]

Because most of that thread is testimonials, which I am not interested in. There seems to be an absence of concise information. That's why I wrote, "I know there's a lot of threads on this topic, but I haven't been able to piece together exactly what I'm looking for, so I thought I'd try a new post."

 

[BGroovy]

I think like every other category of string - flats, rounds, tapes. They all vary. While there are similarities you can’t swap one for another and have the same experience.

I’ve been really into the Labella white nylon tapes. Very different than any others I’ve tried (and different than their black nylon). Although not an upright sound at all.

 

[pingvuiini]

How would you characterize tapewounds versus normal flats in terms of sound (attack, decay, frequency)?
How would you characterize them in terms of flexibility?
What kind of signal do they generate? Is it comparable to normal strings?
How long do they last? Does the nylon tape present any particular issues?
If you use them regularly, why, and what is your intended musical application?

How would you characterize tapewounds versus normal flats in terms of sound (attack, decay, frequency)?

Tapes definitely have more of a roundwound 'zing' to them and are not a dead sounding thump like flats.



How would you characterize them in terms of flexibility?

If you mean versatility I would say that tapes don't really achieve an upright sound or a dead flat sound. For an upright sound I found that rubber stringed uke basses come closer. Tapes have enough zing to them that you could get a decent slap sound out of them.



What kind of signal do they generate? Is it comparable to normal strings?

I would say tapes are slightly lower output than rounds. Every time I switch basses that have tapes with one with roundwounds I have to turn the amp down a tiny bit. Unsure how they would compare to flats.



How long do they last? Does the nylon tape present any particular issues?

Forever! The tape winding never seems to wear away after months of playing. The zing seems to maintain for along time too. Perhaps the tape winding may prevent sweat and shmegma from accumulating in the steel wound core. Different companies have different tape winding that effects things. D'Addarios black tapes are very smooth and are absolutely dead quiet in regards to finger noise. Pyramid tapes have a texture that make a tiny bit of finger noise compared to the D'Addarios but much quieter than rounds. LaBella has a nice range of tapes with different cores and tape windings.



If you use them regularly, why, and what is your intended musical application?

I initially use tapes for fretless but have put them on fretted basses with great sounding results. I suspect that frets may wear the tape winding more than on a fretless.

 

[GwenOnBass]

One of our coaches plays tapes on a fretless Pedulla, and the sound is glorious. Upright tone? Not really. But oh man, it is a tone to behold. They are the right strings for that bass.

 

[JRA]

How would you characterize tapewounds versus normal flats in terms of sound (attack, decay, frequency)?

tapewounds can have a flatwound core or a roundwound core. i'm recently using la bella 750G Deep Talkin Brass Gold White Nylon Tape Wound 4- String Light Standard Long Scale 50-105 on one ax, i'm pretty sure they're round wound underneath the nylon wrap. the attack seems to be slightly softer. they are apparently known for a longer decay, more sustain. not sure what you mean by "frequency."

How would you characterize them in terms of flexibility?

these strings are very compliant --- they feel almost as flexible as my TI jazz rounds.

What kind of signal do they generate? Is it comparable to normal strings?

they're a metal/alloy core: they generate an expected, usable "signal."

How long do they last? Does the nylon tape present any particular issues?

no clue! they're new to me, but with less exposed material to rust and/or gunk up i'd expect them to last a good while.

If you use them regularly, why, and what is your intended musical application?

as stated, they're new to me, but i intend to use them as i would any string set = anything/everything i play!

i'm a dedicated rounds player, but i installed these to use on a lightly/slighly treated roasted maple fingerboard (instead of a heavily coated fingerboard with my usual rounds choices). i haven't actually gigged with them yet. they are a pleasure to play so far. i think they'll be fun.

 

[salmon256]

I have never used tapewound strings, but have recently been intrigued by some you tubes in which players with short scale basses are using them. The sound seems intriguing close to an upright to me.

This is my exact plan for them. I am unsure if I would put them on a bass like a Fallout Tribute but I would try, but for a Mustang I am 100% giving this a go, might have to get three one for flats, tapes, and rounds haha I am planning on giving them a try on my jazz bass.

It's complex and hard to say what I would use them on. But they get that "Carol Kaye" type sound as others have share in the past. I do enjoy the tone and feel they give. I would say give it a try!

 

[MCS4]

They do not sound very similar to flats, in my opinion. They are their own separate thing, like rounds vs. flats. I don't know that I have observed a specific difference in attack or decay though. IMO the best thing to do here is just pull up lots of videos of people playing flats and tapes, which are all over YT.

Tapes are much more flexible and lower tension than flats, on average. They are probably the lowest-tension option of all the major string types, in my experience.

I haven't noticed any difference in "signal" they generate, in the sense of overall gain/volume.

I've never had one specific set of tapes installed long enough to have a personal opinion on longevity, but the general consensus seems to be that they are closer to flats than rounds in the sense that they theoretically can last a very long time without degrading compared to what you want out of them from a tonal perspective, but the nylon wrapping may be more prone to getting damaged or fraying compared to flats.

I don't regularly use tapes although I have experimented with them on multiple fretted and fretless basses. There isn't anything I inherently dislike about them, I've just always ended up finding that I prefer either rounds or flats for the specific bass. I do prefer the smoother feel of flats compared to tapes overall, though. When I have used them my goal has been to have a tone that is more mellow or vintage sounding compared to my typical nickel rounds and has less tension than typical flats (or just a change of pace), but these days I have tended to prefer Labella LTFs for that vibe and regular flats on shorter scale basses.

 

[aprod]

They sound like a muddy fart especially on short scales.

 

[mrperkolator]

To my ear they’re generally mellower than rounds with more sustain than flats. They can be muddy if you use the lighter gauges. I use the thicker Labella black and they’re clear.

IF your music needs that clack in the attack from string hitting the frets tapes won’t work well. The nylon softens that clack and gives a pleasant tone. Again this won’t work well for those that like to hammer their strings for extra clank.

I’ve found in some mixes that missing that percussive clank caused me to duck in the mix. I wasn’t muddy, just hiding.

Generally speaking, tapes are my favorite string. I try other stuff and end up back at tapes.

 

[Barton Lee]

I use light gauge La Bella black tapes on my Hofner Verythin and my Tony Franklin fretless P. Neither sounds anything like a "muddy fart." They also don't sound at all like La Bella flats, which do sound too much like the description above in my experience. These black nylon tapes are plenty bright but smoother than rounds with a lot of clarity. They're also quite low in tension and require a light touch. A heavier gauge is available but would require some work on the nut, which I didn't want to do.

 

[JC Nelson]

I use D' Addario black nylon tapewound mediums for orchestra gigs that have limited pit space for an upright. These are flatwound with a hex core. They have very nice clarity and sustain. Palm muting allows for a faux upright thump.

 

[trothwell]

Here's some comparison recordings between a few brands:



On this particular bass (a Fender American Professional Jazz) I thought the D'Addarios sounded best, which rather surprised me, as I don't usually see people raving about D'Addario when it comes to tapewound strings.

I thought the D'Addarios sound pretty close to the same ballpark as the Labellas and Rotosounds, and I could easily go with any of those, no problem.

 

[Just Wrong]

Here's my 2 cents, but just a note on some misconceptions: As far as I'm aware, all tapes are flat* in the sense that they aren't ribbed like rounds, but most tapes are hex-core rounds wrapped in nylon. I believe GHS's E, A and D tapes are hex-core flats and the G is a hex-core round.

I've tried La Bella's White, Black and Gold White tapes, as well as D'Addario's and Pyramid's.

The sound seems intriguing close to an upright to me.

Closer than rounds and flats, sure, but I don't know that you'll fool anyone into thinking you're playing an upright.

Are tapewound strings, as a category of strings, similar to each other, or do they vary widely from brand to brand?

In my experience, tape wounds vary from brand to brand even more so than flats, nickels and steel rounds.

The first reason is that all brands I've tried feel different to the touch in a sensory sense (as in, you could easily differentiate each brand with a blindfold all things—such as gauges—being equal). The La Bellas feel like plastic. The Pyramids feel like the fuzzy skin of a peach. The D'Addarios are somewhere in between. I didn't mind the Pyramids the first time around, but the second time around, I couldn't stand the feeling.

The other thing is that almost all sets have different gauges. I'll only list short scale sets because that's what you're looking at:

• La Bella: .060-.070-.094-.115
• D'Addario: .050-.065-.085-.105
• Pyramid: .055-.075-.095-.112
• Roto: .065-.075-.090-.115

But keep in mind that the nylon doesn't really add any tension and the rounds under the nylon are about .010 smaller. So the D'Addario E will feel like a .095 round and the La Bella E will feel like a .105 round.

They also sound different. The clearest example is that La Bella's black nylons will sound darker than their white nylons. The gold nylons fall somewhere in between the two.

What level of signal do they generate? Is it comparable to normal strings, or is it reduced in volume?

Definitely reduced in volume IME.

How long do they last? Does the nylon tape present any particular issues?

The longest I've had them on a bass is a year, but I've heard they last forever. But I've also heard people say the nylon on theirs have unwrapped.

If you use them regularly, why, and what is your intended musical application?

I used to use them on a six-string regular scale bass for my pop cover band. Not quite as dead as flats when I needed brightness, but not overly bright as rounds.

--
* La Bella did make a "round" tape wound.

 

[mdlewis]

Here's some comparison recordings between a few brands:



On this particular bass (a Fender American Professional Jazz) I thought the D'Addarios sounded best, which rather surprised me, as I don't usually see people raving about D'Addario when it comes to tapewound strings.

I thought the D'Addarios sound pretty close to the same ballpark as the Labellas and Rotosounds, and I could easily go with any of those, no problem.

Thanks, that was very helpful. I could clearly hear the differences between the sets. I think that the D'Addarios would be closest to the sound I think I'm going after overtone-wise. I think muting would be essential though; they have quite the sustain.

 

[mdlewis]

Thanks all, your posts have been quite helpful and I've learned quite a bit.
Looks like tapes are going to be another case of trial and error to see if it they'll work.

@Just Wrong - gauge info was a bit of a shock. I'm not sure I could mount a 115 without some nut work.

 

[Prodigus Filius]

Thanks, that was very helpful. I could clearly hear the differences between the sets. I think that the D'Addarios would be closest to the sound I think I'm going after.

So you are intrigued by the sound of tapewounds and mention ‘upright sound’ as a feature in a previous post. So is that the sound you are interested in? If so, probably the most upright sound tapes are Rotosound Trubass88. The Roto E is .115 gauge though. D’addario, GHS, La Bella tapes have 105

 

[Just Wrong]

So you are intrigued by the sound of tapewounds and mention ‘upright sound’ as a feature in a previous post. So is that the sound you are interested in? If so, probably the most upright sound tapes are Rotosound Trubass88. The Roto E is .115 gauge though. D’addario, GHS, La Bella tapes have 105

He’s looking to string his short scale. As far as I know, GHS doesn’t make a short scale set and La Bella’s is 115–they only offer 105 on their long scale sets.

 

[Just Wrong]

Thanks all, your posts have been quite helpful and I've learned quite a bit.
Looks like tapes are going to be another case of trial and error to see if it they'll work.

@Just Wrong - gauge info was a bit of a shock. I'm not sure I could mount a 115 without some nut work.

Probably not. And note that the .105 D’Addario will feel like a .095.