what i tapewounds? im only familar with roundwounds and flatwounds.........what do they serve? are there any other types of strings?
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The Comprehensive List of Black Nylon Tapewound Strings!!!
- Thread starter Lokire
- Start date
Tapewounds are light gauge roundwounds that are wrapped in a black nylon tape. They sound similar to the strings on an upright bass and sound similar to flatwound strings but maybe a tiny tiny bit brighter. They give an interesting thumpy kind of clunk sound and are good for reggae as they have massive lows and not much highs, they have a quick attack and short sustain. Paul Mccartney used these strings on The Beatles - Abbey Road album
All, not to hijack the thread but...
Does anyone know a source for a .022 or there-abouts nylon flatwound to be used as a high F?
The idea is to use it as a high F for my seven string Conklin in a set of Rotosound RS886LD's.
I could even go larger as the Rotosound set is
B - .130
E - .115
A - .100
D - .075
G - .065
C - .050
Any and all help would be appreciated...
Does anyone know a source for a .022 or there-abouts nylon flatwound to be used as a high F?
The idea is to use it as a high F for my seven string Conklin in a set of Rotosound RS886LD's.
I could even go larger as the Rotosound set is
B - .130
E - .115
A - .100
D - .075
G - .065
C - .050
Any and all help would be appreciated...
are they comfortable feeling? because i noticed my set of flatwounds are a little strabge feelin
They feel slightly strange at first because they are completely smooth , but once you get used to them they are very comfortable feeling, similar to flatwounds but without the grippiness and doing slides on them is effortless as they are very very smooth, some people like them , some hate them. I have only used the rotosound rs88 tapewounds btw so do not know what the other brands are like. I like them much better than the horrible tinny sounding D'addario Flatwounds I had on before.
Also if you follow this link there is an audio sample of the Rotosound Tru Bass 88 tapewounds [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Galli and maybe a couple others make nylon tapewound guitar string sets. The light gauge Galli set has a .028 string
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Of course that's with the shorter scale of a guitar, but I don't know exactly how far the tape windings might go. On a guitar string like that, I would guess that the tape would go the full length of the string. That's the best chance I see anyways
wow so the Pyramids are of a gauge that won't require radical widening of nut slots! i must get some!
damn, according to the Pyramid site, their black tape nylon strings are G-.055 D-.075 A-.100 E-.115
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Thanks, I will definitely look for them. With the exception of the context of most of the songs I do with my current band, I definitely prefer the feel and sound of tapewounds over all other strings. I still have the set that was on my Hondo Ric copy for several years (I have since put regular flats on it).
Try the Status-Graphite Tapewounds too (.045 .065 .085 .105 .130). They're my faves. Black silk wrap too, so they're all black. The way tapewound strings should be 
currently using the rotosound 88's, really love them, think i bought mine in a regular scal and probably need to buy the xl's for next time. I'm currently strung b-e-a-d, really wish rotosound made a .165 so i could play f#-b-e-a, oh well. How much do you guys think a custom string would cost 
I thought it might be nice to have a comprehensive listing of all the tapewound strings out there, along with all their gauges. So here's what I have so far:
4-string only sets:
Fender 9120 Nylon Tapewounds (.058 .072 .092 .110)
Fender 7120 Nylon Filament (.070 .080 .090 .100)
Pyramid Nylon Tapewounds (.050 .070 .080 .095)
Wyres H-Series Tapewounds (.063 .085 .100 .118)
Picato "Pro Bass" Tapewounds (.060 .072 .098 .115)
Rickenbacker 4445 Tapewounds (.063 .075 .100 .111)
(From the 70s, not made anymore)
Hofner Beatle Bass Tapewounds (made by Selmer and/or Pyramid? Not much info...probably not made anymore)
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Extended Range Tapewounds (5 and 6-string sets - 4-strings in bold):
GHS 3060 Tapewounds (.050 .070 .090 .105 .125)
(singles available @ juststrings.com)
Galli G77 Tapewounds (.055 .075 .100 .115 .130)
(From Italy, now available from bassguitarstrings.us)
Status-Graphite Tapewounds (.045 .065 .085 .105 .130)
(also available in double-ball config for headless basses - 4 and 5-string, same gauges. Sold direct from their website. Black silk wraps.)
LaBella 760N Tapewounds (.029 .060 .070 .094 .115 .128)
(All sets in regular and extra long scales - Only tapered B-string available? Sold direct from Carvin at the cheapest prices. Singles available @ juststrings.com - Purple silk wraps. Custom sets avalabe from Rob Allen (regular and short scale 30") - both with a .097 A string)
RotoSound RS88 Tapes (.050 .065 .075 .100 .115 .135)
(4-strings come in short, medium, regular, and extra-long scales. Short and medium scales have a .090 A-string. 5-string sets only come in regular and extra long scales. 6-string only in regular scale. Singles available @ juststrings.com - Yellow silk wraps.)
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That's all that I've found so far. If you know of any others, let me know and I'll add them to this list. If you're looking to put together a further extended range set, let me know. There are a bunch of tapewound guitar strings out there that might work.
I've only tried 3, the Status-Graphite 5-string set, the RotoSound 30" short scale set, and the LaBella 5-string set. Didn't like the Rotosounds at all. Higher gauge and tension than I like and they sounded very plasticy to me. I had them on an acoustic bass though, so maybe it just wasn't a good match for that bass. The LaBella's are great. They have the only tapered B-string that I've seen, though tapewound Bs never sound great to me anyways. The Status-Graphites are my faves so far. They seem to have a much more 'standard' gauge, so they have a very low tension (lower than the LaBellas) and should easily fit any bass without any mods to the bridge or nut. I did have to carefully unwind the end of the B-string a bit to get it to fit into the tuning peg, but it wasn't a big deal.
I know there's lots of discussion out there on various tapewounds, but if you have anything you want to add here, feel free
Which one of the tapewounds did you find to have the deepest sound? I am using the rotosounds at the moment and although I have no intention of changing the strings anytime soon, I am curious to see how the other strings compare
is there an online store that carries Wyres? I'm eager to try the heaviest gauge tapewounds that I can get my hands on.
~~~EDIT~~~~
Sorry, didn't notice that they had an online store
http://www.wyresstrings.com/store/ListProduct.asp?bSub=T&idCategory=10
is anyone here familiar with the feel of these strings? Compared to GHS tapewound and Fender 9120?
and what sort of maintenance do you folks do on the strings (if at all)?
~~~EDIT~~~~
Sorry, didn't notice that they had an online store
http://www.wyresstrings.com/store/ListProduct.asp?bSub=T&idCategory=10
is anyone here familiar with the feel of these strings? Compared to GHS tapewound and Fender 9120?
and what sort of maintenance do you folks do on the strings (if at all)?
I'd say the Status-Graphite ones have a 'deeper' tone. They have the lowest tension at least, which to me would mean more fundamental.
Lokire, My guess is the Status-Graphite are meant for 34" scale length basses. Maybe that would account for their low tension in a short scale bass...
Are they ok for the Kinal Kompact bass? (meaning the silk wrapping start between the nut and the tuning peg and tension ain't TOO low.???
Are they ok for the Kinal Kompact bass? (meaning the silk wrapping start between the nut and the tuning peg and tension ain't TOO low.???
from my understanding of the pictures and description, the "nylon filament" would be like having a second winding of nylon, but NOT like a flat tape. If I'm mistaken, feel free to correct me.
personally, 9120 makes more sense to me. I want flat tape, and flat tape is what I shall have
oh yes, and 9120 is less expensive, and thicker gauge than 7120.
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I've only used the Status-Graphites on 35" scale electric basses actually, and they have a very low tension there. Haven't tried them on the Kinal because I've found that I don't really care for any steel core strings on acoustic basses.
String tension is never too low for me
