What is your favorite brand of tapewound strings? I will be putting these on a 70's fretless Rickenbacker 4001.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
What are your favorite tapewound strings?
- Thread starter Axtman
- Start date
LaBella Black Nylon Tape wound. The best price I have found is here at the TB store.
I’ve been using them for years
Duke
I’ve been using them for years
Duke
LaBella 750C or 760C are my favorite strings, not just my favorite tapes.
If you want something a little brighter and stiffer, the 750G or 760G. They feel about like really broken in XL's, but smooth.
If you want something a little brighter and stiffer, the 750G or 760G. They feel about like really broken in XL's, but smooth.
Have you found the tapewound club thread? All questions are answered there. In the meantime, I gigged a set of La Bella white tapes in the standard 60-135 (5-string) gauge for two years until the tape finally became pitted and started losing consistent intonation.
If you do use tapes, to get a reasonable tension, you should use the 60-115 set and have the nut recut. Also, since a Rickenbacker has single coil pickups and no shielding, the tape will disconnect the connection between the strings and the bridge ground, and the bass will hum unless you check to make sure the bridge pickup surround is properly grounded to the jack and you keep your thumb on the surround to finish making the ground to drain off the noise.
The tape adds about 15 thou to the diameter of the string, but no tension due to the negligible mass. But they will still pinch in a nut not cut for them, making tuning difficult. So the 60-115 set is actually a roundwound set at approximately 45-100 underneath the tape and has similar tension and feel to a conventional set of rounds at those gauges.
Personal peeve: if a player is going to use tapes, instead of the nauseatingly long debates about proper shielding and those who deny they have noise from passive basses, I wish everyone would just bite the bullet, purchase EMG actives which do not use a bridge ground and solve the problem permanently. That's what I did on the bass I had the white tapes on, and still gig that bass with dead quiet EMG actives to cut the hum and the electrostatic noise from bad mains wiring, neon bar lights, etc.
I know you do not want to change either the nut nor the pickups on the bass. So, in order to get the great round mellow tone on a Rickenbacker that you are after, have you considered the Optima RB flats set instead of tapes? They are the modern incarnation of the OEM Maxima flats that would have originally come on that bass from the factory, with none of the issues you must address with tapewound strings. Juststrings.com carries them. Link:
4440.L E-Bass RB FLATWOUND STRINGS Satz, Long Scale | Optima - Strings Made in Germany
If you do use tapes, to get a reasonable tension, you should use the 60-115 set and have the nut recut. Also, since a Rickenbacker has single coil pickups and no shielding, the tape will disconnect the connection between the strings and the bridge ground, and the bass will hum unless you check to make sure the bridge pickup surround is properly grounded to the jack and you keep your thumb on the surround to finish making the ground to drain off the noise.
The tape adds about 15 thou to the diameter of the string, but no tension due to the negligible mass. But they will still pinch in a nut not cut for them, making tuning difficult. So the 60-115 set is actually a roundwound set at approximately 45-100 underneath the tape and has similar tension and feel to a conventional set of rounds at those gauges.
Personal peeve: if a player is going to use tapes, instead of the nauseatingly long debates about proper shielding and those who deny they have noise from passive basses, I wish everyone would just bite the bullet, purchase EMG actives which do not use a bridge ground and solve the problem permanently. That's what I did on the bass I had the white tapes on, and still gig that bass with dead quiet EMG actives to cut the hum and the electrostatic noise from bad mains wiring, neon bar lights, etc.
I know you do not want to change either the nut nor the pickups on the bass. So, in order to get the great round mellow tone on a Rickenbacker that you are after, have you considered the Optima RB flats set instead of tapes? They are the modern incarnation of the OEM Maxima flats that would have originally come on that bass from the factory, with none of the issues you must address with tapewound strings. Juststrings.com carries them. Link:
4440.L E-Bass RB FLATWOUND STRINGS Satz, Long Scale | Optima - Strings Made in Germany
Last edited:
D
I’m a big fan of the D’Addario Tapes and I’ve had them on several basses. They’re a good place to start with regards to Tapewounds.
I’ve also really enjoyed the La Bella Tapes; I’ve had their White Nylon and Copper Tapes and they are both excellent. You can’t go wrong with La Bella or D’Addario.
I’ve also really enjoyed the La Bella Tapes; I’ve had their White Nylon and Copper Tapes and they are both excellent. You can’t go wrong with La Bella or D’Addario.
I love Pyramid tapes - they are woody and deep but with good definition to the fundamental.
I’ve tried many others: Most of the La Bella offerings, Rotos, GHS, and D’Addario. If you don’t want to pay the $$$ for the Pyramids, La Bella, D’Addario, and GHS are all really nice with their own flavors. Rotos are cool to but maybe a little more metallic and clanky… and La Bella whites are the way to go if you want RW clarity with a smoooooth surface.
I’ve tried many others: Most of the La Bella offerings, Rotos, GHS, and D’Addario. If you don’t want to pay the $$$ for the Pyramids, La Bella, D’Addario, and GHS are all really nice with their own flavors. Rotos are cool to but maybe a little more metallic and clanky… and La Bella whites are the way to go if you want RW clarity with a smoooooth surface.
La Bella White Nylons for a roundwound sound without finger/fret noise.
Pyramids for a thumpy, double-bassish effect.
Pyramids for a thumpy, double-bassish effect.
Just put D’Addario tapes on my Sterling 24..first set of tapes and they play so smooth..need to add a little treble for my taste, but so far loving them..
