Which Tapewounds are Most Like Steel?

[frankie5string]

I wonder if I could custom order some rope core, nylon wound strings from a Chinese company. Traditional Chinese instruments often use this type of strings, which combines the brightness and sustain of steel with the soft touch and chunky attack of nylon - truly best of both worlds.

Rope core? You mean like Spirocore strings? Don't traditional strings often come with "sputtered" metal coatings on the outer wrap, instead of using metal wraps? They tend to be for much lower tension too, right?

I guess try it.

 

[frankie5string]

No that's cool, all of it is information, and I didn't specify round or flat- on purpose, because some flats are fairly bright, some rounds aren't exactly zingy...

I'm curious, is this to get around a metal allergy on your fingers, or uncomfortable feeling from rounds?
Would you consider tapes and a bit of midrange to upper-midrange "dirt" from a pedal to help get you there?

 

[Count Bassie]

I'm curious, is this to get around a metal allergy on your fingers, or uncomfortable feeling from rounds?
Would you consider tapes and a bit of midrange to upper-midrange "dirt" from a pedal to help get you there?

No issues with metal, I just got a bass in a trade and it came equipped with D'Addario tapewounds. It's a Sterling Ray 34ca, and I thought it an unusual choice for such an instrument. I've been playing then and played a gig last night with the bass. I've just been interested to hear some insight, although many years ago I had a set of Rotosound TruBass on a Fender Precision.
I'm thinking of just getting some steels though now, I thought my tone last night was very bassy, not much detail.
I would consider those LaBella whites though.

 

[frankie5string]

No issues with metal, I just got a bass in a trade and it came equipped with D'Addario tapewounds. It's a Sterling Ray 34ca, and I thought it an unusual choice for such an instrument. I've been playing then and played a gig last night with the bass. I've just been interested to hear some insight, although many years ago I had a set of Rotosound TruBass on a Fender Precision.
I'm thinking of just getting some steels though now, I thought my tone last night was very bassy, not much detail.
I would consider those LaBella whites though.

Tapes on a 'Ray seems like a bit of a stretch, but if you are boosting that preamp (which a lot of 'ray players do, anyway) you'll still squeeze something out of strings like that.
Yeah, I bought a set of D'Addario tapes to try on one of my basses and they came right out of the pack fraying. I actually bought a second pack, and those also came out of the pack fraying. They also had pretty inconsistent feeling "tape" and they still feel that way months after being installed.
I doubt I'll buy them again.

 

[Iristone]

Rope core? You mean like Spirocore strings? Don't traditional strings often come with "sputtered" metal coatings on the outer wrap, instead of using metal wraps? They tend to be for much lower tension too, right?

I guess try it.

Most are like Spirocore, though I've got one string that's braided steel. The windings tend to be flatwound (with chrome or nickel silver) or nylon filament.
The tension depends on the specific instrument. For moon guitar, spirocores tend to have higher tension than solid cores.

 

[Count Bassie]

...I'm thinking of just getting some steels though now, I thought my tone last night was very bassy, not much detail.
I would consider those LaBella whites though.

[TOTAL DERAIL="Count Bassie, post: 29363926, member: 74552"]
Just realized that my old Schroeder 1210R I was playing that night has a horn that I wasn't using. I had it turned all the way down, which I often do with most cabs. Tonight noodling around I remembered, duh, and turned it up to halfway. Ah, there it is... Not so dark and bassy, we had a more distinct voice now. It's a horn and not a piezo, so it's not so sizzly and sharp. The horn in this cab does something pleasant to the voice of it, you need it, really, to hear it speak properly. It's part of the voice.
I'm liking the Schroeder a good bit more than the Markbass at this point. The MB is lighter sounding, thinner, doesn't have the "belly", or the heft the Schroeder has. That's meaningful.
I'll probably still keep them both, the MB is still a cool cab. But the Schroeder is more like my sound...
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