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Electro-acoustic bass - tapewound string options?


Skol303
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I’m about to acquire an electro-acoustic bass, specifically a Warwick Alien Fretless 5 (Rockbass version). And I want to change the stock strings to a set of tapewound.

Two questions:

1) Do I need to be wary of any string tension issues when swapping a set of acoustic bass strings for tapewound? (i.e. anything that a standard truss-rod tweak won’t fix).

2) Can anyone recommend a set of tapered tapewound strings? (45/65/85/105/135 or similar).

[b]NB:[/b] The Warwick has an ABG bridge, with bridge pins like a standard acoustic guitar. So the strings need to be tapered to fit within the pins. The only set of tapered tapewound that I can find online are La Bella 750NB or 760NB black nylon, which are probably great (I love La Bella flats), but I wondered if there are any other options?

Thanks for any advice! :)

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I have not personally seen any tapewound strings with a taper, so I can't advise you much there.

As far as tension goes, tapes aren't any more taught than a normal set of flats so any bass should be able to handle the tension without any problem, although a truss rod adjustment may be in order any time you change the type of strings you're using. Also note that Warwick necks can be slower to react to truss rod adjustments than other basses because they use very stiff, dense woods, so be patient when you adjust the action.

Some tapes are extremely fat and may require you to widen the nut slots (Going solely from memory, I believe Roto-Sound falls into this category) so make sure you read up on whichever strings you choose.

Edited by Lo-E
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I'm not aware of any black nylon tapewounds that are tapered.

They vary in tension but are certainly not particularly tense and I have used them successfully on an acoustic bass guitar.

The following all make black nylon tapewounds:

La Bella
Pyramid
GHS
Fender
D'Addario
Rotosound
Picato
Status
... and probably some others.

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Cheers guys! Appreciated.

I'm going to opt for a set of La Bella 750NB. They're the 'lighter' of La Bella's tapewound sets (the gauge isn't too dissimilar to the stock Warwick strings) but have slightly tapered ends, which appear to fit the pin bridge of the Warwick acoustic - at least according to a couple of online reviews.

Fingers crossed ;)

And thanks again for the input.

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Quick update... the [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]La Bella 750NB (5-string set) fit the Rockbass Alien just fine. Phew! :)[/color][/font]

[font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]​They're not strictly 'tapered' strings in the true sense, but they feature narrow fabric winding at the bridge/ball end, which allows them to fit perfectly within the pin holes of the Rockbass bridge. They sound very nice too![/color][/font]

[font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Job done.[/color][/font]

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