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Tapewounds?


Beer of the Bass
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I'm curious to hear some opinons on tapewound strings, and I know a few BCers will have experimented with them.
I'm using Ernie Ball flatwounds at the moment, and I'm finding that flatwounds with the treble boosted slightly give me a sound with just the right amount of growl and edge which sits in the mix nicely, while sounding more "earthy" than roundwounds. I've seen a few posts on another bass forum saying that nylon tapewounds actually have slightly more of this sound than some flatwounds, but still with the interesting percussive attack when played with a pick. So, which ones are worth checking out? It's also worth mentioning that I play 5-string, which I think rules out trying Fender tapewounds, among others.

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I really like the GHS best of all - [url="http://www.ghsstrings.com/strings/bass"]http://www.ghsstrings.com/strings/bass[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d6lb0-VZ5Y"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d6lb0-VZ5Y[/url]

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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1347194792' post='1797859']
LaBellas seem like a big investment though - even D'Addario come out a bit cheaper if ordered from the states. Anyone tried the Status tapewounds? Prices are very good, though I don't know if the conventional gauges mean that they'd be floppy.
[/quote]

They shouldn't be, the Daddario and GHS ones use regular guages, and aren't floppy at all, IMO.

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I have some Fender tapewounds, and don't like them.

They're not very smooth at all (though maybe they're not meant to be); it's a bit like having a roundwound version of tapes, rather than the flatwound versions, sadly of unknown make, that are on my electric fretted upright, and which I much prefer.

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I used the Rotosound Steve Harris ones on my bass for years, but then changed to the Rotosound Tru Bass nylons to get more of a 'thump'. They are advertised as providing a 'jazzy upright sound' which may be the case on a fretless, but on my P it's just a mellow yet quite defined tone. Really nice and a lot more versatile than I had anticipated. Very smooth to the touch too.

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Don from D'Addario here - we are making a 5-string Nylonwound set - you can find more about it here--> [url="http://daddario.com/DADProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=3769&productid=206&productname=ETB92_5_Tapewound_5_String_Bass__Medium__50_135__Long_Scale"]http://daddario.com/...135__Long_Scale[/url]

Don Dawson
Product markeing specialist
D'Addario / Planet Waves

Edited by ddawson2012
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  • 2 weeks later...

Woohoo, I've got 'em! First impressions are quite favourable. The sound seems like a nice hybrid between flats and worn-in rounds. The attack is crisper than flats, but the sustain is shorter than rounds. I can get plenty of clank and growl but not zing, if that makes any sense, and they'll still do the thumpy thing if played fingerstyle with the right touch. It'll be interesting to see how much they change with playing. They feel softer than my 45 gauge Ernie Ball flats did, but not outrageously floppy - perhaps similar to 40 gauge rounds in terms of perceived tension. They also look very cool against a maple board.
They have brought to light an odd grounding problem with my bass, but I'll bring that up in the Repairs and Tech section.

Edited by Beer of the Bass
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Glad they delight, I suppose as you're not touching the metal of the strings and its a Fender there'll be a little buzz.

I had flats on my old P, it came with them, no idea what they are (green silk, Fender strings?), the tone was fine but the frequency, or note definition wasn't, sounded muddy. Put some Roto Trubass tapewounds and, sho' nuff they work, nicely define sound.

They haven't noticeably changed since I've had them, many a sweaty gig. Very nice smooth feel.

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[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1347192708' post='1797834']
La Bella 760N Black Nylons
[/quote]

+1 I have these on my electro acoustic bass , very warm and woody thump, but surprising clear in the high end, oh and great tension, if i ever get another P bass, ill put some of these on :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

[font=times new roman,times,serif][size=5]Hi all[/size][/font]
[font=times new roman,times,serif][size=5]Just tried my first set of tape wounds, was curious to see how they would sound and feel. OMG why had no one told me about these. I put them on my mustang. Love the way they feel and sound. I have the Picato custom bass 50-105s a slightly heavier gauge than i have used before, also they are standard scale strings so i did have to cut them down a bit, mustang strings are a pain for scale length with most short scale strings being to short thanks to the strung through the body designee. The sound is far more natural and less metallic than the rounds with slightly less output and more thump making the sound more percussive. I think its the feel of the string that impresses me most, no finger noise at all so slides sound fantastic.[/size][/font]
[font=times new roman,times,serif][size=5]Think im guna have to go n get another set to try on my Landing L2, another short scale[/size][/font]

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