Tapes on a Jazz?

[The59Sound]

Hello all,

I have just joined a 70s rock covers band and am thinking of putting flats back on my Jazz. I usually use a Bearfoot Blueberry to get a bit of grit and having flats on the Jazz bass gives me a really nice 'vintage' tone (think JPJ on early Zep records).

I've always been curious about tapes and woud like to know how they differ from flats in feeling, tension and sound. I have no experience playing tapes but thought they would be quite similar to the flats I normally use. My nut has already been filed for thicker gauge strings so fitting tapes shouldn't be a problem.

Any help or advice welcome!

[CameronJ]

As a general rule, flatwounds are quite high in tension vs nylon tapewounds which are known for having a much lower tension. I guess the order of string tension from highest to lowest would be flatwounds > roundwounds > tapewounds. If you’re used to flats then tapes will be quite a change!

Edited February 15, 2018 by CameronJ

[Sibob]

Worth noting that a lot of Tapes can't be strung through-body.....so if you have a US Jazz (or similar) that allows for that, string it through the bridge instead.

But as mentioned, much lower tension than Flats and Rounds. I've become very interested in trying the LaBella Gold White Nylons on my 5 String Lakland, they seem very cool.

Si

[CameronJ]

I’m actually getting some Labella Black Nylons put onto my Sandberg Electra VS4 as we speak, amongst a few other mods. I’ll hopefully be able to pick it up from The Gallery tomorrow so will report back. Very excited!

[The59Sound]

Would you guys know of any recordings where tapes were used? Even better if it's a Jazz bass.

[CameronJ]

 

[CameronJ]

Fast forward to 1:10 to get to the jazz bass part of the video.

 

[uk_lefty]

Watching with interest! I bought some tapewounds on a whim (Fender) and can't decide whether they're going on my P or J...

[EssentialTension]

I believe Herbie Flowers' blue Jazz bass wears Rotosound Trubass tapes.

[CameronJ]

17 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

Watching with interest! I bought some tapewounds on a whim (Fender) and can't decide whether they're going on my P or J...

I personally prefer the way they complement the inherent tone of a P pickup.

[EssentialTension]

2 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

I personally prefer the way they complement the inherent tone of a P pickup.

I would probably have said the opposite ... just showing there's at least some subjectivity to it.

[uk_lefty]

13 minutes ago, EssentialTension said:

I would probably have said the opposite ... just showing there's at least some subjectivity to it.

Exactly the dilemma I'm in! Suppose it depends what and how you play

[Mister RLP]

My jazz Flea bass is wearing D’Addario tapewounds. Working for me at the moment. I am an big fan of Chromes but the tapes sound and feel better on the jazz. Chromes on pbass - fretted and fretless. Also look good! Big fan of Herbie’s playing and his bass. No nut adjustment needed with these tapewounds. 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Mister RLP

[Mister RLP]

[TheGreek]

Big, big fan of tapewounds - I put them on everything that I want to keep.

Satisfies the 3Ts - Texture, tension and tone.

[CameronJ]

4 minutes ago, Mister RLP said:

That looks glorious.

[Mister RLP]

Thanks. Just looks, feels and sounds right.   Nuff said! 

[The59Sound]

That Flea Jazz looks amazing with tapes.

From what I’ve found online, Rotosound, La Bella, GHS, Fender and D’Addario all make tapewounds. Does anyone here have experience with those on a bass?

[EssentialTension]

15 minutes ago, The59Sound said:

From what I’ve found online, Rotosound, La Bella, GHS, Fender and D’Addario all make tapewounds. Does anyone here have experience with those on a bass?

Rotos: very heavy gauge, may need nut filing, soft warm sounding, medium tension, yellow silks.

La Bella: slightly narrower gauge, nut should be fine, brighter but still mellow sounding, medium tension, purplish silks.

GHS: slightly heavier gauge, less bright, mellow, red silks.

Fender: Feel more like coated roundwounds than tapes, so rougher feel, medium tension, brighter sounding, black silks.

D'Addario: never tried them but I believe very low tension, blue silks

Pyramid: medium tension, mellow sounding, tape feels almost cloth-like, golden silks.

Probably not very helpful, there's no substitute for trying them all. I don't myself think there's anything wrong with any of them on any bass, it's merely your personal preferences

[TheGreek]

Status also sell Tapewounds - sets "available" in 40s and 45s. Currently only available in medium scale - fine for 2+2 but not 4 inline..

[fretmeister]

Roto Jazz 77 flats are techically tapewounds according to their website.

 

I just got a set an I'm loving them. They can be bright and brash (Steve Harris' favoured strings) but get nice and old school with the tone down.

Tension is much higher than rounds though - my bass needed a big set up.

[project_c]

Absolutely, tapewounds will sound great on a J. I have D'Addario's on my PJ (as well as 2 other P's) and it sounds really good with the bridge solo'd. They have a really satisfying tone that no other strings can get near, but the way you play and the setup of your bass will determine how much you like them.

If you have a light touch, you may find them too mellow. If you play a bit more dynamically, you will love them. If you play metal, you will hate them, but for anything funk / jazz related they're perfect. Also they're not as close to flats as you'd think, they sound more woody and less metallic than flats or rounds.

I used to have them strung through the body on my fretless and it was never a problem but apparently you shouldn't do that.

[Huge Hands]

I tried a set of Roto 88s on my 5 string Harley Benton acoustic after the original brass ones were way too zingy, and loved them.  

I then bought another set and put them on a modded Squier P5 I have.  I noticed when gigging with it that there was one song we did with a lot of repeated fast notes in it where it felt like the strings were struggling to keep up with my fingers due to the low tension.  

I normally play fairly high tension flats, so may just be what I'm used to.

[The59Sound]

4 hours ago, CameronJ said:

 

That fingerstyle tone around the 2:23 mark sounds really good. I'm very tempted to get some tapes now; should have no problem with classic rock. 

[Sibob]

2 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Roto Jazz 77 flats are techically tapewounds according to their website.

 

I just got a set an I'm loving them. They can be bright and brash (Steve Harris' favoured strings) but get nice and old school with the tone down.

Tension is much higher than rounds though - my bass needed a big set up.

All flats are technically 'tapewound',  but with metal tape rather than nylon. As such, flats tend to refer to metal tapes and nylon (be it black, white etc) to nylon tapes.

Si