Tapes on a Jazz?

[josie]

There's some discussion here (and a couple of other threads if you search):

 

[The59Sound]

1 hour ago, josie said:

There's some discussion here (and a couple of other threads if you search):

 

I searched before posting this thread - didn't answer my questions. 

[The59Sound]

7 hours ago, EssentialTension said:

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

Very informative, thank you.

Judging by all the soundclips I've heard and everything I've read, I've narrowed it down to La Bella or GHS tapes being best suited for my needs. 

[Creeper]

I’ve often thought about giving tapes a go but think they may just be a little too floppy for me, I must admit to liking a bit of tension.

[Mister RLP]

The D’addarios are not very floppy at all. 

Edited February 17, 2018 by Mister RLP

[Mister RLP]

Less tense than Chromes. Not by much.

[project_c]

They are a bit floppier than Chromes I think, but nowhere near the crazy amounts of flop you get with TI flats. D'Addario tapes have a nice snappiness to them, similar to light gauge rounds.

[Creeper]

21 hours ago, project_c said:

They are a bit floppier than Chromes I think, but nowhere near the crazy amounts of flop you get with TI flats. D'Addario tapes have a nice snappiness to them, similar to light gauge rounds.

If I can bring myself to take a set of roto 77 Jazz’s off one of my basses I may give these a go.

or I could just buy another bass and fit a set 🤔

[The59Sound]

Pulled the trigger on the La Bella 760N set - hopefully should arrive by the weekend!

[The59Sound]

Well - after delays due to stock issues, I finally got the tapes yesterday and strung them up this evening. Certainly different to what I was expecting! 

[CameronJ]

3 minutes ago, The59Sound said:

Well - after delays due to stock issues, I finally got the tapes yesterday and strung them up this evening. Certainly different to what I was expecting! 

How so?

[The59Sound]

Just the overall timbre compared to flats I normally use. 

[therealting]

I have tapes on my MIJ Mustang. The one issue I’ve had is grounding on one gig - because the tape winding doesn’t conduct, I had a horrible earthing buzz that I could only get to disappear by touching the metal bridge or controls. Very annoying!

[LeftyP]

On 2/15/2018 at 17:19, project_c said:

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.

I'm awaiting delivery of some D'Addario tape wound strings and plan to route them through the body.  I've checked their website and there is no mention of problems fitting them that way.  Do you have any more information as to why they should not go through the body?

[CameronJ]

9 minutes ago, LeftyP said:

I'm awaiting delivery of some D'Addario tape wound strings and plan to route them through the body.  I've checked their website and there is no mention of problems fitting them that way.  Do you have any more information as to why they should not go through the body?

Tapes are typically quite loose/low tension and so I can’t see any reason why there’d be a problem with through-body stringing. The issues tend to arise when you have very stiff/high tension strings like flats, which are vulnerable to breakage when bent at an acute angle. With tapes you should be fine.

[machinehead]

26 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

Tapes are typically quite loose/low tension and so I can’t see any reason why there’d be a problem with through-body stringing. The issues tend to arise when you have very stiff/high tension strings like flats, which are vulnerable to breakage when bent at an acute angle. With tapes you should be fine.

Would you say that through-body stringing might be a problem with TI flats?  They're very flexible but I'm cautious about the angle through the body.

Frank.

[CameronJ]

3 minutes ago, machinehead said:

Would you say that through-body stringing might be a problem with TI flats?  They're very flexible but I'm cautious about the angle through the body.

Frank.

I’ve never tried TI flats so I wouldn’t want to say, though there are plenty of folk on here who know TIs well and could offer advice

...anyone?

[project_c]

55 minutes ago, LeftyP said:

I'm awaiting delivery of some D'Addario tape wound strings and plan to route them through the body.  I've checked their website and there is no mention of problems fitting them that way.  Do you have any more information as to why they should not go through the body?

There is a little more chance of the coating catching on something in my experience - if they rub against something hard in your gig bag for example, like the edge of a pedal or something. This may damage the nylon coating a bit, but even then, unless you really do scrape them they'll be fine. I put my tapewounds through hell on a regular basis, I sometimes dig in when I play, they get smashed against the frets, they get carted around London in a packed gig bag, they get played in a sweaty bar, generally they're fine and I keep them on for about 5 months or so, sometimes longer. If you gig a lot, and use a gig bag, it may be a bit safer to not string through the body, but if it's a bass that you mainly keep at home, no problem.

 

[The59Sound]

On 19/02/2018 at 11:26, The59Sound said:

Pulled the trigger on the La Bella 760N set - hopefully should arrive by the weekend!

I've given them a fair chance but I think tapes aren't for me... I think flats are more my cup of tea.

Anyone interested in some (almost brand new) La Bella Nylon Tapes? Around 2 hours playing time and cut for a Fender style head. Gauges are .60 .70 .94 .115

[CameronJ]

1 hour ago, The59Sound said:

I've given them a fair chance but I think tapes aren't for me... I think flats are more my cup of tea.

Anyone interested in some (almost brand new) La Bella Nylon Tapes? Around 2 hours playing time and cut for a Fender style head. Gauges are .60 .70 .94 .115

If I didn’t already have a spare set I’d be biting your hand off! Stick em on a Precision and wait for the grin to spread. Takes a little time to get used to the feel but it’s worth it IMO.

[The59Sound]

Now for sale:

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/322013-la-bella-black-tapewounds-760n/

[The59Sound]

On 15/02/2018 at 13:18, Sibob said:

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

Giving this thread a bump - have you got round to trying the white tapes? I would be interested to see how they compare to black tapes. 

[Sibob]

1 hour ago, The59Sound said:

Giving this thread a bump - have you got round to trying the white tapes? I would be interested to see how they compare to black tapes. 

I don’t have any experience of La Bella black tapes, but I have th Gold White Nylons (tapes) on my 5 string Lakland, and I love them. By most accounts they are brighter with more attack than the Black Nylons. They can be a bit ‘clattery’ acoustically, because of the lower tension and the want for a medium/low action, but doesn't translate to live/recorded sound, and actually they sound amazing in those settings.

This is them in that bass:

 Si

[Reggaebass]

I’m a massive fan of La Bella black tapes, they are perfect for what I play   I have a nominated tokai  jb  which I get serious low end out of but still a very clean sound,and they feel great 

[The59Sound]

On 10/09/2018 at 16:18, Sibob said:

I don’t have any experience of La Bella black tapes, but I have th Gold White Nylons (tapes) on my 5 string Lakland, and I love them. By most accounts they are brighter with more attack than the Black Nylons. They can be a bit ‘clattery’ acoustically, because of the lower tension and the want for a medium/low action, but doesn't translate to live/recorded sound, and actually they sound amazing in those settings.

This is them in that bass:

 Si

Did you find that the strings reduced the output of the bass?