[ABG] LaBella 750s Copper-White Tapes

[Karl Kaminski]

I'll be comparing against TI Jazz Round/Jazz Flat/Acousticore, Dogal Hellborg, Fisoma 2716, Aquilastrings Copper on Bioplastic, GHS pressure bronze, Labella 'Olinto' flats/Black/Gold-White tapes, Galli Synthesis on my Furch SW5 ABG, piezo pickup.

Im searching for a specific tone/feel, and all of the strings listed (and more that aren't) were used in that search. My goal is to find a lower tension string, with a more 'open' resonant sound, that would harmonize well in the higher registers (especially the low B), and preferably have a smooth wrap (or at least pressure-wound, or mild roundwound like the TIJR).


First Impressions:

C 0.043" / 1.09mm
G 0.050" / 1.28mm
D 0.065" / 1.66mm
A 0.085" / 2.16mm
E 0.105" / 2.67mm
B 0.135" / 3.43mm

Like some of my other string demos, first impression was "doubtful". As I do with all Labella B strings, I had to eliminate the taper with a spacer. Overall, the LaBella Copper-white are very similar to their Gold-White and Black tapes, BUT... the feel and sound are the closest to my goal out of all the Labellas Ive played so far.

Heres my thoughts comparing Black/Gold-Wht/Copper-Wht from the La Bella White vs Copper-White vs Gold-White? thread:

I just installed the LaB Copper-Whites, played over an hour. They're nice but the low B has similar issues for me as the G-W and black tapes. (needs a spacer for the taper, the B lacks 'center' to the pitch, also it doesn't intonate well up the neck). And in general, I don’t like the plastic-y feel (and I know alot of ppl love them) just my personal preference. But of all the LaB tapes ive tried— I like the C-W the most.

I havent played the LaB Whites yet. But comparing G-W to C-W, I find the C-W to be smoother, a little brighter, and alittle more 'give in the hand' than the G-W.

I'd break the 750s down as: (hard to do a graphic chart within the thread lol)

Black — G-W — C-W
Darker <—> Brighter​

"Thumpier" <—> Smoother

Stiffer <—
Sustain ≤​

You'll read alot of TBers talk about the 'something different' with the copper-whites. Its true, the mids are clearer, the top end is a bit muted—but the plastic wrap still can create a clacky string presence. I like them. The Aquilastrings Coppers have a similar attraction—the copper is warmer than bronze/phos (and all the steel alloys), yet theres a nice attack, sweet mids, and a pleasantly muted top end.

These do 'excite' and travel more than other tapes. I adjusted my truss rod for it but I was still unprepared for the extra 'touch' I needed to get the low B string fretted in the lower positions. Check out the demo (@1:23 Groove), Im not use to squeezing that much for the low-D—that rattle is me being lazy in the hand

The thing that really stood out for me is the expressiveness of the strings, many of the strings I've tried have difficulty producing a wide range of expression. Check out the end of the demo (Chordal / wide and slow Vibratos)

For my project the Fisoma 2716 Standard Gauge, Aquilastrings Coppers, and LaBella Copper-Whites are the current contenders.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

DEMO:

All audio tracks are DRY/no processing/no plugins. Only leveling the input gain in Logic Pro so that all tracks were more or less the same output. Headphones suggested.

Gear:
iPhone12Pro HD/30 video>
WarmAudio WA47jr Mic>
Furch SW5 bass pickup>
MOTU 8PreES>Mac Studio>Logic Pro, iMovie

 

[rawdge]

These have a quite thew growl. Chording sounds great.

 

[Yahboy]

DEMO:

All audio tracks are DRY/no processing/no plugins. Only leveling the input gain in Logic Pro so that all tracks were more or less the same output. Headphones suggested.

Gear:
iPhone12Pro HD/30 video>
WarmAudio WA47jr Mic>
Furch SW5 bass pickup>
MOTU 8PreES>Mac Studio>Logic Pro, iMovie

Compare to your previous demo, Copper white B string has better clarity, firm without muddy, and tonal are better balance with EADG. This G string has richer voice too. Meanwhile, i dint hear that plastic character on your demo.

Entire bass voice sound full body, love the tone. I do believe some tweak on amp EQ possible make the bass tone more "In Your Face" too....
.

 

[Bassinthemudd]

These strings sound great. How would you rate the volume?

 

[BOOG]

These strings sound great. How would you rate the volume?

I have a set of LaBella Copper-Whites on one bass and I noticed a drop in (db) volume compared to any other string used on it. Another bass has LaBella Blacks and I noticed a slight drop in volume but not quite as much as the Copper-Whites bass.
However , with so many differing variables, take all of that with a grain of salt and ymmv.

 

[Dynacord]

I have a set of LaBella Copper-Whites on one bass and I noticed a drop in (db) volume compared to any other string used on it.

Same for me amplified. I still like them even with that trade off though.

 

[SBassman]

Cool. Great thread.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

Compare to your previous demo, Copper white B string has better clarity, firm without muddy, and tonal are better balance with EADG. This G string has richer voice too. Meanwhile, i dint hear that plastic character on your demo.

Entire bass voice sound full body, love the tone. I do believe some tweak on amp EQ possible make the bass tone more "In Your Face" too....
.

well thats the point of the string demos; to show the 'baseline'/benchmark from which you could build upon —all things are possible.

Ultimately, "how ya salt your stew is up to you"

 

[Karl Kaminski]

These strings sound great. How would you rate the volume?

well thats a difficult answer. While a string may be louder in clinical numbers doesn't mean it sounds clearer, better, or sweeter etc. But for the sake of comparison...


Disclaimer:
Im about to thoroughly, unscientifically, (shout out to Brian Lehrer) list some of the strings by "what I imagine" their relative volumes to be on my bass. I never took a SPL readings, and my mic settings were not always identical
SO my gut says... (*Personal Favorites in bold)

LOUDEST VOL ^
DR Rare rounds
Fisoma Standard (Med) rounds
Dogal Hellborg rounds
LaB CW tape
Aquilastrings Copper/Bioplastic flats
LaB GW tape
Galli Synthesis
Fisoma Med-Light rounds
TI JR rounds
TI AC rounds
TI JF flat
LaB Black tape
LaB Gold flat
LaB Olinto flat

​

That was REALLY hard as it doesn't take into account the stiffness of the string, the color of the tone, or how the bass responds/resonates, etc etc.

For example, IIRC the DR Rare were seemly the loudest strings I tried (ever??) on an ABG and I hated playing them! Sooo bright and stiff, with a really 'aggressive' roundwound wrap—Anyone who's played DR strings knows 'that grabby feel' they have, which can be super NOISY on an ABG. Now thats not to say they aren't a great string... just not right for me and this project.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum, TI AC and Fisoma Med-lights had some of the sweetest tone, expressiveness, and playability of all the sets—but they were too anemic with the attack, or needed alot of adjustment to my playing style to make them 'sing'.

Also, as you approach the bottom of the list, the TI to me were louder, BUT the LaB were so punchy they have more 'presence' making it just too hard to decide and start splitting hairs. Furthermore, some of them were loud, but had no sustain or an aggressive decay making them not seem as loud. The Galli Synthesis were like this—they have a very nice attack, but the shelved sustain makes it feel like there isn't enough coming from the instrument. Oddly though, the demo sounded so much better than the live experience. Go f'gure?

For me, volume isn't necessarily the priority for the style I play. If I need more volume, I can use an amp or FOH.
And as always on TB... YMMV

 

[Yahboy]

well thats a difficult answer. While a string may be louder in clinical numbers doesn't mean it sounds clearer, better, or sweeter etc. But for the sake of comparison...


Disclaimer:
Im about to thoroughly, unscientifically, (shout out to Brian Lehrer) list some of the strings by "what I imagine" their relative volumes to be on my bass. I never took a SPL readings, and my mic settings were not always identical
SO my guts says... (*Personal Favorites in bold)

LOUDEST VOL ^
DR Rare rounds
Fisoma Standard (Med) rounds
Dogal Hellborg rounds
LaB CW tape
Aquilastrings Copper/Bioplastic flats
LaB GW tape
Galli Synthesis
Fisoma Med-Light rounds
TI JR rounds
TI AC rounds
TI JF flat
LaB Black tape
LaB Gold flat
LaB Olinto flat

​

That was REALLY hard as it doesn't take into account the stiffness of the string, the color of the tone, or how the bass responds/resonates, etc etc.

For example, IIRC the DR Rare were seemly the loudest strings I tried (ever??) on an ABG and I hated playing them! Sooo bright and stiff, with a really 'aggressive' roundwound wrap—Anyone who's played DR strings knows 'that grabby feel' they have, which can be super NOISY on an ABG. Now thats not to say they aren't a great string... just not right for me and this project.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum, TI AC and Fisoma Med-lights had some of the sweetest tone, expressiveness, and playability of all the sets—but they were too anemic with the attack, or needed alot of adjustment to my playing style to make them 'sing'.

Also, as you approach the bottom of the list, the TI to me were louder, BUT the LaB were so punchy they have more 'presence' making it just too hard to decide and start splitting hairs. Furthermore, some of them were loud, but had no sustain or an aggressive decay making them not seem as loud. The Galli Synthesis were like this—they have a very nice attack, but the shelved sustain makes it feel like there isn't enough coming from the instrument. Oddly though, the demo sounded so much better than the live experience. Go f'gure?

For me, volume isn't necessarily the priority for the style I play. If I need more volume, I can use an amp or FOH.
And as always on TB... YMMV

Copper white tape has less output compare to metal bass string. Another less output normal bass string are pre-mexico Fender 7150 I been play.

But, both has great voice on my pbass.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

"apple and oranges" my friend, the statements in the quoted post (and this thread in general) are about the strings on ABG and their perceived acoustic vol. Sorry if that was unclear. That list has nothing to do with how much the strings output on an EB or mag pups. While informative and a good point, its just not the focus here.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

I've got the copper whites on my Boulder Creek ABG fretted 5. The B was so quiet I searched for years for a viable replacement.
It now wears a D'addario Chrome .132 B and the volume is now even.
I cannot abide by the noise of roundwound ABG strings it drives me batty.
Great demo!

 

[Karl Kaminski]

have you tried removing the taper on LaBella Bs? its not perfect but it helps (at least on the furch). But with all the sets, the B (and sometimes E) were weakest.

I thought these had the best Lower strings:

Fisoma Standard (Med) rounds
Dogal Hellborg rounds
Aquilastrings Copper/Bioplastic flats​

 

[NordicBard]

Finally!

Compared to TI Flats:

Will string 'her' up later today and give it at least a few days before a small mini-review.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

Hey @NordicBard, thanks for the pic! Its interesting looking at the wrap in the pic, one can see the Dogal ribbon is wider. Possibly to balance out flexibility with the Dogal's stranded core vs the TIs solid core and narrower ribbon. Excited to hear/see your review! (please share a link here for us to follow)

 

[Karl Kaminski]

2nd Impressions:

After a couple of weeks with the CWs on my ABG, they have settled in even more. And the biggest improvement has been the LowB. Its tone is more centered, and oddly the string is a little more 'flexible' in the hand—or maybe Im just getting use to them. Either way fretting in the lower positions is a bit easier/cleaner.

Still the string's most pleasing quality remains to be their expressiveness—the D/G are really sweet.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

BTW...
there are a few Labella (and other) string sets from my string demos in the Classifieds if anyone is interested in trying them.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

Quarterly Update:

I've kept the LaB CW on the last three months... Still very nice, same experience as before. But I wanted to post that my G string is really tarnishing under the wrap. While typical for copper, it was surprising being that they are covered. I imagine between the humid summer, my hands sweating, and alot of slides/hammer-ons, I guess it worked in between the wraps. I don't hear any difference, just discoloration.

Curious if any other CW users could post their experiences with the longevity of the set.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Quarterly Update:

I've kept the LaB CW on the last three months... Still very nice, same experience as before. But I wanted to post that my G string is really tarnishing under the wrap. While typical for copper, it was surprising being that they are covered. I imagine between the humid summer, my hands sweating, and alot of slides and hammers I guess it worked between the wraps. I don't hear any difference, just discoloration.

Curious if any other CW users could post their experiences with the longevity of the set.

Interesting! How are the Aquila Flat Spirals faring in this regard, since we're at it?
(Sorry for the off-topic: if the answer requires elaboration, we can continue over on the dedicated thread, which you linked to in the OP.)