Help me identify these black tapewound

[Just Wrong]

Another vote for Pyramid. Looks very similar to the Pyramid tapes on my uke basses, with orange silk at both ends.

View attachment 5490126

Those basses are gorgeous!

 

[Bob Nieske]

Rotosound Tru Bass 88.

The rotosound have yellow winding, this is gold. thanks though

 

[Bob Nieske]

The silked ends are described as being long, and that picture jibes with it, but they also seem to taper correctly before the low-E tuning post, which makes them medium-scale at most. Nor do I believe it could be any other way: making them long-scale wouldn't be too smart (Beatle-bass users would find it really hard to fit them on guitar-style posts).


I've read about Galli black nylon tapewounds having red silks (like GHS tapes). Full-screening the video, and selecting the highest quality, would vaguely seem to confirm it.


As for regular Pyramid tapes, from what I've been able to gather they come (or came: they just say "grüne" now - p. 17 of pdf) with different silk colours depending on length.
I've seen pics of an extra-long set with red silks, some of short-scale (plus) sets with green silks, and yet others of a custom uke-bass sized one with orange/gold/dark yellow ones; finally (following the Google link), one of a long-scale set, also with dark yellow silks indeed.


EDIT - Here's an excellent shootout article,
https://www.bonedo.de/artikel/black-nylon-basssaiten-im-vergleich/2/

with pics of long-scale Pyramid (a gold/orange hue of yellow),

Rotosound (lighter shade of yellow)

and Hofner-branded

tapes.


So those in the OP may have been Pyramids all along, after all.

 

[Bob Nieske]

The photo here is great, yes the pyramids. I have so many strings that when I try a new set I sometimes don't put the old set back in it's proper package. My bad. I have used Pyramid strings for upright, although they are really difficult to get. These are my favorites for my Taylor AB1 and GL 2000. Thanks for all of your efforts!

 

[michael_t]

The rotosound have yellow winding, this is gold. thanks though

Yes, I realized I misspoke earlier. Pyramid is the correct answer.

 

[GIBrat51]

I had tape wounds on a Vox Cougar back in the early '70s, when I took that bass in for my first base lesson with this new bass instructor, he made a face that I will never forget but I didn't change them out 'cuz who had money back then? They're okay I guess, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to slap a set of tapewounds on anything I own nowadays.

You have to understand that this bass instructor was something special, he was The Man around Falls Church at the time. He worked out if Foxes Music... if anyone can remember this cat I would like to know his name cuz I can't remember his name but let me tell you a little story...

Of all the bass instruction that I had in my youth, the craziest instructor was this polyester, double knit, rayon and disco booted Jazz dude who was about 30 lb heavier than the shirt allowed and could play his ass off. His Precision barely had a lick of nitrocellulus left on it. At the music store where he worked out of they had an upright bass that occasionally he would attack and I would spend the entire jaw dropping ½ hour watching this dude just go flame-on. It was very impressive.

I was mortified that he disapproved of my tape wound strings on that Vox Cougar, but he didn't really say anything... only that look. He didn't care for the Vox either...

He he taught me alot, including the Fine Art of buying used beater Fender basses out of the many pawn shops in the Northern Virginia/DC metropolitan area which started a whole "flip" career for me - in my quest to obtain gear & flip it for some profit to stick in the bank account for better gear. I have him to thank for that. He even taught me bass set-up procedures.

So don't despise me for not being a fan of "tapeworms" I came by it honestly... Or maybe I was coerced into not liking them.

Nah... no worries. I do use tape wounds, and have, for years. But, only on specific basses - for a specific tone. For me, tape wounds are definitely a "niche" string; and in my bass herd, they're on "niche" basses. The Rogue VB-100 violin wears Roto 88 tapes, because I want a deep, woody tone, with a fast decay, from that bass. Which is perfect for the music I play with it. Yeah, I could use any of my other basses, but... they just wouldn't sound "right". Besides; the thing is just fun to play... I also have tapes on my '93 Fury Anthem lined fretless bass. Except for the strings; tuners; most of the electronics; and maybe the control knobs, the whole bass - everything - was built by a Canadian "mad genius" in his basement - by himself. I found out the hard way, that it was made to wear tape wound strings - and emulate an upright bass as much as an electric bass guitar possibly can. Which, trust me - it certainly does. It came to me with a set of incredibly gnarly-feeling tapes on it. I took those things off, and put a set of TI JF324 Jazz Flats on it. They lasted about 5 minutes; the banshee howling that resulted from them, was something I never want to hear again. The Roto 88's that replaced them? Perfection; after all, they were made to emulate an upright bass, in the first place. which is why they're named "TruBass" strings... I currently have two other basses that might get tape wounds. Just depends on how the new flats they're wearing sound and feel after they break in. If they do get tapes? that will give me 4 basses with tapes; one bass with rounds (TI JR324's), and 23 basses with flats... Those 2 basses are both fretless; one will definitely be a "niche" bass, in any case...
So, if you don't like tape wounds, then you don't like them. Lots of people don't; and, the tone is definitely not for everyone. But, if you need it? There's really no other option...