Multiscale black nylon tapewound strings - Pyramid represent!

[Katoosie]

Hi TalkBass.

I hope you, the reader, are doing just fine and dandy during this hectic December time

So, story time -
Ages ago I had a fretless 5 string bass with Nylon Tapewound strings, which I liked very much. It had the Daddario ETB 92 strings on it with blue silks, and the bass was a NS Design CR 5 Radius. That bass got sold however and because of other basses, I never went back to nylons after that.

Let's skip a bit to current time.

@el murdoque had a Dingwall 6 string and was looking for strings, this lead him onto Pyramid strings. Apparently, these guys have been making strings for instruments for generations and they even do multiscale strings. Actually, they will make you whatever you want - all you do is specify the measurements, pay and a week or so later the strings appear at your doorstep - sweet.

About 3 months ago I had a surgery and I haven't been able to play at all since then, so I have been mostly in bed and went back to work just about a month ago. I haven't played my bass at all since the hospital visit, I am rusty. No calluses. So, I thought - why not gift myself some strings for Jul? Seems like perfect timing.

So, the two of us talked and since the company is German and el murdoque lives there, he offered to order the strings for me, which was super kind of him to do. Some time passed, money got exchanged and not too long ago the strings got delivered to my mailbox.

Here's what I got.

These strings came with coasters, which are super super cool...

... and some stickers

Black nylon outer wrap, steel core, golden/orange/yellow silks.

These are replacing the original Dingwall multiscale nickel plated set that Dingwall themselves sell for their and other instruments. They sound fine and feel great, I have nothing bad to say about them - thing is, my body reacts kinda bad to nickel, seems to wear them out quickly and makes them look and feel quite nasty. So, sorry - you gotta go. Make space for Pyramid nylons

After taking the strings off, I noticed that the frets are really, really dirty, dull and lack any kind of shine. I got this bass used a while ago and this string change was a perfect opportunity to do some cleaning maintenance on the instrument itself.

German instrument cleaner - I swear, this is a coincidence!

Painters tape applied across the fingerboard...

...slowly getting there with some fine steel wool and the guitar polish...

...aaaaaaand done! Way better! Shiny, clean and ready to go!

And there she is, all strung up and ready to rock

After this I plugged her in and started doodling. I have noticed that the jack has some intermittent output issues along with the pickup selector - this might be a job for a technician after the holiday period is over, I am not sure yet. I will decide at a later date.

But so far, all of this together sounds like this.


I dig the sound. I love the look. I love the feel. Win-win-win.

Thanks and until next time

 

[JRA]

custom string set --- very cool! and @el murdoque knows what he's talkin' about!

glad you're back in the game!

 

[monsterthompson]

Great update. I need to go grab my good headphones to listen to this again. My poor little phone speakers just aren’t going to cut it

 

[DeltaPhoenix]

That’s awesome, @Katoosie

I love Dingwalls and Tapewounds but have never had them together. My Dingwalls wear SS and Nickle rounds. I have a short scale fretless 5 (E-C) that wears tapewounds though.

These sound really good on your bass.

 

[el murdoque]

That sound from a fresh set of strings is quite awesome if you ask me. Makes me wonder if I should get a set of tapes to try out - but that'd require the purchase of another bass to put them on.

 

[Katoosie]

custom string set --- very cool! and @el murdoque knows what he's talkin' about!

glad you're back in the game!

Oh yeah! It was a great suggestion. These strings are fantastic. Love the more tactile feel of them. I wish I worked/was tired less so I could play more

Great update. I need to go grab my good headphones to listen to this again. My poor little phone speakers just aren’t going to cut it

They are awesome. Do you have any tapes on any of your machines?

That’s awesome, @Katoosie

I love Dingwalls and Tapewounds but have never had them together. My Dingwalls wear SS and Nickle rounds. I have a short scale fretless 5 (E-C) that wears tapewounds though.

These sound really good on your bass.

I really dig everything about these nylons now. Can't wait to play more and break them in over time. I guess I will report back on those in a few months time

How come your 5er is string E-C? Just for a different sound?

 

[monsterthompson]

They are awesome. Do you have any tapes on any of your machines?

I tried them once and couldn’t get them off my bass fast enough. I think it was a set of Labella Gold White. Just lifeless and dull and totally wrong for what I was going for. I’ve used flats before and was expecting something in that realm, but I wasn’t happy with what I got.

 

[dutchwife]

Lovely on all counts but still can't help thinking that "My electronics are maybe kinda shot" as an afterthought makes the previously mentioned successes a little irrelevant.
Hope that those issues sort themselves out as quickly as everything else. Great looking bass by the way!

 

[Katoosie]

Lovely on all counts but still can't help thinking that "My electronics are maybe kinda shot" as an afterthought makes the previously mentioned successes a little irrelevant.
Hope that those issues sort themselves out as quickly as everything else. Great looking bass by the way!

It works still, besides I can run the bass passively. Kinda a bummer, yeah - but I will think about an appropriate course of action after the holidays

I wonder if the jack is just dying on me *shrug*

 

[dutchwife]

Hope you get around to having it checked soon Katoosie. It'd be great to hear that you've everything 100% sorted. Good luck Sir.

 

[Dynacord]

Nice! I love Pyramid strings and, yes, they'll do pretty much anything. No problem ordering direct and communicating in English. They usually just do PayPal invoice and that handles the conversion as well.

 

[mikewalker]

Warm and articulate! And that's a sweet-looking bass

 

[T-boneParish]

This is a story with 2 heroes, Pyramid for making custom strings, and @el murdoque for brokering the deal.

I think I need to contact Pyramid about making a new set of tape wound strings for my Overhead collapsible travel bass that has an odd 27” scale. I modified a set of long scale strings for the instrument, but let’s just say I should probably leave string-making to the pros. It sounds great, but it’s getting to be time for a new set.

 

[XLunacy]

Complements the look of the bass so well, sounds great, congrats Can this type of coating take pick playing?
Also, would you mind disclosing approximately how much they charged for this custom set? Finding info on their website is not easy, to say the least. Could be interested in trying their products in the future

 

[ole Jason]

It's an interesting tone... kind of the polar opposite from what you usually hear on those basses. Do you think the multiscale setup still makes sense for warmer/tubbier tones?

 

[pingvuiini]

Max at Pyramid Strings is great! As the OP mentioned, Max is willing to go the extra mile to make things work.

My Pyramid story begins with my custom made Ken Bebensee Baruke left handed 5 string fretless uke bass. The 23" scale length was ideal for my fretting hand where I have issues with my ring and pinky fingers.

Prior to that I had been playing Gold Tone uke basses and using Road Toad Pahoehoe rubber silicone strings, and I had Ken build the Baruke using the Pahoehoes. The rubber silicone strings had a nice blooming upright sound and very low tension which was great for my fingers, but they were an absolute PITA to install!!! Having to install, remove and install again several times as the strings stretched and their really fat gauge was a total drag. So I had Ken design the Baruke in such a way that if I ever found a string manufacturer that was willing to make normal tapes for a 23" scale bass that we could shoehorn a magnetic pickup to accompany the piezos.

Over the following months I contacted the biggies: D'Addario (we have no plans for 23" scale tapewounds in the future), La Bella ('we can't seem to make the intonation work'). I can't recall how I came upon Pyramid strings, but I contacted Max and he told me to send him measurements which I carefully made and sent to him:

A few weeks later I received my first order of custom made tapes along with a bunch of schwag like the OP:

Installation was a total breeze, but the action was extremely high due to the Pahoehoe strings and I had a gig coming up in a couple days. I was able to get thru the gig just playing up to the 12th fret and not beyond. Right after the gig I packed up the Baruke and shipped it to Ken for extensive surgery to squeeze in a magnetic pickup. After several months Ken sent some progress photos and right away I could see how wonderfully low the action was and couldn't wait to get the bass back to play it.

The Pyramid tapes sound and play great and they last forever (like most tapes do). I did have Max make a few sets of roundwounds the same size just to play around with, but the tapes are what I use most. So many thanks to Max for taking on such a challenging project and making it all work.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Can this type of coating take pick playing?

It's not a thin, film-like, electrochemically-applied coating, but a substantial nylon tape (ruban, bande) wrapped around the string and secured by the silk. I rarely use a pick with my tapes or otherwise, but, from what I've read, it takes years for a tapewound string to exhibit pick wear (as opposed to months, for coated strings).

 

[el murdoque]

It's an interesting tone... kind of the polar opposite from what you usually hear on those basses. Do you think the multiscale setup still makes sense for warmer/tubbier tones?

Absolutely.
When you have a Dingwall with the Darkglass preamp you'll need the help of a few pedals to get there, but with the Glockenklang pre it works right out of the box.
The Multiscale setup translates to those tones just as well as to harsher, top heavy metal tones. With the Novax fan fret system as used by Dingwall, you have even string tension. The lower notes have a quicker attack and a solid fundamental.

 

[Katoosie]

That sound from a fresh set of strings is quite awesome if you ask me. Makes me wonder if I should get a set of tapes to try out - but that'd require the purchase of another bass to put them on.

Hmmmmmm...


You definitely have my blessing when it comes to having another bass

Warm and articulate! And that's a sweet-looking bass

Thank you, it's very cozy to wrap your fingers around. Super comfy and sounds great. I'm glad you like the thread

This is a story with 2 heroes, Pyramid for making custom strings, and @el murdoque for brokering the deal.

I think I need to contact Pyramid about making a new set of tape wound strings for my Overhead collapsible travel bass that has an odd 27” scale. I modified a set of long scale strings for the instrument, but let’s just say I should probably leave string-making to the pros. It sounds great, but it’s getting to be time for a new set.

View attachment 5278718

Definitely give them a shot! I would. I did! I do not believe you will be disappointed.

Complements the look of the bass so well, sounds great, congrats Can this type of coating take pick playing?
Also, would you mind disclosing approximately how much they charged for this custom set? Finding info on their website is not easy, to say the least. Could be interested in trying their products in the future

Yes, like somebody above wrote - of course it will take pick. It's a thick nylon wrap tightly wrapped around a steel string, I see no reason whatsoever why this wouldn't work under normal circumstance, granted you're not going out of your way to absolutely abuse the strings in some weird way.

The set came to 82 euro IIRC. Kinda steep but considering nylon tapes last forever, I don't see why not. The quality is definitely there, too.

It's an interesting tone... kind of the polar opposite from what you usually hear on those basses. Do you think the multiscale setup still makes sense for warmer/tubbier tones?

Absolutely.

Multiscale does not mean metal only - it has a bad reputation due to all the prog metal players using them a few years ago and Darkglass heavily leaning their marketing towards just that group.

I would actually argue that multiscale works wonderfully well for any kind of classical music, anything where warmth is needed - after all, strings are only a part of the tone - you can always tweak the EQ to make it sound different and use effects or many kinds.

I mean, jeez. Just look at what Leeland Sklar is doing with his signature Dingwall. Thousands of videos on his socials of him playing some old tunes that I have 0 clue about, but they all sound fantastic.

Max at Pyramid Strings is great! As the OP mentioned, Max is willing to go the extra mile to make things work.

My Pyramid story begins with my custom made Ken Bebensee Baruke left handed 5 string fretless uke bass. The 23" scale length was ideal for my fretting hand where I have issues with my ring and pinky fingers.
View attachment 5278726

Prior to that I had been playing Gold Tone uke basses and using Road Toad Pahoehoe rubber silicone strings, and I had Ken build the Baruke using the Pahoehoes. The rubber silicone strings had a nice blooming upright sound and very low tension which was great for my fingers, but they were an absolute PITA to install!!! Having to install, remove and install again several times as the strings stretched and their really fat gauge was a total drag. So I had Ken design the Baruke in such a way that if I ever found a string manufacturer that was willing to make normal tapes for a 23" scale bass that we could shoehorn a magnetic pickup to accompany the piezos.

Over the following months I contacted the biggies: D'Addario (we have no plans for 23" scale tapewounds in the future), La Bella ('we can't seem to make the intonation work'). I can't recall how I came upon Pyramid strings, but I contacted Max and he told me to send him measurements which I carefully made and sent to him:

View attachment 5278733

A few weeks later I received my first order of custom made tapes along with a bunch of schwag like the OP:

View attachment 5278735

Installation was a total breeze, but the action was extremely high due to the Pahoehoe strings and I had a gig coming up in a couple days. I was able to get thru the gig just playing up to the 12th fret and not beyond. Right after the gig I packed up the Baruke and shipped it to Ken for extensive surgery to squeeze in a magnetic pickup. After several months Ken sent some progress photos and right away I could see how wonderfully low the action was and couldn't wait to get the bass back to play it.

View attachment 5278736
The Pyramid tapes sound and play great and they last forever (like most tapes do). I did have Max make a few sets of roundwounds the same size just to play around with, but the tapes are what I use most. So many thanks to Max for taking on such a challenging project and making it all work.

I love reading about your bass every time I see it. You are one of the total badass standouts on TalkBass, definitely. Great story and thanks so much for sharing <3

 

[Dynacord]

After this I plugged her in and started doodling. I have noticed that the jack has some intermittent output issues along with the pickup selector - this might be a job for a technician after the holiday period is over, I am not sure yet. I will decide at a later date.

Considering the tarnish on the frets I have to wonder if just some contact cleaner in the pickup selector pot/s might resolve this. Nice looking and sounding bass!