Multiscale black nylon tapewound strings - Pyramid represent!

[Katoosie]

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!

Warrants a visit to a tech since I'm busy and have no space for a job like this Gives a tech some work, too.

 

[T-boneParish]

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.
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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:

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

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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.

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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.

Great information. Thanks for sharing. That bass looks wonderful. It's so interesting to hear your tales of gigging with a 23" scale bass. Love it!

 

[XLunacy]

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.

Gotcha.

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.

D'addarios Black Nylon Tapewounds cost ~90€, and these are not custom made to specs (scale length and gauges). Seems quite reasonable to me

 

[kesslari]

Glad you're digging them and the bass, and healing up! You (and they) sound great! I put Pyramid black tapes on my ABG and though I am typically a rounds kind of player, I love 'em.
Have fun!

 

[DeltaPhoenix]

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

It’s a 30” scale, so I think it would be a very booming B. I like that this bass is strung this way. I already play it differently because of the tape wounds and how this bass sounds.
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