Which LaBella TAPES are right for me?

[ok-djmiller]

Searching for the right strings.

Playing in a jazz/funk trio - guitar/bass/drums. Half of our songs are 'traditional' jazz covers (ex: Footprints), the other half are funky covers/originals (ex: Medeski, Martin, & Wood)

Currently, playing an LB-100 with LaBella DTFs. It sounds amazing on the jazz covers - organic, thumpy, woody - but it's lacking on the funkier songs, where it's sometimes a bit too pillowy.

I recently acquired a Stingray - but the EB Cobalt Flats sounded too much like rounds - too thin for the jazz songs. I'm wondering if a set of tapes could help me get the best of both worlds - full and thumpy for the jazz songs but punchy/articulate for the funkier songs.

I've played the D'Addario black tapes before, but I'm looking at the LaBellas right now.

Any suggestions on which set of LaBellas would work best? Considering the blacks or copper gold as the Stingray is already naturally mid/treble-forward. Would like to hear some perspective from those with hands-on experience on these tapes. Also open to suggestion for other strings, tapes or not, that you think might work here.

Thanks!

 

[iiipopes]

If you were only playing the jazz standards, or even some fusion, I would have said copper. Since you are also playing some funk repertoire, I would go with either gold or white. The gold sound like well-seated NPS strings; the white are the brightest (in the context of nylon tape wound strings.)

 

[BassJuju]

I like the Gold for times when I want something brighter than black tapes. However, be prepared to replace the gold strings from time to time as the wire tends to oxidize and occasionally turn green.

 

[Just Wrong]

If you were only playing the jazz standards, or even some fusion, I would have said copper. Since you are also playing some funk repertoire, I would go with either gold or white. The gold sound like well-seated NPS strings; the white are the brightest (in the context of nylon tape wound strings.)

I agree. If you only played jazz or fusion, the black or copper. With the funk, gold or white. I've never tried the gold, so I voted white.

 

[rob_thebassman]

What's the difference?

 

[MrAB4003]

What's the difference?

The materials and brightness make the 4 types different:

1) (Regular) Whites - The brightest of the bunch. They're regular roundwounds with a layer of clear tape around them. They're my favorite of the bunch because they sound like nickel rounds when you crank your tone knobs. You can hear these strings in action on my most recent album (see links below).

2) Gold Whites - The second brightest of the bunch. They're brass acoustic bass strings with a layer of clear tape around them. They have more midrange than the Copper Whites and Blacks, but they lack the brightness of the regular Whites. For me, these had a dull and plasticky tone that I didn't like, so I have two sets for sale on TB Classifieds.

3) Copper Whites - The second darkest of the bunch. They're copper acoustic bass strings with a layer of clear tape around them. I've never tried the Copper Whites, so I don't know much about them firsthand. I think they're a little brighter than the Blacks with a milder midrange.

4) Blacks - The darkest of the bunch. They're just like tapes from other brands in terms of composition. These have lots of fundamental and low end, but not much brightness.

 

[Altitude]

I put a set of gold whites on my Skjold 6 string last night, I was curious.

Pretty interesting. Very low tension, brighter than you’d think, smooth feel. My use case is similar to the OP - I use this bass in a jazz group and I want something a little mellower but not a thuddy flatwound. Tone-wise, these fit the bill nicely.

One thing I noticed. These strings have an inch of silk at the ball end. See the second picture below - on my bass that silk extends to rest over the saddle on two or three of the strings. It has a noticeable effect on the tone, those strings sound a bit dead versus the ones where the string makes direct contact with the saddle, which makes sense. It's not acceptable though.

I may or may not leave them on. They are a very different feel from other strings, a bit rubbery maybe, and will take some getting used to. I don’t know whether I want to go back and forth between this feel and the normal roundwound feel on my other instruments. Or maybe I’ll get used to it.

I maybe should have gone with the normal whites. The gold color is a little ostentatious on the bass.

If I leave them on, I’ll have to figure out what to do with the silk. Maybe an Xacto knife to carve it off? Bit of a PITA if I’m honest. Or, these might go on my LTD semi hollow.

I have a set of GHS Pressurewounds on my Valenti J5, which has been my main gig bass lately. I ordered a 6-string set of those to try on this Skjold as well; they are definitely in the roundwound tone universe but the winding treatment tames the noise quite a bit.

 

[Altitude]

Someone posted in another thread that silks on tapewound strings are actually functional, in that they help secure the nylon winding over the string core. If that’s true, these strings will not work on this bass.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Someone posted in another thread that silks on tapewound strings are actually functional, in that they help secure the nylon winding over the string core. If that’s true, these strings will not work on this bass.

I've frequently pointed it out (because it's been my experience: I've ruined a couple guitar tapes because I'd removed too much silk at one end).
Yet I do believe that scratching off a couple millimetres won't do any harm.

[PS - Not "core": there's a complete, roundwound string under the tape.]

 

[Altitude]

So I fixed the silk issue, it was a non challenging ten minute job to strip back a little of it where it was sitting on a saddle. So all good there.

The feel of the strings is growing on me, I kind of like the low tension for the kind of playing I do on that bass.

But - these strings do not stay in tune. Like, at all. I noticed it at first, figured it might go away with ten or fifteen minutes of playing. But no, the strings will lose tune after just a few minutes played, every time. Is that just me?

 

[Just Wrong]

So I fixed the silk issue, it was a non challenging ten minute job to strip back a little of it where it was sitting on a saddle. So all good there.

The feel of the strings is growing on me, I kind of like the low tension for the kind of playing I do on that bass.

But - these strings do not stay in tune. Like, at all. I noticed it at first, figured it might go away with ten or fifteen minutes of playing. But no, the strings will lose tune after just a few minutes played, every time. Is that just me?

I've not had that issue with white LaBella or black tapes (LaBella, D'Addario or Pyramids).

 

[Just Wrong]

I've frequently pointed it out (because it's been my experience: I've ruined a couple guitar tapes because I'd removed too much silk at one end).
Yet I do believe that scratching off a couple millimetres won't do any harm.

[PS - Not "core": there's a complete, roundwound string under the tape.]

Does that mean tapes wouldn't work on a headless bass with this system:

I emailed both Pyramid and LaBella. Pyramid was worried about the headstock end, while LaBella was worried about the silk on the bridge end. The bass will come from the luthier with strings with silk on the bridge end.