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Has anyone tried these? I have always been curious but never took the plunge...odd thing is I have never seen anyone using them other than Charlie Hunter on his 3 bass strings, and being that they are bass strings I can't really judge how they would sound on a normal guitar.
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11-13-2008 12:22 AM
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Rio,
Judging from the video you posted, you will find these strings unappealing as I believe you were referring to Labella Black Nylon Lights (starting with .12). This, actually, is my current set, that is, the one with which is my plywood Yamaha AEX 1500 strung with.
The strings are, sort of, thick and yet, this is a low tension design. I resorted to pulling a stupid trick - before the strings go deaf. Namely, I pushed the set upwards, exchanging the third string with fourth, the fourth with the fifth ... well, you get the picture. My sixth string is (as I regularly do) a .58 chrome flat wound, while the first two strings are generic steel D'Addarios - .14 and .19 gauge respectively.
The strings are very (way too much) forgiving of my bad playing technique and I get (unexpectedly) good tone in exchange for an unremarkable dynamic range - which is why I would use heavier gauges in the first place.
Hope you will find this instructive enough.
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Hi Rio,
I've been using the LaBella Black Nylon [800M] on my Ibanez AF105F for 2 years. These are very good strigs, making themselves very slow [long time of "life"] and I'm using it becouse of their accoustic "clap" in swing. John Pizzarelli is also using this strings. I had TI Swing before, and tapewounds are much better in swing for me.
Sorry for my english
Greetings,
asedas
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I will be trying out a set this weekend on an acrhtop. I'll let you know. The low E is a bit thick and the sales manager at labella recommened cutting the slot. That's not gonna happen.
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tried 'em once on my emperor.
liked the tone, hated the feel.
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Rio,
write You opinion later btw in my Ibanez I had to cut a tape in low E, becouse hole for string was too small. BUT if You will do this, You have to watch out - this tape isn't glued or sth, so it could unwind and string will be useless...
anyway - enjoy
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Rio,
I just gone done putting them on, playing for about 10 minutes and then taking them off. Not for me. Too loose on the neck. They were ok for chords but once I went to single notes with a pick, forget it. I pushed the strings all over the place.
Tone wise they were ok but not worth the tradeoff of playability vs tone
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What's the best string for my newly found Ibanez Artcore. I play with moderate classical nails and want a smooth feel and sound. Type?? Gauge??
Thanks Sailor
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@JohnW400:
what could You say about strings if You had it only 10 minutes on Your guitar... You have to play it longer time than 10 minutes. some strings are good from the beginning, some need a time to play...
@Sailor:
the best strings are...this one which You accept as the best for You it is very subjective opinion which are the best. it depends on what You wanna hear from your guitar...
start maybe from some flat wound [np. Thomastik-Infield] - they are easy to play. I don't like thin strings but maybe You like to get the jazzy fat sound try sets from 0.12. You have to do some experiments with other types and then You will find something for You
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asedas
In 10 minutes it was enough to see that the strings did not have enough tension to resist the pick on single note lines. I use a Jim Dunlop 2mm pick (JD2050) to pick with. They sounded fine. The just didn't feel right.
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Are they rubbery at all? I wonder how much the tape adds to the gauges...like what gauge string is inside.
And JohnW, what gauge strings were you coming from before trying the tapewounds?
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yeh ,rubbery
On that guitar I went from d'aquistos 11-50 with a wound g (roundwonds) to light set 11-56.
On some guitars I use roundwound 11-50. others i use ground GHS rollers 12-52. and J21's on another. but....you shgolud try them for yourself. do one gauge higher than you play now.
Like the VP of engineering where I work always says " one good test is worth a thousand expert opinions"
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The LaBella nylon tape would strings that are mostly being used are the 14s. These seem extremely large by normal standards but the concept is to set up the guitar with a very low action so they are pretty easy to play. It takes some time to get used to anything that is markedly different than you are used to, so you might give the heavier strings a chance. That would require opening and polishing the string slots in the nut so the tape doesn't get torn, otherwise the strings will sit too high for a good action and would be damaged. They are very good strings, if you like them.
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Thanks for the info Michael. I have been using heavier strings for a while, but just last week went back to 12s from 15s...my guitar just sounds better with lower tensions so I am having to get used to it again. So now if I do try them I would be trying the 12 set...at the moment I am using TI Benson 12 set and from the looks of it the 12 tapewounds will feel closer to 11s if the b string gauge is any indication. Not sure if I will try the tapewounds or not at this point but I am still curious.
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The selection of strings is a very subjective matter, the feel, response, tone, and even the look can enter into the equation. Also the set up can make a huge difference as to whether you connect favorably with the qualities designed into the strings. Not everyone will agree on what is the best, but they all agree on what THEY like the best.
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I just tried a set of these (La Bella Black Nylon Tape Wounds for guitar) on my (Korean) DAngelico Excel. I was using TI swing 12's, and tried the 12 gauge La Bella. The tension was so much less that I needed to make a truss rod adjustment, which is no big deal, but now I'm having a curious intonation problem. With the bridge in the same position that yielded nearly perfect intonation with the TI's, I have a high E that is dead on, and pretty good intonation at the 12th fret on the B, D, and A strings, but the G and low E are really sharp. because of this pattern, there's no way I could adjust the compensation on the wooden bridge to get all of the strings close.
The feel is radically different than normal flatwounds, but I find it interesting and want to expirement with it for a while. Has anyone experienced the intonation issues, and found a solution? Could it relate to extra string width at the nut slots? (I did not widen them, but they seem to be seated reasonably well.)
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Intonation issues are due to both stiffness and mass of the strings, especially stiffness. Large core wires are stiffer than small core wires, and the wrap wires mostly add mass, though there are differences between the various alloys used. When using a wood saddle it needs to be cut for the proper intonation for the specific set of strings you are using. Sometimes this requires making a new saddle. Tomastik strings are made much like violin strings, often with 2 or more layers of wrap, which usually means a smaller core wire and more flexibility, which requires less compensation at the saddle.
Find the dynamic range of your guitar with a particular set of strings, and stay within that dynamic range. Maybe that combination is a good tool that you can use, or maybe some other combination works better for you. You won't know until you try it out, and maybe find something new within yourself. It's about the music.
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Thanks for the intonation info, Mike. The more I learn about guitar construction and materials, the better I understand why the axe does what it does. If you wouldn't mind, keep the info coming. I'm a firm believer in understanding your construction and materials so you can get them to react the way you want them to and not let the guitar tell you what to do.
P.S. If you're the same Michael Lewis, I sure wish I was able to afford one of your D'Angelico copies.
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HFC , as with so many inspirations, it is a matter of setting your priorities!
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Back in the 60's, when I was a whole lot younger, I used chrome tape-wound strings on my Hofner Verythin.
Pros: Sounded great, no "screech"when sliding down fretboard.
Cons: Didn't last very long. Tape was thin and soon unwound.
Didn't know that tape-wound was still available other than for Bass guitars.
Vger
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Are these intended for acoustic or electric guitar? How do they compare, soundwise, to a round or regular flat wound string?
EG
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This is a zombie thread, but anyhowdy, I used to use LaBella Black Nylon Tapewounds:
La Bella Electric Guitar Black Nylon Tape Flat Wound Medium 6 String, .014 - .067, 800M
They are for electric guitar. They're like ordinary flatwounds, but the ribbon is black nylon. I have a vague memory of reading that there was some metal powder embedded in the nylon, but I could be mistaken.
The sound is mellow, even for a flatwound. (They register on pickups fine if that is what you are wondering.) Only try these if you like dark-sounding strings, but I do. I also think they have less squeak than any other flatwound I've tried. They are expensive, but so is a steady diet of cappuccinos. They last a long time for me and I end up replacing the unwound strings, always a good sign.
what I especially like about the 14 set is the bass E string is huge -- 67! It sounds like a 7th string when played with your thumb, although I have trouble threading it through some tuner holes.Last edited by BigDaddyLoveHandles; 06-18-2011 at 12:17 PM.
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I just ordered these--7 bukaroos for shipping! sham fuckin wow...
Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
Ive decided to keep one guitar with flats. And these should last a while, hopefully--at least enough to warrant 7 bucks postage!
Personally I love the feel of thick heavy strings!
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I used them many years ago and liked them. What I didn't like was an audible click when I went from the tape strings to the plain steel strings which was probably an electrical/ground thing.
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I tried the 14 set years ago. I like the tone and the feel, but the pick made a clicling sound with my preferred Dunlop 205 pick on the nylon tape, which was clearly audible to me acoustically but not amplified. It may not have been audible for others a short distance away, but whatever, the click annoyed me so I gave them up. They sounded just fine through the amp, though. If you are not bothered by the click or use a pick which doesn't produce it, I guess you'll be fine with them.
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