LaBella Back Tapes 12s

**EarlBrother** · 10-29-2021, 11:41 AM

Got these on my 2015 Eastman 403ce and really like them.Easy on my old finger joints.But wanted to know if there is anything i can do to get the intonation on the E,A,D strings a little closer.If there is another place to go and ask let me know please thanks.Waiting on a response from LaBella as well.

**starjasmine** · 10-29-2021, 12:52 PM

Assuming the guitar intones correctly and you didn't stretch the strings unevenly by pulling on them during the install (more on this in a bit) you probably got a bad batch. I've used LaBella black tape 13s for years and have only had one set that was bad. Kinda hated to swap it out given the expense of each set, but putting a new set on solved the problem immediately. When LaBella gets back to you, ask them to replace the bad set or at least the bad individual strings.

We all know that strings stretch when they are new, requiring frequent touch-ups to tuning until they stretch out and "settle in" a bit. Some players (including myself, under certain conditions) mechanically stretch the strings at install time in order to reduce the settling-in period. For example, you might take a rolled-up rag and run it between the strings and the fretboard from nut to bridge in order to stretch the strings out a bit faster than they would stretch on their own. On guitars that I use for rock and blues, I do this because the string bending in that style of playing stretches the strings pretty quickly anyway, and a set of Ernie 009s is pretty cheap and short-lived in comparison to a set of heavy jazz flats. Also, string bending stretches the strings unevenly; eventually the strings don't intone correctly across the length of the fretboard. You can be perfectly in tune with your tuning meter, harmonics, etc and still have some spots on the string be out of tune. So if you bend strings as part of your playing style, you don't have much to lose by artificially stretching a new set of strings at install time.

However, mechanically stretching the strings yourself at install time (or bending strings heavily while playing) can cause intonation issues that I prefer to avoid on my archtop, which I use pretty much for jazz only, never really stretching strings when I play that style of music. My unlearned opinion is that artificial stretching by using a rag or even just pulling on the string with your hand might put an unhealthy amount stress on a trapeze tailpiece, which is another reason I avoid it.

Hopefully, LaBella will send you a new set. Let us know what happens!

HTH

SJ

**EarlBrother** · 10-29-2021, 01:38 PM

Thanks starjasman.I played with bridge position it seemed to help.

**sgosnell** · 10-29-2021, 08:05 PM

If you change strings for a set that is drastically different (and LaBella tapes are drastically different from almost any other set) you need to adjust the intonation. Depending on the type of bridge, you can move the individual saddles, or the entire bridge. For a wooden bridge, it's the latter. Most people tend to set the E strings and live with what you get for the rest. I prefer to adjust the A and B strings, and live with what I get for the rest. That's usually close enough even for a straight saddle.