Might switch to LaBella Jazz Tapes.... anyone?

[WahmBomAh]

I put the 12's on and might like them enough to ride them.
I though 13's might be better but it seems they make 12's and 14's'
Anyone try the two?
thanks

[nyc chaz]

The 12's are a little loose feeling.The 14's are a little stiffer and sound great both plugged in and acoustically.Guys on here are always saying they want a thunk sound and the 14's will give you that in spades.If you need 12's in nylon you might try Galli Tapewounds which are stiffer feeling then the 12's in Labella.

[WahmBomAh]

The 12's are a little loose feeling.The 14's are a little stiffer and sound great both plugged in and acoustically.Guys on here are always saying they want a thunk sound and the 14's will give you that in spades.If you need 12's in nylon you might try Galli Tapewounds which are stiffer feeling then the 12's in Labella.

Appreciated.
Don`t see the logic of not making the 13's though.
best,
Paul

[pawlowski6132]

What is a Jazz Tape?

[WahmBomAh]

What is a Jazz Tape?

Sorry
It`s a model name for LaBella's Tape Wound strings ...kind of like a flatwound but with a nylon wrap.
Interesting!

[pawlowski6132]

Sorry
It`s a model name for LaBella's Tape Wound strings ...kind of like a flatwound but with a nylon wrap.
Interesting!

Wow. I'll have to check those out. Thanx so much.

cheers

jrp

[sgosnell]

The Pizzarellis have used the tape-wound strings for many years.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I used the 14s for years. The bass E is so thick you may have problems pulling it through the hole in your machine head! I would wet the silk and stretch it out a bit. They are dark, and sound great played fingerstyle.

[Bill Eisele]

The 12's are a little loose feeling.The 14's are a little stiffer and sound great both plugged in and acoustically.Guys on here are always saying they want a thunk sound and the 14's will give you that in spades.If you need 12's in nylon you might try Galli Tapewounds which are stiffer feeling then the 12's in Labella.

Totally agree with your experience, Charlie. I found that the 12’s were too loose for me as well but the 14’s are just right as far as tone and feel. And they don’t feel as high tension as you would expect from a normal set of 14’s as far as the left hand. My only caveats are that the diameter of the tape wound basses can be problematic as far as threading them through the tailpiece and tuner posts, that they might not fit properly in the nut slots, and you might experience intonation issues. But I do like them and switch between them and TI Swing 12’s.

[Sleeko]

I'm intrigued by the outside wrapping. Do you ever have an issue with it unraveling?

[sgosnell]

Once you cut the string, it unravels quickly if it's not already bent and at tension. If you loosen the tension, unraveling happens.

[WahmBomAh]

Once you cut the string, it unravels quickly if it's not already bent and at tension. If you loosen the tension, unraveling happens.

good to know
thanks
Anyone try the Galli strings?

[Jabberwocky]

There are the Black Jazz Tapes and the White Jazz Tapes. The White Jazz Tapes are bright.

[nyc chaz]

good to know
thanks
Anyone try the Galli strings?

I liked the Galli.Like i stated above they are stiffer than the labella 12's.They also come with the two b and e strings,one is nylon wrapped and the other is your regular steel string.

[Alter]

They are great strings, i used them for years. The bass string on the 14 set was too much though, for that reason alone i went with the 13s and changed the two thin strings with heavier ones.

[Jimmy blue note]

I used the 14s for years. The bass E is so thick you may have problems pulling it through the hole in your machine head! I would wet the silk and stretch it out a bit. They are dark, and sound great played fingerstyle.

I found the same was true getting these strings to seat in an archtop tailpiece. Most metal tailpieces are set to have ample clearance for most strings. The Tapewounds must be considerably wider at the ends because it's no small feat getting them to fit in many tailpieces including several Gibson models.

[nyc chaz]

The 14's were a no go on my 175,it would not fit through the tuning post and i wasn't going to drill it.On my Eastman AR910 and Elferink they fit fine with a little bit of fiddleing.The Galli 12's would also not fit my 175.Anyone who's thinking of trying them should take this fact into consideration.The consensus on Tapewounds seems to be that people either really love them or really hate them.

[RJVB]

Sorry
It`s a model name for LaBella's Tape Wound strings ...kind of like a flatwound but with a nylon wrap.

AFAIK they're regular round-wounds (usually nickel) with a nylon tape overwrap.

Nobody has mentioned the Pyramid Black Tape Nylon for e-guitar (the version for bass is better known). Here is part of my exchange with Max Junger about them:

>Here are the tensions in kg for Black Tape Nylons, scale 65 cm
>.012 = 10,5 kg
>.015 = 9,5 kg
>.028 = 17,7 kg
>.036 = 18,7 kg
>.046 = 16,7 kg
>.052 = 14,7 kg
>These are the tensions which we have in the files since the late Sixties. My
>grandfather calculated these - of course the computer programs nowadays are
>much better.

Those tensions seem very high for this kind of string but they certainly do feel very taut (which isn't exactly the same thing as high-tension). I took them off for that reason, thinking I'd try them again later (only to run into the unraveling issue mentioned above despite the fact that I never cut my strings).

[Mark M.]

I put the 12's on and might like them enough to ride them.
I though 13's might be better but it seems they make 12's and 14's'
Anyone try the two?
thanks

I’m using the 14’s on my 7 string and I like them a lot. They sound great and are very comfortable to play.

[mr quick]

Late to the party here, but I use black tapes 14-67 on my jazz guitar. They're still fairly low-tension but boy do they feel great to play. I believe that thicker strings let me play more precisely and faster.

[Zigracer]

I tried the 12s a while back when I had my Eastman 7. I liked them, but they were a little floppy. I bought a 7 string set of 14s and wanted to try them on my Palen, but they won’t fit in the nut slots. I have the Palen set up so perfectly with TI GB flats (12s), that I’m not inclined to file the slots larger, just in case I want to go back to the 12s. I may just make a new nut for the tapes. That way I can just swap out the nut if I decide I want to go back to the TI 12s.

[WahmBomAh]

I tried the 12s a while back when I had my Eastman 7. I liked them, but they were a little floppy. I bought a 7 string set of 14s and wanted to try them on my Palen, but they won’t fit in the nut slots. I have the Palen set up so perfectly with TI GB flats (12s), that I’m not inclined to file the slots larger, just in case I want to go back to the 12s. I may just make a new nut for the tapes. That way I can just swap out the nut if I decide I want to go back to the TI 12s.

Exactly what happened to me.
Put on 12's and the nut was all wrong. Too floppy
I`m tempted to try the 14's because I really liked the vibe.
BUT ....
Hesitant to have luthier work done to a perfect custom handmade gtr

[RJVB]

black tapes 14-67

Typo or 7-string guitar?

I don't think I mentioned it, but I did try the Pyramids on a flat-top (Seagull mini-jumbo) to see how it would sound with them. Very curious: as I said I found the set too taut on my archtop but on the m-j the low E was so sloppy it actually buzzed on the saddle. And that was a 650mm scale guitar while my archtop is approx. 630mm...

[mr quick]

Typo or 7-string guitar?

No typo!

[deacon Mark]

I have never liked the sound of any of the players that use them to me they don't sound like a guitar. I am surprised that a number of players use them, but I am sure they are no big sellers.