Black nylon tape strings

[VRICKY63]

Just curious. I have used these back in the 60s on a 65 P bass. They had a great roundwound sound when most players were still using flatwounds. I have a set (Fender) on my Martin B1 acoustic bass that work very well. I just picked up a set of Status Graphite nylon tapes and was thinking of trying them on my 4003. Anyone playing nylon tapes on a "fretted" 4003 ? Do they sound more round or flatwound ?

[woodyng]

i have used tapewounds on fretted basses in the past,and found them not to my liking-pretty clacky! I just have a set on a fretless bass now,and really love them on there.

[FretlessOnly]

I have a set of the Fender tapewounds (9120s) on a fretted Jaguar and they sound and feel nearly as round as rounds to me (but they have a thicker low end and no string noise; like flats!). But all nylon tapes are not created equal. The Trubass88s are so smooth they almost feel like they're dipped in nylon, and they sound much more like flats. The LaBella DTB nylon tapes are somewhere in between the Rotos and the Fenders. The old RIckenbacker Electro nylon wounds are more like the now discontinued Fender nylon filaments, which appear to be a round nylon wrap that is ground down flat - these sound more like flats, but have zing, at least in the D and the G strings.

So, it depends on how your Status Graphite's are wound, I'd suppose; I've never seen or heard them.

[VRICKY63]

The Status Graphites are a lot like the Fender nylon tapes in that the G has a course feel like a round wound and then the strings get smoother as the gauge gets bigger. I'm just trying to find out as much about tapes before I cut them to fit the 4003. As soon as they are cut to fit they wont work on most other bass headstocks that I own.

[FretlessOnly]

Hmmm...if anything, my Fender 9120M's have smoother G and D strings; the E and A feel a bit more coarse. Maybe they have changed over time, but one of my sets of Fender tapes came on a '76 P-bass that had them on there for 13 years when I bought it last year. I can't be positive that those are 9120s though.

In any case, yours should sound pretty bright, although more focused on the mids and lows rather than the highs. I realize that that sounds like a contradiction, but there's an odd character to the tapes; they really bring lows and mids, but the higs are just different. Do expect plenty of both clank and clack on a fretted Rick though. The clank is a bit different from a metal round; a bit less biting, but more grindy.

[cassius987]

Check out Chris Brubeck for an idea of how Roto TruBass tapes sound on a (fretless) 4001.

[VRICKY63]

i have used tapewounds on fretted basses in the past,and found them not to my liking-pretty clacky! I just have a set on a fretless bass now,and really love them on there.

The memories of the "clack" are returning from back in the day. An impressive almost "upright" tone from Mr Brubeck. Funny how he has a jazz pickup on that RIC but favors the neck toaster most of the time. Thanks for the Brubeck info Joshua. I think I will just have to put these tapes on just for fun and see what happens. I play with a much lighter touch these days so they might work.