I have tried Roto's nylon-wrapped flats and they were good, but I was looking for more sustain (& still achieve a near-upright sound) and these provided that. I am very happy with these strings, not only in performance, but also in visual aesthetics: It looks great on a bass that has either black hardware!
Price: $24.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Ebay
These strings are gauges at .60, .70, .97, & .115 and are stainless steel rounds that are "taped" in black nylon. They do have string wrapped ends.
These are made specifically for frettless basses in mind as well as acoustic. Although, I have neither of these, I was intrigued by nylon-wrapped rounds. I have tried nylon-wrapped flats and didn't like the lack of sustain. These rounds give good sustain and still feel smooth and retain that double-bass thump. I have been playing in a Traditional Irish band and sought to reproduce (as much as is possible on an electric) the sound of an upright. Now, I have heard that they are still good for rock band, and they do sound as if they would be too.
I like my strings to last long and these do. They seem to have to problem staying tune. I have mine on now for 5 months and they are still good. I like a well broken in string anyway.
These strings are thick, so you may have to adjust your nut slots. They are black tapewounds and not only sound great, they look cool too.
I've been using these on my 5 string fretless for 2-3 years. These are great string IMHO. I don't know if they'd be as good on a fretted bass though.
They stay in tune easily and seem to last forever.
I've tried them all over the years. DR's, Dean Markley, GHS even the Gore Elixrs.
I was using the LaBella flatwounds for years until Carvin introduced their AC series basses which come strung with the LaBella tape wounds. When I tried them out in the Carvin store, I bought a set and put them on my 4-string. My bass never sounded so good! ( I did have to have a new nut placed on by Carvin since the tape wounds are larger diameter strings.)
Just recently I had a guitar player try out my bass with the tapewounds. He didn't even know strings like that exisited. He loved them and he was amazed at how smooth they felt.
LaBella tapewound strings are nice to play and they feel and soung great! The only problem I encountered was when I was playing with the alternative band and had to do some aggressive sliding. You can get a little finger burn and feel the skin wipe off onto the string.
But these strings are exellent for studio work also. They are extremely quite strings and they make your bass sound so smooth when playing direct in.
Price: $18.99 (new)
Where Obtained: Carvin Custom Shop - Santa Ana, CA
LaBella "Deep Talkin' Bass" strings, black nylon tape wounds start with a .060 first ("G"), .070 second ("D"), .097 third ("A"), .115 fourth ("E") and .128 fifth (low "B" for 5-string set).
The strings are steel wound cores with the black nylon wrapping. The bridge ends have the brass eyelets with short cloth windings so that the string and not the windings rest on the saddle.
The leader is wound with the same cloth windings and is long if you prefer extra leader on your tuner peg.
I string both my Carvin basses with the LaBella tape wounds. I have a 1995 LB20F (4-string), and a 2000 LB75 (5-string) w/a 2TEC bridge.
I play Progressive Hard Rock and Blues based Rock along with R&B and some Funk. This strings are well suited for playing these styles since they get down deep and low. I also sat in as a temporary bass player in an alternative band untill another bass player was found. The band really liked the sound of the strings and the bass!
These tape wounds are great for all styles since they are brighter than flatwounds yet don't have all the noise of roundwounds.
Since they are nylon, wiping them down is no problem and they sound "new" all the time. They don't loose their brightness and punch. These strings stay in tune just great also. I can play right out of the case if I have to without tuning up because these strings are reliable.
I've had the same set of tape wounds on my LB20F for over 2 years and my LB75 for 1 year.
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