I recently did a trade deal with our beloved moderator, Francois. As an "extra", he kindly sent me a used set of Super Sensitive Sensicore strings. They had been cut short (I guess for use on his EUB?) and I was barely able to wind them onto the posts, but managed to get the E&A on and paired them with regular gauge Evah Pirazzi D&G strings that I had in the drawer. This combo works very well and the strings are actually quite similar, but I must say that I much prefer these to EP's E&A (never liked them). The Sensicores have a perlon core and are in the Obligato/EP catagory of strings. They are a little lighter tension than the EPs, but the E&A produce a nice, punchy bottom; not too thumpy, but not too bright and sing-y like an Obligato. They are equally bowable as EPs and sound very similar. I used this set-up tonight on a gig and it sounded great. Back in the "gut" zone again :D

I had seen Dave Roe play recently, and he told me he used these with plain guts on top, so I was curious about them. I'm surprised you don't hear more about them, they're fairly inexpensive too. I guess I'll see if I still like them next week ;)
Very pleasant surprise!

Any idea what the tension/guage would be for the G and D? Anybody? Bobby, what are the wrap colors? I am trying to figure out if I have seen or played these before. You willing to part with the G and D? Of course I can throw you some scratch...

Hey there!

At the ball end, they're yellow, with a black or dark blue spiral. Don't know about the gauge/tension.

Thanks. I dug a bit in the archives and found that the G is thinner that obligatos so I'm not interested. Will continue the search...

Looking for something new on G and D (or all four). Have tried obligato, EP reg and Weich, Anima, Oliv, Eudoxa, innovation. Anima has been my favorite but I feel like I am cutting myself out of arco work and I feel like I am overplaying the string. Oliv would be my second choice but the D doesn't do it for me. I am at a loss right now and curious about ANYTHING that is a slightly bigger guage (than steels) and lower tension...

Kolstein Heritage?
The use a synthetic core too, so they're in the same class as Oblis, EP, Sensicores.

Thanks. I dug a bit in the archives and found that the G is thinner that obligatos so I'm not interested. Will continue the search...

Looking for something new on G and D (or all four). Have tried obligato, EP reg and Weich, Anima, Oliv, Eudoxa, innovation. Anima has been my favorite but I feel like I am cutting myself out of arco work and I feel like I am overplaying the string. Oliv would be my second choice but the D doesn't do it for me. I am at a loss right now and curious about ANYTHING that is a slightly bigger guage (than steels) and lower tension...

I know exactly what you mean. Anima was one of my favorites too, but bowing on them is no fun.

As I explained, the Sensicores that Francois sent me had been clipped short, so I haven't been able to try the D (I may order one). The G sounds very good, although it is somewhat thin. The E&A are not thin, they're fairly substantial. The EP D&G are a little heftier and they seem too work very well with the Sensicores, but the Sensicore G has a little more brightness, which I like. The EPs can sound kind of dull at times, and they're stiffer. While I was changing around strings, I put a plain gut G on for a minute. IMO, a plain gut G has more brightness in it's sound than an EP or Olive. I love it for pizz, but the arco is torturous and sounds so different next to the covered strings.

Perhaps you could say that the Sensicore's sound and feel is between Obligato and Evah Pirazzi. They don't roll like Obligato's. Although Super Sensitive describes them as primarily a pizz string, to me they bow as well, and sound very similar to the Pirastros.

I'll see how I like them in a week. Maybe I like them now because I got them for free :) But these have been around for a while, they're relatively inexpensive, and they rival some of the newer ones that we've all been going out and dropping $$ on. What does that say?

I think it says we are all suckers. I am definitely in that category. I am tempted by strings much like reading about desserts on a menu. I teach at a local college and there is an old busted up bass with really old mittels hanging off its broken neck. That may be my next "free" exploration. Although I pretty much know I am not going to be able to hang with the tension. My bass just clamps up and gets really whiny. The search continues.

I look forward to hearing about the sensicore G ad D.

Do you know what the gauges are? Cheers...

I bought a Sensicore D so I could try the whole set. I still really like the E&A, but I'm not sold on the D&G. The tension of these strings reminds me of Spirocore Weich. I like the Weich E&A because I find them easy to control and get a good sound out of without a ton of effort, but the D&G are too springy feeling and sounding. The Sensicore D&G are somewhat similar in relation to the whole set (They're less wirey sounding than Spiro Weich however)

Evah Pirazzi regular D&G have better tension for me, although they can be a little dark sounding. I put the EP D string back on, and right now I have a plain gut G on too. This setup is great until I whip out the bow....but for pizz, nothing feels and sounds quite like a plain gut G string.

I still recommend trying the Sensicore E&A with guts, Evahs, Olives, whatever. They're like EPs with more clarity, or like Obligatos with less whine and no rolling.

Thanks for the insight Bobby. Will continue the search...