Bel Canto vs. Flatchromesteel?

[fholeyou]

I play a 3/4 size Italian bass from the late 1800's with an extreemely dark sound. I have been using Pirastro Flatchromesteel (white and maroon winding) which has worked well because the bright, metalic sound they naturally have balances out my instrument.
I have heard a lot about the Bel Canto strings and was thinking of giving them a try. Can anyone out there offer an informed opinion on weather or not this ia a good idea, or at least some more info on what the Bel Canto strings are like?

[TroyK]

Hey, Fholeyou! If you fill out your profile, it helps us answer. What type of music are you playing; jazz, classical, other?

Short answer is that they will be quite a bit darker. There is no better/worse. It depends on what you are going for. It you play classical and like a dark sound, it might be a good choice. If you play jazz and feel like your basses natural darkness works against you, probably not.

Tons of other factors. I think there are a few used Belcantos for sale cheap in the classifieds, you might try one used one before you invest in the switch.

[fholeyou]

I am a classical player with a full time orchestra job. The problem is I am currently living in south africa where the exchange rate is not working in my favor.
I enjoy playing on the Flatchromesteel strings I have now, but am curious about the Belcanto strings because I have heard such good things. The other members of my section tend to be more set in their ways in terms of string choices so I thought I would see what otheropinoins were out there.

[TroyK]

The problem is that strings do not (as I'm sure you know) behave the same way on differnet basses or even the same bass with different setups. You kind of either have to try or "don't fix it if it aint broke".

Or, use your intuition, if you feel like your bass is too dark for your ear without brightening it up with bright strings, then it probably is.

Or, buy or trade for a single string and see what you think about it before spending for a whole set.

Maybe someone in your section who uses Belcantos has an old set that they could lend for you to try out? Maybe someone in your section tried them and took them off because they didn't like them and you could try them out?

Just my suggestions.

[Francois Blais]

If your instrument is quite dark from the start, and if you like the tone you get from the FlatChromes, I suggest you avoid the Belcantos or, like Troy suggested, you manage to try a single string first.

Hope this helps.
François