Bottom opened when top changed.

[stefaniw80401]

Bass: 2003 3/4 Romanian flatback, 42" vib len., raised saddle.
Player: 99% arco, orchestral/solo player.
Problem: Bottom a tad weak, D string (spiro) way brighter than others, G string (dom) poops out a bit in upper register.
Wish: A stronger G string and a D string that blends better. Overall, spiro bowability not bad for me.
Before strings: Spiro mittel E/C, A, D and dom G.
After strings: Spiro E/C, A (same), belcanto D and G.
Experience: The spiro E/C and A strings opened up a bit and now sound less muddy to me. The BC D string sounds thumpy and dead to me, and the BC G string, while only somewhat better than the dom G, still crushes out under the bow a bit in the upper register. I expected the BC G string to really sing with power, but that didn't really happen.
Questions: Why did my bottom open up nicely, and why is the D string "dead" sounding. Could this have to do with then tension being somewhat reduced? And if so, does this mean that my bass likes less tension or more tension? WRT the BC G string, would a flex/92 G string be more powerful?

Thanks for any info.

[Francois Blais]

The balance between the strings has a great importance, as you just experimented.
The bottom strings would probably blossom even more with low tension elastic strings like gut.
The reverse is also true.
Higher tension, stiffer strings on top may choke the bottom's somewhat.

I'd suggest Original Flexocor tops (D & G) with the Spiro bottoms.
This G really sings beautifully.
And the D will blend better.

Hope this can help.
Regards,
François

[oscar pettiford]

quote stefani ....''Why did my bottom open up nicely, ' ....

...... that sounds sick ...

....man! .... i'd be careful ....... just don't bend over when that happens .....

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by stefaniw80401

Bass: 2003 3/4 Romanian flatback, 42" vib len., raised saddle.
Player: 99% arco, orchestral/solo player.
Problem: Bottom a tad weak, D string (spiro) way brighter than others, G string (dom) poops out a bit in upper register.
Wish: A stronger G string and a D string that blends better. Overall, spiro bowability not bad for me.
Before strings: Spiro mittel E/C, A, D and dom G.
After strings: Spiro E/C, A (same), belcanto D and G.
Experience: The spiro E/C and A strings opened up a bit and now sound less muddy to me. The BC D string sounds thumpy and dead to me, and the BC G string, while only somewhat better than the dom G, still crushes out under the bow a bit in the upper register. I expected the BC G string to really sing with power, but that didn't really happen.
Questions: Why did my bottom open up nicely, and why is the D string "dead" sounding. Could this have to do with then tension being somewhat reduced? And if so, does this mean that my bass likes less tension or more tension? WRT the BC G string, would a flex/92 G string be more powerful?

Thanks for any info.

From what I read you need a soundpost adjustment.

[stefaniw80401]

Francois, you're exactly right [WRT tension balance across the top plate]!

Toad, you may be right about a SP adjustment, but I can tell you that it didn't help with my before string setup (see above). My luthier and I jacked it around in quite a large range and it didn't really seem to affect the "tone balance" much no matter where the post went. We couldn't tame the spiro D and the spiro E and A remained understated. However, the "projection" and "spread" qualities are what we noticed the most moving the SP around.

I went home and [using the tension charts we have on TB] I played around with the various G's and D's in my box-o-strings (flex/92, flex/orig, obligato, dom, helicore, belcanto, permanent). They all affected how the spiro mittel A and E/C responded. I settled on the perm G and D. They did not mute the bottom as much, and blended so well with the spiro bottoms that string crossings were barely discernable. The perm G sings fairly well and stays strong in the way upper register. The pizz match isn't perfect, but it's not bad.

Now that I have the string balance happening better, perhaps now is a good time to fine tune it with SP adjustments. Just before the balance was so far wrong that SP adjustments didn't matter.

I ended up ordering a superflex G and D anyways, and will try them when they arrive. They have a similar tension to the perms, although the D string is a much larger gauge.

Now I'm more enlightened to the string tension balance thing. Thanks!

- Mark

[Francois Blais]

I'm glad it helped, Mark.
Tonally, the Superflex should match better though.