Quote:
Originally posted by kwd
Obligatos will probably be the next string I try but I've been scared off by complaints of short life and instability. Are the Dominants better in these categories? |
In my experience, No. I assume it is the nature of the design, rather than the quality of the string.
Instability isn't really much of an issue with Obligatos or Dominants once they settle in. Over the first month or so on the bass, they will stretch a great deal, but after that, they settle in and aren't really any more fickle than anything else. They won't go crazy with climate changes like a gut string.
As for the short life, I don't have much of an experience with that. I have heard the same rumors. I have also heard that they don't react well at all to repeated removal and replacement or slacking and re-tensioning. Again, I think that is a product of the synthetic core, not poor quality.
If you really like the low tension feel, I'd go with the Obligatos and save a few dollars unless you play a great deal of arco. They are very soft and smooth under the left hand.
This string did spur me to look a little more into Dominants, and I think I was a little misleading about the available tensions. Actually, I was just wrong. Unlike most of Thomastik's strings, the Dominant is only available in two tensions. Orch and solo.
My first experience with them was with solos tuned to Orch pitch. This gives you a little softer feel than Obligatos.
I have played another bass with Orch. strings tuned standard and it was much stiffer than Obligatos.
While I am using Obligatos right now and am mostly happy, I sure would like to have a little more tension on the E String. I am seriously thinking of picking a Dominant E to see if it mixes well.
