Helicore Pizz Mediums

pdbass · #1 05-13-2009, 11:41 AM

I know that these strings get ZERO love on here, but man, I honestly don't know why I ever stop using them. Perhaps I'm on here too much

I play a variety of stuff: mostly straight-ahead jazz, with some studio work and shows thrown in (and some 'slab'). My setup since October had been 2 Spiros (E,A) and 2 Permanents. The Permanents are punchy and they bow really well. They sound great (for me) right out of the package, but tend to lose a little 'oomph' after they settle in. I'm in the middle of playing (get ready) Beauty & the Beast here in downtown Pittsburgh, with some jazz things thrown in on off nights. Last night, I played a quartet gig and the bass sounded like someone had thrown a blanket over it. Really frustrating. When I got home, I went through the old 'string drawer' and found some SUPER OLD Helicore Pizz strings. I put them on, and there was the 'jazz sound' I hear: fast, responsive, with a great punch and top-end of the note. After I enjoyed playing them, I thought: tomorrow's Beauty is going to be a nightmare. That show is 80% arco, so I braced myself, and hoped I could get through one more week.

Fast forward to this morning's matinee. I've played the show now for over a week, with different strings, so I thought that the differences would be obvious to me. First of all, my intonation is way better. Not that I have bad intonation, but the notes are right where I put my hands--much easier (do Perms go false after 6 months?). The pitch seems so much more clear, as are the notes. The bass is also MUCH louder. Also, the string starts MUCH quicker, unlike the Perms--particularly up around F#, G, and A on the G-string. Much more of a 'singing' quality to the string. Vibrato is WAY more musical--and easier--on a 'pizz' string. I'm surprised--but not as surprised as when I sit down a violin player at intermission. I ask her, with no previous knowledge, about my bass. "Do you hear anything different today?" She tells me, "definitely". She says that it's louder, and much more clear. She tells me that my pitch is MUCH more clear, and that the bass sounds much more resonant.

I know that this string gets no love on here, but I thought that I'd post my experiences with them. I played Helicore Pizz's for a long time--they're a great jazz string that are a bit easier to play than Spiros. I stopped using them to try the current flavor of the month 'hybrid', but there no mistaking how much better I play when I have these strings on. My hands, my bass, and my ears seem to really dig Helicore Pizz strings. Surprisingly, my bow likes them too.

I-M-H-O.

foilracer · #2 05-13-2009, 12:12 PM

hello pd.....i'll listen to more about your ARCO experience...i played "beast" last summer....but i alternate shows w/ orchestra rather than 'jazz pizz'....i know players say they bow spiros....i like the helicore tension...but really? bowing the helicore 'pizz' string....could you tell us more? my 'E'
is a helcore hybrid....so the helicore string is fine w/ me...
...any other's comments???

TroyK · #3 05-13-2009, 12:45 PM

You know, I think they Helicore Pizz and Pirastro Jazzers are highly underexposed strings, because they live in the shadow of Spirocores (which deserve their spot at the top of the food chain). I've just barely ever seen Helicore Pizz's, but on the 2 occasions that I have, I was surprised, impressed and amazed at how good they seemed in my brief encounter. I don't know if it's a "no-love" or just a lack of prominence.

Regarding Helicores in general. I think they have had some past quality issues. Maybe they are resolved, but once bitten twice shy. It's tough to overcome a product image like that. I personally don't like Helicore Hybrids. I don't think they sound good enough and unique enough to stand out as a pizz string and I don't think their arco is good enough to really make the sacrifice worth it. I do like Helicore Orchestral strings, though I don't have any real need for pure orchestral strings. I played jazz on them for a bit, but in the end, it just wasn't right. When I took them off, I looked at the construction and decay of both ends of the strings and it made me feel like they weren't as well constructed as their Thomastik and Pirastro counterparts and I could imagine how breakages would occur. I don't know in that regard on the Pizz strings.

Regarding Permanents, I used them for years and was pretty happen with them, but on a heavy playing schedule, the "goodness" was gone from them sonically in 6 months. Don't know if they were falsing, but it always made me start checking things like my soundpost. A new set was like a new setup. Eventually, that got tiresome.

When I moved on to brighter strings (jazzers and spirocores) I had the same experience that you are describing. I feel like I played in tune much better because the pitch was much more obvious to my ear and I could commune with them better, especially on stage. I also found out that none of those strings bow are poorly as reputed. Pure orchestral strings are easier to bow, but don't cut it for jazz for me, as much as I would like for them to.

With the exception of things like OLIV/Eudoxas, Obligatos, Dominants, Evah Pirazzis etc, which come with their own issues, I don't really see the arco gains of steel "Hybrid" strings paying off. Maybe if you're truly 50/50 pit and bebop, which virtually no one is, those sacrifices start to pay off. Even then, with a bit of work you can bow Spirocores, Jazzers and according to you, Helicore Pizz.

Love on, my brother, no one here is judging.

foilracer · #4 05-14-2009, 06:13 PM

More info usually helps!....my E is really a low D...and I have used the Spiro Stark E and the Helicore Hybrid E about equally... tuned down to D, the Helicore is a lighter tension
....my bass likes that!......so in the chain of experimentation?.......which strings work well for "Low D"?(ARCO)......it sounds like i could try the Helicore Heavy E
Pizz string...in my mind it would be similar to my Spirocore Stark E ....except less tension?

Anyone else bow, using DAdg? Which string for low D?

-foil

pdbass · #5 05-15-2009, 11:35 AM

IME, the Helicore Hybrid Heavy 'E' is more comparable to a Mittel 'E', w/ even less tension. The arco characteristic seems actually closer to a Weich E--it 'breathes' a bit more. It's a good, bright string, but the Pizz strings, I-M-H-O, are much quicker under the bow and require a little less energy to get going. Also, I'm not sure if the 'formula' for the strings have changed over the years, but the Pizz series 'grabs' the bow much better than in earlier years, IME.

tornadobass · #6 05-17-2009, 07:10 AM

I had a similar experience with a string change during a pit show run, only I went from Helicore Orchestra to Hybrid. There was the fear that they would stand out too much, but I really appreciated the extra clarity and sustain from the switch. Pitch was easier to hear, especially when I was off

Before the Orchestra strings, I'd been using Permanents, which i thought were louder and bowed more easily, but are a somewhat bulkier string that my left hand fingertips had trouble with around F on the E string.

Lately, the Hybrids have been a little difficult to bow, but I've chalked that up to the change in seasons and how my bass and rosin are responding.