i really would want to change strings, but...

pao_bass · #1 06-07-2006, 05:55 AM

i have been using ORCHESTRAL LIGHT helicores for about a year now. I'm a doble bass major(college). I use the bow in school, but other than that, i play purely pizz. I am now thinking of shifting to helicore HYBRID HEAVY GAUGE (how do they fare when bowed?). By the way, my current g string height is 9 mm from the fingerboard. Is it quite high?

I find the sound of the a and e strings of the helicore orchestral a little too damp, or a bit dead at that.

should I go on with the shift? or does any one have contrasting opinions? thanks!

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #2 06-07-2006, 08:41 AM

9mm is a bit high for the G string, but you need to remember a couple of things:

1) Really light strings can take more string height without feeling impossible to play. 9mm with Spirocore starks would be very difficult, but 9mm with spiro solos would be no big deal. I imagine that the helicore lights that you are using probably allow the string height.

2) How are you measuring the string height? Most of the luthiers I know measure it from the bottom of the string to the fingerboard.

3) If you have an adjustable bridge, you can probably find a happy medium of roughly the same tension with the new strings at a somewhat lower height. If not, then, they will feel very heavy by comparison. Good luck!