I'm considering Starks.

KeepEmThumpin · #1 04-23-2009, 05:50 AM

Some of you may remember a thread a while back in which I asked for the string that could do everything: Pizz, slap, and arco. There was an almost unanimous vote for Weichs.

Well I got 'em and they're great. Been playing on 'em for the past few months. I like them.... But don't love them. I'm finding lately that I'm desiring something a little tougher, and that's where the heavier gauges come in. Thing is, I don't quite now *how* big a jump it is.

I'm located in New Haven, CT right now, but NYC is my usual spot... Is there anybody in either of these two areas gracious enough to lend their stark-strung bass for 5 minutes?

Any suggestions otherwise, of course, are more than welcome.

EDIT: I don't intend on doing much slapping with the new setup. The time will come for that, but that's not quite yet.

**Francois Blais** · #2 04-23-2009, 05:57 AM

I'm sure Chris F. will answer you real soon now...

simonwilmer · #3 04-23-2009, 06:04 AM

Personally,...I dont like slappin steels , so I dont like the Idea of Slapping a full set of Starks ,I think the E would be a great foundation for a slap set up, maybe a Mittel A, Id be looking for something Gut like for my D&G , maybe the Wiech Evah Pirazzi , Id be confident they'd bow nice from what I have heard.

basstef · #4 04-23-2009, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeepEmThumpin

Some of you may remember a thread a while back in which I asked for the string that could do everything: Pizz, slap, and arco. There was an almost unanimous vote for Weichs.

Well I got 'em and they're great. Been playing on 'em for the past few months. I like them.... But don't love them. I'm finding lately that I'm desiring something a little tougher, and that's where the heavier gauges come in. Thing is, I don't quite now *how* big a jump it is.

I'm located in New Haven, CT right now, but NYC is my usual spot... Is there anybody in either of these two areas gracious enough to lend their stark-strung bass for 5 minutes?

Any suggestions otherwise, of course, are more than welcome.

PM sent

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #5 04-23-2009, 06:39 AM

I used them for years, and still keep a Stark E on both of my basses. What I've discovered is that they are great at getting the most out of thickly built carved tops or laminated basses. When I finally got a great sounding bass, they still sounded great but tended to be a tad strident on it (I didn't realize this at the time I was using them; I tried Dominants as an experiment and loved them, so that's where I am now). They are tough on the hands, as you might expect.

drurb · #6 04-23-2009, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeepEmThumpin

Some of you may remember a thread a while back in which I asked for the string that could do everything: Pizz, slap, and arco. There was an almost unanimous vote for Weichs.

Well I got 'em and they're great. Been playing on 'em for the past few months. I like them.... But don't love them. I'm finding lately that I'm desiring something a little tougher, and that's where the heavier gauges come in....

Hmm. Evah Pirazzi Weich? Evah Pirazzi standard? Wanna try 'em in Connecticut? Just a PM away!

KeepEmThumpin · #7 04-23-2009, 08:13 AM

Ah, yeah. Forgot to mention. I'm puttin' the psycho slap on the shelf for a while. Fun as it is, it's not what I need to be studying right now.

Uncletoad · #8 04-23-2009, 08:29 AM

Have you tried Mittels yet?

The Starks are a bear. I can't use them even though I think they sound great.

Stark E with Mittels is whats on my main bass. That's very nice. The Stark E is slow to start with the bow. Hard to get anywhere quick with that.

I'm not gonna slap much with those telephone cables that's for sure.

Bobby King · #9 04-23-2009, 09:06 AM

I find that the lower tension Weichs slap better than the Mittels. The Mittel D in particular would give a very springy, "boingy" sound when slapped. I imagine that Stark might be even worse. Right now I have an Evah D on and that slaps very well.

As far as slapping on steel, it actually works very well IMO, sometimes better than gut. But the best steels to slap on are the darker, orchestra-type strings -- Helicore Orch., Flexocor, Jargar. Many heavy duty slappers use those types of strings, sometimes at solo gauge tuned to regular pitch. They'll give plenty of click, a quickly-decaying fundamental note, and none of that "boing-boing" sound. Unfortuantely, those strings tend to sound like caca for regular pizz applications though.

KeepEmThumpin · #10 04-23-2009, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncletoad

Have you tried Mittels yet?

The Starks are a bear. I can't use them even though I think they sound great.

Stark E with Mittels is whats on my main bass. That's very nice. The Stark E is slow to start with the bow. Hard to get anywhere quick with that.

I'm not gonna slap much with those telephone cables that's for sure.

Mm. No, I haven't tried the mittels yet... I'll have to get in touch with my old teacher, actually, because he had some strings that I really liked... Purple silk with yellow winding? I think that's what was down by the tailpiece...

At any rate, I'll be making a decision around the end of June. Gonna be out of the country for a month, so I figure it'll be the ideal time to take my bass into David Gage for a proper setup.

Uncletoad · #11 04-23-2009, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeepEmThumpin

Mm. No, I haven't tried the mittels yet... I'll have to get in touch with my old teacher, actually, because he had some strings that I really liked... Purple silk with yellow winding? I think that's what was down by the tailpiece...

At any rate, I'll be making a decision around the end of June. Gonna be out of the country for a month, so I figure it'll be the ideal time to take my bass into David Gage for a proper setup.

Those sound like some sort of pirastro string like Original Flatchrome or something. Tough pizz string that's for sure. D/G's are usually ok.

**Francois Blais** · #12 04-23-2009, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeepEmThumpin

Purple silk with yellow winding?

Sounds like Kolstein Varicores to me.
They're orchestral strings, but have a clearer tone than, say, Original Flexocores.

Uncletoad · #13 04-23-2009, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Francois Blais

Sounds like Kolstein Varicores to me.
They're orchestral strings, but have a clearer tone than, say, Original Flexocores.

Yea Kolstiens....I though Original Flex were all purple?

**Francois Blais** · #14 04-23-2009, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncletoad

Yea Kolstiens....I though Original Flex were all purple?

Yeah, but his have a yellow winding. (at least that's what he wrote earlier)

Jake deVilliers · #15 04-23-2009, 01:15 PM

Yup, Original Flex are all purple all the time...

bonaventura · #16 04-24-2009, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

...What I've discovered is that they are great at getting the most out of thickly built carved tops or laminated basses. When I finally got a great sounding bass, they still sounded great but tended to be a tad strident on it (I didn't realize this at the time I was using them; I tried Dominants as an experiment and loved them, so that's where I am now)....

That's a really revealing comment. I hear you. Stark E gets the most out of a thickly built bass or thick carved top (that describes my '93 Gruenert). But on a lighter bass with a thinner top, a finer instrument, you found the Stark E too intense? Was it like the bass tightened up? The lighter bass can respond well to a string with less tension, while the thickly built bass needs the tension and intensity. What would you recommend for the rest of the set on the thickly built bass? I mean, apart from Dominants... Would you be concerned about unequal tension (imbalance) across the set?

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #17 04-24-2009, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonaventura

That's a really revealing comment. I hear you. Stark E gets the most out of a thickly built bass or thick carved top (that describes my '93 Gruenert). But on a lighter bass with a thinner top, a finer instrument, you found the Stark E too intense? Was it like the bass tightened up?

I was talking about a whole set of starks when I made those comments. I personally feel that most sets of strings are mismatched on the E for pizz - I'm not a good enough arco player to extend that comment to strings for bowing. But for pizz, if I were ordering new strings, I'd automatically order a heavier gauge for the E than the rest of the strings.

Quote:

The lighter bass can respond well to a string with less tension, while the thickly built bass needs the tension and intensity. What would you recommend for the rest of the set on the thickly built bass? I mean, apart from Dominants... Would you be concerned about unequal tension (imbalance) across the set?

I'm never worried about unequal tension if the bass feels and sounds good. With a thickly built bass, I'd start with the strings you actually want to use, then compromise from there to find the happy medium between that and what the bass "wants" to have on it in order to make it sing and project the way you want it to. I'm lucky now to have the bass I have. If I didn't, I think I'd have to use different strings on a thicker bass. Been there, done that, it was okay... but I'm not getting any younger and my body won't be starkproof forever. The Stark E, OTOH is the E string for the sound I want. It never poops out and never gives up, and with a little practice you can make it sound "lighter" than it really is. You just can't make a lighter string sound as piledrivingly heavy as a stark E.