Obligato strings megathread - Page 15

Bijoux · #**281** 03-16-2011, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kane612

theeeeennnnnn..........i tried a full obligato set for a few months last year after a long stretch w/ animas,.

Ah! Funny you mentioned that. I also tried the Animas for a couple of years, and although I really like how they sound I noticed that they got much darker after about 8 months and died very quickly after that. I still insisted on playing them that way for another year, cleaned them, but they never sounded like those initial months. And they are too pricey to keep changing. I thought the Obligatos in the long run might be a better choice for me. They are probably about 3 years old now, and judging from what I am hearing I will try to get at least another 3 years out of them if not more. I tend to like the sound of worn out strings better!

Lo-E · #**282** 08-26-2011, 09:00 AM

Hi all,

I have an old Kay strung with Obligatos that are going on four years old. I played them a lot for a couple of years and then electric gigs got too busy and I didn't play the upright for a long time.

Now I'm going back to it and it seems like the tension is much higher than I remember so my question is: do Obligatos lose their elasticity as they go dead, resulting in higher percieved string tension?

I have read on this forum that Obligatos have a relatively short life span, but I'm sure everyone's mileage varies considerably based upon their individual playing situations.

I play electric much more of the time than acoustic, so I don't really have a point of reference. It's very possible that I'm just out of shape.

Please let me know what your experiences have been.

Thanks-
E

harmendebresser · #**283** 08-26-2011, 01:27 PM

Mine died about every year I've used a set... They become real stiff indeed & have a slightly out-of-tune overtone series. So they were never strung for longer than a year & a half.
Went to Evah Pirazzi's and I've not experienced it to be like the Obli's after a little over a year now, maybe consider trying them out?

reedo35 · #**284** 08-26-2011, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lo-E

Hi all,

It's very possible that I'm just out of shape.

This^

Lo-E · #**285** 08-26-2011, 03:45 PM

Reedo35 is right, of course. I am desperately out of shape, but I'm also pretty sure my bass is tougher to play, too. Thanks for your input, harmendebresser. I haven't noticed any odd overtones, but I'll look into those other strings anyhow. Might be time to try something new regardless.

-E

reedo35 · #**286** 08-26-2011, 08:29 PM

What's your String Height? The top table may have raised a bit, and your bridge may need some tweaking.

Lo-E · #**287** 08-27-2011, 09:08 AM

Reedo35,

String height is actually pretty low, but the neck is a little bendy. The board's been planed so thin that it's not providing the stiffness the neck really needs. It's rosewood (like a lot of '50s Kays) and over the years it's been planed to less than 5/16 of an inch. As a result, the action is fine at the end of the board, but a little tougher in the middle. I'm pretty sure it's not the top table, but rather the neck.

When I put the Obligatos on it I got it set up and it felt pretty good, and I was out of shape then, too. Now it's not so good. I'm sure the neck has bowed a bit.

The last time I had it set up, the luthier told me it was the last time that board could be dressed because it was already too thin. When the time comes, I'll replace it with a good ebony board. It's not currently in the budget. In the meantime, I'll stick with lower tension strings that will allow the neck to relax a bit. Perhaps something new, or maybe just a fresh set of Obligatos.

reedo35 · #**288** 08-27-2011, 09:48 AM

Oh, I had a similar problem with my bass. What my luthier did was put a tapered shim under the the length of the fingerboard to correct the problems and strengthen the neck. For about 1/2 the cost of a new fingerboard.

Lo-E · #**289** 08-27-2011, 05:12 PM

Hmm.. that's an option I hadn't considered. A good thing about being here in the city is I can get a second... and third... and fourth opinion if necessary.

Just out of curiosity, what does replacing a fingerboard cost, on the average?

And sorry that we've drifted away from the topic of Obligatos here.

-E

Waltjie · #**290** 10-17-2011, 09:03 AM

Ordered myself a full set of Obli's and I'm hoping to receive them by the end of this week! Man I'm SO excited.... I can't wait to put them on my bass. Hoping that I'll fall in love with them right away!!

Waltjie · #**291** 10-25-2011, 10:04 AM

Well well... So a couple of days ago, I ordered myself a set of Obligatos from Gollihurmusic.

Firstly, I just want to ONCE AGAIN congratulate them on their EXCELLENT service! I sent them an email to ask about the strings, and I got a reply within FIVE minutes... I almost couldn't believe it! I ordered them, and today, 7 working days later, I received them! (I'm down on the East Coast of South Africa) Not bad!

So, I just finished putting them on my bass like 20 minutes ago, and here are my very initial impressions:

*They stretch... A lot!
*And then they stretch some more...!!! At first it's hard to bring them up to pitch coz they just seem to keep stretching for like EVER!
*They bow SO easily on my bass. I replaced a set of Helicore Hybrids with them, and there is no comparison in the ease with which the strings start speaking.
*The A string has sooo much power, it sounds like a cannon.
*The E string is so easy to bow, and it has a much clearer, focused sound for me compared to Helicore.
*They feel so nice and soft under the left hand, one could easily imagine your bowing a cello!
*They really stretch a LOT!!

I know I've just put them on like now, but I am so happy I did. I've honestly had days where I've felt that maybe my bass will never play as easily as I want it too, but I think I've just made a huge leap in that regard.

TomB · #**292** 10-25-2011, 10:32 AM

In my experience, they do stop stretching and then never budge again... at all.

But I'll bet if you read all 15 pages of this thread, somebody will disagree with me

. Good luck!

Waltjie · #**293** 10-25-2011, 11:10 AM

Tom - what do you mean they "don't budge"...?

reedo35 · #**294** 10-25-2011, 01:18 PM

He Means they just stay in tune with very little adjustment.

Edvin · #**295** 11-02-2011, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drurb

Hmm. I'm curious. As a group of players, we encompass many different styles and techniques. Considering pizz., at one extreme, there are the "low to the fingerboard and amplify" types while others like more "classic" Ray Brown heights and tone. I'm definitely toward the latter. Could it be the case that those in that latter camp just won't be happy with Oblis? Just trying to get a fix on this. Would like to hear from others.

I don't know if you have had an answer from other folks about this, but i play with the strings pretty high and never play with pickup (anymore). The Obligatos is definitely the string for me because i want the Old school feel but a little more definition and clarity in the tone than the guts and velvet strings (also because of the arco tone) and with that criteria the Obligatos is unbeaten of what i've tested! I love playing Oblis'!!

fdeck · #**296** 11-02-2011, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drurb

Hmm. I'm curious. As a group of players, we encompass many different styles and techniques. Considering pizz., at one extreme, there are the "low to the fingerboard and amplify" types while others like more "classic" Ray Brown heights and tone. I'm definitely toward the latter. Could it be the case that those in that latter camp just won't be happy with Oblis? Just trying to get a fix on this. Would like to hear from others.

My G and D are 7 and 8 mm off the fingerboard right now, and the board has maybe 1 mm of relief. And I like to dig in. The A and E are good old Spiro Mitts. I'm still happy with the Obli's, but maybe my bass is the oddball.

As I've mentioned before, I need something that works for me on both arco and pizz, plus the Mitts on G and D were hurting my hands.

I've got to have a bit of work done, to shim up the nut a tiny bit. At that point, I'll have Vince string it back up with the Mitts and re-evaluate. I'd sure love to be happy with a string that lasts forever, and I've doubtlessly improved my technique in both hands since having the bass.

klocwerk · #**297** 01-12-2012, 09:54 AM

After a bunch of research and listening to the awesome strings matrix, I just got a new set of Obligatos to replace my... um... 5 year old ones.

Yeah. Makes a bit of a difference.

Don't be like me, playing old dead thuddy strings without noticing!

Waltjie · #**298** 01-19-2012, 09:54 AM

Hi all,

Is it dangerous to take the string tension down completely, and then back up again? I need to re-arrange my strings on the pegs, especially on the A-string, since it is now starting to press against the pegbox.

Thanks!

The Spanier · #**299** 01-20-2012, 04:53 AM

Hi!

I´m using Evahs G and D in combination with some older Heliocore A/E (which are already dead and without any definition). Although I do not really like the sound of this pair of EP when played “open”, i´ll keep them on.

I am playing mostly pizz. Could you please recommend me some E-A strings to nicely match the existing Evahs??? I am thinking about Obligatos… But I would also consider any other synthetic/gut suggestions if they were worth to try…

Thanks a lot!!!!!

TonyD · #**300** 04-03-2012, 01:19 PM

Hi,

I am playing Obligato solo strings tuned down to Orchestra tuning. Together with my carved Bohemian bass (> 120 years old) a lovely combination for pizzicato.

BUT:
- bowing the open G-string is horrible. I don't have this issue with bowing the other open strings (or maybe less), but bowing the G-string is a disaster. I have tried various types of rosin (Nyman, Pirastro Schwarz) and even a new french bow> But nothing seems to help. It couldn't be bad technique. For some reason I cannoy let the open G-string sing. It sound's very scratchy.

The strings are 1/2 year old.

Anyone else had this experience with bowing open strings?

Thanks for your help!