Oliv and Obligato String Combo

[bassiszen]

I play a Shen Panormo, and a Pfretzner 7/8. I have been playing the Velvet Anime's for some time now on both of them. I love their pizz sound, but just have the hardest time getting over their arco sound. Some one mentioned to me the combination of Oliv (on the G and D) and Obligato (on the A and E). I have been told that they have a great pizz and incredible arco.

Anyone have any feed back on this?

Easy

[Bobby King]

Bassists have paired the Olive G&D with many different types of E&A strings -- Eudoxa, Obligato, Evah Pirazzi, even steels like Spirocore and Helicore.

Olives are great, but they are pricy and have some various maintenance problems. My advice would be try a full set of Obligatos or Evah Pirazzis, if you're still looking for more of a dark gut sound on top, then try out the Olives.

[Marcus Johnson]

I did that combo last year on an album, and it wasn't bad. This was all pizz, however. The only thing that I notice in listening to the playbacks is that the E string is a bit thin sounding, maybe a tad too much growl for my tastes. But it was certainly usable.

[AMJBASS]

The Obligato E and A tend to roll a bit under the fingers. They aren't the strongest strings. You would be much better off using the Olive D and G with Eudoxa A and E, or the new Evah Pirazzi A and E.

[Humberto]

Anybody have any experience or opinion on Pirastro Jazzers vs. Spirocore weichs? Putting them them on a Cleveland Hybrid?

I've had Obligatos, and Evah's and am looking for a sound with more guts and sustain.

Thanks.

[larry]

Originally Posted by bassiszen

I play a Shen Panormo, and a Pfretzner 7/8. I have been playing the Velvet Anime's for some time now on both of them. I love their pizz sound, but just have the hardest time getting over their arco sound. Some one mentioned to me the combination of Oliv (on the G and D) and Obligato (on the A and E). I have been told that they have a great pizz and incredible arco.

Anyone have any feed back on this?

Easy

I went through two sets of Obligatos - I was not blown away. I liked Superflexibles better. Then I tried an Oliv G and loved it.

Long story short, I use an Oliv G and D, Eudoxa A, and Spiro Orch. E. Once the E breaks in, it blends fine with the others.
I have a Eudoxa E, but the gut-core strings do go out of tune more easily, and it's nice to have one consistent string as a point of reference for mid-set or even mid-tune adjustments. Don't let that scare you, they are stable enough and sound great.

Some complain of maintenance issues - I have not had any. My Oliv G has got to be three years old, and has been on two different basses. It's still fine. Make sure your slots are wide enough and lubricate them with graphite. When I put them on, I mark a line on the string with pencil that is even with a mark the nut. As I wind, I watch them to be sure the string is sliding through and not binding (creating more tension between the nut and the peg than there is accross the entire string).

I only play arco in the woodshed, but I think the Olivs and Eudoxas bow better than anything else I've personally tried.

Good luck in your decision.

[LouisF]

My friend Sergio Scaramelli Pirastro Eudoxa on the GD & Pirastro Obligato on A&E for his arco basses, if that's any help. His alternatives are Compass 180suite and BelCantos (full sets each)

Louis

[TroyK]

Originally Posted by Humberto

Anybody have any experience or opinion on Pirastro Jazzers vs. Spirocore weichs? Putting them them on a Cleveland Hybrid?

I've had Obligatos, and Evah's and am looking for a sound with more guts and sustain.

I've used Jazzers, Weichs, Obligatos and Evahs.

Certainly Jazzers and Spirocores have more sustain than the other two. Depends on what you mean by "Guts". If you mean "gut-like", which is always a loaded term, I don't think that I would suggest that moving from Obligatos/Evahs to Spiro/Jazzers would get you there. If you mean, faster respones, balzy in the mix, maybe louder on your bass, probably it is the right direction for you to go.

I actually like things about all of these strings. Obligatos fell apart on me pretty quickly, but I liked the feel and sound until they did. I liked a lot of things about Evahs, but ultimately there was something wrong about them that I couldn't quite put my finger on. They wore me out somehow. Didn't always articulate in the mix, were a bit wooly sounding as I listen back to old recordings.

I think Jazzers are way under-rated and Spirocores are awesome if you like them, which at the moment I do. A lot of it depends on your setup, including how "nasely" they seem. I can bow all of these strings as well as I need to, although some are easier than others.

Between Jazzers and Spirocores, I think the major factor is appropriate gauge and tension for your bass. Jazzers and sort of in between Weichs and Mittels. Dispite what I've read, I find them to be closer to Mittels. They work very well in general. My bass and my current setup sounds much better with less tenion and so I'm using weichs. If I had a new bass with some stiffness, I'd likely start with Mittels and see. I don't think Jazzers are as complex in character as Spirocores, for whatever that is worth, but they are more similar than the perlon core strings you mentioned.

Does that help?