orchestra strings

[jacopnut2]

I finally decided that I would like to put orchestra strings on my Shen plywood bass. I have heard that orchestra strings can sound real muddy on plywood basses, the two types of strings that I am choosing between are the D'Addario prelude and the Helicore orchestra. Any thoughts? I will be playing mostly arco and bluegrass.

[TroyK]

I don't have experience with Preludes. The Helicore Orchestral are good strings. I like them MUCH better than their hybrid strings. I played jazz on the for a while, when I was going through a phase and they kind of work for that. The lower strings and notes do get lost a bit pizz in a noisy situation. There are certainly better strings for jazz, but I like them. They bowed like a dream.

They can be a little thin in gauge. Depending on what you like, that can be good or bad. I wouldn't consider light gauge on your laminate bass, the mediums are fairly thin. If you like a beefy string and can handle it, you might consider the heavies. I don't know much about playing bluegrass or what it requires.

And no one can say how they will sound on your bass, you'll just have to try. Since you didn't ask about other orchestral strings, I won't comment on them, but I'm sure someone will. There are certainly a lot of choices. Nothing wrong with Helicores in my experience.

[dchan]

^ I noticed that the Helicore Orchestral Mediums I've used tend to feel pretty thin at first. But after a year or so, they become much thicker for whatever reason.

[Francois Blais]

If you are tight on budget, go with the Preludes, but they are darker than the orchestral Helicores.
However, many bluegrass players seems to go for gut strings or the like, so darkness doesn't seem to be an issue in that case.

Do you want a brighter tone and some pizz sustain or not?

[jacopnut2]

I went to see my luthier this morning to get a new set of strings,deciding to let my ears and not my wallet be my guide.I tried the obligatos,the D'adarrio orchestra and the spirocore and the preludes and to my surprise I chose the prelude because they sounded the best to me for what i want great pizz and great arco and the price was great I know they are considered a student grade string but I liked them the best out of the ones I tried,my luthier even told me that some pretty good bassist in the area used them and not to worry about them being considered student strings it's all up to the player and the sound you are looking for,and the price isn't bad either