Please recommend a lighter guage / low-tension string set - maybe solo guage ?

[GeeBass]

My Czech Ease 3/4 bass has just arrived at the David Gage Shop.
It is ready for strings/setup - and I need help picking a string set ASAP.

I'm recovering from a severely broken left hand, and working my way back to playing upright again.
Doctor advised against 'play thru the pain' - so, I need recommendations for a lighter guage 3/4 string set that has a nice easy to play low tension, but can produce a big round warm tone (pizz only - NO arco) for rootsy blues and jazz standards.
Keep in mind this will be on a reduced size body Czech Ease bass - BUT - an amp will always be used with the Realist pickup.

Can solo guage strings, tuned down to standard pitch, still produce a big round sound - or would this be just too thin sounding ? Anybody have experience using solo guage strings tuned down to standard pitch ?

Is there a slightly heavier guage set than "solo" (maybe a "light" guage) that would still have relaxed lower tension, and provide a bigger rounder sound than a solo guage set would ?

Are Thomastic Spirocore Weich strings a consideration - are they easy playing lower tension strings ?
I've seen 2 different sets (3885 vs. S42), but do not understand the differences.
Can anyone explain, and comment as to if either of these would be easy playing low tension strings
with a bigger sound than solo or light guage strings ?

Thanks - I need help quick !!!

[Bobby King]

Corelli 370 Medium are very light and easy on the hands, but I don't know about "big and round"

You would probably love the sound of Velvet Animas or Velvet Garbos but they are expensive. They are low tension but not skinny.

Also, Pirastro Obligato is relatively low tension and good for blues and jazz.

Spirocore Weich take a while to mellow out, fairly bright at first, but they are a popular string

[Peck_Time]

Spiro Weichs can be lowish tension depending on your bass (on my Cleveland they are as tense as the Mittels on my Christopher), but I would avoid weichs as you are recovering from injury. If your playing style can handle plain guts / weedwhackers or Innovation Super Silver Slaps would be low tension.

edit: Spiro Weichs in solo gauge would be low tension.

[Peck_Time]

Spiro Weichs can be lowish tension depending on your bass (on my Cleveland they are as tense as the Mittels on my Christopher), but I would avoid weichs as you are recovering from injury. If your playing style can handle plain guts / weedwhackers or Innovation Super Silver Slaps would be low tension.

edit: Spiro Weichs in solo gauge tuned to EADG would be low tension.

[bribass]

Originally Posted by Bobby King

Corelli 370 Medium are very light and easy on the hands, but I don't know about "big and round"

You would probably love the sound of Velvet Animas or Velvet Garbos but they are expensive. They are low tension but not skinny.

Also, Pirastro Obligato is relatively low tension and good for blues and jazz.

Spirocore Weich take a while to mellow out, fairly bright at first, but they are a popular string

+1 on the Corelli Meds. W/ the exception of the overly pingy G I really liked that set on my Eminence EUB.

Gary Bartig the inventor of the bass likes a D’Addario Helicore Orchestra light gage G for a warmer sound.

Perhaps this w/ the Corelli 370 Med D,A,E would be a good combo for the Czech Ease as well. I plan to try this at some point on my Eminence.

However, I might add that I do not use Corellis on my DB's, but something about the shorter scale of the EUB makes them work.

BG

[tww001]

Gee-
First, let me wish you a safe and speedy recovery. Best of luck getting back to the instrument. Two strings I would recommend would either be the Pirastro Obligatos (already mentioned) or the Kolstein Heritage strings. Both of these strings have similar characteristics. They are both synthetic core, which gives them a nice soft touch, and both were quite flexible on my 7/8 bass. They both also have a nice round, warm tone as well, definitely not thin sounding strings. Safe recovery!

Tim

[Marcus Johnson]

I think I'd go Bobby's route; Garbos or Animas. Very comfy indeed, big sound. I played Garbos on an Eminence once, it was great.

[GeeBass]

To All - thanks for some great feedback - please keep the suggestions and comments coming - remember this is for pizz-only jazz & blues. I'll need to do a LOT of research on all of these sets - I've been away a long time from DB and don't have experience with most of these recommended brands.

Bobby / Marcus / ect
Re: "You would probably love the sound of Velvet Animas or Velvet Garbos but they are expensive. They are low tension but not skinny."
"I think I'd go Bobby's route; Garbos or Animas. Very comfy indeed, big sound. I played Garbos on an Eminence once, it was great."

- How much are these Velvet sets ? Are they really round wire wrapped (roundwounds) as I see described on a string chart posted elsewhere here on TB ? These are big and warm sounding and low tension ? I cannot find the tension ratings on these sets.

- If the Corelli's are not "warm" sounding - how would you describe their tone and application ?

- Re: Pirastro Obs - did you mean solo guage - or orch guage set ?
I can't find the tension ratings for these strings. Also worried Orch guage may be too heavy for me.

- I have no idea re: "Innovation Super Silver Slaps" - I saw a chart that shows these as 2 different sets - "Super Silvers" and "Silver Slaps". Which one would I want, and what sort of tone exactly would these sets produce ?

Thanks again everyone !!

[rdwhit]

GeeBass, Your doctor is right on about not playing through the pain. I'm currently recovering from serious neck surgery which is correcting a condition which was damaging nerves in my left arm all the way down to my fingers. Serious stuff. My advise is to forget about the big sound for the short term. Use the lightest possible strings w/ lowest action possible & rely on the amp to do the rest. I started w/ the lightest corelli strings for a couple of months. I'm not sure which ones they are, but i'm sure David G will know. Bob G will know too. He also has some left arm problems and can speak with more experience about this than many others can. They cost less than many other strings too. I'd stay away from weichs for now. They are a light gage, but still too heavy for injury recovery, much heavier than the lightest corellis. You need to start w/ the lightest strings You can.. You may have to compromise Your sound for now but if You don't You can do further damage to Your hand. Another string not mentioned yet is flatchrome steel. They are the next step up for me from the corellis. I hope to have the strenth in my hand to move back up to weichs in a few months next, then something a little heavier if I can. If I need to stay with the FCS & very low action it will be a compromise which will keep me playing & working & enjoying it. I'm using a La Scala hybrid w/ realist pick-up. In some rooms my old underwood sounds better & I can get more sound w/ less work. I've posted about this a few times over the last several months. If You look up my posts You should find lots of advise from people which may apply to Your situation.
Oh yeah, I tried some solo thomastics tuned down to concert pitch. They worked but I liked the light corellis better. Obligatos may be a good step up after a few months of really light strings.
Hey Bobby K, I think You advised me on the lightest corellis out there a few months ago, lighter than the ones You mentioned above. If so , what were they.
GeeBass, this is one topic I'm a little more qualified to comment on than some. Please take it slow & easy. Your recovery will be faster. Best of luck to You.

[rdwhit]

P.S. When I said i'm more qualified than some on this topic I was refering to recoverying from the injury, not claiming to be the string Czar . Also, My experience has been that the string tension charts can be misleading. ex- obligatos are flexible & easy on the fingers, but I think the chart said they are a higher tension than they actual seem. I say ignore the tension charts & go w/ what simply FEELS the easiest. I've given my recomendations. Don't worry if the strings seems too thin . View it not only as a bass/strings, but as a physical rehab tool. Practice for shorter periods of time than You think You need to & take lots of breaks . Good luck & kick some butt!

[Phil Rowan]

In no way do I mean to be a Dr. Phil (my favorite show to watch with Ralph LaLama in the middle of an afternoon jam session)... GeeBass, is your doctor going to recommend, or are you currently going to physical/occupational therapy as part of your recovery? It sounds like you had a pretty severe injury, and I would think that the most important thing right now isn't getting back to playing ASAP, but working on making a full recovery. Better to do things right the first time to prevent any further injuries that may result from skipping any steps. I say this based only on what I've read in your post. I can kind of relate to what you're going through (except it was a much different kind of fracture), and I wouldn't be where I am today without all the hard work.

Just my .02 cents... hmm, if my music career don't work, maybe the motivational speaker thing is for me!

[Bobby King]

Originally Posted by GeeBass

Bobby / Marcus / ect
- How much are these Velvet sets ? Are they really round wire wrapped (roundwounds) as I see described on a string chart posted elsewhere here on TB ? These are big and warm sounding and low tension ? I cannot find the tension ratings on these sets.

- If the Corelli's are not "warm" sounding - how would you describe their tone and application ?

- Re: Pirastro Obs - did you mean solo guage - or orch guage set ?
I can't find the tension ratings for these strings. Also worried Orch guage may be too heavy for me.

- I have no idea re: "Innovation Super Silver Slaps" - I saw a chart that shows these as 2 different sets - "Super Silvers" and "Silver Slaps". Which one would I want, and what sort of tone exactly would these sets produce ?

The best price on Velvets is from LNR music (Lou Roten) and they're currently around $225 from him, I think. They are not really roundwound but not completely flatwound either. They are an unusual design, go to the Velvet website and check it out. The low strings on the two sets are similar but the Garbo D&G are thicker with a polymide winding and they produce an even more gut-like tone. Both are very good -- big warm sound, low tension. I understand that there is now a light gauge Garbo set which must be very low tension.

The Corellis can sound warm on some basses. They are an excellent arco string that still has a nice jazz pizz sound. They are thin in diameter and the medium gauge is quite low in tension (rdwhitt - the mediums are the lightest I've tried, I don't think they even make a lighter gauge)

Obligatos are not super low tension, but definitely less than Spiro Orch, and they have a more flexible feel to them. A warmer tone, too. Some people love these, some dont. They also bow quite well. (this is referring to orchestra gauge, I have no experience with solo gauge Obligatos)

The Innovations are more of a bluegrass type string. Fake gut, lots of "puff". The Slaps are lower tension than the Silvers. Labella Supernil is also very low tension and a similar tone. These type of strings can be fun for a minute, but they're not all that versatile.

[rdwhit]

+ 100 w/ all due respect



QUOTE=Phil Rowan;5227967]In no way do I mean to be a Dr. Phil (my favorite show to watch with Ralph LaLama in the middle of an afternoon jam session)... GeeBass, is your doctor going to recommend, or are you currently going to physical/occupational therapy as part of your recovery? It sounds like you had a pretty severe injury, and I would think that the most important thing right now isn't getting back to playing ASAP, but working on making a full recovery. Better to do things right the first time to prevent any further injuries that may result from skipping any steps. I say this based only on what I've read in your post. I can kind of relate to what you're going through (except it was a much different kind of fracture), and I wouldn't be where I am today without all the hard work.

Just my .02 cents... hmm, if my music career don't work, maybe the motivational speaker thing is for me![/quote]

[Bobby King]

Originally Posted by rdwhit

Also, My experience has been that the string tension charts can be misleading. ex- obligatos are flexible & easy on the fingers, but I think the chart said they are a higher tension than they actual seem. I say ignore the tension charts & go w/ what simply FEELS the easiest.

+1 on this observation. For instance, gut strings which have low tension require higher action, and they vibrate widely and require a different kind of effort to control them. There is a difference between flexiblity and tension. Flexibility can produce an easier feel when the tension isn't really that much lower.

Given all you've described about what you're looking for, I'd probably say Velvet Anima. The one drawback to Animas is that they don't bow very well, but that apparently isn't an issue for you. Anima is quite different in look and feel than most strings, but they are warm sounding and very enjoyable to play.

[COUNT ZACULA]

Originally Posted by Bobby King

The Corellis can sound warm on some basses. They are an excellent arco string that still has a nice jazz pizz sound. They are thin in diameter and the medium gauge is quite low in tension (rdwhitt - the mediums are the lightest I've tried, I don't think they even make a lighter gauge)

You can drop tune a solo set for super low tension.