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06-05-2006, 08:43 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado | | | Poor bassist looking for budget quality strings
Looking on eBay for upright bass strings, as I'm not in the position to drop $140 on a set right now. Wondering who has suggestions as to what "budget brands" are good, which aren't, and why. Playing almost strictly pizz, but looking to start work on bowing technique pretty soon.
Also, there's a company called Great Tunes Direct that regularly sells strings on Ebay for about $35/set, claiming that they're brand name strings but they can't identify the maker by name. A call to the factory brought no satisfaction. Anyone know anything about this?
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06-05-2006, 08:46 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Chicago | | | I think the best 'cheap' string are D'Addarios. I don't really like them but you can get them for $75-$90 a set. The Orchestras are pretty good with a bow. |
06-05-2006, 08:49 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado | | | Does D'Addario have several different sets? I seem to remember paying $130 for Heliocores about 4 years ago... |
06-05-2006, 08:56 AM
| | crosswind downwind bass | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Tacoma WA | | | The cheapest I know of is Barefoot Larrys for bluegrass or slap; $20.00 a set. The A,D, and G have a pretty good thump and rapid decay, the E is extremely flabby. They are useless for arco.
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06-05-2006, 09:05 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado | | | Okay... looking for cheap AND good. I've got cheap; I paid $35 for TWO sets. The first one was so bad I'm not even upset I can't find the other. Gotta be SOMETHING out there...? |
06-05-2006, 09:11 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Chicago | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by fretlessman71 Okay... looking for cheap AND good. I've got cheap; I paid $35 for TWO sets. The first one was so bad I'm not even upset I can't find the other. Gotta be SOMETHING out there...? | Keep your eyes on the TB classifieds...All kinds of strings come up for sale or swap all the time.
gomez
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06-05-2006, 11:46 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: silicon valley | | | Check out the Corelli 380 Series. I think they can be had for about $70. Consider only the Forte or Extra Forte gauge if you're playing pizz. IMHO they're better than the D'Addarios. The drawback is the E string is wimpy for pizz.
The 370 E is good, but more expensive. |
06-05-2006, 12:48 PM
| | | | D'addarios and Corellis are cheap, but in the long run Thomastik Spirocores will be cheaper due to their eternal life. They might be 20 $ more expensive, but some folks think that they actually improve with age, they keep them on for a decade or more.
In my experience D'addarios and Corellis will die in less than a year.
If you want to bow the spirocores you will need a few weeks to break them in. |
06-05-2006, 12:50 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado | | | So no one has addressed the really cheap strings to be found on eBay - am I to take from this that they really stink in general? |
06-05-2006, 12:51 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Maui | | | +1 on Spiros. They just go on forever.... they really age well. The extra few bucks going in will pay off in the long run, and they'll sound good for the duration. |
06-05-2006, 12:59 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado | | | So what's an average life span for Spirocores? And an average price? |
06-05-2006, 01:06 PM
| | | | superflexibles are about $100 and work great for bowing and pizzicato. From what I hear spiros don't work to well for bowing. They give more a modern jazz sound. superflexibles (if set up high) can get the more classic jazz sound.
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Last edited by flatwoundfender : 06-05-2006 at 07:14 PM.
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06-05-2006, 04:28 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: SE Wisconsin | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by fretlessman71 So what's an average life span for Spirocores? And an average price? | I had a set of Spirocores on my Engelhardt for about 6 years, and they were just starting to sound good.
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06-05-2006, 04:34 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Maui | | | Spiros work alright for bowing if you're comfortable with the bow. Sorry, I missed that you're interested in doing some arco. In that case, they wouldn't be my first choice for someone just starting out with the bow. Superflexes might be cool. I'd have to go once again to my default string; the Pirastro Obligato. They just do a lot of stuff really well for the price. Unfortunately, they seem to crap out in a relatively short time, several months for some people. If you have some patience, go with the Spiros; they eventually sound good under the bow, and they are great for everything else in the meantime. One option might be to look for a used set of Spiros in decent shape, since they really start to sound good after a few months. IMHOYMMV.
PS...GOODBAIT slipped in ahead of me, but...what he said. Spiros are forever.
Oh yeah, in answer to your question...Spiro Mittels run about $130 give or take. Bear in mind that the won't break or go dead in the foreseeable future, and you start to see why they are so popular.
Last edited by Marcus Johnson : 06-05-2006 at 04:43 PM.
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06-05-2006, 07:33 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Flower Mound, TX. USA | | | You may want to check out Piastro Chromcore. They are a decent student/budget line string.
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06-06-2006, 01:30 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2003 Location: Portland, OR | |
Quote: |
Originally Posted by fretlessman71 Also, there's a company called Great Tunes Direct that regularly sells strings on Ebay for about $35/set, claiming that they're brand name strings but they can't identify the maker by name. A call to the factory brought no satisfaction. Anyone know anything about this? | If it looks too good to be true, that usually because it isnt 
Good strings are good because they are made of quality
material, it costs money to make them.
Instead of looking at the rip-off artists on ebay, try a place
like Southwest Strings, they have very good prices on
name brand strings. I bought a set of Corelli 370 Extra Forte
from them yesterday for 82.95.
Good luck
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06-06-2006, 06:38 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Austin, Texas | | | if i were you i would just look through the "for sale" section here at talkbass.
i've picked up many sets of lightly used strings for way below full price...
i think there are some spiro Weichs in there now, might look into those and there will be no problem at all getting some of those used and still having them be good... |
06-06-2006, 11:06 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Philadelphia Area | | | +1 for above.
I've bought my last three sets of strings that way.
You can get slightly used strings for a lot less than new off of fellow TB'rs. |
06-06-2006, 05:10 PM
| | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by EJ_Dad You may want to check out Piastro Chromcore. They are a decent student/budget line string. |
That's actually very true, and they are more bowable than spiros. The E is a little dead though. Maybe G, D and A Chromcor, and E spirocore?
The Chromcors are supposed to last longer than Helicores and Corellis but I don't know for sure, I've had mine on for just a month. They will probably not last you a decade like the spiros though. |
06-10-2006, 06:57 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2005 Location: Nashville, TN | | Here's a link for Thomastik Superflexibles @ $89.99/set: http://www.giardinelli.com/product/T...Set?sku=100697
That would be my recommendation other than looking for a used set. Superflexibles are long-lasting and good for both pizzicato and arco.
Don't buy super-cheap strings. Good strings make all the difference on double bass.
Last edited by Bobby King : 06-10-2006 at 08:10 PM.
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