String help...

bass_lord_mutha · #1 12-09-2010, 12:10 PM

Ok, so I had my first gig on a double bass in about 7 years last night, and it went well, considering my muscle memory for DB playing is uber-rusty. However my hands took more of a beating than I figured they would, and I'm thinking the strings I have on this bass are just way too taught for an all-nighter playing blues/r&b/country. The bass I have is a 3/4 Glaesel plywood construction and I believe the strings that are on it are D'Addario Helicore Orchestra? (blue silk with yellow spiral silk wrap). What I'm looking for is a string that will be much easier on my hands for straight pizz playing yet still have good volume, tone, and bow response for orchestral playing. I have seen on previous threads the Evah Pirazzi strings as a suggestion, but compared to the Helicores, would they help alleviate my issues here?

**Francois Blais** · #2 12-09-2010, 01:16 PM

How about the setup?
(string height, fingerboard scoop)

bass_lord_mutha · #3 12-09-2010, 08:38 PM

The string height is nice and low, though could probably go a bit lower if it needed to, but not uncomfortably high either. It's pretty easy to transition up to thumb position seamlessly. And I'm assuming by fingerboard scoop you mean the fingerboard radius, and that's in decent order as well. The string-to-string angle is such that pizzing from the E string to the G string isn't hindered much by the A and D getting in the way, and I can still play arco on each string without accidentally playing the next string up or next string down. I don't think the setup is the issue, though. I think the issue is just that the particular stringset I'm using is too high of a tension for me. I can play the bass pretty easily for maybe 15 minutes before it starts wearing me out. But I don't wanna drop $150+ on a set of strings and have them sound Ok with one playing technique but sound like crap with the other, you know?

**Francois Blais** · #4 12-10-2010, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bass_lord_mutha

And I'm assuming by fingerboard scoop you mean the fingerboard radius

No, it's the longitudinal concavity.
Without some scoop, the strings (particularly the lower ones) would buzz very easily, but if there's too much scoop, they become hard to play; they feel stiff.

Helicores are available in light gauge too.
And Hybrids are also more supple than the orchestrals you have now.

tstone · #5 12-10-2010, 09:15 AM

Blue silking with a yellow band at the ball end does indeed indicate Helicore Orchestra. If you want to check the gauge, look at the peg end of the strings. Lights will have a contrasting yellow band at the very end. Heavies will have an orange band. Mediums will have no contrasting band. This of course assumes the peg ends have not been cut short.

**Francois Blais** · #6 12-10-2010, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tstone

Blue silking with a yellow band at the ball end does indeed indicate Helicore Orchestra. If you want to check the gauge, look at the peg end of the strings. Lights will have a contrasting yellow band at the very end. Heavies will have an orange band. Mediums will have no contrasting band. This of course assumes the peg ends have not been cut short.

That band is at the beginning of the peg-end silk thread, not at the end.
It should be visible without any problem, unless the string was cut into the metal part. (which is not a good idea)

bass_lord_mutha · #7 12-13-2010, 12:00 PM

Well, it didn't dawn on me at the time, but D'Addario actually has a silk color chart and so according to this chart, unless the peghead ends have been cut short, these are a medium tension string, since there are no end wrappings to denote light or heavy tension. Thanks for your help though guys, I appreciate it

**Francois Blais** · #8 12-13-2010, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bass_lord_mutha

Well, it didn't dawn on me at the time, but D'Addario actually has a silk color chart and so according to this chart, unless the peghead ends have been cut short, these are a medium tension string, since there are no end wrappings to denote light or heavy tension. Thanks for your help though guys, I appreciate it

BTW, they're also available in solo gauge, and they're not bad at all at orchestra pitch.
Very warm and easy to play, without being too floppy.

iiipopes · #9 12-14-2010, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Francois Blais

No, it's the longitudinal concavity.
Without some scoop, the strings (particularly the lower ones) would buzz very easily, but if there's too much scoop, they become hard to play; they feel stiff.

Helicores are available in light gauge too.
And Hybrids are also more supple than the orchestrals you have now.

Since the OP has a bass guitar background, another way to say it is that the scoop or bevel is analogous to electric bass neck truss rod relief. The difference being, of course, on a double bass the scoop has to be done by a luthier, and it's not adjustible.