String Quandry (detailed)

[JazznFunk]

Hey all...

After living with the Obligatos for about 9 months, I am at a bit of a crossroads. I love their sound, I love the feel, and they're very even across the board in terms of volume and projection. However, I'm wanting something even darker and more focused as far as tonal quality is concerned. I'm thinking about going with the new Kolstein Heritage strings, but the description still doesn't really answer my question as to how they may sound. They say they offer a gut feel, but the tonal characteristic of a metal orchestra/jazz string. I have a feeling they may still be too bright for me. My ear is telling me that I'm close to what's in my head, but not quite yet.

The La Bella Golden Tone set is pretty appealing in terms of what it may offer, but I have a feeling it may be too far in the other direction for me... I play mostly pizz in modern/traditional jazz settings, and arco occasionally. Volume isn't a problem with Obligatos, so I'm not wanting to sacrifice that. The bass I have (Kohr K64 carved top) is pretty dark to start with, considering it's only maybe a year and a half old.

Am I looking for something in a non-gut string that I just can't really have?

I feel as though I'm rambling, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[anonymous0726]

Kolsteins are similar to the Obligatos, but not that different. Short of another choice you might want to try a set of these in lieu of another set of Obligatos.

[winston]

I've never played Obligatos but I did have a set of Innovation 140 H (Honeys) on my bass for a while. They're a synthetic core, metal wrapped string advertised as gut-like--they're fat and thumpy, without much sustain, but they have a sweet arco sound. It's been a really long time since I've played a bass with guts but they were pretty reminiscent. They're also fairly stiff.

[ctxbass]

My old Kay is now wearing Winston's "hand me down" Innovations.
It's been a while since I played Obligatos, but the Innovations have more of a gut sound. Probably the best gut approximation of any string I've tried. A big gut type attack, but then they do sound like synthetics as the sound fades. Plenty of volume.

I briefly had the Heritage strings on this bass. They are a smoother sounding string with more sustain and not as much of an initial thump . They'll growl where the Innovations won't. They are fairly low tension, but a thin (compared to the guts on my other bass) string will never have a gut feel to me.

[AMJBASS]

Another string you might try are the Thomastik Dominants. I think you will find them to be quite dark with a lot of volume. They aren't as thin as the Obligatos, and they won't roll.