Strings that "do not bow well"

[Stephen Edwards]

Spiros are great for everything! Mittels were designed for arco, too. Definitely start with Spiros. I'd say that you should start with mittels, but the weichs are also a great option.

[RenanDias]

Sorry but I can't agree that Mittels are "great" to everything. Mittels surely were designed for arco, but something went wrong and the result was "almost ok" for arco and "awesome" for pizz. The Lemurs video just confirms it. Spiros Weichs are better sounding for arco. The Spiros problem is not only the arco sound, but the feel for who is playing it, it feels scratchy even though the sound for a listener some meters way might not be scratchy. Can't say about Spiro Solos, but someone said it's the best Spiro for arco.

My opinion about hybrids is: if one plays pizz 70% and arco 30%, Mittels/Weichs are perfect... Now If arco represents anything more than those 30% (for someone who needs something more than long notes or short unissono phrases) Eva Pirazzi is the way to go, or even Daddario Hybrids sounds better under the bow than Spiros.
And since there's no free lunch, no string lasts forever but Spiros.

Now if arco is more than 50, 60% but sometimes a decent pizz sound is needed, Obligato will do the job, and maybe even Belcanto (which is not hybrid, but depending on the bass can produce a nice pizz sound, with a surprisingly little grow and sustain).

[Steve Killingsworth]

I'm not a string junkie so I haven't tried a wide variety but of what I've had on my bass (spirocores, Evah Parazzi, and Animas) the Animas were by far and away the hardest to get a decent sound from.

The Animas were harder to start and I found it harder to maintain an even tone on long slow bow strokes. Of course, some of that may be due to my shortcomings rather than the string.

[Phil Rowan]

On my bass, for doing bow stuff, if I had to choose between the two I'd much rather use Spiros than Evah Pirazzi's. The EP's were way too slow in terms of response, whereas Spiros reacted immediately and had such a strong/direct fundamental to them. And I felt I couldn't quite push the EPs as much as the Spiros. Again, this is on my bass, so naturally YMMV, IMHO, IME, FWIW.

[TonyD]

Originally Posted by RenanDias

Sorry but I can't agree that Mittels are "great" to everything. Mittels surely were designed for arco, but something went wrong and the result was "almost ok" for arco and "awesome" for pizz. The Lemurs video just confirms it. Spiros Weichs are better sounding for arco. The Spiros problem is not only the arco sound, but the feel for who is playing it, it feels scratchy even though the sound for a listener some meters way might not be scratchy. Can't say about Spiro Solos, but someone said it's the best Spiro for arco.

My opinion about hybrids is: if one plays pizz 70% and arco 30%, Mittels/Weichs are perfect... Now If arco represents anything more than those 30% (for someone who needs something more than long notes or short unissono phrases) Eva Pirazzi is the way to go, or even Daddario Hybrids sounds better under the bow than Spiros.
And since there's no free lunch, no string lasts forever but Spiros.

Now if arco is more than 50, 60% but sometimes a decent pizz sound is needed, Obligato will do the job, and maybe even Belcanto (which is not hybrid, but depending on the bass can produce a nice pizz sound, with a surprisingly little grow and sustain).

+1

I would like to add Velvet Compas 180 for arco > 50 %. Or Velvet Classico. I still do not like Spiro's for arco, but I must be careful saying this loud at Talkbass.com

[DoubleMIDI]

For arco the Velvet Compas 180 needs a player with at least medium to good bowing chops, the Clasico is a bit better, but mainly the sound is mellower.
For a nice bowing string that handles pizz also well (just a bit darker) the Innovation 140B are much better. But this is not the question here.

I think a younger Spiro Mittel and Velvet Compas 180 are on the same level, but different to bow.