strings with few mids

[silversurfer68]

hallo,

i am looking for arco stings with very few mids. they should be very dark and soft as velvet.

at the moment i have pirastro flexocore on my bass. i like them, but they have too much mids.
i tested also obligatos and i do not like the sound.

my bass does not like mids and so do i.

please give me some advice!

thx
silversurfer68

[Francois Blais]

Jargars!
Available in three gauge too.

[reedo35]

+1
If you want a dark Arco sound, Jargars are it.

[silversurfer68]

thxs for the advice.

i think, i will try the stings on my kontrabass.

witch gauge would you prefer for my sound? i am not shure, medium or forte? - very few mids

thx
silversurfer68

[Francois Blais]

The Dolces are the softest, and are thin enough for solo-tuning.
The Fortes are more interesting for jazz as they have a bit more sustain and bite.
I recommend the Dolces or mediums for arco playing.
Many slappers use the Dolce gauge.
I don't know if you'd find them too floppy.

[silversurfer68]

hallo,

now my bass is set up with JARGAR medium. my bass has "107cm mensur"

the strings are dark, that is right, but the mids are also strong present!

the g and d strings are fine and sound very good! but the a and e string is very strong and the e is very very "stiff". the e string is too stiff under the bow! - (and for jazz pizzicato are only the g and d strings recommended).

i think i will check out the light tension.

i can not beliefe, that the strong gauge is fine for jazz pizzicato!???

ciao
silversurfer

[Francois Blais]

A few others things are involved, like string height, your bridge (mass), the soundpost placement, the fingerboard's scoop.
Maybe you should bring your instrument to a qualified luthier for a checkup and some adjustments?

[kurt]

I had the Jargar Dolces on my bass for a while. I don't know if there's a darker steel string out there. If there's still too much mid you might want to take Francois advice and take it to a luthier for a set up.

I didn't really like them. They sounded kind of choked and dead, not in a good way for my taste. And for a string claiming to be solo gauge they seemed incredibly stiff and difficult to play. I don't know if this is true but I've heard other people say there's a difference between tension and stiffness. These strings out of the package seem very stiff even before you put them on, as soon as you unravel them them want to straighten out. By comparison, I put some Helicore mediums on after and they were easier to play! They did have lots of bottom though, I've never heard my open G shake the room like that one. About the only thing I did like them for was bowing but even then they didn't really respond the way I wanted them to.

You may want to consider Evah Pirazzi's. They also have dramatically less mids than almost all other strings I've tried, lots less than Obligato's. I thought they were a little tense but now they are coming out with Weich and Solo Gauges. And they are awesome for bowing! I've heard Olives are very dark but I've never tried them and they are expensive.

[Francois Blais]

Jargars have some kind of plastic inside tham as a dampening material.
This of course stiffens the strings.

I'm afraid I don't know darker strings than Jargars!

Innovation Braided (140B) are also quite dark, but relatively stiff too, I'm afraid.

[silversurfer68]

the strings are ok. and i like them. they sound better and better every day. i think in some weeks they sound good and my ear adjustment is also tuned.

and it is also an acclimatization for the strings and the player (bow pressure, etc.)

my bass is set up very well. a luthier has set up my fingerboard, sound post, bridge, exactly for this strings!
my mensur is 107cm and the string high is on e 8mm and on g 6mm. i come to think of it, to go 2mm deeper.

thank for you tips!

[silversurfer68]

stings i have played:
Pirastro Obligato
Pirastro Original Flexocore
Thomastik Spirocore weich
Velvet Compas 180 (not on my bass)

now: Jargar medium


on my test list, for next years, are for bowing:

Jargar Dolce
Pirastro Evah Pirazzi
Daddario Helicore
Velvet Compas 180


silversurfer