Strings for folding bass

kurt · #1 08-31-2010, 05:36 PM

I got a Chadwick folding bass a couple months ago and it came with Spiro Mittels on and while it sounded pretty good (it's a great bass actually) they were killing me on long gigs (I do a fair bit of slapping) and I wanted something a little easier to play and a bit more bow friendly. I had some solo gauge Evah's on my other bass and decide to give them a try.

They sound and feel pretty good, really easy to play, pretty good with the bow etc. They're holding up amazingly well considering I've flown at least 10 times with them so far and there's almost no deterioration at all, I'd say they're holding up as well as the Spiro's which kind of shocked me. However, despite them settling fairly quickly, they're not as stable tuning wise as spiro's for the first day or so and as we've done a lot of fly in's where we have to play within hours of me setting up the bass it might be nice to have a steel string.

Any suggestions? I'd like to stay with a Pirastro product if possible as I really love the feel of their windings and I think they wear into the fingerboard slower than others since I slap a fair bit (especially Corelli's, they're like sandpaper). How do the Flexocore's compare? Are they brighter or darker? It seems like there's a lot, flatchrome steel, Chromcore, original flatchrom, permanents, etc. and the descriptions they give are vague to me. I probably want to stick with solo gauge for playability and I'm not to concerned about acoustic volume. Which one is similar to the Evah's if any, maybe just a tad brighter but still bowable? Any Ideas?

**Francois Blais** · #2 08-31-2010, 06:39 PM

Solo Flexocors would be too floppy and dark.
And the regulars would probably feel too rigid; at least the D&G.
I'd look at either solo FlatChromesteels and solo Permanents.
In both case, I'd look for another E however.
My personal choice would be solo Permanents.
Fuller tone than solo FlatChromesteels.

How about solo Spiros?

sas · #3 09-01-2010, 01:26 PM

i second the permanents (for d and g), i use them on my volante and they offer the best mix of pizz presence, bowability, and tolerance regarding frequent tension loss (dismantling of the instrument).
E and A, the current generation of Spiro weichs is a good match.

**Francois Blais** · #4 09-01-2010, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sas

i second the permanents (for d and g)

The regulars or solos?

sas · #5 09-05-2010, 02:23 PM

To François: regular permanents d+g, paired with regular weichs e+a.
An excellent compromise right now.

I also wonder (strong suspicion) if all-steel strings are the only option for this setup of frequent dismantling. For sure, obligatos (and I fear evahs) cannot deal with it. That narrows down the choice considerably. I will soon be reassessing the pizz talents of the Belcanto and HeliOrch strings, because even on the Volante I need smooth arco.

kurt · #6 09-08-2010, 05:13 PM

What is it about the E string that sucks? Less sustain? Are the Flexocore's darker than the evah pirazzis? What about Belcantos or superflexibles? Are they darker than the Pirazzis?

**Francois Blais** · #7 09-08-2010, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sas

To François: regular permanents d+g, paired with regular weichs e+a.
An excellent compromise right now.

Regular weichs?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurt

What is it about the E string that sucks? Less sustain? Are the Flexocore's darker than the evah pirazzis? What about Belcantos or superflexibles? Are they darker than the Pirazzis?

The Permanent and the FlatChromesteel E's are IMHO dull and lifeless, in comparison with the other strings in their set.

To me, Flexocores are darker than Evahs.

Belcantos are nice, and so are Superflexibles (although much brighter), but since you stated you wished to stay with Pirastro, I didn't mention other companies brands.

kurt · #8 09-10-2010, 12:32 AM

So, do all the pirastro steels have weak E strings? I really don't want to get into mixed sets if I can help it, I have a hard enough time deciding on one set let alone individual strings. Regardless of brand, what would be a similar steel string to the Evah's?

sas · #9 09-27-2010, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Francois Blais

Regular weichs?

ok weichs period sorry

Quote:

Belcantos are nice, and so are Superflexibles (although much brighter), but since you stated you wished to stay with Pirastro, I didn't mention other companies brands.

Belcantos are lovely for bowing, and have a certain charm for jazz pizz with decent sustain, but I don't think the OP will like them for slapping.
Kurt f I read your needs correctly (bit vague), you may well have luck with a set of Pirastro Jazzers minus the G string (always a pain with the bow for me, a Permanent would blend in quite well).
The Jazzers are pretty low tension (since you consider solo gauge) and will settle quickly (and stay there). They're no volume monsters but project a Weich-ish sound with a little more finesse, in my opinion. Not sure the sustain wouldn't be an impediment to your thumping technique, though.

A. Munk · #10 09-27-2010, 04:41 PM

I noticed on my travel bass that if I used just enough winds to hold the string on,it would settle much faster.
I assume that the string stretches at a slower rate around the peg? Especially if you have the string crossing over itself a lot.
Just a thought. (what the heck do i know?)
Guts seem to be the same way in that they seem more stable the less winds/crossing there is.

BTW... I've tried a lot of different strings for the Eminence travel bass, mostly pirastro products,and gut(i did not try evahs as they weren't available then). From my experience it sounds like the evah's are hanging in pretty well.
I've been using the evah solo's for a couple of months now and glad to hear they seem to be holding up.

kurt · #11 09-27-2010, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sas

Kurt f I read your needs correctly (bit vague), you may well have luck with a set of Pirastro Jazzers minus the G string (always a pain with the bow for me, a Permanent would blend in quite well).

Ok. I play mostly in a roots country band where I play about 60% pizz 30% slap and 10% arco. I like a kind of middle of the road string. I can grow to like most strings or at least get comfortable on them. I want more sustain than gut or Jargars for instance but too much and I start to feel like I'm playing a giant fretless jazz bass. I find that the spiros sounded warmer and thumpier on the folding bass than my carved, but still too high tension, scratchy with the bow, and a little electric bassy. The solo evahs's are better with the bow, much easier to play, but seem just a little dull at times, And they take longer to settle.

I also like strings with a larger diameter that have very smooth windings as I find they wear into the fingerboard (from slapping) much slower so I don't have to get the fingerboard planed as often. That's one of the things I like about the Evah's. What other brands have as nice of wraps on their strings? I find the spiro's a little rougher.

If the jazzers are anything like spiro's, they might be too bright/nasal for me.

What about these new passione strings? How do they compare to Evah's if anyone has tried them?

Also, are Belcanto's darker than Evah's?

kurt · #12 09-27-2010, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. Munk

I noticed on my travel bass that if I used just enough winds to hold the string on,it would settle much faster.
I assume that the string stretches at a slower rate around the peg? Especially if you have the string crossing over itself a lot.
Just a thought. (what the heck do i know?)
Guts seem to be the same way in that they seem more stable the less winds/crossing there is.

BTW... I've tried a lot of different strings for the Eminence travel bass, mostly pirastro products,and gut(i did not try evahs as they weren't available then). From my experience it sounds like the evah's are hanging in pretty well.
I've been using the evah solo's for a couple of months now and glad to hear they seem to be holding up.

Hmmm, I'll have to clip some of the ends off the strings, I guess that makes sense. I can't tell if the sound of the Evah's has changed since the original installation as it was on my carved bass, but they haven't seemed to change on the folding bass after numerous flights. The windings are really holding up amazingly well considering! I can live with them, just wondering if there's something a little more suited to this bass.

Thanks for all the input guys!

sas · #13 09-28-2010, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurt

(...) I want more sustain than gut or Jargars for instance but too much and I start to feel like I'm playing a giant fretless jazz bass. I find that the spiros sounded warmer and thumpier on the folding bass than my carved, but still too high tension, scratchy with the bow, and a little electric bassy. (...)

ok, then the Jazzers/Wondertones are not for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurt

What about these new passione strings? How do they compare to Evah's if anyone has tried them?
Also, are Belcanto's darker than Evah's?

I just got a test set of Passiones from Pirastro but am still a few weeks shy of putting them on. There is a thread on them, though.

As for Belcantos, I have them on a big carved roundback right now, they are definitely darker than the Evah's, but their thump and controlled (for lack of a better word) sustain may well speak to you. And they seem to suit your winding/diameter/tension preferences, too. Trouble is, once you bow them you won't want to let go of the bow again!