Strings to match gut (yes again)

[Adrian Cho]

I am very, very happy with the Larson gut strings on G and D. Not over the moon but prety happy with the Helicore Hybrid heavy gauge on the A and E. They are a lot nicer than I thought they would be and not as bright as the Superflexibles. I am in NY now and decided to have Bill Merchant put an extension on the bass. Only problem is that no one has a Helicore Hybrid heavy extension strings in stock and I have gigs next when I get back to Ottawa. I thought perhaps I should use the opportunity to try some other strings anyway.

So again, looking for strings to match gut in tone and feel but not too thuddy or dull for the bottom strings.

I am wondering about Dominants (too stiff?), Permanents, Jargar (I notice they come in gauges). I have not tried Obligatos on this bass but hated them on another bass. I guess I cold go with a medium gauge Helicore Hybrid for the extension string but I've never liked the medium gauge Helicores in other situations and I'd prefer thicker strings to go with the gut.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Adrian

[Francois Blais]

If you don't want thud in the bottom, I'd avoid Jargars.
The Dominant E is not available in extended lenght I think.
Flexocors are available in thick gauge (extended thick E is available) and I think you'd like them.
They have more punch and sustain than regulars and Originals.
HTH!

[AMJBASS]

That might be worth a shot but I think you will find a drop in volume using the Flexocores. They have a lot of dampening material in them. The Permanent E might be your best bet.

[Francois Blais]

That's why I suggested the thick Flexocor; much more volume than the medium.
I'm not a fan of Permanents myself; too much metallic edge for my taste.

[Adrian Cho]

I think despite what Francois says about the bright and metallic nature of the Permanents - I will try them. I get the feeling the Flexocores won't have enough sustain. This gets back to my revelation about eight months ago that most people think that strings to match gut should have a short sustain. Someone sent me Orig. Flex. to try out on A and E and they were horribly thumpy with way too much dampening. My gut strings on G and D have a lot of sustain. Some folks have said that the Permanents are darker sounding than the Helicore Hybrids and that's what I'm using now. It's either the Permanents or possibly Kolstein Varicors but I have played those strings at the Kolstein shop and I found the gauge too thin for my liking.

[Bobby King]

I know that there doesn't seem to be a ton of people using them, but I've really been enjoying the Innovation strings. I think that the E&A from either the 140B or 140H set would match well with gut upper strings. The H is a little thinner and more sustaining than the B, but both have a nice punchiness like gut, bow very well, decent volume and they're not all that expensive either. I have the Bs on the top and the Hs on the bottom and it's been working very well for me.

[Adrian Cho]

Unfortunately I could not get hold of any Permanents quickly (at least the extension string anyway). So I decided to go with VariCors. Bill gave me a Spirocore for now but I'll try the VariCors when I get them.