Strings too stiff for me? (DB forum thread)

[MartinBorgen]

Hello. i'm a newbie to DB, played EB for a bunch of years now, but thats another thing.

now, on my decently sounding but cheap plywood DB, i suspect that i might have too stiff/thick strings. they are steel, somewhat thicker than the .105 on my EB.

thing is when i play, i feel its tiring for my left hand, but that might very well be for me not having the proper technique (lessons are on the way). but i think that they sound very "clonkey" when i play them with the whole finger the pizz way - better when i cheat and play EB fingerstyle midways on the string.

i would describe the sound as close to when you play too close to the bridge on the electric bass, when you are not strong enough to get a tone, and only gets a thump and no substain. tha's why i asked, but maybe i'm better off asking my eventual teacher about such subtle things?

ah, i almost forgot. i play/intend to play mostly jazz with the occational django. arco will probably be practised too, simply for the sake of learning it all and i hear its good for your intonation.

[Jason Sypher]

The relationship between the neck, bridge and tailpiece have A LOT to do with the feel of your strings, no matter what thickness. I suspect you need a proper set up. Have you taken the bass to a reputable luthier?

[MartinBorgen]

no I haven't. I figured I should consult a teacher before - i'm asking more out of curiosity now.

[Francois Blais]

If your bring your bass to your teacher, he/she should be able to tell you if it's properly setup, etc.
Do you know which brand of strings you have?
(silk colors at both the tailpiece and tuners will help)

[bruiser1964]

Your teacher will answer most of your questions after seeing the bass and how you play at present. For the moment an UB will have less sustain than an electric - i'ts a different animal. The guys on here will identify your strings if you post a pic or describe the colours on the ends.
Have fun n good luck

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Thread cleaned up. This is a double bass string thread. Thank you!

[MartinBorgen]

I was told they are Strunal strings. black silk, and brass coloured.

[MartinBorgen]

BUMP

So I have slightly bronze/brass coloured strings, with black silk at the ends. Probably metall all through, ribbon wound. A hunch would be a guess at strunal strings, since the previous owner said something about them being strunal, but it might be he meant some other strings, so I'm not sure.

And is this viable reasoning?

If i tune the bass down a quarter tone or semitone, it becomes much more comfortable to play, and if its not an humdity somethign coincidence, alot more bassy (when played the "normal" notes of course...).

My teacher said that there seemed to be no apperant problem or fault with my current technique, but that was on another bass.

[Andrew McGregor]

Well, what the tuning down suggests is that you'd benefit from some lower tension strings. So, you need to identify what you really have, and then see where to go.

[TroyK]

Your teacher on your first DB lesson said you had no apparent problems with technique? Wow.

I don't know those strings, though I've played just about everything, but I'll buy into the likelihood that they came with the bass and are probably not the type sold separately. That said, there's a good chance that a lot could be gained with a new set of something good.

Mittel gauge Spirocores would be a great place to start or since you're in Sweden, you might consider a Velvet set, maybe blues or Animas. They will definitely be much softer feeling. Too soft for a lot of people. Everyone can start shouting out their favorite strings if you like, but Spirocores are really the starting (and for a lot of professional jazz players) the ending point.

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Is your bass a Strunal? If yours is anything like mine, it came from the factory with strings that are absolute garbage. Mine were soft-feeling but were loaded with damping material under the outer wrap. Under the bow they were tolerable, but played pizz they sounded like drum-machine bass: all thud, no sustain. And that's coming from someone who likes thuddy bass.
Pick up a set of decent, used strings and put them on the bass under your teacher's guidance.

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by TroyK

Your teacher on your first DB lesson said you had no apparent problems with technique? Wow.

I don't know those strings, though I've played just about everything, but I'll buy into the likelihood that they came with the bass and are probably not the type sold separately. That said, there's a good chance that a lot could be gained with a new set of something good.

Mittel gauge Spirocores would be a great place to start or since you're in Sweden, you might consider a Velvet set, maybe blues or Animas. They will definitely be much softer feeling. Too soft for a lot of people. Everyone can start shouting out their favorite strings if you like, but Spirocores are really the starting (and for a lot of professional jazz players) the ending point.

TROIKA, Velvet is based in Switzerland where Jonas Hiller and Martin Gerber come from, quite a few miles south of Sweden where Danny and Hank Sedin were born!

And I say Spirocore Weichs...

[MartinBorgen]

Originally Posted by TroyK

Your teacher on your first DB lesson said you had no apparent problems with technique? Wow.

ergonomically acceptable should be more precise.

@KUNGfuSHERIFF; My bass is a Thomann 111 BR, not a strunal. The previous ower said he had changed strings....

[TroyK]

My bad, I thought Velvet were Swedish, shows what I know.

Spriocore Weichs or mittels would be a good place to go from here. I feel like Mittels are the baseline (pun intended) for everything else.

[lucas vigor]

I don't know why no one has answered the most basic point: Even if you have the thickest, heaviest electric bass guitar strings...the lightest guage upright strings will still be 80% stiffer and thicker! When I go to play my electric bass, it is like playing on silk threads compared to my upright!

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Originally Posted by psykopatsak

My bass is a Thomann 111 BR, not a strunal.

Same instrument, just relabeled. If you were Stateside I would send you my Spiro Weichs to try out. Maybe your teacher has an old set you could buy?

[Meddle771]

Originally Posted by KUNGfuSHERIFF

Same instrument, just relabeled. If you were Stateside I would send you my Spiro Weichs to try out. Maybe your teacher has an old set you could buy?

Any chance i could grab those?

[MartinBorgen]

Originally Posted by KUNGfuSHERIFF

Same instrument, just relabeled. If you were Stateside I would send you my Spiro Weichs to try out. Maybe your teacher has an old set you could buy?

O.o you sure? I thought the Thomann 11 is strunal, but the three digits are chinese from what I've heard.

[TroyK]

Originally Posted by lucas vigor

I don't know why no one has answered the most basic point: Even if you have the thickest, heaviest electric bass guitar strings...the lightest guage upright strings will still be 80% stiffer and thicker! When I go to play my electric bass, it is like playing on silk threads compared to my upright!

Not true:

Thomastik Spriocore Medium Gauge:

.052 .070 .085 .111

Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys

.050 .070 .085 .105

Different scale, different construction, different instruments, but virtually the same gauge and of course there are lighter DB strings and heavier EBG strings, I just picked two really typical examples.

When a DB is set up properly to my personal standards, the strings have a good bit of suppleness to them. I've played EBGs that felt great and others that felt all bound up.

It sounds like our OP needs a set of strings, what he describes doesn't match any commercially available string that I'm familiar with. I suspect that set up could be factor too.

To your point, technique and adjusting to the instrument takes time, practice and instruction too. It's not supposed to feel like an electric bass guitar.

[MartinBorgen]

Originally Posted by TroyK

Not true:

Thomastik Spriocore Medium Gauge:

.052 .070 .085 .111

Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys

.050 .070 .085 .105

Different scale, different construction, different instruments, but virtually the same gauge and of course there are lighter DB strings and heavier EBG strings, I just picked two really typical examples.

When a DB is set up properly to my personal standards, the strings have a good bit of suppleness to them. I've played EBGs that felt great and others that felt all bound up.

It sounds like our OP needs a set of strings, what he describes doesn't match any commercially available string that I'm familiar with. I suspect that set up could be factor too.

To your point, technique and adjusting to the instrument takes time, practice and instruction too. It's not supposed to feel like an electric bass guitar.

I play pretty stiff Chromes on EB.

I know that the DB should feel different, but i reasoned that since its my bass, its preferable if it feels very nice for me to play on.