super bright bass want dark pizz g string

[shwashwa]

ok, so i know there's only 10billion threads like this, but i thought i'd add my $.02. i have a bass where the g string is really bright and nasaly (were talking pizz here) so i figured that i'd buy an orchestral string with alot of damping to solve the problem. not really being a classical player i decided to get helicore orchestral (after all it says orchestral right in the name) but have found these to be really bright in the pizz dept as well. almost spirocore like in the tone and sustain. im not sure if it's the string or just the overpowering brightness of my bass, but on a quick search of the threads here i do find some mention of helicores sounding really bright lately. can anyone confirm this? what string would you try next? i'm thinking flex 92?

[Uncletoad]

What other strings are you using? What else have you tried?

Isn't it time you filled out your profile? You've been here to long for us to guess anymore.

[JoeyNaeger]

I find the helicores to be fairly bright as well. A flexocore might be more what you're looking for, but you'll loose a lot of sustain.

[TroyK]

If you honestly have a really bright bass and you honestly want a really dark G, why not put a gut string on there?

[shwashwa]

Originally Posted by TroyK

If you honestly have a really bright bass and you honestly want a really dark G, why not put a gut string on there?

thought about that actually, but afraid of how it would blend with the other strings. i'm kind of happy with the rest actually.. on E and A i'm using corelli forte and on D and G i'm just helicore orchestral medium. a pretty nice balance i must say in terms of thiskness and feel. its just that g string is very bright... steve laspina solved this on his bass by using a belcanto g string with the others being spiro reds, but i dont think the belcanto would be a good match in terms of thickness and gauge to the other strings on my bass.

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by shwashwa

thought about that actually, but afraid of how it would blend with the other strings. i'm kind of happy with the rest actually.. on E and A i'm using corelli forte and on D and G i'm just helicore orchestral medium. a pretty nice balance i must say in terms of thiskness and feel. its just that g string is very bright... steve laspina solved this on his bass by using a belcanto g string with the others being spiro reds, but i dont think the belcanto would be a good match in terms of thickness and gauge to the other strings on my bass.

I think the Belcanto might be great. In fact the Belcanto D/G would be a worthy experiment with the Corelli bottoms. I have used the BC G with spiro reds and thought it was a little light. It's a lot closer to a Weich G than a Mittel G. Size and tension it's exactly in between. A couple folks here use Weich E/A with the Belcanto D/G and like that a lot. I've not used Corellis much, didn't like them. They are a really bright string aren't they?

Regardless the Flex on top of Corelli's is probably to far in that direction, unless you are considering moving away from that on the bottom.

What bass are we talking about I don't remember?

[dchan]

I think you might actually simply need a soundpost adjustment. My school's bass had the same problem: the other 3 strings sounded fine, but the G string tended to be nasally no matter what I put on. I tried Helicore Orchestrals, Flex 92's, Original Flexs, an old Obligato G that sounded fine on every other instrument I tried. Nothing worked.

Since my school was deliberately dodging me on the setup issue, I remembered I had the old Pirastro tone filter, which is essentially a rubber disk with a hole in the middle. It worked pretty well in cutting down the nasalness, but it started to split. So I went to the local hardware store and got some rubber/neoprene washers for about $.20-.25 each; they work just as well as the Pirastro filters. So try those if you're a cheapskate and are putting off bringing your bass to a luthier.

[shwashwa]

i have a chinese bass that gets no action, so i'm trying to get it going. the setup is nice, its just that string that stops me from playing it. the corelli strings on the bottom sound nice, not too bright.

[Uncletoad]

Belcanto G then.

[trounsontime]

I'm in a similar situation I have a full set of Helicore Hybrid Meds on and now I've started playing arco a lot more the g string is really bugging me as it just sizzles and sounds really unpleasant the moment you remotely dig in with the bow. No doubt my technique is in need of improvement but I've bowed on an Obligato G and not had the same problem, it was much easier to start the string without the horrible buzzing. I'm thinking of changing the complete set for Evah Pirazzi eventually, though I was thinking of putting an Oliv G on first then putting the Evahs on eventually as I hear the Evah G isn't too hot. Is the difference in tension gonna work?

[robgrow]

After using Belcanto D&G strings for quite a while, I've recently switched to Thomastik Superflexible D&G. The SF's are almost as dark and easy to bow as the BC's, but I find them to be much easier to play, especially in thumb position. The Belcantos are pretty stiff strings.

[shwashwa]

yeah, i have bs's on a different bass and felt they were thick and stiff. definately thicker than the strings i have on now. that's why i was concerned about them blending

[larry]

Originally Posted by robgrow

After using Belcanto D&G strings for quite a while, I've recently switched to Thomastik Superflexible D&G. The SF's are almost as dark and easy to bow as the BC's, but I find them to be much easier to play, especially in thumb position. The Belcantos are pretty stiff strings.

I've used Superflexibles and they are pretty good. Then I switched to an Oliv G and fell head over heels.

The Oliv G will tame a nasal sound for sure. It blends fairly well with other steel sets too. I have also gone to an Oliv D and Eudoxa A as well. I still use a steel E string.