Thomastik's Belcanto VS Super Sensitive's Supreme

[klystephen]

I am going to change the strings of my bass. Any comments on these two types of strings in terms of orchestral purpose.

[Francois Blais]

I can only comment on the Supremes, and from a pizz POV.

The G is quite thin and shrill. Don't like it.
The D is great; warm, but with a nice mid buzz and good sustain.
The A is similar to an Original Flexocor A; thick, stiff and muddy.
The E has lots of growl. Reminds me of a Weich Spiro, but somewhat darker.

Hope this helps.

(P.S. as you can see, the set is not very well balanced, IMHO)

[Chasarms]

I may be the only guy who has actually played both of these on the same bass.

Supremes are the perlon core string offered by SS. It is of the same ilk as Pirastro's Obligato or TI's Dominant.

I tried Supremes very briefly on my bass last year and was impressed at the beginning, but the love faded fast. I have used all three of the perlons mentioned above and have to give the SS thumbs down. They sounded great out of the package, but they didn't last very long at all. The pizz turned to flab in about two months.

They didn't have the sweetness of tone of the Doms. In general I would say that they are more like Obligato, but I'd be force to call them a distant 3rd in the synth core race, because of the longevity issue. I know that there has been some discussion here at TB that dropping tension and tuning back up is kind of a no-no for Obligato. I did swap those Supremes off and back a couple of times. Maybe they suffer from the same fait.

The Belcanto is what I am now using. After a month, I have to say that they are my favorite string that I have ever used on the Shen. They have very deep, powerful tone and are thunderous with the bow, yet very smooth. I also really like the pizz tone. Dark and a little puffy, but with all the sustain that you could want.

I am really big on the Belcanto these days.

[PaulCannon]

For orchestra stuff? It's not even a choice. Get the bel cantos.

[Francois Blais]

Originally Posted by Chasarms

I may be the only guy who has actually played both of these on the same bass.

Supremes are the perlon core string offered by SS. It is of the same ilk as Pirastro's Obligato or TI's Dominant.

Wrong.
You're talking about the Sensicore line.
The Supreme is a steel rope-core string.

[Chasarms]

Originally Posted by francois

Wrong.
You're talking about the Sensicore line.
The Supreme is a steel rope-core string.

You are correct. However, my review of the string stands, as I definitely bought and tried the Supremes. I distinctly recall the green packaging.

I guess I just don't know why they died so fast then.

[BMason]

I just had a lesson with Paul Ellison and the bel cantos on his Hatchez sounded great, so go for those. As far as anything made by Super-Sensitive, you might as well re-string your bass with dental floss.

[bassist1962]

I have a set of SS Stellars on my bass. The bass needs repaired so I am waiting to get everything done at once. These strings are alright, but I am just a beginner, and am in want of Spiros. I will probably see night and day when they are installed.

[jonas]

Originally Posted by Chasarms

Supremes are the perlon core string offered by SS. It is of the same ilk as Pirastro's Obligato or TI's Dominant.

Wrong The Obligato's core is PEEK, Dominant's is Nylon (=Perlon), like Sensicore.

[jdapodaca]

For orchestra, Bel Cantos. No contest.

[Hampton]

Originally Posted by jdapodaca

For orchestra, Bel Cantos. No contest.

Wait until you've tried the Evah Pirazzi's.

More in that megathread in a few days. It's a good day for bassists. 2 fine new options.