upton spiro/obligato hybrid set

olivieraleman · #1 10-04-2009, 05:11 PM

has anyone tried the set upton sells with spiro mittel e and a and obligato d and g?

ajaxon · #2 10-04-2009, 08:54 PM

I use that set up, but I got mine from Bob Gollihur. I like it, although I don't read many positive comments here about obligatos. My luthier, Wayne Holmes, told me he liked my strings alot.

ADissen · #3 10-04-2009, 10:10 PM

Obligatos are an okay string in the beginning but after only a couple months they'll be dead beyond use IMO. Even though i've yet to try them out, I would go for the EP Weichs on top instead of Obli's. I've read about the EP's being a better hybrid string than Obligatos but to each his or her own.

MDEbass · #4 10-04-2009, 10:30 PM

Obligatos are pretty dark, but kind of in a dull way, in my opinion. Also, another thing totally based on preference, is the feel of the obligatos. They seem to roll under your fingers, which I thought was kind of awkward. I feel that Spiros are great for jazz, but are really weak under the bow. You can get a great pizz sound, but if you were using them in a hybrid set, implying that you would do arco to, I wouldnt reccomend it. I thought the E and A spiro strings were especially bright and harsh when playing arco. If you want to try a good hyprid set that works well for both pizz and arco, I would try Permanents. Great arco, good for orhestral or solo work, and a nice pizz tone.

olivieraleman · #5 10-05-2009, 05:15 AM

thnx for replys. using spiro weichs at the moment, but the g is thin sounding and i am looking for something else.

Marcus Johnson · #6 10-05-2009, 01:24 PM

I'm not sure how much of an improvement the Obli would be, if any. Not the fattest sounding string I've used. YMMV.

drurb · #7 10-05-2009, 02:18 PM

Here's my take. My impressions of the Oblis match those of many others. That is, I like the sound and even the feel. The problem is that they were just too weak sounding for me. As someone here once said, they sound great in your living room but not on the bandstand. My problem with them, was that when I would dig in, they would give up. That seemed to be especially true for the G.

I'll take the Evah weichs any day over the mixed Spiro/Obli set. Great pizz sound and fine under the bow as well.

As usual with strings, YMMV.

olivieraleman · #8 10-05-2009, 03:05 PM

thnx marcus and drurb
i like the spiro weichs except for the g. i noticed other posts by you dr., where you mentioned you liked the evahs. i only play pizz and i am leaning towards those. one thing, how do they amplify?

Marcus Johnson · #9 10-05-2009, 03:08 PM

Very nicely, in my experience.

jrlynch · #10 10-05-2009, 04:02 PM

i think for a good overall string for the hybrid, the evah's rock. the welchs have a bit softer feel, but the stock evah A is a house shaker.

all good.

Eric Hochberg · #11 10-05-2009, 06:10 PM

I used the Mittel Obli combo for a while and liked it. The Oblis matched up well with the Mittels tone wise. Oblis do wear out fairly quickly, I got about 9 months out of mine. With Spiro weichs, try an Evah Weich G if you want a fatter, darker sound.

drurb · #12 10-05-2009, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olivieraleman

thnx marcus and drurb
i like the spiro weichs except for the g. i noticed other posts by you dr., where you mentioned you liked the evahs. i only play pizz and i am leaning towards those. one thing, how do they amplify?

I don't know why, but with the Evahs, I get the best amplified sound I can recall getting (using RS-2, iamp200, Wizzy 12).

chancletarock · #13 10-05-2009, 10:16 PM

i have this setup on an upton hybrid - here's what i notice:

first of all, know that most people i've met can't discern the string sets upon listening, but rather playing. it's a very good match and will definitely suit you well for defined, soloistic tone. but with that in mind-

the oblis really sing - both pizz and under the bow. they have a very soloist "personality" i guess you could say. if you have a dark sounding bass it might balance out but as my hybrid is two months old i can see how this much zing might be too much for some people. personally i like it - the notes are more defined and everything is more precise.

the spiros are where things get a little tricky for me. they can be bowed nicely, but i often feel like the "sweet spot" for the bow, or the general sweet area, is a little different between the two string types, which makes string crossing a little difficult sometimes (i'm not a terrific arcoist, but i feel like i can at least say that). as for pizz, there is definitely an "umph" behind the spiros that the oblis don't have, especially the spiro A. i told them at upton to set my bass up for lots of growl, so i don't know if this is b/c of the strings, but my bass growls like CRAZY - maybe the tone definition of both of 'em facilitates this more than other strings? i donno.

anyways sorry for the long post, but i wondered myself about this and so i empathize with your question. also the oblis have mellowed considerably...and i hope they stop mellowing, actually, cause they're sweet where they are now.

good luck,
andrew

olivieraleman · #14 10-06-2009, 05:05 AM

thnx to all for your replys

basss · #15 10-07-2009, 09:00 AM

I've used Spiro Weichs with an obli G. I originally had an all obli set at but the lower strings got pretty thuddy after 6 months or so - especially the D. The G seemed to match well with the Spiros and didn't seem as prone to the problems of rolling and deadness as the other strings.