Velvet strings megathread part II

[PB+J]

My E sounds, fine, but you just told me it doesn't , so I guess I'm just wrong. better run and get me some spiros, so i can be like Mark Carlsen. One of us, one of us, one of us...

Look Mark, you have some hostiity to Animas--you've made that clear. First it was that they rattled, and now its that they have a bad low E. I have zero interest in "selling you" on animas--use them or don't, and give your opinion, but don't go telling me what my bass "must sound like."

jeez


I'm the "these guys" (it's just me, not "these") who brought up Jaco, I brought him up because of the suggestion that having a strng wth bumps on it would hinder intonation. But you didnt actually read the post that preceeded mine, did you?

[Mark Carlsen]

Are we reading the same thresd here..It seems to me Bruce mentioned jaco or roundwounds somewhere in this thread and this is a double bass forum and discusion.How old are you???

[shwashwa]

Originally Posted by PB+J

My E sounds, fine, but you just told me it doesn't , so I guess I'm just wrong. better run and get me some spiros, so i can be like Mark Carlsen. One of us, one of us, one of us...

Look Mark, you have some hostiity to Animas--you've made that clear. First it was that they rattled, and now its that they have a bad low E. I have zero interest in "selling you" on animas--use them or don't, and give your opinion, but don't go telling me what my bass "must sound like."

jeez


I'm the "these guys" (it's just me, not "these") who brought up Jaco, I brought him up because of the suggestion that having a strng wth bumps on it would hinder intonation. But you didnt actually read the post that preceeded mine, did you?

the jaco analogy doesnt transfer well to the upright because of the more "bumps" he had on the electric bass string (smaller, closer windings). doing the math, you'll see that it's not as big a factor as it would be on a larger bass where the notes are more spread apart and where the "bumps" are also more spread apart. picture for a moment an upright bass with frets... lets picture 2 basses. one has maybe 20 frets spread out from the nut to the end of the finderboard, while the other one has maybe 100. the odds are better for the one that has 100 frets that some of them will be exactly in tune than for the bass that has 20. but again all this is theory, and i dont think you can really hear it, although i dont know for sure because i never played velvets for more than 5 mins because i didnt like them from the get go...
but i do find it interesting that corelli uses the intonation arguement in their marketing.

[Marcus Johnson]

Originally Posted by Mark Carlsen

.
Play a low G on a Spiro,then on a Velvet...No comparison.

I agree wholeheartedly. I've done both, about a million times. That's why I still have the Velvets on, even after breaking an E onstage. On my bass, under my hands, the Spiros are great, but the Velvets are really great. But what really sells me on the Animas is the G, which doesn't make the bass sound like a big cello.

Believe me, I've swapped out Spiros and Animas a bunch. My wife finally told me, "Just order the Animas and get it over with", and she could care less what I play.

The folks I play with on a nightly basis agree.

[Bobby King]

Spirocore and Anima are such different kinds of strings, the comparison is a little bit odd to me.

Spirocore is the classic, steel, jazz-pizz string. Bright, sustaining, growly, durable.

Anima is one of the new generation of strings that seeks to emulate some of the characteristics of gut strings without all the associated problems. Anima has more initial punch and faster decay (like gut) than a steel string, but is brighter and more sustaining than gut and with more managable diameters.

If you want those real growly low notes on your E string, you may not be happy with Animas, but I've never had problems with the Anima E. (and the Anima E certainly has more brightness and growl than say, a roundwound gut string.) Also, gut and gut-like strings with lower tension need greater fingerboard clearance because they vibrate more widely. If you like lower action, they may not work for you.

IMO, neither Anima or Spirocore are very good for arco. They are both bowable, but produce a fairly scratchy sound.

Not everyone looks for the same upright sound and strings will perform differently on different basses. Some people really like steel strings like Spirocore and they sound great on many basses. But there also has been a resurgence of interest in getting more of the old-school gut thump that is lacking in many steel strings. Hence all the new strings like Anima, Obligato, Pizzicato, Innovation, etc.

Apples and oranges....

BTW, I use lemon oil on plain gut strings which seems to help prevent those little hairs from developing.

[Mark Carlsen]

Well, I guess I have offended some on this thread and prolly wasted to much time ranting on this subject.Sorry to those who don't agree.
My intent was not to trash anyone here, rather to make some aware [Maybe the manufacturer] of my observations over the last few years.
Now of course it has gotten alittle out of hand and have been accused of telling someone how their bass should sound.
Again ,not my intent,but sorry ...free speech is a wonderfull thing.
So Thanks for all of you that have had given your thoughts and see ya soon...

[Marcus Johnson]

Originally Posted by Mark Carlsen

Well, I guess I have offended some on this thread

Mark, please don't count me among them. I like these string debates just fine, and as I said, I'm always looking for the Next Big Thing. And I'm always just a hair away from going back to Spiros, epecially when I miss the laser-beam intonation and hyperspeed that I can get on them. The Animas just do it for me right now, and it's probably because I'm doing a lot of low-volume duos and trios. If I was doing more horn-based quintets, I might throw the Spiros back on.

One more thing about the Animas, and then I'll let this well-flogged horse roll over and die; I personally get a considerably larger amount of volume out of my bass with them, versus Spiros. Since I like to use my AMT mic for live work as much as possible (or even better, go unamped entirely), I really appreciate the extra bang I get from the Velvets. I can get more sound out of the bass itself, leave the mic level lower, and reduce the chance of feedback. They also happen to work really well with the pickup I use. So in my case, they do more stuff better than anything else I've tried to date. As always, your mileage may vary.

Still waiting to see how the new Thomastiks pan out. It never ends...

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Mark, please don't count me among them. I like these string debates just fine, and as I said, I'm always looking for the Next Big Thing.

+1 yea me too.

[Mark Carlsen]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Mark, please don't count me among them. I like these string debates just fine, and as I said, I'm always looking for the Next Big Thing. And I'm always just a hair away from going back to Spiros, epecially when I miss the laser-beam intonation and hyperspeed that I can get on them. The Animas just do it for me right now, and it's probably because I'm doing a lot of low-volume duos and trios. If I was doing more horn-based quintets, I might throw the Spiros back on.

One more thing about the Animas, and then I'll let this well-flogged horse roll over and die; I personally get a considerably larger amount of volume out of my bass with them, versus Spiros. Since I like to use my AMT mic for live work as much as possible (or even better, go unamped entirely), I really appreciate the extra bang I get from the Velvets. I can get more sound out of the bass itself, leave the mic level lower, and reduce the chance of feedback. They also happen to work really well with the pickup I use. So in my case, they do more stuff better than anything else I've tried to date. As always, your mileage may vary.

Still waiting to see how the new Thomastiks pan out. It never ends...

You guys have been more than kind considering my first post on this thread.I expected some heat for what I said,but this is an observation over a few years now on alot of basses.I even have a Christopher 400 series carved flatback strung up w. an old set of Velvets Dan Greenspan gave me to test.I play it every other day or so and re-tune it just to see what's up.This is how I spend my days ..working on basses and testing.I play at night,about 200 gigs a year, all on Double Bass.Been doing that for 35 years.
Anyways ,I thought this was a healthy debate until one Tber took it personal ,like I was addresing him. Did it look that way ?
So ,I decided to bow out on this discusion and get back to work and spend less time here posting and learning.
So again thanks to you guys for a great hang,but it's time to move on.If I run across a new string or what ever I'll be checking in.

[PB+J]

I was personally irrirated by this;

"Unless you can come close to a Spiro E ,you are not even in the ballpark for real low end punch and feel.Period"

Made you sound like a know-it-all blowhard. Period. Or so it seemed.

It's like saying "Because unless you play animas, you're off the reservation in terms of swing feel. Period. I know because I play bass all the time." People like different things, people like getting a different sound, have dfferent styles. There is no "one sound. period", at least not in my opinion. Personally, I don't put a lot of "periods" at the end of statements--it's always seemed to me to be the mark of a closed mind. Probably I misunderstood

[Chris Fitzgerald]

[Mark Carlsen]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

Chris ,you are one funny Dude, Where do you find this stuff ?
Professor, I only came back on a curtain call because Marcus and Uncletoad were kind enough to ask for me.We were enjoying what makes TB a cool site..You on the other hand have some kind of problem.
I'm out of here,Have a Nice Day

[PB+J]

No problem here pal--you have a nice day too

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by TUCKER McGWIRE

Chris ,you are one funny Dude, Where do you find this stuff ?

Google any term, then click on "images". Almost any phrase produces a result. For instance, if I enter the phrase "flame war", I find this gem:




And in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I learned this art at the feet of our own Marcus "BIGGUS" Johnson, who has caused me to spew coffee, lunch, and (ugh) snot all over my monitor on numerous occasions with his creative googling. The man has a way with posting the right pic at the right time....

[Marcus Johnson]

this is as close as I could come... how many "R"s in "Durrrrrrl"?


BTW, Shopvacs are great for sucking coffee, secondhand vegan bowtie pasta, or whatever off of your monitor and keyboard. Don't ask how I know...

[Marcus Johnson]

And then there's this...

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Still waiting to see how the new Thomastiks pan out. It never ends...

What're the 'new' Thomastiks you keep talking about Marcus? I was just thinking about trying the Starks, now that i'm playing out more and have built up the old chops to a happy medium.

[Nuno A.]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

What're the 'new' Thomastiks you keep talking about Marcus? I was just thinking about trying the Starks, now that i'm playing out more and have built up the old chops to a happy medium.

Thomastik Vision? Rumor

Glad you are back in business Paul, take care.

Nuno

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by basscrazy72

Thomastik Vision? Rumor

Glad you are back in business Paul, take care.

Nuno

Thanks on both issues,Nuno. The back in the business and the link about the new Thomastiks. Guess i'll hold off on the Stark purchase....you might have just saved me some bread!

[pklima]

Broke my fifths-tuning G string at the pegbox after about five weeks. Temporarily replaced it with my old A... not great but it'll get me by till I can get a replacement. I had the old model Velvet 180s on for over four years without problems.