What D + G for Weich E + A?

Anonymous75966 · #1 10-17-2007, 09:25 PM

I've had Spiro Weich on the bass for about six months, after a few years of using Mittels, and I like them alright. I miss the punch of the heavier gauge, but the Weichs seem like a good trade-off for agility and bowability. Plus, I can jack them up a little higher (8-12mm) for a little more digging-in-ness.

So now that I'm playing with lower tension and higher string height, I'm starting to think it would be nice to have a G and D that feel a little more meaty. i.e., similar tension, thicker gauge, and LOUD. And I don't want to think about gut ... yet. (Note to self: oh ****, here we go again ... )

I'm thinking ... Animas? Always liked the G and D on my bass, never got enough oomph out of the lower strings - a few years ago I was playing an Anima set with a Spirocore E and my bass didn't implode or anything. IIRC Velvet tells you not to mix and match, but the tension shouldn't be too much of a mismatch with Weichs. Anyone using a combo like this?

Or maybe ... Dominants?

Any thoughts?

bassdogEmer · #2 10-17-2007, 10:55 PM

hi Dave,

I have been using a weich E, A & D along with an Olive G string for about two years now and really like the set up. I prefer higher action as well - around what you mentioned in mm height. I love the Olive G - I dont really care for the eudoxa as much but the Olive is great and all four strings match in tension really well and also are very bowable. The Olive is a metal wrapped on Gut - it has a nice thickness to it. I would give it a shot
good luck

Jake deVilliers · #3 10-18-2007, 01:12 AM

The Evah Pirazzi might be a candidate Dave.

A little more tension and a thicker sound than your Weichs but without the banjo twang of a Mittel.

robgrow · #4 10-24-2007, 10:48 AM

I've been using Spiro Weich E&A with Belcanto D&G for a while on my flatback. At least on this bass, they're a good combination. Previously I had medium Spiros installed, and my flatback likes the lower tension strings better.

Michael Case · #5 10-24-2007, 07:43 PM

I'd say Oliv G&D I used the combo of weichs (E&A) and olivs (G&D) the sound and feel were great together. My only problem was tuning stability olivs go in and out of tune quickly, plus they can be fragile. They are also very expensive.

Marc Piane · #6 10-25-2007, 05:48 AM

I was using a combo of Weich E & A and Eudoxa D & G and the gauge difference felt strange. I had to swap out the E and A for something thicker. The tension and sound was cool but the Eudoxa D was just a fraction thicker than the Weich A. Never could get used to that. I don't know if this is the case with Olivs or not but on average gut or wrapped gut are a thinker string.

pipeman · #7 10-25-2007, 06:45 PM

right now i'm using the weich E and A with jargar medium D and G. the jargar tension is the same as the weich D and G but the sound is darker. the gauge is a little bit bigger than the weich. these are soft strings. the sound is very similar to the olive G and D but they don't go out of tune and they bow like a flexicore........

Anonymous75966 · #8 10-25-2007, 08:15 PM

Thanks for the suggestions, but I just want to clarify - I don't want strings that are very much darker, I like my overtones - just a liiitle bit thicker.

Seems like quite a few people are using Dominant G & D with medium Spiros, but is anyone using them with weichs? Somebody must be ...

And everyone, please, stop telling me about gut strings. It's giving me ideas. Very dangerous. Damn!