Francois Rabbath-Strings?

[MilesC]

This is kinda random but does anyone know what type of strings Francois Rabbath uses? Every time I hear him, I am surprised at his clarity in the upper register AND his enormous volume in the lower register.

[reedo35]

He helped develop and heartily endorses Corelli Bass strings.

[quenoil]

In particular, he always uses the Corelli 370 medium gauge.

[MilesC]

Originally Posted by quenoil

In particular, he always uses the Corelli 370 medium gauge.

Okay...those are the blue ones with the black spiral...I think.

[quenoil]

Originally Posted by MilesC

Okay...those are the blue ones with the black spiral...I think.

Yep.

[anonymous12251111]

These strings sound really nice and open PLUCKED but I found them really thin sounding, and too low in tension for orchestral playing especially if you're behind a screen.

[JoeyNaeger]

Originally Posted by Calvin Marks

These strings sound really nice and open PLUCKED but I found them really thin sounding, and too low in tension for orchestral playing especially if you're behind a screen.

Agreed. They're really too low tension for use in a section. I do love using them for solo playing though. They give my bass such an open sound, but they can be thin and whiny sounding.

[Johnny L]

When I saw Rabbath play, his bass was strung with the Corelli mediums. Yeah he sounded awesome and I never had difficulty hearing him at all.

I saw Bradetich play Gary Karr's famous bass once, and I think it was strung with Corelli solo strings. He pulled a huge sound out of it.

The most challenging part for me when playing the Corelli mediums is pressing down too hard with the bow...especially the G string.

Anyway, I've only used the bottom two strings in an orchestra setting but I didn't have a problem with the sound or volume. I thought they were fine. But I used Belcantos for the top and so I can't comment on the top strings.

I thought I did see at least one Vienna Phil bassist with Corelli mediums on when I saw one of the Christmas concerts on PBS. But everybody has their thing and being happy with your own sound is very important. Rabbath's strings may not be your own best choice.