strings

[JAS]

Hi, I need some advice on new strings. I just bought a set of Thomastic Spirocore Orchestra gage strings for my kay bass. I realize that it takes some time for new strings to break in but, it seems like the tension on the strings is very great. I like to keep my action pretty low and play in a very modern, legato type of way when playing pizz. I also play with the bow and it seems like these strings are harder to play arco than other ones that i have tried. can any one help?

[olivier]

Spirocores (medium?) are widely used middle of the road type strings. Over the months, they will mellow down and will get less scratchy to your bow. Their pizz sustain should be OK if you manage to lower the string action. You may have a setup problem as it seems that your bridge is too high. Is it adjustable?
As for the strings, you'll find in the archive that long pizz sustain and smooth arco sound are kind of mutually exclusive. A consensus has evolved after several threads of discussion that Corelli 370 TX and Obligato are good compromise strings.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I use spirocore orchestra gauge, and I also find them very stiff. However, I haven't found anything that gets the pizz sustain or pizz "singing sound" better than they do. Until I find something better, I'm just going to keep dealing with the tension. That sound is TO DIE FOR, especially - as olivier mentioned - once you've had them on your bass for a few months. I don't think those things ever wear out, either. When I got my first bass, I put a set of spiros on it that I bummed from a friend. They sounded great, even though he told me they were about 15 years old.

[JAS]

Does any one know what type of strings eddie gomez used in the late 70s For example...on the Bill Evans album "A Simple Matter of Conviction."

[Don Higdon]

JAS
I might find out Thursday; he and I use the same luthier

[JAS]

Does any one know any thing about diadario strings that have a yellow and orange rap at the bottom and are multi-colored (each string a different color) at the top. are these the hybrid strings? One person has told me that they are the hybrid strings, one has told me that they are the high gage string, and one has told me that they are the jazz string. these are the strings that i had on my bass before i had spirocore orchestras. i liked the tension on the diadarios much, much better for pizz and for arco.

[reedo35]

Check out this link from Quinn Violins for string ID.
http://64.33.91.25/home_neu.html

[JAS]

I am looking for a string that has a warm, natural (but modern) sound for both pizz and arco. can any one help me decide between D'Addario hybrids, Pirastro or Corelli. I don't really know mutch about any of them.

[Don Higdon]

You can't have everything; if you want a legato pizz sound, you'll need sustain. The construction that yields sustain on steel strings does not produce "warmth."

D'Addario color coding for the tailpiece end of the string: red with yellow = pizz; green with yellow = hybrid; blue with yellow = arco.

No one here can tell you what will sound best to you on your bass. We can only pass along what other people have experienced with their own basses.

D'Addario pizz bows about the same as a Spirocore. The reports I've heard are that the D'Addario hybrid is only marginally better for arco than the pizz string.

I'll leave it to others to talk about Corellis and/or Innovation Picatos; I have no experience.

The one string that I have found that plays both arco and pizz very well is Pirastro's Obligato. It is a synthetic (perlon?) string. It has good sustain, and warm tone. BUT: be aware that they are not durable. You could be changing a few times a year, at $90 per change. They are low tension, and are a challenge (read 'annoying') for fast bowing, especially the E.

Like the rest of us, you're going to have to spend some money finding the sound you want. That's just a fact of life.

[Francois Blais]

Originally posted by Don Higdon
JAS
I might find out Thursday; he and I use the same luthier

Hi Don.
Did you finally learn which strings Eddie Gomez was using on the Bill Evans album?

[Don Higdon]

For as long as he has used this luthier, he has usually had Tomastik Spirocores. Other factors enter the studio situation.
As for the particular recording, I don't know.