Plain vs wound G .020

[jvbjr]

Most piccolo sets have a plain G string. To me they sound a bit different than the wound strings, anyone else notice this?

Wound up ordering .025 wound in the meantime.

[Michael Manring]

I think maybe we use the same piccolo strings! I use D'Addario EXL 280s and I like the different timbre the plain steel .020 offers. I also like that it's less prone to breakage than a wound string of similar diameter would be.

[Aidonius]

I have the same things to say as above. I switched to using the piccolo set with an extra string in between tuned ADGCF. The .020 definitely has a brighter sound than if it were wound. I also feel much more comfortable tuning it up higher than I would a wound.
The one thing I found worth noting is that it does take some time to get used to the unwound string in terms of physical feel and how it plays, especially since it is the only string that isn't wound. Once you do get used to it, it is a really cool thing to play and experiment with, since it has a different set of properties than one would usually get to experience.

[Zander4724]

I agree, Aidonius - once you get used to it, it's really cool. Also, as Mr Manring said, the timbre of the string is different.

I think this different timbre idea is really important, especially since the 020 string will, probably most often, be the highest string on the bass. Therefore, a lot of melodic lines will most likely be played on this particular string. And because it's a different timbre, the melody lines will have a slightly different feel than the harmony lines played on the other strings. For solo bass performance in particular, this can be a very good thing.

Zander