Double Bass Anyone using Flat Chromesteel E

[jneuman]

I think the Dominant is designed for use by orchestra bassists. Thomastik markets a string for the complete family of orchestra strings under this name. I have played with a couple of violinists who use Dominants.

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I gues this should really be in the Dominants thread.

Yeah, Dominants are... well, dominant in orcshestral strings for the quartet instruments at least. My repair person said that he thinks that the strings for the smaller instruments use a differen't perlon core composition (stranded?) than the bass strings. I tried Dominants for a week or so and was bummed when I started having serious left hand fatigue problems, and I'm used to Original Felxocor at 8-11mm, so I don't think it was my strength. I dug the sound and reponse with the bow though. I was worried about repetetive stress so I took them off and sold them. Maybe I should have given them more time.

 

[Tom Baldwin]

From Quinn Violins:

Spiro 3/4 mediums tensions (pounds):
G = 67.2
D = 68.3
A = 70.5
E = 72.8

Superflexibles 3/4 tensions (pounds):
G = 62.8
D = 66.1
A = 68.3
E = 70.6

So it seems the Superflexibles are lower tensions than Spiros, actually.
(based on Quinn's numbers)

AHA! This Jordan Kirkness chart has some inconsistencies. It has the Superflex tensions at 70.6 and 75 (top and bottom) which is for 110cm string length (4/4 size) and Spiro tensions at 106cm (3/4), hence my confusion.

Chris, the T-I site lists the Starks as follows, for 110cm length.

G 79.4
D 79.4
A 81.6
E 83.8

 

[Francois Blais]

I'd love to see the numbers for the Starks, Dominant, and Flat chromesteel. Do you have a link for that page? I couldn't find it on the site.

You can get Thomastik tension numbers on their website.
I took mine on quinn's.
You go to the catalog, and the tensions are listed below the price charts.

As for the Flatchromes, Pirastro doesn't publish any tension number, sorry!

 

[Jazzman]

As for the Flatchromes, Pirastro doesn't publish any tension number, sorry!!

OK...who is going to break out their scale? I don't have a suitable one or I would.

 

[Chasarms]

So, I have finally gotten a couple of full playing sessions with the FCS full set. The D & G are played in pretty well and the E & A were new starting just yesterday. Three hours of orchestra rehearsal yesterday and another couple of me and my vade mecum/repertoire stuff/goof off time tonight.

So, at this point, I'll add:

These strings bow better and better every time I play them. The G is settling down and everything else was all good from the start.

The pizz tone is almost like the Obligato to my ear with more clarity.

The A is great, but IMO, the Obligato A is great also. The FCS A starts better than the Obli with the bow. And now, the E. The one that had me worried.

This string is very good. It pushes back MUCH, MUCH better against the bow than the Obligato. No roll at all and much greater clarity of tone. I laid down on it last night at rehearsal with the big Owen, and my bass sounded like a train. It was the most impressive E sound I've have enjoyed from the Shen so far.

The E passes the mustard with flying colors. If you are an Obligato lover but hated the rolling E string that seems to quit on you, you might try matching this E with the rest of the Oblis. It seems like a match made in heaven to me.

I'm very happy with my bass right now. It sounds better than it ever has. It has taken a little patience and a little $$, but I can't imagine being happier with it.

 

[Andy Allen]

The pizz tone is almost like the Obligato to my ear with more clarity.

The A is great, but IMO, the Obligato A is great also. The FCS A starts better than the Obli with the bow. And now, the E. The one that had me worried.
[snip]
The E passes the mustard with flying colors.

Thanks for the review, this is good to know. I have a Flatchrome G I will try this weekend. I need something with a little more clarity that the oblis, but that will bow well. If the G sounds good I'll try the whole set - on your recommendation. I'd be tempted to try just the G and E, but I want to remove all the Obli's before they lose their sale/swap value.

 

[anonymous0726]

Just had FCS D and G on for a couple of weeks. They're alright, but didn't really knock me out that hard. Or bum me out, either. They just didn't speak to me. The best application that I found was with the strings up a bit, and a Spiro E and A, I could get a really thick, Ray Brown kind of sound out of them. They were good with the bow, but to me Spiros, Spiro Solos, Obligatos and these were really all pretty comparable -- different pluses and minuses, but really pretty close. I would characterize the strings as dark and dry sounding, and feelwise came off as a bit stiffer than Spiros as I was constantly trying to dig a livelier sound out of them. Also, the pizz attack could be a little metallic if you grabbed them wrong with your fingertips on faster 'passages'.

I went back to the Spiro Solos. Nice dark, wet, loose sound, even bowing across the whole bass, etc. Not as loud as the Spiro/FCS set, but -- well -- screw it. I'd rather have the sound that I want and deal with volume. Loud and ugly or quieter and big -- easy choice for me. The D and G can be bright with the stick, but I'm off the string experimenting for a while. I would rather eat good meals for a month or two before I start again...