Comments about D'Addario Hibryd?

Acapom:
Depends on your bass....

I tried the D'Addario Hybrids on my laminated King and did not like the sound at all. Not enough sustain. Dull.
The Spirocore Weichs, once they settle down, have always sounded good and lasted a long time on all the plywood basses I have had.
Hope this helps.

 

I am using Helicore Hybrid Light on my E and A and they sound perfect on my bass. Dark, with more low end than Spirocores. I have never liked the D'Addario Medium tension. The Light and Heavy are excellent though.

 

I have a solid top Christopher bass and have tried the D'Addario hybrid mediums. These strings did not match my bass at all. The sound had a pronounced metalic quality to it and the 'A' string was particulary horrible. They calmed down to a small degree over a period of a few months but still never sounded good. These stings did not sound "woody" at all. "Metalic" and "artificial" would be more acurate descriptions. They were so far from the sound I was looking for that I started doubting my decision on the bass itself. (The bass was new at the time)

When I switched to Obligatos it was like getting a new bass. The sound was much warmer and fuller with none of the metalic overtones of the helicores. The Obligatos provided a much better sound on my bass for both pizz and arco. No comparison. That being said, the Obligatos lasted only about nine months before loosing a significant amount of sound quality. I left them on another three months but the sound was duller and less lively.

I am now in my twelth or thirteenth month with Velvet 180s and still like them a lot. They are very similar to the Obligatos in overall sound. In my opinion, they beat out the Obligatos by a slight margin on arco where the Obligatos might edge out the Velvets on pizz volume. The Velvets are still full of life at a year old where the Obligatos were pretty much toast. Velvets $210. Obligatos $120.

Also, after the Obligatos died, I put the helicore hybrids back on to see how they sounded after a year and a half of the new bass and my ears getting used to each other. The result was unchanged from my first impression. These stings and my bass just don't like each other.

Hope this helps . . .

 

Fidgetstone:
Helpful posting.
I have been using Obligato's on their own and in a mix with Spirocores for about 4 years now. I was a tester for Obligato's at one time. I always liked their full sound on my basses .....but they definately have a short playing life.
I have been experimenting with a Dominant G and will likely add the D to the mix. They seem to have the same sound qualities (close to gut) as Obligato's but last longer.
I play pizz only.

 

Dominants are neat. Depends what kind of a sound you want. My ideal is a dark sound with clarity ie//Dave Holland/McBride etc. I find the Helicore Hybrid light gauge on MY BASS to give me the sound I want. You need to experiment to find out which strings sound best for your instrument.

 

Adrian......you say "Dominants are neat". What does that mean? Do they last? Do they have a sound close to gut?
My problem is that I hear "gut" in my head all the time thanks to the wonderful Bob Moore. Problem is I don't have his Italian bass or the big bucks to keep buying straight gut. Plus I find the gut A and E I have tried lack focus. They are mushy.
I have been experimenting for 6 years now and the Obligato/Spirocore mix (actually its a Pirastro gut Pizz G/Obligato D and A with a Weich E) gets me close to what I hear in my head.....on THIS bass. However if I could end up with the longer lasting sound of Dominants (I like the G) and a Weich E I would be happy. We'll see.
Cheers
Martin.

 

I like Dominants, but I don't like the tension. They have a clear sound without the twangy sound of Spirocores when you dig in. They don't approximate the gut sound IMO. The closest I have found to gut in a synthetic are the Velvets.

 

Adrian:

Thanks. Is the tension higher than Spirocores? The Dominant G I have is a bit higher than the Weich but not enough to worry about.
Martin.

 

I don't believe that the tension is higher than Spirocore Orch. However, they are much stiffer feeling. Dominants are really unique. They are stiff, but flexible at the same time. When you dig in they feel similar to Obligatos. It is worth a shot trying it for sure.

 

Adrian,
How would you compare your experience with Dominants vs. Obligatos? I loved the Obligatos until they died, and I would be very interested in how the Dominants performed for you in terms of sound quality and playability in comparison.

Thanks . . .

 

I have hybrid mediums for the E and A but don't use the D or G. They're not Spiros, but they have decent pizz sustain and bow well for me.

 

Flexocore

I really didn't really have a big problem bowing the hybrid G and D strings they were O.K. just not as good as flexocores...and pizz-wise I can live with them

But neither have the sizzle and sustain that Spiros bring just a warning. Even under the bow, spiros do great at cutting through and have more definition than the hybrids or flexocores.

I'm just in one of those periods of self consciousness again about my intonation and technique that's why I took them off

 

I just put a set of hibrid light three month ago after weich spirocore. I find the tension quite the same, but the sound is less "metallic" and darker on my DB.

 

I had a set of hybrid D'ads. on my plywood bass for a while. They are certainly more pizz strings than arco in my experience. The orchestra D'ads. are a little warmer to me and much better arco and about the same pizzacato feel and response.