looking for a better more powerful e string. got any suggestions of an e that would sound good with belcanto's?
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Double Bass e string
- Thread starter LizzieBurns
- Start date
Have you tried a bel canto? More resonance means more sound and nothing beats bel cantos! But if that doesn't do it for you, try stringing it with the balls facing out.
Jake deVilliers
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- May 24, 2006
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- Owner of The Bass Spa, String Repairman at Long & McQuade Vancouver
Similar to my other reply....I have 3 Bel Canto and a stark spiro E tuned to D for orchestra and like it fine. Of course you must try our ideas on your bass w/ your bow & your pizz and etc. etc. etc. good luck!
people have been having great success lately with a spiro stark e. quite powerful, if a bit beefy
You need a more powerful e-string? Are you sure that it is not your bass that need to be fixed? Maybe you should let someone take a look at the bass.
+1
The Bel Canto E sounded very balanced with the top three on my old bass, and on a student bass, and on a friend's new (and very nice) bass.
My luthier recommends the Pirastro Permanent E, however the Bel Canto E sounds very powerful and well-balanced on my bass.
I had a full set of BCs and felt the same as you. I now have the BCs G and D, with Spirocore Weich A and Mittel E and this mix has better balance. The Mittle E goes well IMO with BCs.
Do you play arco and pizzicato both? If so, how does the Spiro Weich A bow, compared to the BCs?
I play both acro and pizzicato. At Christmas I took off the old Spiro Weichs and strung up a full set of BCs and loved their sound under the bow, esp G and D strings. More voice, evenness, and much more sonorous than say the Spiro G. Whether pizz or arco, to me the BC G and D have a superior sound and are consistently even all the way up into higher positions. No sound failure in thumb position. A dream to bow. I still love it.
But for pizzicato the Belcanto A and E lack "punch" (brightness, quick response, volume) for my taste. So I tried the Spiro Weich A and Mittel E. (Actually, I can't take credit for the idea -- got it from other TBs on the BC megathread... There are even those who swear by a mix of BC G and D with the Spiro Stark E and Mittel A, but I can't speak from experience there and I don't think I need that much tension.)
The Spiro Weich A bows well in my mix. The bowed tone of the Spiros Weich A + Mittel E blends well overall with BC G+D. I don't hear a dramatic change when shifting from the BC D string to the Spiro A. Of course we know there is some difference in tone there. Spiros are brighter than BCs, and respond quicker under the bow. But in the ranges of the A and E strings the difference is definitely not a negative difference in sound quality. Actually, the difference that I hear is for me a definite plus.
Much of my arco playing is on G and D, so for arco and pizzicato this mix is a real improvement over either full set, Spiros or BCs. Spiro G and D were scratchy when bowed and amplified, and they sort of drop out sound-wise in the upper ranges. The advantage of the BCs -- their sweet full sound into the higher ranges -- is most audible to me in the G and D strings. So while BCs are an improvement over the Spiro G and Ds, the Spiro Weich A and Mittel E fill out the bottom end better. Overall, this mix for me is the best of both worlds. I'm happy!
I play both acro and pizzicato...The Spiro Weich A bows well in my mix...The bowed tone of the Spiros Weich A + Mittel E blends well overall with BC G+D. I don't hear a dramatic change when shifting from the BC D string to the Spiro A... So while BCs are an improvement over the Spiro G and Ds, the Spiro Weich A and Mittel E fill out the bottom end better. Overall, this mix for me is the best of both worlds. I'm happy!
Thanks Bonaventura. I've got Bel Cantos now (except for the A, which is an old Flexocor I had to put on because the Bel Canto A was dead on arrival). I may try the two Spiro Weichs on the low end as you mentioned, it sounds good. My one hesitation would be that my bass is very much on the trebly side of the tonal spectrum and I worry that the Weichs might make it sound even more so. I am under the impression they're a pretty bright-sounding string.
I have been using Belcanto D and G and Spirocore Weich E and A strings for some time now, and I am very happy with this combination. Works great for arco and jazz pizz and is very well balanced across and up and down the fingerboard. While I have considered trying a Spirocore Mittel E in this mix, my current setup is so nice, I've decided not to change anything for now.
John, Spiros are brighter than Belcantos, esp when new, but it's not really a sea-change. They are compatible. Both are made by the same maker. I can say that Spiros mellow out and lose much of their initial brightness over time. After a few months or a year, the Spiro is mellow and warm sounding. For my ear and on my bass, the Belcantos A and E simply weren't bright enough, too slow to respond, and didn't have the volume I'd like, pizz or arco, and the Spiro G and D, on the other hand, don't sing like the BCs G and D. You'd have to check it out to see if it works for you.
Robgrow, you're one of the TBs who got me thinking about this, thanks. Phase II of my experiment (I didn't want to start off on this unless you asked...) was to get more sound on the E string, which was a Spiro Weich E.
But for me the Thomastik Spiro Weich E is also "kind of lame" (borrowing Lizzie's phrase) in the full Spiro Weich set. (...there are TBs who say the Spiro Mittel E is "lame" in the Mittel set, and like the Stark E there...).
Be that as it may. Playing either Thomastik Belcantos or Spirocore Weichs, I wanted an E with something more in it, so I had to add to the mix a stronger E string. That's been the Spiro Mittel E, but there could be other strings that would sound good there too... I like experimenting too, so it's been fun.
Bill
Note:
As suggested by CPike, the "ball front/ball back" thread has been extracted here:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=418430
Cheers,
François
TB mod
As suggested by CPike, the "ball front/ball back" thread has been extracted here:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=418430
Cheers,
François
TB mod
Yes, old thread, but bears bringing up to the top:
Nobody picked the string in the middle: Spirocore 3885.5W 3/4 Weich. It's between the S39W and the S39 (the part number for the single E string out of the S42W & S42 sets, respectively). It has the best tension, feel and tonal coordination with Bel Canto ADG.
Nobody picked the string in the middle: Spirocore 3885.5W 3/4 Weich. It's between the S39W and the S39 (the part number for the single E string out of the S42W & S42 sets, respectively). It has the best tension, feel and tonal coordination with Bel Canto ADG.
