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Double Bass Flexocore deluxe vs. original

#42
Jake deVilliers said:
In English we use pounds for weight and tension alike.
Click to expand...

Not quite. The are lbs (pounds) and lbf (pounds-force). But since I live with metrical units in continental Europe, I wasn't familiar with this imperial force unit since a few weeks ago.

And as I said before, the average musician is not familiar with the difference and has a better image of weight than of force. That might be the reason why some manufacturers prefer the weight unit over the correct force unit.

So what do we learn out of that?
If your tuning machine stops working, just play the bass in an upright position and put the right weight on the ball end... :D
 
#43
DaveAceofBass said:
I'll be interested to know what they say. I really prefer lighter strings, around the tension of Spiro Weichs. However, these Flexocor Deluxe caught my attention as I need some new orchestral strings.

Does anyone know how they compare to Evah Pirazzis?

I have my orchestral bass strung with Corelli 370Fs right now but I need something darker and thicker/louder. I want to be able to play a little jazz on it, although I do have another bass set up with the Spiro Weichs for jazz. I'm considering either the Evah Pirazzi Weichs or the Flexocor Deluxe or Thomastik Superflexibles. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I don't know Corelli strings, but I used EP Regular and Weich for the last few years, and before that used SFs for many, many years, before discovering Flexocor Deluxe.

FDs:
On my bass (60's German gamba bass), the FDs are hands down the better arco string, followed the SFs (both are "rope core" design). They start right away under the bow and produce a clear, expressive, bell-like tone. I'm also getting a very nice low end. I don't know the specs, but the FDs subjectively feel thinner in diameter but tighter than even the EP Weich. With my bass, this works out nicely. And I actually prefer the FD pizz sound to any other string I've used (including Spiros).

EPs:
I loved the warm, burnished sound of the EPs (both arco & pizz). They made my bass sound like a much older instrument with some pedigree, but ultimately they tended to wear me out (something which is not happening with the FDs). Also, I feel that that very nice "toasted muffin" tone comes with a cost, because ultimately the pitch definition was too blunted for my tastes. Both FDs and SFs produce a clearer, more defined pitch on my bass.

SFs:
Once upon a time (when there were far less string choices out there), the SFs worked real well as a hybrid do-it-all string and a valid alternative to Spiros for playing jazz.
It's been a while, but as I remember them, they required a pretty long break-in period to tone down their brightness. The FDs are a similar design, and I did go through a weird 2 week break-in period (reported by others on TB ... *** happened to the sound???), but after they got over that, they remain a powerful, intoxicating string to play. And I think you'll be able to play more than "a little" jazz with them.
 
#44
Daveming: Nice assessment. I liked the Flexocore DeLuxe's too....and found the G and D are between Spiro Weich and Spiro Mittel tension (about 64 lbs) and the A and E are close to Spiro Mittels (about 71 lbs). If you like the tension of these strings, I think you would have a great set of strings for arco and pizz. Nice full sound on my Eberle ply ......and very well constructed.
 
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#45
Selim said:
I don't know Corelli strings, but I used EP Regular and Weich for the last few years, and before that used SFs for many, many years, before discovering Flexocor Deluxe.

FDs:
On my bass (60's German gamba bass), the FDs are hands down the better arco string, followed the SFs (both are "rope core" design). They start right away under the bow and produce a clear, expressive, bell-like tone. I'm also getting a very nice low end. I don't know the specs, but the FDs subjectively feel thinner in diameter but tighter than even the EP Weich. With my bass, this works out nicely. And I actually prefer the FD pizz sound to any other string I've used (including Spiros).

EPs:
I loved the warm, burnished sound of the EPs (both arco & pizz). They made my bass sound like a much older instrument with some pedigree, but ultimately they tended to wear me out (something which is not happening with the FDs). Also, I feel that that very nice "toasted muffin" tone comes with a cost, because ultimately the pitch definition was too blunted for my tastes. Both FDs and SFs produce a clearer, more defined pitch on my bass.

SFs:
Once upon a time (when there were far less string choices out there), the SFs worked real well as a hybrid do-it-all string and a valid alternative to Spiros for playing jazz.
It's been a while, but as I remember them, they required a pretty long break-in period to tone down their brightness. The FDs are a similar design, and I did go through a weird 2 week break-in period (reported by others on TB ... *** happened to the sound???), but after they got over that, they remain a powerful, intoxicating string to play. And I think you'll be able to play more than "a little" jazz with them.
Click to expand...
I've been using Belcantos and I like them a lot for legit, and they are fair for jazz.
 
#46
martinc said:
Daveming: Nice assessment. I liked the Flexocore DeLuxe's too....and found the G and D are between Spiro Weich and Spiro Mittel tension (about 64 lbs) and the A and E are close to Spiro Mittels (about 71 lbs). If you like the tension of these strings, I think you would have a great set of strings for arco and pizz. Nice full sound on my Eberle ply ......and very well constructed.
Click to expand...

I found this to be true as well. The set feels progressively tighter as you go from high to low. But that feels right for me. I'm not tempted to mix 'n match with this set.

With the FDs, it's difficult to walk past my bass without picking it up and playing (my wife sometimes says to me "thank you for not going down to the basement tonight").
 
#48
I don't have checked it myself (forgot to ask them at Musikmesse Frankfurt this year), but due to the memory of others (which deleted the original mail they got) it might be 106 cm.

110 cm is a typical 4/4 scale and the only manufacturer who gives data about 110 cm is Thomastik, but they even have a differing 3/4 version of these strings with 104 cm scale length data for each of them.
 

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