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Double Bass Frustration

Kevin Hsieh

Kevin Hsieh

Jun 2, 2007
1,043
2
37
New York City
www.myspace.com
#1
I've been in Los Angeles playing on Andy Allen (another TBer)'s bass for the past month and a half (Superflex G and D and Mittel E and A) while my bass sat in a corner of my friend's apartment. I come back, add a fishman full circle and switch out my Stark E (i'm not manly enough) for a Mittel E. and start playing, only to find that the Superflex G (on my bass) is too tight for me to comfortably play on it anymore.

so... what now?

i'm thinking about a Oliv G and D (see classifieds if you want to help me out)
still pretty adamant about keeping the E and A Mittel
 
#3
The Olive G is one of the nicest sounding strings out there. However they are expensive, and the windings are delicate(they don't last very long... less than a year usually). I might recommend a Dominant G and D. This combination is really nice. The Dominant has a really smooth tone with good sustain, and responds easier than Superflexible.
 
#4
Jake deVilliers said:
Weichs or FCS with the Mittel E. :)
Click to expand...

Jake, I'm disappointed in you! Not bad string suggestions, but my response was going to be "Get thee to a luthier!"

If you liked that string combination on your friend's bass and you know what you are going for now instead of tension and tone, find a good luthier to work with you to get that setup working for you.

It might be something really simple.

-tk
 
#5
"Jake, I'm disappointed in you!"

Well, you're probably right Troy - someone with experience will get to the heart of the matter a lot more quickly than an interweb discussion..

Kevin, get yourself an appointment with your best local bass repairman and see what he/she has to say on the subject.

Better now Troika? :D
 
#6
We're just having some uncomfortable role reversal here.

I'm supposed to advote trying every string ever produced, including some that have been discontinued and rumors about some that are yet to be available.

You're supposed to say "It might be a simple adjustment to the soundpost/bassbar/flux-capacitor. Have you had a luthier look at it yet?"

You've done a good job converting me to the latter, you weren't supposed to assume the post I was abandoning. :-)
 
#8
Kevin,

I find the Superflex G gets stiffer when it's older. A new one would feel less stiff.

Also, I too recently had a Full Circle installed on my German which currently has a full set of Superflexibles on right now, and while i really like the pu this set up seems to feel stiffer than when I use the Realist that is also still on the bass. Maybe they only seem stiffer because the Full Circle picks up less body sound than the Realist so have to dig in a bit more to get a fatter sound when needed.

BG
 
#11
Getting your bridge cut to your own personal volume/feel needs is one of the most important and overlooked aspects of setup. For years now, I've noticed that with the "standard" setup, the D feels way too high and the G too low - I call this "orchestral bridge syndrome", or OBS for short. Pizzwise, if not corrected, this creates an overbearing open "D" on most basses I've played, and a slightly anemic G to my ears. Once you get the bridge cut to where it feels right for what you're doing, then the string game starts to make a lot more sense.
 
#13
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Getting your bridge cut to your own personal volume/feel needs is one of the most important and overlooked aspects of setup. For years now, I've noticed that with the "standard" setup, the D feels way too high and the G too low - I call this "orchestral bridge syndrome", or OBS for short. Pizzwise, if not corrected, this creates an overbearing open "D" on most basses I've played, and a slightly anemic G to my ears. Once you get the bridge cut to where it feels right for what you're doing, then the string game starts to make a lot more sense.
Click to expand...

ahhhh!!! I have always had a weak g sting on this bass, and sorta corrected it with sound post adjustments, but I have been suspicious that the G is cut too low, which causes that string to die away too early and not cut through. never did amplify well... I will look into that.
 

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