Just wanted to say that after installing the "wraps" on my bass ive never been so happy with a set of strings. These string are worth the investment!
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Double Bass Genssler Strings
- Thread starter S.fasciani
- Start date
Quite excited to say I've got a 5 string set of Red Labels winging their way to me as we speak - will let everyone know how they perform as soon as I get a chance!
....They came in the post today! Whacked them on the bass, and had a bit of a scrape and a pluck.
I was quite surprised how thin the g string is in diameter, but the rest of the set seems fairly standard in this regard. They certainly respond very well to the bow and put out a lot of volume. The sound is extremely focused and is at the moment on the bright side, I think I'm going to remove the baroque style bridge (heartless and wingless, Gerold's response upon receiving a photo of it was 'without heart - how would you like to live without one?' - Seriously though he did express concern about the suitability of the sound for orchestral playing, and now I have his strings on the bass I'm inclined to agree with him) and put a modern style one back on to tame a bit of the zing. The thinking behind that whole experiment with the bridge was to try and liven up the sound, and I can see that now I've got some strings that really work that this is unnecessary.
The lower tension feels great for both hands, my bass has a 43 inch stop and a chunky neck. It's tiring to play at times even running fairly user friendly strings like Belcantos, Passiones, etc.
I imagine it'll probably take a few weeks for the strings to really settle in and for the instrument to really adjust to the lower tension, and I'll report back once a more sensible bridge and the RED SONOPHIL tailpiece wire have been installed. But right out of the box I think they sound extremely promising indeed, so much so that I'm thinking I won't be going back to any of the offerings from other companies in a hurry. Or ever, really.
I'd be very interested in trying some of the gut strings he offers, but at present I think I'm happy to leave that adventure for another day. Hope this is of some interest to anyone reading all the hype about his strings - from my limited experience I'm already confident in saying that installing a set of Sonores string is extremely unlikely to result in anything other than a significant improvement in playability.
I was quite surprised how thin the g string is in diameter, but the rest of the set seems fairly standard in this regard. They certainly respond very well to the bow and put out a lot of volume. The sound is extremely focused and is at the moment on the bright side, I think I'm going to remove the baroque style bridge (heartless and wingless, Gerold's response upon receiving a photo of it was 'without heart - how would you like to live without one?' - Seriously though he did express concern about the suitability of the sound for orchestral playing, and now I have his strings on the bass I'm inclined to agree with him) and put a modern style one back on to tame a bit of the zing. The thinking behind that whole experiment with the bridge was to try and liven up the sound, and I can see that now I've got some strings that really work that this is unnecessary.
The lower tension feels great for both hands, my bass has a 43 inch stop and a chunky neck. It's tiring to play at times even running fairly user friendly strings like Belcantos, Passiones, etc.
I imagine it'll probably take a few weeks for the strings to really settle in and for the instrument to really adjust to the lower tension, and I'll report back once a more sensible bridge and the RED SONOPHIL tailpiece wire have been installed. But right out of the box I think they sound extremely promising indeed, so much so that I'm thinking I won't be going back to any of the offerings from other companies in a hurry. Or ever, really.
I'd be very interested in trying some of the gut strings he offers, but at present I think I'm happy to leave that adventure for another day. Hope this is of some interest to anyone reading all the hype about his strings - from my limited experience I'm already confident in saying that installing a set of Sonores string is extremely unlikely to result in anything other than a significant improvement in playability.
Just stumbled upon this thread and would like to hear your comments "now" after possibly 6 months of use. And another comparison to Passiones. Thanks in advance!
I'm using gerold's 2012 gut set now - I made the change after he said that I'd get a thicker orchestral sound out of them. They're amazing. Huge sound, incredibly resonant and deep. Pizz sounds almost like there's a little bass drum inside the instrument. Fairly thick gauge (he describes the gut core as 'thick' in his leaflet) but no more than Olivs/Eudoxas or anything like that.
There's no comparison to strings like Passiones to be honest - they can't hold a candle to the amount of depth and harmonic content you get from these gut strings. They're very expensive but totally worth it. They've been on about 6 weeks and the feedback I've had from everyone else who's heard the bass in that time has been overwhelmingly positive. I won't be using anything else for orchestral playing again unless when these wear out he's developed a better model.
There's no comparison to strings like Passiones to be honest - they can't hold a candle to the amount of depth and harmonic content you get from these gut strings. They're very expensive but totally worth it. They've been on about 6 weeks and the feedback I've had from everyone else who's heard the bass in that time has been overwhelmingly positive. I won't be using anything else for orchestral playing again unless when these wear out he's developed a better model.
I wheeled my bass through about -2c windy/rainy newcastle about a week after I put the strings on and there didn't seem to be any problem. They took maybe 3 or 4 days to hold pitch really well but were fine after that, just about the same as the belcantos that were on previously.... There was a slight humidity problem at the venue I was playing at too (it was yo-yoing between about 29 and 42 degrees) but there was no effect on the pitch at all.
Thank you cold E...next question... can your satisfaction be compared to Compas 180 orchestra bowing/ ? anyone else
bowing "guts" in orchestra?
bowing "guts" in orchestra?
re. Velvet strings comparison, I've never used any other gut strings for orchestra except Eudoxa and I feel I can do everything that's required with the same amount of ease and a better sound. They are like other gut strings in that there is a looser feel under both hands and a somewhat different approach is required with the bow. But I'm extremely happy. Great sound.
TonyD - just send him an email expressing interest in his products to the email address bassist14 posted above. He should get back to you fairly quickly.
Here's a couple of bits. Go easy on me, I haven't played on my bass in 2 weeks! Just got back from a tour of china playing some truly dreadfully set up basses. Almost back onto GMT...
https://soundcloud.com/coldelephant/2012-set-arco
https://soundcloud.com/coldelephant/2012-set-pizz
Hope these work for everyone. They're a little bit scrappy but I think you get the general idea of the sound. In person you get a lot more of that sound that you feel rather than hear, but obviously there are limitations to what can be conveyed through a zoom h2n. Enjoy!
https://soundcloud.com/coldelephant/2012-set-arco
https://soundcloud.com/coldelephant/2012-set-pizz
Hope these work for everyone. They're a little bit scrappy but I think you get the general idea of the sound. In person you get a lot more of that sound that you feel rather than hear, but obviously there are limitations to what can be conveyed through a zoom h2n. Enjoy!
