Double Bass hello world: buying first string set

[sonix]

hello all.

i am an electric bassist, and was strongly drawn to the upright bass after becoming acquainted with jazz. so, three years later, i've just started my journey with the double bass.

the beauty, is a romanian carved spruce top, maple laminate back (curved). at the moment, she has a helicore dress on, but i think i want to get her olivs instead (after referring to herve's string matrix).

i went down to my local music shop, they don't carry pirastro so i must order them online. to me, it seems like there's only a handful of online dealers for the double bass, so i was wondering if any of you would recommend a webshop to get strings from. it seems to me that this is the best deal around:

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anyways, thanks for making this resource available.


cheers,

omer osman.

 

[Uncletoad]

I don't recommend Oliv's for Jazz, at least not a whole set. The D and G are great but the A/E are not. They are far to expensive for a whole set that won't serve you near as well as other things for jazz (including what you already have). The pizz on the E and A is terrible if you spend most of your time playing pizz.

Beginning Jazz players are best served by Thomastic Spirocore Weich or Mittel. Spirocores are the industry standard Jazz string. Everything in Pizz strings is compared to that benchmark.

What don't you like about what you have?

 

[Co.]

If you are interested in the Olivs, you can also try the G String only at first. A full set of Olivs is for arco only I think. The Oliv G is the best G I know, but the D is already too slow speaking for me.

 

[sonix]

Uncletoad, I like my G, but not so much my E and A. They sound a bit 'hard'. I prefer a mellower, smoother attack. Its primarily because I am coming from the electric bass, that I have different expectations for the low strings. I think the attack issue is something that a lot of double basses just have by design (I plucked a couple E strings at my local shop).

also, the way I pluck the string and where I pluck it sometimes finds a good balance between the 'hard' nature that I am hearing and smoother attack that I am expecting. But really, I am becoming more familiar with the instrument, and I am starting to like that tone the same as I like Lee Morgan's or Jackie McLean's horn. They have a more raw, crisp bite.

 

[Uncletoad]

Yes.

Helicore can sound raw and crisp on some basses. Generally those that have stiffer tops or are young or need a soundpost tweak.

Worn in spirocores would sound better than Helicors on those basses but new they would be worse.

I'm not sure that you can get there from strings but if you want to try some things find some used stuff off the forum here and experiment.

Animas, Evah Pirrazi, Dominants, Obligatos, worn in Spirocore Weichs all come to mind. Sometimes the EP, Dominants, and Obligatos don't uninstall/reinstall so well but getting a cheap used set you could toss out and not feel like you wasted money is a good way to see generally how you like a string. If it seems promising with a dead set pulled from another users bass you might spring for a new set and go through the breakin period with them.

I don't think Olivs will get you what you are looking for.

fwiw have your setup person check the soundpost fit and position to be sure It's not choking the top.

More thoughts;

Different strings sound very different on different basses. Its hard to generalize from things people write how a string will sound on your bass. Trial and error is the only true way to know what to use but that's expensive and can take years. You may find at the end of that run that what you were looking for was a string change or you may also find that the sound you are looking for isn't in the bass you've got. Remember that the basses on the old recordings were most often very nice old basses that cost over $20K now.

In the beginning it's best to pick a string and stick with it for a long time. Try to find yourself within the string, find the aspects of the bass/string relationship you like and work with it. Trying to find a sound by changing equipment as a beginner is an expensive and futile task. The sound is in your head and hands. Find it there.

 

[Bobby King]

I'll agree with Uncletoad that Olives on the A&E will not make you happy. If you are going to primarily play pizz and are looking for a more old-school sound, I'd recommend Velvet Animas. If you are going to play a combination of pizz/arco, then try Obligatos or Evah Pirazzis.

As mentioned, certain steel strings can get a warmer tone than Helicores too. Spirocore and Superflexible are good all purpose strings and if you're really curious about the Olives, try the G and maybe the D with any of the above mentioned strings on the E&A. The Olive E&A are very thuddy, low-sustain strings, and not in a very appealing way either.

 

[Francois Blais]

If you want to experiment with old-school tone strings, you can give a try to Bel Cantos.
You'll get the velvetty smoothness you seem to look for, and they're much more affordable than Olivs!
For even less sustain, you have Jargar strings.
Extremely warm tone but quite thuddy.
Some slappers use them in Dolce gauge.

 

[Uncletoad]

If you want to experiment with old-school tone strings, you can give a try to Bel Cantos.

Belcanto's are a tough string to play jazz on. D and G perhaps but I wouldn't go there as a beginner.

 

[SAlcott]

"In the beginning it's best to pick a string and stick with it for a long time."


I agree with Uncletoad 100% here. I just got a new, as in just built, bass and have sworn to myself to leave the strings alone for at least six months. You need to spend your time getting a feel for the instrument as it is. There'll be plenty of time for obsessing about strings later.