I am now playing E & A Super Silvers with pure gut D & G. For detailed feedback see
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212319
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212319
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Double Bass Innovation Super Silvers?
- Thread starter JAS
- Start date
Going to revive this thread...Could one say Super Silvers are a cheaper alternative to Garbos? Are they similar as far as playability and ease on the hands? Thanks Much
I've never played Garbos but I find Super Silvers very easy on the hands. I don't know if players who use this type of string typically set up very high action, and therefore Silvers may be relatively higher tension than others in this category. I just replaced Evahs on my Shen, with no other changes and they make a killer pizz setup in my opinion. So when I say easy, I am comparing to rope core steel strings.
BTW, I kept the Evah's for my old german bass as they are great for pizz and arco.
Hope this helps
BTW, I kept the Evah's for my old german bass as they are great for pizz and arco.
Hope this helps
Jake deVilliers
Commercial User
- May 24, 2006
- 6,349
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- Owner of The Bass Spa, String Repairman at Long & McQuade Vancouver
You could almost say that. Garbos are maybe a little more complex sounding and maybe not quite as springy as Super Silvers but they feel fairly similar otherwise.
A friend of mine changed from Silver Slaps (!) to Garbos. He said the tone is more complex and the strings are nicer to play for him, but otherwise similar in tension and sound.
I tried his instrument with the Garbos for a few seconds and his action was way too low for me, I could hardly grab the strings, and I tried the Silver Slaps only for a few minutes on my larger scale instrument months ago, so hard for myself to compare.
So the Garbos are definately lower tension than the Super Silvers, which have more tension than the Silver Slaps.
I tried his instrument with the Garbos for a few seconds and his action was way too low for me, I could hardly grab the strings, and I tried the Silver Slaps only for a few minutes on my larger scale instrument months ago, so hard for myself to compare.
So the Garbos are definately lower tension than the Super Silvers, which have more tension than the Silver Slaps.
I have Gamut guts on the G/D, and for the A/E have tried -- in order -- Spiro Weichs, Garbos, Gamut copper-wound-gut, and Super Silvers. The Silvers are what are still on the bass. I love 'em. (Caveat: I play bluegrass and old-time string band stuff, pizz only.)
When plucked hard, the Garbos made a strange whistling harmonic that drove me crazy. They also turned my hand black.
The Gamuts sounded awesome on my bass, but wore out after about a year and began to rattle. I might get them re-wound someday, but for now, I see no reason to bother.
The Silvers sound great, stay in tune, and are the easiest on the hands of any of the strings mentioned above. I wouldn't mind a bit less tension (and my thin-topped '48 Epiphone B4 wouldn't mind, either), but the disparity between the Silvers and the guts doesn't bother me -- it's certainly less obvious than the Spiros, which felt like iron bars next to the Gamuts.
Another bonus -- the Silvers are a cheap date. Totally worth trying, and if you don't like 'em, you'll have no trouble selling them in the Classifieds.
When plucked hard, the Garbos made a strange whistling harmonic that drove me crazy. They also turned my hand black.
The Gamuts sounded awesome on my bass, but wore out after about a year and began to rattle. I might get them re-wound someday, but for now, I see no reason to bother.
The Silvers sound great, stay in tune, and are the easiest on the hands of any of the strings mentioned above. I wouldn't mind a bit less tension (and my thin-topped '48 Epiphone B4 wouldn't mind, either), but the disparity between the Silvers and the guts doesn't bother me -- it's certainly less obvious than the Spiros, which felt like iron bars next to the Gamuts.
Another bonus -- the Silvers are a cheap date. Totally worth trying, and if you don't like 'em, you'll have no trouble selling them in the Classifieds.
Silver Slaps have somewhat less tension than Super Silvers.
You may want to look at them the next time you buy new strings.
You may want to look at them the next time you buy new strings.
I purchased a set of these for my beater bass. I wasn't enchanted by them when I first put them on but after bringing the bridge up to a suitable height, I can't stop playing them. As others have said, they don't have the bounce of real gut but I can still get a nice snap.
I'm thinking that I might graduate these strings to my carved bass and use my beater for arco.
I'm thinking that I might graduate these strings to my carved bass and use my beater for arco.
So I purchased a used set of Obligatos recently and like the sound/tension/feel of them much better than the Heliocore Hybrid Mediums.
Can anyone say how the tension and feel of Obligatos compare to the super silvers or silver slaps?
Thanks Much
Can anyone say how the tension and feel of Obligatos compare to the super silvers or silver slaps?
Thanks Much
The tension of Obligatos is a lot higher than of Silver Slaps and (I guess) also higher than Super Silvers. At least higher than Innovation 140B (Braided) and I think the Super Silvers have about the same or less tension than the 140B.
I recently installed Super Silvers after having some unknown (to me) arco strings on the bass for over a year. The steel arco strings were giving me blisters very quickly if I wasn't careful after not playing for a while. The SS are like butter! Probably not as soft to the hand as Silver Slaps, but a HUGE improvement over what I had, in comfort.
I was expecting a lot less sustain, but got a little less sustain. Fine with me! OTOH they definitely are taking their time settling in. I have had to tighten them every time I play; at first I really had to take up a lot but now it's less than a half step per string. I've played (and tuned) maybe four~five times so far.
For pizz only (I never bow) I'm happy with them.
I was expecting a lot less sustain, but got a little less sustain. Fine with me! OTOH they definitely are taking their time settling in. I have had to tighten them every time I play; at first I really had to take up a lot but now it's less than a half step per string. I've played (and tuned) maybe four~five times so far.
For pizz only (I never bow) I'm happy with them.
I'm going to answer my own questions.
The strings are very different. The Obligatos feel like a traditional steel string but much softer. The coating on the Obligatos are steel and the SS's are plastic like. The SS's are lower tension. They are also "easier on the hands" and the muscles IMO.
My question is how do these strings deal with bowing coming from Sprios? I played these strings on a friends bass and loved them for playing jazz. I didn't get to try arco though. Any help is awesome. Thanks
I've been using Silver Slaps on my old Kay for '50s oldies & rockabilly for about a year now and I like them a lot. Sound good, easy on the hands, and easy to play. Fairly soft string tension.
I tried them briefly at first with a bow, but didn't want to get them all mucked-up with rosin so I cleaned them off and don't really use the bow much for this kind of music.
It was suggested that I should wax them when installing (just some unscented candle wax rubbed on as you first string them) and that makes them especially nice for long nights, but would NOT be a good idea for bowing!
I tried them briefly at first with a bow, but didn't want to get them all mucked-up with rosin so I cleaned them off and don't really use the bow much for this kind of music.
It was suggested that I should wax them when installing (just some unscented candle wax rubbed on as you first string them) and that makes them especially nice for long nights, but would NOT be a good idea for bowing!
Double: Have you been able to compare the sound and tension of the Innovation Braided strings (esp the E and A) with Spiro Weichs?
Thanks.
They don't bow worth a damn coming from spiros or any steel string I've played. I'd say they are good for the last note of a balad or ocassional note only.
They are really a pizz string
They are really a pizz string
Hi Martinc,
The Spiro Weich 4/4 (!) have a similar tension to the Innovation Braided. Bowing is different, the Braided bow much better than the Spiros. I tried the mix with the Spiros because the Braided E and A were a bit stiff and sounded muffled and with short sustain out of the sleeve. After a few weeks I ran the Braided E and A over my thumb to make them more flexible and the full Braided set sounded better to me then so I kept them. Less power than the Spiros, but so much easier to play.
Sound goes a bit towards the Evahs, but not so dark.
The Spiro Weich 4/4 (!) have a similar tension to the Innovation Braided. Bowing is different, the Braided bow much better than the Spiros. I tried the mix with the Spiros because the Braided E and A were a bit stiff and sounded muffled and with short sustain out of the sleeve. After a few weeks I ran the Braided E and A over my thumb to make them more flexible and the full Braided set sounded better to me then so I kept them. Less power than the Spiros, but so much easier to play.
Sound goes a bit towards the Evahs, but not so dark.
I have a question that I've posted before but have not gotten an answer. I started with Hellicores (i think), put on Spirocores and after a year I have put Evah Pirazzi strings on my bass. The Innovation Super Silvers are much thicker than the strings above (as well as gut strings and Velvet strings). I would need to make the slots in the bridge and the nut wider. If I do this and decided to go back to thinner strings can i do this without changing the nut and bridge again?
If you do not widen the slots too much (going to naked gut would be too much) and look out not to make the slots deeper in the nut, you usually can go back.
But since the windings are not made of metal (that could cut into the synthetic core), the risk of damaging the strings keeping it (for a trial period) as it is is not very high. The string might not slip over nut and bridge, so you might need to help the string move over nut and bridge manually. If you like the strings after a few weeks widen the nut and bridge slots.
But since the windings are not made of metal (that could cut into the synthetic core), the risk of damaging the strings keeping it (for a trial period) as it is is not very high. The string might not slip over nut and bridge, so you might need to help the string move over nut and bridge manually. If you like the strings after a few weeks widen the nut and bridge slots.
