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Double Bass Jazz pizz-Looking for fast,thin strings for lowerish string height..heavy gauges?

#21
I liked the sound of spiro solos too.No they didn't have the mwahhh.hahaha.But ,tuned to orchestra pitch, they were very elastic, so not so fast in my opinion.Clear note center but not fast for the right hand.
Corellis I had used afew years back,the forte gauge I think. They were very easy to play on but they can't move the top of my bass (carved czech) with my string height.
My set of Helicores lasted about a year.Quality is not the same as Pirastro,let alone Thomastik which for me is number one as far as quality is concerned.
 
#27
Trivolis said:
I've heard they have breakage issues. I don't wanna spend all that money for strings that may- or- may not break.
But if they didn't have issues with breakage , I would love to try them. However,that's a deal breaker for me.
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I broke a Dominant A and TI replaced it immediately through the local distributor. It's not really much of an issue.

edit. maybe it is an issue in Greece though....I have no experience with string warranties there. If you are able to by the strings locally ask the dealer what the warranty situation is. If you have to mail order them then yes I'd consider something with a better reputation for durability.
 
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#28
damonsmith said:
Heliocores are nice but the set I had died in a little over a month. I made two albums with them before that, though!
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Now how do you do that? I have Helicore Hybrid mediums on my bass for at least two years and they still sound good. I use them every day.
Thanks for pointing out the name of Arild Andersen by the way. Listening to him all day now. Great stuff and great sound! Think I know him from Terje Rypdal.
 
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#29
Can't say enough good things about the D'Addario Pizzicatos. At first, they're VERY bright... but when they settle in, they lose their edge and become very musical. Plenty of sustain, growl, and controlled nuance. They retain their snap and percussive articulation well after settling in. I've never played a string with so much control and so much dynamic possibility (minus my gut string!). I've compared these to all of the D'Addario strings, and these pull the most sound out of my instrument no questions asked. My current setup is a Damian Dlugolecki Gut G, Light Gauge Pizz D & A, and a Medium Gauge E. I've found the D'Addario light E strings to be a little too light (I hesitate to use the word whimpy because they're not)... but the medium E balances out the others quite nicely.
 
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#31
dkziemann said:
Can't say enough good things about the D'Addario Pizzicatos. At first, they're VERY bright... but when they settle in, they lose their edge and become very musical. Plenty of sustain, growl, and controlled nuance. They retain their snap and percussive articulation well after settling in. I've never played a string with so much control and so much dynamic possibility (minus my gut string!). I've compared these to all of the D'Addario strings, and these pull the most sound out of my instrument no questions asked. My current setup is a Damian Dlugolecki Gut G, Light Gauge Pizz D & A, and a Medium Gauge E. I've found the D'Addario light E strings to be a little too light (I hesitate to use the word whimpy because they're not)... but the medium E balances out the others quite nicely.
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Since you've tried all the d'addarios ,how do the orchestrals feel for jazz pizz? Also,do they amplify well? Thanks
 
#32
Orchestrals feel nice too, but with the high dampening they don't have as much sustain——I would describe them as being percussive and "dry". I haven't amplified them in a long time, but I imagine they would be OK with a pickup... probably thumpier with the realist than the full circle (which I currently use). I tend to enjoy the feeling of most Helicores; there's enough resistance in the string where they don't give out but the perceived tension is generally lighter than most other strings I've played.
 
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#35
Les Fret said:
How well do they bow? and how are these compared to the Hybrid mediums?
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They're definitely not easiest to bow, however if you muscle them a little bit they'll respond just fine. If you're playing primarily pizz and the bow sound is a low priority, make the leap into the pizzicatos. It's not to say they can't respond with the bow—they're still metal strings after all—but it's definitely not a lush warm sound. The hybrids to me are still more of a jazz string than a classical string, and they bow better than the pizz but maintain many of the same metallic qualities. If I was looking for a good compromise I'd probably choose the Zyex first... but the pizz are still reigning champs for me :)
 
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