Double Bass Jazz string HELP!!!!

[Marcus Johnson]

Frankly I think they are a headache but perhaps if you don't know any better it wouldn't matter.

Ain't that the truth! Sometimes I wish I'd never seen the TBDB String forum!

OTOH, it got me (finally) into the guts, so I'm happy.

 

[Francois Blais]

Merged the older thread with this one.

If you want an old-school sound, you may look at orchestral steel strings.
Furthermore, they bow great!
You could get Flexocors, for instance.
Very warm tone, not much sustain.
But it also depends on your instrument, which you didn't tell us about.
If it's a cheap plywood, Flexocors could sound almost dead.
Strings are not everything, they also must be matched with your bass.

Spirocores are available in gauges, and even solo-tuning, so they could possibly give you nice results depending on your instrument.

Can you tell us more about it?

 

[ctxbass]

i didnt get enough replies.

Its getting closer to the time im going buy my bass & i need some advice.

My two favourite players are paul chambes and jimmy garrision

These are all the strings i can choose from:

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Should i just start off on spirocres?

The best thing would be if you could hear basses with the different strings.
I don't think Spirocores will give you the sound you want.
I agree with the earlier recommendation of Innovation Strings, either 140H or 140B (darker tone).
They will get you close to the sound you seek, without the problems of gut strings.

 

[misterda1]

thanks for all the help i'll try both spirocores and innovation 104H

 

[BMacBass]

As much as I like Spiros, I don't think the odds of getting a warm, fat sound with them on a NEW bass are very good.

I have a couple questions to this comment.
1) what do you consider to be a "new" bass? Does my 2004 Romanian Round Back fall into that category?
2) if not spiros, then what? I am also looking for ways to make my bass sound "warm" and "fat".

BTW, I currently have Mittels on my bass. I suppose you could say the sound I like is somewhere in the middle of Ray Brown and Larry Grenadier (if that helps).

 

[drurb]

I have a couple questions to this comment.
1) what do you consider to be a "new" bass? Does my 2004 Romanian Round Back fall into that category?
2) if not spiros, then what? I am also looking for ways to make my bass sound "warm" and "fat".

BTW, I currently have Mittels on my bass. I suppose you could say the sound I like is somewhere in the middle of Ray Brown and Larry Grenadier (if that helps).

Good question. Let's see, my bass is not yet two years old and I have Spiro Mitts on it. Huge, warm, fat, with plenty to spare.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Brian,
If you were to take 1000 basses, culled from brand new to maybe 300 years old I submit that the oldest ones would sound warmer and mellower than the newest ones. That is conventional wisdom. My 100+ year old bass sounds brighter to me than many newer basses, so this is not an absolute. Comparing Drurb's bass to mine may be a perfect illustration of this.
It's like people. On average, older men have a higher incidence of baldness than men in their twenties. However, some twenty year old men lose their hair.


Your bass? I would say that if your bass isn't dark enough for you with Spirocores just try a darker string. Evah Pirazzi's might be nice. You might also check your soundpost.

Ray Brown used Spirocores for probably the last thirty years of his life. Larry uses a mix of Spirocores and Velvet Animas (I believe). The tools that others use are just the tools that they use and you shouldn't expect to get their sound by using their tools.
Just my $.02

 

[Uncletoad]

The tools that others use are just the tools that they use and you shouldn't expect to get their sound by using their tools.

This is a huge point. The falacy is that somehow if you use the same tools as your idols you'll sound like them. This is the great music equipment business lie.

The truth is that no matter what Ray Brown is playing be it a Kay with Eurosonics or a 150 year old Italian with Spirocores he would sound unmistakably like Ray Brown. If I walked on stage and picked up his bass right after him, I'd still sound like me and not him.

Buy the tools that make you feel comfortable on the gig and stick with them. Learn them inside and out. Only then will you be able to speak with your own voice.

 

[BMacBass]

Your bass? I would say that if your bass isn't dark enough for you with Spirocores just try a darker string. Evah Pirazzi's might be nice.

Thanks for the tips, guys. The above quote is really what I was looking for....some suggestions besides mitts that you might recommend knowing what bass I have. I'm not trying to "be" Ray or Larry. Just thought it might be helpful to give a ballpark of what sound I'm going for.

 

[Uncletoad]

While they are a darker string the EP don't have the front end attack character of the Spirocore. Spiros darken up quite a bit as they get older but never loose that attack character. EP front end to the note is round. In some contexts this is unimportant however, it is not a small thing when driving the groove, especially in a dense mix.

 

[Bassus]

I found the picato innovations to be a bit thicker and slower especially in the upper register, but boy they added 100 yrs to my bass' sound. Fat, gut-like but bowable (albeit with lighter bow weight). I have been recently trying others (Helicores and obbligatos), but am craving that juicy sound and easy pull of the picatos again...I think Im gonna switch back-nothing else made my bass boom and sing with so much WOOD. Hard to get the long C string for my extension in the US. And the price is about 170 bucks us a set..more with the extension. Not the cheapest.