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Double Bass Looking for a G ...

I haven’t — I did use them exclusively but that was ages ago. I preferred them to Spiros, mainly for the arco response and because they were warmer. But now I’ve got a different bass and this one likes Spiros.

I’m waiting for someone to break in a set of SFs and then offer them for sale!
 
Did you try the Super -Flex G? Had good success with the Mittles on the rest of them. Sounded good with Weich,but the tension was a little too much, I felt with those.
Using currently on one Bass all Super-Flex with Mitt E. Works great for Arco and Pizz ...
That combo sounds interesting. One thing’s for sure: my mittel E ain’t going nowhere, it’s fabulous.
 
A string set that I see almost never see mentioned is the Eurosonic orchestra strings (ball end silks are orange with black stripes. These are steel wrapped unlike their more widely known nylon wrapped strings. I currently have Sprio mittels and a Eurosonic orchestra G and I feel like they mix well. It bows well too in my opinion. Hard to find in most catalogs but anyone who carries that standard eurosonics should be able to get them for you.
 
Since Eurosonic are rebranded polish Presto strings, you might have got a flavour of Presto Balance strings.
As far as I remember my Presto Balance Hybrid Medium have an orange tailpiece silk but with a blue spiral, so you might have a Presto Balance Orchestal G (just guessing).
They are good strings, but don't last as long as Spiros (which does?) and the A has more tension (by design), similar to some Pirastro sets.
The typical source for Presto strings is Jonas Lohse in Germany who developed most of them (except the original Nylonwounds).
 
Im not convinced these are the same string. I cant find any silk pictures or any info though. The "eurosonic orshestra" strings that I have are very soft to my hands and are slightly darker than spiros, but much brighter than most typical "orchestral" strings meant for arco only.
 
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that matches well with
(well broken-in) Spiro weich 4/4 A&D, Spiro 4/4 mittel E
As I currently only own one bass, it needs to be an excellent arco string as well.

I assume you are asking for a great pizz G that is also excellent for the bow, a combination I have not found. Every G I have used is either awesome for one and just acceptable for the other. Some are only acceptable at both, not excellent at anything. I’ve experimented with 6 or more types of strings.

The closest G string to being good at both, that I have tried, is the Dominant. It sounds good pizz and is more bowable than Spiro. The arco sound is smoother than Spiro, but not as good as a top arco string like Belcanto. The pizz has a nice punch and ring to it, but not as good as Spiro, on my bass.

I use Spiro’s for my jazz bass and a combination of arco strings (excepting a Spiro RM low C) for my classical bass.

Perhaps choose what string is most appropriate for your music (pizz or arco) and go with it.
Let us know if you find a string that is excellent for both.
 
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Everything being our own bass specific, I’ve found the polychrome D and G over well broken in Spiro mittels has worked out the best so far, as a hybrid for mixed use, and it works well, but the answer is still two basses.

If you don’t have two, then doing it all on one bass is going to have trade offs. Find the string set/combo with the least number of them — advice to self!
 
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