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Double Bass My string journey documented (to be Continued)

#207
Sam Dingle said:
Showed up to my "jazz" gig tonight to find out it's a blues/r&b gig. Leader decided not to take a break. If I ever have to do that again I can't keep playing my setup. Should have played electric. Hands are killin me. Ahhhhh
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Seems like that's not the right string combo for you. I want my bass to more-or-less "disappear" when I'm playing it. If I'm feeling discomfort during a gig, then some aspect of my setup needs to change.

- Steve
 
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#211
I`m letting plain gut D`s go and sporting a Chorda G on top of Evahs, first weichs and now trying the reqular E with them. One weird issue is that I`m having very hard time bowing those Evahs and thinking about going Spiro EA for bowability. My problem is starting the notes with Evahs and I didn`t have any of this issue with Spiro weichs under plain guts. Am I alone with this, finding Spiros easy to bow comparing to Evahs, at least for the lower strings?
 
#213
I think for pizz I'm defidently a Spiro guy and so is my bass. I just find the D string too scratchy. The dominant is better, it's in between a Spiro and Evah weich. I am wondering if it's a bad idea to stick to spiros and when I have an arco heavy gig to throw evahs on so I can use them for the month of that gig, then throw spiros back on?
 
#214
Sam Dingle said:
I think for pizz I'm defidently a Spiro guy and so is my bass. I just find the D string too scratchy. The dominant is better, it's in between a Spiro and Evah weich. I am wondering if it's a bad idea to stick to spiros and when I have an arco heavy gig to throw evahs on so I can use them for the month of that gig, then throw spiros back on?
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It shouldn't bother the Spiros any, but they say it's not good for the synthetic core to keep pulling them off basses and then putting them back under tension again.
 
#215
Sam Dingle said:
I think for pizz I'm defidently a Spiro guy and so is my bass. I just find the D string too scratchy. The dominant is better, it's in between a Spiro and Evah weich. I am wondering if it's a bad idea to stick to spiros and when I have an arco heavy gig to throw evahs on so I can use them for the month of that gig, then throw spiros back on?
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You have two basses, so why not keep Spirocores on one and something a little more bow-able on the other? That's what I do. I know you have one bass set up for slap right now, but I got the impression that was a temporary thing.

- Steve
 
#216
I'm back on the Spiro Mitt E/A Dom D/G thing again too after a brief stint with Spiro Weichs. Bskts, I agree with your assessment of the Doms having 90% of the pizz of Spiros but being a better trade off with the bow. It's a combo I keep coming back to. The G especially is just fantastic. This is also the 3rd or 4th time I've installed the same pair of Doms (knock on wood) without any issues.

I had a Dom A for a couple of weeks but found myself preferring the Spiro A to it just a bit more. Might have needed more time to break in, though. If I were to try Dom low strings again I'd probably just pick up an E string and try the whole set across.
 
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#217
bassfiddlesteve said:
You have two basses, so why not keep Spirocores on one and something a little more bow-able on the other? That's what I do. I know you have one bass set up for slap right now, but I got the impression that was a temporary thing.

- Steve
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I've "been told" I'll need that bass for Slap in the coming months. More on that maybe. But also I'm not super fond of it for either pizz or arco. It came with Evah mediums on it and the arco sound of the bass (tried evahs spiro weich then slap strings) isn't satisfying and the pizz is just ok. My carved bass really is such a beautiful sound that I don't want to sacrifice that sound on either my jazz or pit showgigs
 
#218
I sometimes dream about second bass, a smaller one than my Jay Haide, but then again I feel like I`m " one bass guy " and there`s something strangely fascinating in owning that special instrument which should take care of it all. There was a couple of months when our bands drummer wasn`t sure about continuing playing with us, and myself beeing a drummer, I found it a interesting challenge as it`s really cool to play bass without a drummer, time-keeping and feel -wise and also the folk-y stuff we play doesn`t necessarily need drums. That`s when I started practising slap, but the need went away as the drummer decided to stay. Now with higher tension strings slap is even more challenging than with gut-sy setup. Anyway, in my system pizz and arco come first, and those are the first duties for my strings on my " the one " bass.

Took a Spiro w and 3/4 mittel E along to the practise room, and switched the Evah req to the red Spiro. I like it as it doesn`t fart on me as much as the Evah does pizz ( I`m still working on my pizz technique a lot and trying different approaches ), and makes the set easier to bow.

Another issue that makes me trying strings and approaches now is that I / we decided with the band to go as acoustic as possible, and I don`t even have my Lifeline on the bass anymore ( I still have it if / when there comes a need ). So, it`s acoustic playing for me, with a soft touch drummer, ten sax, el guit and plectrum banjo. My approach is allready pretty physical, but now I really need it LOUD. So far, pizz has been fine but the arco, to hear myself and get heard, is a very very very serious challenge, and especially with faster stuff where I`m trying to mimic a horn bass. That`s where the Spiro E shines. Anyhow, there`s gigless perioid happening now with the band as we are arranging and rehearsing new material and approach, and if I find it too challenging I`ll propably use a mic to the PA. Let`s see how it goes, but it`s been fun so far.
 
#219
Sometimes when I read threads like this I wonder if I wasn’t better off when I first started playing. There just wasn’t much information available about double bass strings, and there were fewer choices. I had a copy of Rufus Reid’s “The Evolving Bassist“ and that was the first time I heard anybody mention Spirocores. I knew from magazine interviews that a lot of jazz bassists used them, as did my teacher at the time. My teacher also told me about Superflexibles which he said were cheaper and easier to bow, but not as durable. Outside of these, I knew about classical strings like Flexocore, bluegrass strings like La Bella Supernils, student strings like Super Sensitive, and of course gut which you never saw. Armed with this information, I bought a set of Spirocores and didn’t worry about strings again for years until I decided to join the community orchestra and work on my arco playing.

- Steve
 
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#220
I have been through several cycles of string experiments, where I love what I have until I hear or read about something else. About a year ago I decided to try a set of the Gamut Red Diamonds. But knowing my habit of constant trials, I committed to keeping them on for at least 6 months. It's been a year, and I am really enjoying them.

The purpose of my post is not to promote the strings, but to promote the idea of commitment to a set of strings, and really learning to play that set (whatever it is).

I love how my bass sounds with Spirocores, and I love how my bass sounds with Zyex Mediums, and I love how my bass sounds with these guts. I'm going to play these guts for another 6 months.
 

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