Double Bass New Kolstein strings

[DoubleMIDI]

If it is only the open strings, you can put some thin rubber strips below the strings touching the nut.
At least worth a try.
I do that to calm bright strings down before they have settled.

 

[Endlesssolo]

Here’s a question for anyone, I have Evah pirazzi lights on my juzek and I mostly like them. The only real issue I have is the g string being a little nasal, especially amplified. This is for jazz, although I do practice with the bow quite a bit, and with the bow it’s fine. I’ve tried a plain gut G (old borrowed string) and while I like the character and feel, it’s too different from the other strings, and it’s also horrible with the bow. I’ve tried an olive G, which has a better pizz sound to me than the evah G, but the olive G has quite a bit more tension than the light Evahs. If I could find a lower tension olive G, or something like that, maybe that would be the sound/feel I’m after.

The question is, based on what I’ve described, would the Kolstein heritage G be something worth trying?

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Try an Innovation Braided G.

 

[Earl]

The Braided G is one of my favorites but the last two that I had developed a buzz immediately (and a D also).

I have not tried the Heritage but maybe try Evah Slap synthetic G or Evah solo G.

 

[Endlesssolo]

Thanks for the suggestions, please keep them coming! I'd be worried that the Evah solo gauge would be even thinner and brighter than the light Evah that's on there now. Is that wrong? I'll have a look at the innovation braided G.

 

[AGCurry]

I’ve tried an olive G, which has a better pizz sound to me than the evah G, but the olive G has quite a bit more tension than the light Evahs. If I could find a lower tension olive G, or something like that, maybe that would be the sound/feel I’m after.

Hmm. The Pirastro website lists tension for the Oliv G as 26.1 kg, and the Evah weich G's tension as 26.4 kg.

 

[Endlesssolo]

Hmm. The Pirastro website lists tension for the Oliv G as 26.1 kg, and the Evah weich G's tension as 26.4 kg.

That's interesting. I don't really have an explanation other than maybe the thickness of the olive g changed the way I perceive tension on the string. I'll try it again.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

A thinner string concentrates the pressure on a smaller area, so it cuts more into the finger flesh.

But also a less stretchy string (steel core, specially solid steel core) needs more force to press the string down, so it might be that you are happier with either a stretchier string core (which often has a larger diameter too), a lower action or a lower tension string.

 

[BassiklyAC]

I'm worried that I may have gotten a couple of bad strings. The G-string is very nice and about what I expected, the E-string seems very good, too-- growly with some of that new string zing that I know will mellow out soon enough--but the A and D have a pretty terrible metallic ringing sound that doesn't seem to be going a away. It's not SO bad when fingering a note, but it's pretty awful when pizzing the open strings.

I am always very careful when installing strings, especially synthetic core strings, and double and triple check to make sure they don't get twisted. Not sure if maybe uninstalling and reinstalling, or perhaps cleaning, will help. They are leaving a fair amount of metal dust on my blonde fingerboard.

Hi Eli,

Not to worry (I think). Somewhere in this thread or another one about the Heritage strings there’s a post from someone with the comment that when they first installed the strings they sounded “pretty gnarly” (I took that to mean harsh) until they settled in and then sounded great. That was my experience as well.

I hung in there and played them a lot - both arco & pizz - and by the second week they started to sound really good. I’m into my fourth month with them and they sound better than ever.

 

[Povl Carstensen]

Thanks for the suggestions, please keep them coming! I'd be worried that the Evah solo gauge would be even thinner and brighter than the light Evah that's on there now. Is that wrong? I'll have a look at the innovation braided G.

Lighter tension does not equal brighter

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Tune your existing strings a whole note up to a fourth lower and check if the sound is darker or brighter then.
I think it is always darker with lower tension.

 

[Endlesssolo]

I'm a fairly new bass player, but I have lots of experience with guitar strings, and basically the thinner and denser a string is at a given pitch and string length, the brighter it will be. I assume it's basically the same with double bass, at least pizz. In my case, I went from correlli tungsten to D'addario hybrid lights to Evah lights, and each step along the way the G string was thicker and a little darker. It's much more an issue amplified. The thinner, denser strings have more sustain, they sound a little more electric. That's what I'm trying to get away from.

I put the olive g back on, and it's not so much that it feels tighter, its just more mass. I can play it fine, it's a little out of balance (louder) than the D, A, E Evah lights, but it's a good sound. Maybe it would match better with Evah medium tension. I'm going to leave it on for a couple of weeks and see if I get used to it. Still interested in opinions about the Kolstein g string.

 

[Povl Carstensen]

But with tuned down solo strings for instance, you are not talking denser, but lower tension.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

The stretching of the core has an influence on the volume of the string with the same amount of excursion.
Easier stretching strings like nylon/Perlon and PEEK core strings have a lower dynamic range than less stretching string like gut core or even less steel core strings. It depends a bit on the diameter of the core as well as it has an influence on the stretchability of a string core.

 

[bassically_eli]

I didn't have much luck with the rubber between the string and nut. I tried using some pieces of thera-band, but it is very difficult to position because it moves when you try to re-tune the strings. What I have in place now seems too thin to make a difference. I guess I'll keep playing them for now, but what concerns me is the huge difference tonally between the A/D strings and the other two.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Not between string and nut but between fingerboard and string touching the nut.
You can try different thicknesses and widths and move the rubber a bit away from the nut to simulate a wider rubber strip.
Since we mostly tune up it cannot move beyond the nut and moving a bit away from the nut sometimes does not have a large influence.
I use a strip half a millimeter thick or maybe a bit less, about 2 to 3 mm wide (but wider is possible) and a bit shorter than twice the string to string distance at the nut.
Put it under the string, fold it up in halves and move it up to the nut. You might want to lift up the string a bit to make the moving easier.

Putting the rubber strip between string and nut groove cuts the rubber and only lifts the string up at the nut. The damping is low because of the high pressure on the nut.

 

[Sam Dingle]

Here’s a question for anyone, I have Evah pirazzi lights on my juzek and I mostly like them. The only real issue I have is the g string being a little nasal, especially amplified. This is for jazz, although I do practice with the bow quite a bit, and with the bow it’s fine. I’ve tried a plain gut G (old borrowed string) and while I like the character and feel, it’s too different from the other strings, and it’s also horrible with the bow. I’ve tried an olive G, which has a better pizz sound to me than the evah G, but the olive G has quite a bit more tension than the light Evahs. If I could find a lower tension olive G, or something like that, maybe that would be the sound/feel I’m after.

The question is, based on what I’ve described, would the Kolstein heritage G be something worth trying?

Just spoke to someone who is using Evah medium EAD with a synthetic slap G. You could try that i think it would work better with Weich on the bottom 3

 

[Selim]

Put a set of these on today.
Balanced string to string response, they feel good under the left hand, subjectively louder than the old Spiro weichs they replaced.

Also everything that BassiklyAC reported - growly “angry” tone! Knowing that this will pass, I will try and play the heck of them to try and make this initial phase as short as possible.

 

[Selim]

It's not SO bad when fingering a note, but it's pretty awful when pizzing the open strings

How are these working out for you and how long have you had them on?
I've had a set on for 4 days now. I haven't experienced the other things that you relate, but the "raw" (gnarly angry, etc.) sound - yes I think is just how these strings are in the beginning - and as you said, particularly open strings (pizz or Arco).

My experience so far has been pretty much what BassiklyAC has reported in this thread - and that makes me want to stay with them. I hear improvement pretty much every day and yes, every bass responds differently, but I have a good feeling that they will bloom into the beautiful string that he has described.

 

[bassically_eli]

How are these working out for you and how long have you had them on?
I've had a set on for 4 days now. I haven't experienced the other things that you relate, but the "raw" (gnarly angry, etc.) sound - yes I think is just how these strings are in the beginning - and as you said, particularly open strings (pizz or Arco).

My experience so far has been pretty much what BassiklyAC has reported in this thread - and that makes me want to stay with them. I hear improvement pretty much every day and yes, every bass responds differently, but I have a good feeling that they will bloom into the beautiful string that he has described.

It's been 12 days so far. I love the G and E, but I still don't know about the D and A--very tin can-ish. I contacted Gollihur, and all they said was to contact Kolstein.