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Double Bass OK. Now what?

boombloom

boombloom

Aug 17, 2004
1,650
1,755
62
Wadhams! NY (Adirondacks)
#1
I bought a very beat up mid 19th century German shop bass. I had a bunch of restoration work done on it. I put Obligatos on it. I don't like them. They feel OK, but not great. They're a little thin. They produce a lot of fundamental, but not much else. I am expecting more from this bass.


By history, I play a lot of bluegrass and blues. I still have my laminated bass set up with Spiros and Golden Spirals for slap style. This old Humpty Dumpty bass is for other music. I want to bow it and pick it. I want to experiment with a brave new world of tone and sustain. I'm looking for recommendations for strings.

Thanks.
 
#2
boombloom said:
I bought a very beat up mid 19th century German shop bass. I had a bunch of restoration work done on it. I put Obligatos on it. I don't like them. They feel OK, but not great. They're a little thin. They produce a lot of fundamental, but not much else. I am expecting more from this bass.


By history, I play a lot of bluegrass and blues. I still have my laminated bass set up with Spiros and Golden Spirals for slap style. This old Humpty Dumpty bass is for other music. I want to bow it and pick it. I want to experiment with a brave new world of tone and sustain. I'm looking for recommendations for strings.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
There are a boat load of posts on Spiros, Flex '92s, etc. If you want to bow, the Flex 92s in Stark guage have been talked about lately. Very good for both pizz and arco. Very dark tone. I've only used meds, D&G, but I like them.

gomez
 
#4
boombloom said:
...I put Obligatos on it. I don't like them. They feel OK, but not great. They're a little thin. They produce a lot of fundamental, but not much else...

...I want to experiment with a brave new world of tone and sustain...
Click to expand...

I suggest trying Dominants. I felt the same way about Obligatos, and tried a range of other strings before settling on Dominants. Search the strings forum and you'll find a lot of good things said about them.

The regular Dominants are comparable in tension to Spiro orch/reds, so if you prefer a lower tension string you can use the Solo set tuned down to orch. pitch; they end up being close to Spiro Weich tension, without losing the characteristic Dominant sound. I've been using the solos for a while now and am very happy - in fact I'm planning to try them on an old german bass that I am auditioning for purchase.

Oh, and they bow great, more easily and with a better tone than Obligatos (and nearly anything else I've tried).

Andy
 
#6
your gonna have to do some research, if it were me i would be looking at some flexocor regulars with a stark E, or permanents, or some velvet compas 180 or anima, or some helicore orchestra, maybe some superlfexibles if you want more sustain and growly tone....alot of the sustain is gonna come from your setup though.

start searching and reading about strings is the best thing to do....oh and know what you want out of your strings.
 
#10
airbass said:
I suggest trying Dominants. I felt the same way about Obligatos, and tried a range of other strings before settling on Dominants. Search the strings forum and you'll find a lot of good things said about them.

The regular Dominants are comparable in tension to Spiro orch/reds, so if you prefer a lower tension string you can use the Solo set tuned down to orch. pitch; they end up being close to Spiro Weich tension, without losing the characteristic Dominant sound.


So you recommend Solo Dominants? Just how low tension would these be at orchestra pitch? And they'd still bow well?
Click to expand...
 
#11
boombloom said:
So you recommend Solo Dominants? Just how low tension would these be at orchestra pitch? And they'd still bow well?
Click to expand...

The Solo Dominants tuned down to orchestral pitch on my bass are just a tiny bit stiffer than Spiro Weichs - but physically (and auraly) they are a little fatter, which I like. I'm not much with the bow, but for me they bow great, not quite as sweet as Corellis, but close, and better than anything else I've tried.

I changed from orch. gauge dominants to solo gauge to help with my thumb position studies, and was pleased that I didn't lose much, if any, of the Dominant sound or feel.

(I have kept a Spiro orch/red E on the bass though, so I can't speak for the Dominant E).

Andy
 

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