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Double Bass Olive G lovefest

#81
Just an update. After 3 months, Oliv G tuning is very stable, tune up before the gig, check it after 1st and 2nd tune and it stays in tune for the rest of the night.
.. That being said, Oliv G doesn't like direct sunlight - tuning if off almost immediately .

I swapped my Spiro D for Oliv D i had lying in my string drawer, it might have seen a few months of use a few years back.
Great big sound, very much complementing my Charlie Haden phase i'm going through ;-)
 
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#82
Well, here's my update ... we're a fickle bunch ... after playing on Olive-G and Spiro D/A/E+ for the last couple of years, I realized that I like the heft of the Olive-G. I think I found a lower cost substitute ... it's not pirazzi's, nor obligato ... it's Zyex G/D medium over Helicore Hybrid A/E+ medium. This is an excellent string combo that works as well in my bluegrass trio as in the orchestra.
 
#84
Using oliv D/G with Spiro mitt E/A. I'm in love with the sound and just hoping they dont explode on me.

At first the tuning stability was horrific but they're settling down. The g is actually pretty stable, it's the D that's going out all the time.

I really like the D pizzicato, don't find it inarticulate as some do.

Going from flex 92 D/G I'm quite surprised how good they sound arco. Not too much of a trade off arco wise but A huge jump up for jazz pizz. I'm loving them!
 
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#91
Selim said:
Question, I've been using Flex Deluxe and Evah Pirazzi medium G. Would I need to recut the bridge or nut slot for an Olive?
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I don't think you need any changes to bridge or nut if you replace the EP G with an Olive G, but I didn't had a look at the diameters. Both have a non-metal core and are metal spun strings. The diameter is at least similar. But if the Olive G is a bit thicker widening the slots would be a wise decision, since you won't like to damage the Olive G.
 
#93
Sam Dingle said:
The evah is about .62 the Oliv is .72 I believe. It's noticeably fatter. And now with my bridge cut for Olivs and having Evahs on I can see the difference
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Thanks - is the difference an issue, going back to a smaller diameter string after cutting the bridge/nut slots for a larger diameter string? I'm imagining the smaller string having too much "play".
 
#97
I had to file the slots on the tailpiece of the Pollmann 5 string when I installed a full Oliv set at work.
The low E and B are MASSIVE strings.
Tuning was ridicolous to say the least, and it took probably a month or more before it wa remotely stable.
However, the E and B strings never really worked, as they are way too "flabby" and the tonal centre is hard to find. I found that between a pianissimo and a forte pitch could vary almost a half step on both strings.
I never used the B string as a B, as it was too loose that way, so I used it as a C string.
The E and B were near impossible for me to articulate anything meaningful with, but this probably boils down to my technique.....:-)
Also, after tuning "stabilises" they still were every morning something like a quarter tone high across the whole set. Especially when I picked that bass from the case wich sits in the corridor in the orchestra hall. Not so bad if the bass could stay overnight on stage.
Touring from Norway to Spain was interesting tuning-wise.

But I really like the sound of the G and D strings, and so far now after 6 months I have swapped the two low strings for Belcanto E and B, and the olivs are still on for the 3 high strings.

I did not cut the nut or bridge at all, and it seamed to work fine, didn't notice any sticking.
 
#98
I ordered and tried Oliv G & D, and here are my thoughts.

I come from a plain gut background, so it took some time to get used to them. However, after about a week of playing around with them I started to love the strings. I was so happy that I found a string which can be close to a plain gut string in warmth, and also have sustain like steel strings. Anyhow, acoustically I loved the sound.

The problems began when I started playing with the band (jazz). Even with my acoustic image coda + troll mic or realist, the strings were not cutting through with the band. I felt choked the whole time. Now it could be that they're too dark for my bass. They sounded as if someone was muting the sound coming out of my bass. I couldn't handle it anymore and went back to plain guts. I really wanted to love these strings, and like I said, acoustically they were great. Just with a band, they were completely getting lost.
 
#99
I should probably mention the olivs I picked up had about 3 months use on them. I've read the oliv D can be tubby and inarticulate at first until broken in. Had I got these olivs brand new I might not have liked the oliv d as much.

Recently swapped out the Spiro mitt e/a for Spiro Weich and it seems to be a better match on my bass. The olivs seem to need a little higher string height to not hit the fingerboard during pizz. The Spiro mitts were feeling a bit tight at that height.
 
#100
Gregmak said:
I ordered and tried Oliv G & D, and here are my thoughts.

I come from a plain gut background, so it took some time to get used to them. However, after about a week of playing around with them I started to love the strings. I was so happy that I found a string which can be close to a plain gut string in warmth, and also have sustain like steel strings. Anyhow, acoustically I loved the sound.

The problems began when I started playing with the band (jazz). Even with my acoustic image coda + troll mic or realist, the strings were not cutting through with the band. I felt choked the whole time. Now it could be that they're too dark for my bass. They sounded as if someone was muting the sound coming out of my bass. I couldn't handle it anymore and went back to plain guts. I really wanted to love these strings, and like I said, acoustically they were great. Just with a band, they were completely getting lost.
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Sorry to hear that. As stated above prehaps try leaving them on to have them open up. If not I'll take them off your hands when I see them in the classifieds.
 

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