Double Bass Orchestral String choices...

[bassplayer2]

Currently using Obligatos on both basses. Great improvement over the orchestra Helicores mediums, Corellis, and Permanents. I have been looking for a warm mellow sound when bowed with good articulate sustain when doing pizz.

My second choice would be the Flexocors 92 but needed a different E.

I have a set of Evah's coming and I will try them shortly.

 

[Barcza]

Pirastro Flat is olso very good string for bows!

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Pirastro Flat is olso very good string for bows!

I assume you mean the Flat Chromes and/or the Original Flat Chromes. The FCs are thinner and more flexible. Almost a hybrid string to me. The OFCs are actually the old Eudoxa Steels I think. They Bow fantastic and are very similar to the Flexocor 92s.

If you are using the Flex 92s and the E is too soft, try either the Stark 92 E or the OFC E. Other choices are the Permanent E. Remember now, it's not just tension, it's matching the tone across the Bass as well.

I use mainly 92s and some Basses need the Stark E and some don't. The Stark although tighter and thicker also requires more Bow pressure. The Flex 92 E/C measures about .100" while the reg. E is only .097". The Stark E is .106 reg. or Ext and the OFC E is .105. The Perm is between the OFC and the Stark but not quite as good as either in tone. When they break in. the sound better.

 

[Amin]

I assume you mean the Flat Chromes and/or the Original Flat Chromes. The FCs are thinner and more flexible. Almost a hybrid string to me. The OFCs are actually the old Eudoxa Steels I think. They Bow fantastic and are very similar to the Flexocor 92s.

If you are using the Flex 92s and the E is too soft, try either the Stark 92 E or the OFC E. Other choices are the Permanent E. Remember now, it's not just tension, it's matching the tone across the Bass as well.

I use mainly 92s and some Basses need the Stark E and some don't. The Stark although tighter and thicker also requires more Bow pressure. The Flex 92 E/C measures about .100" while the reg. E is only .097". The Stark E is .106 reg. or Ext and the OFC E is .105. The Perm is between the OFC and the Stark but not quite as good as either in tone. When they break in. the sound better.

I'd be really curious to know which are the main differences betweeen the Original Flatchrome and the Flex92s...
I do know the Orig.flatchrome, but never tried the Flex92s...

What do you think about it?
Thanks!

 

[Amin]

My favourites:

-Original Flatchrome G-D-A with Obligato E
(for tone, power, articulation, definition but strong and dark sound..The E of the OFC sounded a little bit mute, not very responsive, so I matched these 3strings with an easier and responsive Obligato E, which is anyway dark and powerful..)

-Belcanto
(it's absolutely true: they make your instrument play 100years older...strong, but less definition than OFC.. anyway they're more forgiving..)

 

[Sol]

I have a carved Shen bass acquired five years ago. The dealer (Bob Beerman) had Permanents (Jack Budrow recommended) on it. I liked the Permanents but eventually wanted to find strings that had a fuller, less bright, sound. Tried and liked Helicore Orchestra until they seemed to go dull. Next I tried a set of Evah Pirazzi and was very excited about the huge sound and easy bowing. After a while the sound of the G, especially in the upper register seemed a little plastic sounding and I noticed what seemed a limited dynamic range. The response seemed limited at the dynamic extremes. It was like the string could only get so loud or so quiet, would speak too much when I wanted ppp and too little on fff. I thought about trying Bel Canto. Then after reading Ken Smith’s lengthy reflections on Flexocor 92 I tried a set. Truly a lovely sound to my ear, especially the higher positions on the G. I would call the sound a smooth and sonorous voice. But, less overall power and much more effort. Although enjoying the sound I was still frustrated. The physical demands of the low strings bothered me a lot (left hand pain). (I am a former regional orchestra player recovering from 22 years without an instrument.) Out of frustration and seeking muscle relief I brought back the Evah E and A. I hoped the G and D Flex would not sound too weak next to the Evah E and A. I was absolutely surprised and delighted as to how well this combination works for me. The low Evahs are full and easy as expected. But unexpectedly the high Flexos are also full and easy with a very satisfying tone and very expressive dynamic range that is easy to control. Playing this combination really feels like singing now. I speculate that with a full set of Flexocor the overall relatively high tension on the bass had a damping effect on my instrument. This may explain why I experienced less overall power and much more effort with the full set of Flexocor. I won’t say the sound is 100% perfect but this mix is much better than either “pure” set. I welcome suggestions for other lower tension E and A to use with with the 92s.

 

[King Chris]

before I post my opinion I must say that I am young and completely inexperienced and my opinions are probably not as valuable as some others but here they are anyway.
I recently (july 2007) purchased a 150 year old german bass that is the love of my life. It needed to be played in agian after too much time in a shop and no serious playing since a full restoration and new top was put on in 2005. since then the bass has really opened up and sounds fantastic. I have always played Helicore Orchestra mediums, which I used on an old plywood and they always got the job done. When I was shopping for the bass, at the ISB convention, Chris Brown was auditioning the basses with me and had the belcanto's thrown on. they have an amazing tone and bow really well.
This is were my experience runs out. I have a 20K dollar bass that I've only tried one set on. I was starting to get really comfortable with them and I cracked the rib loading it in my car so I'm short my bass for a while (tops comming back off and I'll lose all that playing in I worked so hard on). I'd love to try other strings but I just got into the U of M's graduate program and can't afford to just jump back and forth between strings. I will admit I wouldn't mind more volume but I also play in 2 orchestras that have really small sections, like 2 and 3 players, relative to the orchestras, 75-100 players. I've played in two chamber orchestras lately and have enjoyed it quite a bit and really was able to be heard.
Overall I'd say the Belcanto's are higher up on my list then the Helicore's but I haven't tried the heavy's ever and haven't tried any other strings on my new axe.
I play on a M. Lepierre french bow from the 1950's with salt and pepper hair and Kolstein soft, though I'm gonna try out the allweather seing as springs is right around the corner and I like a little more powder then the soft.

P.S. does anybody know how to get rid of this stupid "congratulations you won" thing that keeps beeping and is driving me crazy.

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

I'd be really curious to know which are the main differences betweeen the Original Flatchrome and the Flex92s...
I do know the Orig.flatchrome, but never tried the Flex92s...

What do you think about it?
Thanks!

OFC is slightly brighter than Flex92s. I believe the OFCs are the reformulation of the old pre'92 Eudoxa Steel. When aged, both strings are deep and sweet sounding. The OFCs are slightly heavier gauged and sounding and more expensive as well.

For me, the OFCs are my 2nd choice but the G on the set I tried was not as smooth as the 92 G in either regular or Stark gauge.

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

I have a carved Shen bass acquired five years ago. The dealer (Bob Beerman) had Permanents (Jack Budrow recommended) on it. I liked the Permanents but eventually wanted to find strings that had a fuller, less bright, sound. Tried and liked Helicore Orchestra until they seemed to go dull. Next I tried a set of Evah Pirazzi and was very excited about the huge sound and easy bowing. After a while the sound of the G, especially in the upper register seemed a little plastic sounding and I noticed what seemed a limited dynamic range. The response seemed limited at the dynamic extremes. It was like the string could only get so loud or so quiet, would speak too much when I wanted ppp and too little on fff. I thought about trying Bel Canto. Then after reading Ken Smith’s lengthy reflections on Flexocor 92 I tried a set. Truly a lovely sound to my ear, especially the higher positions on the G. I would call the sound a smooth and sonorous voice. But, less overall power and much more effort. Although enjoying the sound I was still frustrated. The physical demands of the low strings bothered me a lot (left hand pain). (I am a former regional orchestra player recovering from 22 years without an instrument.) Out of frustration and seeking muscle relief I brought back the Evah E and A. I hoped the G and D Flex would not sound too weak next to the Evah E and A. I was absolutely surprised and delighted as to how well this combination works for me. The low Evahs are full and easy as expected. But unexpectedly the high Flexos are also full and easy with a very satisfying tone and very expressive dynamic range that is easy to control. Playing this combination really feels like singing now. I speculate that with a full set of Flexocor the overall relatively high tension on the bass had a damping effect on my instrument. This may explain why I experienced less overall power and much more effort with the full set of Flexocor. I won’t say the sound is 100% perfect but this mix is much better than either “pure” set. I welcome suggestions for other lower tension E and A to use with with the 92s.

Interesting to hear you also discovered this. I had the EPs on my Gilkes and then it was loaned out on trial to a friend. My friend did not like the EP G string so he put 92s on the G and D (reg. or starks, I'm not sure). He told me this sounded best and fixed the problem for him.

It is possible that the lighter tensioned EP bottoms allowed the upper G and D 92s to pull more wood/bridge pressure than with 92 bottoms. Just a theory but it makes sense in my mind.

So, if you like either of these sets but have a slight problem as described or the the 92 E as well, try this combo for a mix or high grade steel and Synthetic core strings.

 

[Sol]

Interesting to hear you also discovered this.

Nice to know I am not the only one.
Thanks,
Sol

 

[hotdbass]

Ken or others that posted:

I recently purchased a Alfred Meyer with the following outline pattern:

18" upper bout
14" c bout
25 " lower bout
44 "body length
41 and 1/2 string length
Round back

Currently have Medium Spirocores, but is sound is bright and I find the bass lacking projection that I need in in the Community Symphony. I have been reading the posts about the Flexcore 92's as having a a dark powerful sound. Should I try these? Or......?

 

[bear]

I have used Obligatos and don't even remember what came before. Sure wish they cost less.

 

[Mark_T]

I assume you mean the Flat Chromes and/or the Original Flat Chromes. The FCs are thinner and more flexible. Almost a hybrid string to me. The OFCs are actually the old Eudoxa Steels I think. They Bow fantastic and are very similar to the Flexocor 92s.

If you are using the Flex 92s and the E is too soft, try either the Stark 92 E or the OFC E. Other choices are the Permanent E. Remember now, it's not just tension, it's matching the tone across the Bass as well.

I use mainly 92s and some Basses need the Stark E and some don't. The Stark although tighter and thicker also requires more Bow pressure. The Flex 92 E/C measures about .100" while the reg. E is only .097". The Stark E is .106 reg. or Ext and the OFC E is .105. The Perm is between the OFC and the Stark but not quite as good as either in tone. When they break in. the sound better.

Ken, are you describing the medium gauge Flex 92s? I'm trying to decide which gauge I want to order. Which do you tend to use?

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Ken, are you describing the medium gauge Flex 92s? I'm trying to decide which gauge I want to order. Which do you tend to use?

I use either 92s with are the regular or medium gauge or the Starks/heavy or the regular with Stark E depending on the Bass.

 

[Mark_T]

I use either 92s with are the regular or medium gauge or the Starks/heavy or the regular with Stark E depending on the Bass.

I've seen a lot of discussion of the Stark strings, but I couldn't find a reference to them on Lemur (except for a Thomastik string). Are Starks a variety of the Flexocor, or is it that the Thomastik Stark matches well to the Flexocor 92s?

To make the question more general - do people tend to buy strings from their luthier or somewhere else?

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

I've seen a lot of discussion of the Stark strings, but I couldn't find a reference to them on Lemur (except for a Thomastik string). Are Starks a variety of the Flexocor, or is it that the Thomastik Stark matches well to the Flexocor 92s?

To make the question more general - do people tend to buy strings from their luthier or somewhere else?

Stark just means heavy. It is the heavy gauge 92s that I am referring to. These have nothing to do with Thomastik.

 

[MilesC]

1) Pirastro Flexocor Orginal, they simply blend the best with other basses in your section.

2) Dominant G,D,A plus Spirocore E. This combination has worked very well for me in orchestral playing.

 

[BMason]

I keep hearing the notion that Original Flexocors blend the best in a section, but, as stubborn as I am in the recommending of Bel Cantos, blending in a sections starts on the individual level. OFs are more tinny and springy sounding than BCs, especially the G string. The BCs are the most even sounding set of strings I've ever used (really. I put my OF set on a couple of weeks ago and I immediately regretted it).

Since the Bel Cantos are so sweet and even on every bass they're put on, the bass-to-bass-to-bass recipe is quite delicious.

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

The BCs have a very light tension and let the Top breathe more. The OFs have a very heavy tension and choke the Top a bit. Just the opposite. I think the tone of the 92s are in the middle and the Stark E with reg. 92s are a winner for me. I have used all the sets mentioned here and will stick with the 92s.

 

[Dave Whitla]

One thing I've noticed with the Evahs on my bass is that the G & D seem to take more time to adjust to being on the bass. When I first tried the EPs the G took at least a month to stop sounding a bit nasally. I took the Evahs off after they had settled in (maybe not a good move...) so that I could get a reverse comparison with the BCs, having narrowed it down to those two types as a first preference. I've had the Evahs back on now for about 5 or 6 weeks and the top 2 only just got back to sounding great again about a week ago.

Now that I'm finally happy I'm thinking about Olives on the G and D...