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Double Bass Pizz string suggestions

J

JCartwright

Jun 11, 2008
52
8
Manchester
#1
Hi,

I'm looking to get some work done on my bass and to get a new set of string on it. It's a modern, student level hybrid bass, nothing special but it's what I could afford!

I'm currently using spirocore mittels and I like the volume and articulation that they give but they are a bit on the bright side and the almost fretless bass like sustain is a real turn off for me, also I find the tension is more than I'd like.

I'm looking for a string with a bit dryer top end and less sustain but still with that sort of percussive attack at the front of the pizz and a good amount of acoustic volume.

I'm playing 100% pizzicato so I'm not too fussed if the sound like s*** with a bow!

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
#4
I'm gonna go ahead and agree with the suggestions above. Let the spiros you have now die because they'll sound good soon. Patience is needed. If you don't like the tension of them now you don't want to raise the action. I found that the Weichs had more thump and were less bright to me because I was able to get the strings set higher then the mediums. My alternate suggestion is to get a set of Evah Pirazzi. They're great strings. Good sustain to me but not as zinngy as the spirocores. Heres a video so Thomson Kneeland playing his bass with a full set of Evahs. I think this video gives a good example of what they sound like, although you wont sound like Thomson Kneeland by changing strings. Try to separate the two haha.
 
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#6
Thanks very much for the replies,

I've had the current spiros on for about a year and they were on another bass for a bit before that so they've lost a fair bit of their original brightness but they aren't quite what I'm after.

It's amazing how different different basses can sound, I've listened to a bunch of recordings of the Evah Pirazzis and they seemed to sound very dull and lifeless. He makes them sound wonderful though! Better get back to practicing...

Any others worth checking out?
 
#9
The Evahs sound pretty bright on my bass. My bass is naturally bright though. My experience with spirocores was good. I had a set on for about 2 years and I changed because I wanted a different arco string. It seems like your bass may be naturally bright so I would say that Evahs are the way to go. I personally (on my bass) feel differently about the tension between the Evah weich and regular. The regulars felt in the same ballpark as spiro medium, the Weich felt the same as Spiro Weich. My only issue against the velvet blues is that my teacher tried them and experienced breaking frequently. That may have just been his experience.
 
#12
I've used both Spiro's and D'Addario Helicore (pizz set). The Helicore's have always worked very well for me. I don't know if they would give you exactly what you are looking for, but I like them for straight pizz work. I'm not very sophisticated with my upright tone, so others are more qualified than me to advise. I just wanted to toss out an option that hadn't been mentioned yet
 
#14
+1 for Garbos. I was very happy with Evah Weichs, but the Garbos have real presence and power. Regular Garbo G now, but I'll try the gut G next time. Blues were much brighter and more metallic-sounding on my bass (only had them on a month, but they showed no sign of mellowing).
 
#15
Another suggestion would be Zyex Light, which have some of the character of Evah Pirazzi but are lower tension and slightly less dark. Here's a great review by fellow Brit DBer (and owner of Discover Double Bass, a great instructional site with which I have no affiliation)

 
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#16
Thanks again for all the suggestions,

I think the Velvet blues sound great, they seem a little more present than the evahs and I think the lower tension with a higher string height would work well for me. By the sounds of things they amplify very well too which is a bonus.

I appreciate everything has been said many times before but this has been massively helpful, I was beginning to lose the will to live from all the contradictory opinions on the various string megathreads!
 
#17
I gotta say I am pretty impressed with that Velvet Blues clip too. I've always been interested in Velvets, but Animas just shred my hands for some reason. I have sat in on Garbo basses before and love the feel and worry that they may be too dark out in the world for me. This Blues clip got my attention. If you go that way, be sure to post your impressions.
 

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