Double Bass plywood bass string choises

[korotkov]

Yeah my bad these were 360F. I've got 370TX on my other bass.

Heard really nice feedback on Velvet strings out there though they say it's impossible with the bow.

 

[donn]

Impossible is a strong word. You're talking about Velvet Blues? They aren't universally acclaimed to be the best for bowing. Maybe it depends on what you do. Like, we say "pizz" all the time, but tell me if you're really thinking of that "poink poink poink" sound you expect when the music says pizzicato, when you hear this word used here? Maybe some people get along with Blues because they have a different bowing act.

Other Velvet strings are different, probably hard to generalize.

 

[HateyMcAmp]

The Animas bow nice, with the exception of the G which has some tynex wrap which was very tough to get a "classical" smooth tone. That said, they really nail that Paul Chambers "jazz arco" gut sound and are easier to bow than plain guts, IMHO, YMMV.

 

[erniepro]

Compass 180 and the suit 180 both bow easily

 

[erniepro]

I just read another comment here on talk bass where the writer says they do not bow well so it does depend on all factors ,bass , bow, set up, etc. I just put a set of Compas on a bass and they work well and sound good pizz and arco

 

[DoubleMIDI]

The Velvet Classico bow a bit better than than the Compas 180.

Someone with good bowing chops might be able to get a nice bowing sound out of the Compas 180, but they don't bow better than Spiro Mittel, just different. Less weight on the bow might help.
The Innovation Braided (140B) are much easier to bow than both of the Velvets.

 

[korotkov]

Hey all,

Cordes Lambert arrived last week. Great strings for slap, and I really dig the pizz tone. The problem is that the volume of my plywood bass is some two times lower than with Spirocore and Pirastro strings. Ive got a pretty low action at about 8-10mm at the end of the board, should I try to increase? I tried the G string on my carved bass and it was all right. The tone is different from the 3 EPs I got on DAE but the level is the same

I was gonna try Garbos and innovations on my basses also, but now I start to think that low tension strings might just not work with this small plywood body, what do you think?

Thanks,
Sasha

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Strings made for slapping may have to less tension. The medium tension Innovations (Braided, Honeys) may work. The Braided can be bowed well, the Honeys a bit less good but better than Spiros. I haven't tested it but from what I read and heard from others the Garbo wouldn't bow as well as the two Innovation metal wound string sets.

I would say give the Innovation Braided (140B) a try. I like them for bowing and pizz. The tension is not too low, but expect a bit less power than from Spiros. The Honeys (140H) have a bit more tension and are a bit louder, but have a darker sound with a lot of attack pizzed. The attack may help to be heard better, but the bowing is less good.
Depends on what you need.

Strings with a synthetic outer surface are not very good to bow, sometimes impossible to bow at all. So I woundn't care about these strings if you want to bow more than a few long notes.

A bit thicker gut strings (medium to heavy) on G and D with some Spiros (Weich?) on A and E might be another thing to try, but bowing is different on gut and Spiros.