Double Bass Red Mitchell Strings and Bowing Question

[Bin Son of Bin]

Hi folks!

I'm thinking about taking the plunge into 5ths tuning but i'm mostly Arco. Anyone here using the Red Mitchel's and if so, how do they sound bowed?

I do have a Spirocore Medium E on my bass right now and I love it. Will the Red Mitchell's sound the same or similar?

Jason

 

[eerbrev]

hey Jason,

Sorry I just fell off the map and didn't respond to you a while back. I forgot about it, then enough time had passed that I felt really awkward writing you back without any good reason for my absence.

The bottom spiro strings are really nice, Red Mitchell strings included. I found the G a little light, but that was a left hand thing for me, they bow just fine. I don't have any experience with the upper strings of the red mitchell set, but I generally find spiro upper strings a little loose under the bow and less good for sound. Some guys use Bel cantos, some guys use Dominants, some guys even use Flexocores.

Hope this helps. Oh, by the way, if you're interested in a steady place to play next year I know some people who'd want to talk to you, send me a PM.

cheers,

eerbrev

 

[Bin Son of Bin]

Heeey! How's it going bud? No worries, I fell off the map myself.

Out of curiosity, what are the dangers of taking a G string and tuning up to an A? Is 2 steps too much?

Jason

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Yes, two steps up are more than 20% more tension. Not a good idea, I think. Maybe with a Weich string if the string can hold the increased tension.

 

[eerbrev]

Heeey! How's it going bud? No worries, I fell off the map myself.

Out of curiosity, what are the dangers of taking a G string and tuning up to an A? Is 2 steps too much?

Jason

If you want to do that, get a mittel A and tune it down to G. it'll still work and be an okay tension.

eerbrev

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Jason meant the high A string of the fifth tuning, not the low G of the fifth tuning.

 

[Chris Symer]

I've played the Spiro Red Mitchell set quite a bit and would agree that they bow just fine. I also think that the bottom two are nicer all around than the top two. The D and A work just fine but I don't happen to like the sound of them as much as some of the other choices out there. I do however have a full set of them on my travel bass (which is always amplified and gets a lot les arco play) and am quite happy with them there. In general though I prefer a warmer sounding string for the bow on the top two. BTW, welcome to fifths!

 

[Bin Son of Bin]

Thanks for all the tips guys! I appreciate it.

Now, does anyone by chance have some Red Mitchells they want to sell in the Ottawa area? Or wider area I suppose, but in the Ottawa area is easier for me.

Chris - Nice to hear from you. Thanks for your response. Do you favour 5ths over 4ths out of curiosity? I'm trying out 5ths tuning on my Fender Precision right now and I'm finding i'm rather enamoured with it but i'm nervous about putting the 5ths on my Upright. But man, that low C. I want it.

 

[Chris Symer]

Hi Jason, the readers digest version of the switch is that I was feeling tired of my playing, I felt like I was doing all the same things on the bass that everybody else was doing and needed a change to help me break away from playing like that. I also was pretty taken with the sound Joel Quarrington was getting. Obviously Red Mitchell was also an influence.
I switched in May of 2000 so I had a good 23 years of playing in fourths already. There are both advantages and disadvantages to playing in fifths but I haven't gone back to fourths yet, so that should tell you something about where my preference lies. I would be happy to go into more detail in a few PM's if you want, but I am a bit hesitant to air all my dirty laundry in public.....

 

[MikeCanada]

As another 5ths guy, I agree that the bottom two Red Mitchell strings are great. Under the bow, the top two can sound ok, but they seem to be more trouble than they're worth. The "go to" solution is Dominants, which I have no personal experience with. I have played Permanents on top, and they match really well, and are a lot more bow-friendly.

If you are new to 5ths, (just an assumption based on your questions) I would really stick with a "Solo tuning" high A, and an "Orchestral" D, as they are widely available, and they are intended to be tuned to that pitch with the correct tension. Finding a 5 string low B/C isn't an issue, and the semitone difference hasn't been a problem for me on any of the several strings I have tried.

The low G string is the problem, as a lot of basses don't handle a "Solo F#" tuned up very well. The Red Mitchell G is great, the Obligato isn't (personal preference, but a LOT of people do agree) and the Velvet Compas 180 V tuning set is actually really nice too.

Best of luck.