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Double Bass Scott Colley

#21
Originally posted by davegr8house
Everything you`ve read about Obligatos is true. Great sound Pizz and Arco...BUT...the string life of Obligatos suck. Plan on reinvesting in about 6 months.

Dave
Click to expand...

Ehh, so what.... ;)I had to replace the Olivs about once a year, so at 3x the cost, I'm still ahead.

Longevity is fine and all, but if that was my concern, I'd go back to Spiros. I never remember thinking it was time to change them.

Actually, I still have the set of the reformulated Velvet 180's they sent me, so I'm kinda waiting on the Obligatos to die, because I'm dying to know if they have gotten the arco as good as the pizz was on the first generation.

Monte
 
#22
Ok,ok,ok
I agree the cost is not to bad. I bought some Spirocore Orch to replace my Obligatos when my Luthier puts on my new Mike Pecanic Tailpiece;) . I have never played these strings on my current Bass so I had to do it. I`m thinking I may like it alot volume wise but my Arco will bite till they age a bit. Never tried the Olivs....yet.

Dave

P.S. Hey Monte, I took the tension off the bridge to try a Realist, then took the tension off again when I took the thing off.."rather quicky I might add", and that is what really killed them. Look at the winding of your E A D over the bridge. Mine came apart :rolleyes:
 
#23
Originally posted by davegr8house


P.S. Hey Monte, I took the tension off the bridge to try a Realist, then took the tension off again when I took the thing off.."rather quicky I might add", and that is what really killed them. Look at the winding of your E A D over the bridge. Mine came apart :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

This is pretty common with strings with a synthetic or gut core wound with steel. They don't ever seem to like being taken on and off a bass, or having all the tension taken off and brought back to pitch. This is why I laugh at for sale postings of strings like Olivs "only used for a few days" at about 80% of the real cost. They may have only been used for 4 days, but chances are they will have a problem with the winding on at least one string, and even if they don't, they never seem to last more than a few months after that.

Monte
 
#24
When I switched from Spirocores to Obligatos I ran into one additional problem. In addition to some nut work, I had to have the fingerboard replaned. My bass was originally set up for the spiros, and the ob's increased vibration caused a buzz to develop on the A string. Fifteen minutes with a luthier and I was ready to go.
 
#26
There is a different feel--I don't have to dig into the obs as hard. It took a little time to get used to that. They also seem to be a little easier on the fingers.

There is also a definite difference in the sound. As other folk have said, the obligatos are mellower. I also believe that they have a little less volume than the spirocores. I can't offer any comments on arco as I don't bow.

I have had this set on for about 5 months and they are still pretty lively. I am (as Fuqua would say) a bluegrassateer and play 3-4 festivals per month which includes several hours of shadetree picking in addition to stage preformances. I also average 45 minutes per day of practice. I may not play them as often as Monte or some of the others but so far so good on their longevity.

By the way--I enjoyed your contributions to the TB Sampler.
 
#28
Originally posted by T-Bal
Well, I've searched for articles and interviews, and emailed Scott, and still nothing.
Click to expand...
I finally got an answer from Scott today!:
=====
Hello Francois, I use an odd combination of strings that will probably not work well on most other instruments but seems to get what I want out of this bass. Hope this helps, take care, Scott

G: Pirastro, flexocore
D: Pirastro, Obligato
A: Thomastic, Spirocore
E: Thomastic, Spirocore
(All orchestra gauge)
 

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