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Double Bass String suggestions for a new player

B

BassBluesNRoots

Sep 17, 2012
38
0
Bournemouth
#1
Hi Guys, i've just recently taken up double bass after playing
BG professionally for quite a few years, I'm primarily looking
to play jazz but I want to play orchestral music as well, my question is that my tutor suggested to buy spirocores for my
upright but after looking at the price for them i'm not sure if I
can afford them, I did see D'addario Helicores on the net
and was wondering what your thoughts on them are or whether
you have any other suggestions for strings to use? Thanks
 
#3
Your tutor and John have given you solid advice. The Spiros only seem expensive at the initial cash outlay- the fact that they last so long makes them an exceptional value.

Arguably the finest example of a pizz string for jazz use, they were originally designed as an orchestral string. They may be a bit difficult to control arco when they are new, but consider it good practice- some here have coined the phrase "if you can sound good bowing Spiros, you can sound good bowing anything". As they age they will mellow, and become as fine an orchestral string as any.

Do yourself a BIG favor and get some Spirocore's, leave em on for five or six years and don't come back to the "Strings" section of Talkbass! ;) :D

A bit of a joke- but partially serious- reading these string threads leads to the "String Madness"- and in five or so years you will have a drawer or box with about a thousand dollars worth of strings in it, and find that all of that has lead you back to Spiros! lol!

Best wishes,

Joe
 
#7
I have found the 3885 3/4 Spiro Weichs are better for some arco in addition to primarily pizz than the S42 4/4 Weich set.

My good friend, who teaches as well as performs, has Obligatos for the reasons above; for me there is too much "string roll" on the Obligatos.

And yes, everyone who primarily does pizz, unless he/she has developed a signature sound, or needs a particular string for "authenticity" in a sub-genre, or just likes the tone and feel of something else, does tend to migrate back towards Spiros eventually. They do last at least a decade or more with proper care.
 
#9
I just like to add that I like the S42W 4/4 Weich better than the 3885 3/4 set. Even doing arco. That does not mean anything other than that there are also other opinions.

I had the S42W on a 109cm acoustic and the 3885 on a 105cm EUB and like the S42W better. Maybe after a lot of bowing the 3885 gets less stiff on the lower strings. At the beginning the S42W was better for me.

I switched to something else on my acoustic, but S42W is still my second choice, at least up to the D/G. Since I use high C strings which don't exist for every set, it is difficult to find something that could be played without hurting the left hand (thin strings or high tension) and that is robust enough to be wound on a thin bass guitar peg. So my choice is a bit special. I still keep the 3885.0W on the EUB hoping it will get easier to play over time but might switch to something else if it doesn't change.
 

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