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Double Bass Strings for Arco on Plywood Basses

#21
Eric Hochberg said:
Obligatos have sounded very good on the student plys I've heard.
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I wonder what it is about them that makes this so.

I haven't, and probably shouldn't because it's over my head, looked into how Obligatos are made but it makes me wonder if something about their core, winding, tension, materials, etc., exists in other strings that might also sound good on plywood basses.

-S-
 
#24
Hey, I've used obligatos on both a plywood and a carved Czech basses and they sounded very nice for solo playing but when I started plaing in the streets, brass section guitar drums etc, they just didn't cut through. Their wise great strings, no rolling issues on my basses with 108scale.

I've you an obligato A on my bass now cause my Garbo A broke. Nothing special just an A string, bows quite well and I grew used to how it blends with Garbo GD ANC E. Not enough volume I'm getting from the entire set though
 
#25
korotkov, very interesting - what did you find sounds louder on your ply? On my ply, Obligatos speak louder than the Flexocors I just took off. To my eye, it looks like they move more when I bow them, you know, the back and forth of the string seems to actually cover a greater space for the same bow effort, but they don't feel easier to press down on with my left hand than the Flexocor.

-S-
 
#26
SteveFreides said:
korotkov, very interesting - what did you find sounds louder on your ply? On my ply, Obligatos speak louder than the Flexocors I just took off. To my eye, it looks like they move more when I bow them, you know, the back and forth of the string seems to actually cover a greater space for the same bow effort, but they don't feel easier to press down on with my left hand than the Flexocor.

-S-
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Hey Steve,

I'm searching for the strings for my plywood bass. I even had the topic started on that a few months ago. Obligatos are pretty loud actually but their sound blends in the mix in some way that the bass is not heard well enough. This might just be my impression but i started to hear myself better with evah on ( my carved bass)

My ply bass came strung with Flexocor 92s that are now on my carved and I like the sound for both chamber and section setup. Pizz I don't like with them. For a plywood bass I don't think they were great.

I'm thinking evah or spiro solo might be a bit of a volume/projection increase for my ply (over garbos). I would use evah weich in stead but I don't really have one )
 
#28
SteveFreides said:
I just did some poking around online - interesting that Pirastro Obligatos are listed as a Medium tension string.

The Kaplans sound interesting - would love to hear from someone who's played Obligatos and those both.

-S-
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Hi there! My name is Josephine, and I work at D'Addario. Feel free to message me if you'd like to try out the Kaplans.

Thanks!
 
#29
Has anyone tried Jargar Weichs on a ply? I'm looking for a good string for 70% arco, 30% pizz on a Shen. I have had bad experiences with Obligatos and Evahs (even the generations that aren't supposed to roll still roll, and they don't sound good to me), so I'm not inclined to waste any money trying them again.

My Arvi is strung up with Original Flexocors (purple winding), which I like for arco, but they're pretty dead for pizz, and I'm not sure I need a string that fancy for a backup bass.
 
#30
Josephine from D'A has mentioned Kaplans, as has at least one other person here - since the Shen is a pretty popular bass, those might make an interesting try.

I love Obligatos on my bass - it came with a set that was at the end of its useful life, and I've since put new ones on there after first trying Flexocors (not original, just plan). I feel like Obligatos help give me what my bass doesn't have on its own.

My own playing is 95% arco and I'm content to live with what pizz sounds I get on whatever strings serve my arco purposes. So far, albeit based on very limited experience, I like Obligatos. I got mine via a no-money-changed-hands swap, so you might see if someone's interested in what you've got on there now and is willing to trade with you.

-S-
 
#31
SteveFreides said:
Josephine from D'A has mentioned Kaplans, as has at least one other person here - since the Shen is a pretty popular bass, those might make an interesting try...
-S-
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I was that other person... they're still on my ply after 3 weeks which says a lot. No steel string can match the expressiveness of gut but they are a beautiful arco string and I'm still really happy with the pizz. To my ear these have their own thing... sort of a nice well worn set of Spirocore, no whine but still has some "pop" pizz.
-J
 
#32
So fast forward 7 months and I just installed the Kaplan light gauge set (the medium gauge ended up being too tense to slap with the setup I have and I ended up going back to the guts for the summer.) It's taking some practice to get the slap together but the tension is definitely easier. My preference is for steel core strings to replace the guts, personally the synthetic core strings I've tried just don't have the sound I'm looking for.
The Kaplans have a really nice pizz sound and the arco is beautiful. As I'm figuring out the slap, I'm liking them more and more. Nothing can actually replace the beautiful, organic sound of gut but the trade off is clarity and tuning stability. Playing the guts for so long has allowed me to find that older sound in my hands with other string sets and the Kaplans definitely are easy in that regard. I'll post again once I get some gigs on them.
-jeff
 
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#33
I have a Bel Canto A & D on my plywood bass, and they sound great. The bass is rather middy and growly by itself, and I have good presence and projection with the Bels on the very limited arco I play. I would call them medium-light tension. They also have some of the "old" tone.
 
#34
Thanks to everyone who's replied so far.

No disrespect intended, but those who play mostly pizz, occasional arco playing is not the same as doing it most of the time in a classical music context. I play mostly arco and once in a while a jazz/standard walking bass line or similar and, frankly, any string that I have on my bass at the time suffices for pizz for me. I think this works in the other direction, and my real interest in starting this thread is hearing from those playing plywood basses in a classical music context.

Again, not meaning to put down the fact that some folks think their strings sound fine for a bit of bowed playing now and again, just trying to narrow the focus a bit.

Thanks.

-S-
 
#35
Arco is arco. Whether one note at the end of the piece, or the entire Wagner ring cycle. Bel Canto's were developed especially for orchestral arco, and are used by top professionals, including the Berliner Phil. http://www.talkbass.com/threads/berliner-philharmoniker-string-id.1077820/#post-15907371 . They have a deep tone and good response that compliments a variety of basses, styles and genres. We are all just trying to help. I'm sorry, but your reply post to my initial post smacks of conceit.

It goes the other way: we could have all just said: "Plywood? You can't get a good arco tone out of plywood. You might as well just get a set of Preludes and be done with it." But we didn't. Everyone who posted offered sincere advice. Say, "Thank you," go get a set of strings, and be done with it.
 
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#36
I definitely think the Kaplans are a compelling arco string. I've also had the Bell Cantos and the Passiones on this bass and both were beautiful and rich with the bow. If I was only playing arco I would keep the Passiones on my bass.
fwiw, ymmv, etc.
 
#37
iiipopes, I'll ignore the attitude and respond to the points you raised.

What I do most matters most to me. "Arco is arco" is, at best, an oversimplification. People who play jazz want a string that's good for that and can be bowed once in a while. People like me have the opposite needs from their strings. If I had the money, which I don't, I'd have a set of Obligato's on my plywood bass and I've have a carved bass for classical playing that cost a lot more and wore strings that did that job well. My bass isn't the right tool for how I use it but it's all I can afford right now so I'm trying to get opinions on strings that might help without spending as much money trying strings as I spent on my bass.

I said thank you and I said it more than once. I hear what you're saying loud and clear and don't agree.

JeffKissell, thank you very much.

-S-
 
#39
Steve. I had perms on a ply bass for about a year and really liked them for arco. Currently went back to spiro weichs for more projection. Practice is 100% arco and playing out is 50/50. I have used the perms in community orchestra setting and really liked them. I really like the spiros for arco as well. I have had obligatos as well but always seemed a little to dark and Evahs are really dark on the ply bass I have.
 
#40
Obilgatos were interesting for me. I actually still have the E on mine. The way I'd describe them is that they sound great to me but they just disappear at any distance. I confess to be fascinated with that aspect of acoustic instruments - what it sounds like to the player and what it sounds like 20 feet away.

Pirastro makes so freakin' many kinds of bass strings it's sometimes hard for me to keep them all straight in my feeble brain.

I haven't tried Spiros in any form but I thought they were more popular jazz than orchestra.

-S-
 

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