Double Bass Super-Flex ?

[lrhbass]

Has anyone been using the Super-Flex by TI? Havn't heard too much about these lately. In the past I have used the G with Spiros and thought it a very good alternative to the Regular G ,Mitt. Always was curious about the rest of the set, have read through TB, the past threads,and was curious about any new experiments from fellow string addicts. Thinking of checking them out with keeping the spiro E Mitt.

 

[Sam Dingle]

I threw them on for a day before panicking and running back to the reds. I liked the whole set feel wise except for the E string. Felt like a pirastro E where it was weaker than the rest of the set. They were SUPER ZINGY when they came out of the package so be warned. Broken in set on my teachers bass feels like nice broken in mittles but less scratchy under the bow. If spiros are 90 pizz 10 arco then these are 70/30 imo.

Shameless self promotion: I have a new D and G (and E) i'm trying to get rid of if you want me to send them your way.

 

[Selim]

I liked them with the bow back in the day (waaay back in the day, when there were far fewer choices). Pizz they were okay— I mainly used them because Spiros were too zingy and they stayed zingy on that bass. I don't think their pizz Sound is distinctive like Spiros, but I guess it's a Sound that stays out of the way and gets the bass support job done. Arco, when the strings were broken in, was warm and clear, as I remember. And fat in the upper register.

So, easier to bow than Spiros and less zingy. However, as Sam says above, they are very zingy in a very annoying non useable way until they break in, and I remember an unusually long break in period. Since there are so many choices now, I imagine people just rip them off of their when they hear that coarse zing up front and throw on something else out of their extensive string drawer.

But I was a much poorer musician back then too, so I couldn't afford to just take them off and try something else. Once you put your money down, those strings we're staying on!

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

Back when there were fewer choices on the market Thomastik Superflexibles were often recommended as a good, affordable string for a mix of jazz pizz and arco. They're sort of like a blander version of Spirocores. They have the brightness, clarity, and sustain needed for jazz, but they lack some of the punch and growl of Spircores. The trade-off is that they are easier to bow. One oddity about this set is that the D string is nearly the same diameter as the A string. You literally can't tell them apart without looking at the little roman numeral on the ball end.

BTW John Clayton used these strings for years before switching to Pirastro, first Obligato and now Evah Pirazzi Weich.

 

[Selim]

Back when there were fewer choices on the market Thomastik Superflexibles were often recommended as a good, affordable string for a mix of jazz pizz and arco. They're sort of like a blander version of Spirocores. They have the brightness, clarity, and sustain needed for jazz, but they lack some of the punch and growl of Spircores. The trade-off is that they are easier to bow. One oddity about this set is that the D string is nearly the same diameter as the A string. You literally can't tell them apart without looking at the little roman numeral on the ball end.

BTW John Clayton used these strings for years before switching to Pirastro, first Obligato and now Evah Pirazzi Weich.

Better said!

 

[Rod Sroufe]

I use Superflexibles A,D and G with the Spiro Mittel extended E on my orchestra instrument. I typically don't use that instrument for jazz but this setup works well for that too when I do.

 

[Alberto Wang]

I'm curious about which Spiro blends best with the Super Flexibles?
I love the bowability and clearness of SF, but the E is weak; I like the volume and power of low end Spiro. If I want to use SF GDA with Spiro E+Low B/C, what kind of Spiros match best in terms of tension and volume consistency?
I play mainly orchestra, my 5-string set up is Spiro S3885ow, 105cm scale.

 

[Sam Dingle]

The Spiro medium E I think works best. I used the 4/4 E on my 41 inch scale bass and it was a great improvement over the super flex e

 

[Alberto Wang]

The Spiro medium E I think works best. I used the 4/4 E on my 41 inch scale bass and it was a great improvement over the super flex e

Thank you! BTW which SF did you use, 4/4 or 3/4 ?

 

[Sam Dingle]

Thank you! BTW which SF did you use, 4/4 or 3/4 ?

I thought there was only 1 set so I guess I don't know

 

[Francois Blais]

The 42 set (4/4) is the most common.
I've seen the 3/4 set only once.
Most retailers keep the 4/4 sets in stock.

 

[Rod Sroufe]

I'm curious about which Spiro blends best with the Super Flexibles?
I love the bowability and clearness of SF, but the E is weak; I like the volume and power of low end Spiro. If I want to use SF GDA with Spiro E+Low B/C, what kind of Spiros match best in terms of tension and volume consistency?
I play mainly orchestra, my 5-string set up is Spiro S3885ow, 105cm scale.

I am using the medium (mittel) S42 4/4 extended E/C. String length on my bass is 41.5 inches. Tension and volume are consistent on this instrument anyway.