Double Bass Velvet Anima vs EP Slaps

[atlbassist1987]

Greetings to all! I have been using Velvet Animas for two years and they sound great on my bass. I'm going to keep them on for a little bit longer, maybe 3-6 more months.

I've put in an effort to read all of the threads about EP slaps and I have yet to find a direct comparison to Velvets. I'm inclined to stay with the Animas or try the Garbos, but I am very curious about a direct comparison between Velvet (Anima and Garbo) to the EP Slaps.

I play primarily jazz and gypsy jazz on the double bass. I would like to hear from fellow bassists about their experiences with these strings because the EPs have a great price point and people seem to love them.

Which string would you guys recommend? Which set is louder?

 

[misterbadger]

I've had Garbos and am currently playing EP slaps. Garbos are louder and have more presence, slower decay of the note. Slaps aren't as loud, have a softer feel, play easily, and decay quickly after the initial attack. Very gut like and working well with my bluegrass/Americana mix. I'm enjoying the Slaps, but miss the big sound of the Garbos. Seems like everything's a trade off.

 

[HateyMcAmp]

I'd say while both are warm and low tension strings, the Slaps are very dark and doesn't really come close to the acoustic output of the Animas. They give kind of a blunt, percussive pizz sound that I think sits great in the jazz mix. The Animas are a bit more versatile and articulate, IMO. If you give the Slaps a try, I'd say go for the gut G with the synthetic E-D. While I thought the synthetic G played great, I wasn't a huge fan of its sound or presence going up the neck. The gut G also seemed to open up the set a little volume-wise.

 

[Decomposer]

I have used both. Both are fun and provide gut like tone. The slaps feel great and if you raise the action/bridge they get loud. The Animas are louder & brighter but I don't like the rough feel of the round wound type string. Either can be bowed. Slaps have a shorter decay and sound best on my bass with the longer string length. Using the Slaps now... with the gut G.

 

[misterbadger]

Mr. McAmp's assessment of the G string is perfect, and I'm happier with the gut G as well. It may not be anyone else's experience, but the Slaps sound much better on my plywood Epi than they did on my hybrid Upton. I wonder if the low tension wasn't enough to excite the greater mass of the (standard, not deluxe) carved top. That said, I sold my extra set to a guy with a hybrid Shen, and he says they're nearly as loud as his previous Spiro Weichs, so it might be particular to my bass.

 

[Sam Dingle]

Misterbadger I didn't recognize you with your new photo!

 

[atlbassist1987]

Thank you for all of the replies! The bass I use is a hybrid that has been in an accident removing the scroll from the bass. The animas are very loud on my bass and I am considering garbos and EP slaps. I have a plywood with spiro starks for arco, so all of these string options are great. 2016 is a good year for bass strings!

 

[Reiska]

IME EP slaps and EP`s in general provide great amounts of low end when compared to any other pizz-able string besides gut. Animas and Garbos IME and on my bass ( carved Jay Haide l`ancienne ) both sound more string-y than any of EP`s. I used Garbos with gut uppers and liked that setup a lot before going fifths tuning for a short perioid of time ( I`ve messed with fifths before and wanted to try it in a improvisational collective I`ve attended since autumn ). Now I have EP weichs on E and A, EP slap D and plain gut G on. I`m waiting for a EP slap A to hopefully arrive tomorrow. I don`t slap yet, but would love to learn it. When that happens I`ll propably go full EP slaps with gut G. Anyhow, I love the low end I get with the smooth and relaxed feel, incredible playability all over the fingerboard, and the gut G wakes all the gut-like qualities beautifully, blends really well both sound and feel-wise. However, all of these Animas, Garbos and EP slaps are great choices for those who love old-school vibe on their basses, and all of them blend really well with plain gut. IME Animas and Garbos do bow, but EP`s bow like a dream.

Edit: When set up high enough ( G at 8mm-ish on my 42" scale ) especially Garbos are crazy loud ( I had mine with Anima G at some point ). With gut uppers I had strings @10-13mm and that was very loud. With EP slap EAD/ gut G I might go G @9-ish mm`s, but with EP weich E I rather not. I have the weich EA slap D gut G set @7,5 - 10,5mm, and that`s as low as I go, plain gut G looses the power if I go any lower.