Double Bass Velvet Garbos double bass strings megathread part I

[Ed Fuqua]

All of the Jeff Silverbush stuff is with the Animas. The Raney cut is Corellis, the blues with Jon Easton/Dave Frank et al is with Obligatos and SOME OTHER TIME is my teacher's Czech studio bass with Oblis....

 

[Ed Fuqua]

ohhh!!!! you are bad!!!

They are surprisingly easy to play at that height, very low tension.

 

[Mike Goodbar]

I put mine on May 29 and I would consider them fully broken in and talkin'. They need more stretching time than the Obligatos they replaced on my bass, you'll be busy retuning for a couple of weeks. I would also expect a period of personal adjustment if you're coming from Spiros. Oranges and Apples, y'know.

Arco is turning out very nice indeed. Yummy. Pizz is sublime. Here's me on the Animas;

Livin' in Hawaii, La Scala, actually satisfied with strings, playing all day...



Man, you're happier than any Wiscony boy is anywhere near entitled to be!

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Yup, doin' ok.

What Ed said....these strings don't seem to feel that different at "taller" string heights. They stay nice and playable, without feeling too rubbery. I just raised the adjusters until they started sounding clean. About 1mm in my case.

 

[Bijoux]

I've had the animas on my bass since Feb 2005, it's amazing the amount of compliments I get on mysound. I just came from a recording session and the guys were very impressed how punchy the sound was compared to when I was using Obligatos. It also feel good to raise the action and get more meat pulling the strings, although still not as high as Mr. AD FOOQUEWAH...

 

[Ed Fuqua]

They do got a nice fundamental, don't they?

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Oh yeah....all over the whole range of the bass.

 

[bass_means_LOW]

OK yous guys, gonna try a set. I'm doing a gig as house bassist at a jazz club in China. The strings that are on this beautiful Chinese bass are clothes wire and though I tweeked the action, it's around Ed's height from the fingerboard. The animas sound like the answer.

 

[deswhite]

hey guys,

my first post to this forum, so thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Thinking about buying a set of animas or garbos, but when i tried them on a friends bass a while back they left a green stain, i guess from the copper in the wind.

I've read a couple of threads here that mention that the newer sets of velvets don't have this problem. Is this true ? And if so how does one distinguish between the earlier models and the updated ones ..

If there is no such thing as an updated model, can a few of you comment on the effect of this green oxidation after extended playing ?

I live in Austalia, so these strings are gonna cost me a heap to order in, and just want to check that they arent going to give me some bizarre metal sickness

regards,
des

 

[Marcus Johnson]

No green stain in my experience (Animas). Mine are about a month old. I love 'em.

 

[Michael Case]

When I first put the Animas on my bass I had the stains. But after a few weeks that stopped. Once in while my fingers will get the green still, but it washes off.

 

[FredH]

No green staining on the fingers but I clean my strings manically until they shine with a rich golden luster, very pretty.
However my fingers have taken a real beating, some nights I come home with blue bruises on the pads of my left index and pinky, and then have to lay off for a couple of days, ouch! It's a strange occurrence since the anima are less tension than the orchestra spirocores I used to use.

 

[FredH]

Holy smokes your right!!!
It must be the humidity(??) but my left index, pinky and my right index are the coolist shade of copper oxide. I've had these anima for about 3months and this is the first time it happened. I keep my strings clean and shinny too.
Is copper exposure bad?

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Nah. Not when it sounds so good.

 

[bassbuddy]

I've had Garbos on my bass for a couple of months, and while I love them I'm starting to see what folks mean about the G string being a little weird - it seems to have some strange twanging overtones. Plus, while I can manage to bow the others, it's not possible with the G due to its nylon coating.

Has anyone have recommendations for a good alternative G string that's consistent with the others in tone, gauge and tension?

 

[Bobby King]

The Velvet Anima set's E&A are very similar to the Garbo but their D&G are just flatwound like the lower strings. They're much more suitable for arco, still have punch, and you don't have to deal with higher strings that have a larger diameter than the lowers.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Agreed. I think that would work, but (correct me if I'm wrong) doesn't Velvet only sell Animas as a set? Or maybe I just dreamed that

At any rate, the Animas are the best-balanced set I've ever had on my bass. Nice arco to boot.

 

[Bobby King]

Marcus,

I think you're right. Velvet doesn't sell singles.

What's up with that? They seem to feel that mixing their strings with other brands might upset the equilibrium of the universe.

 

[bassbuddy]

Thanks guys. I emailed Lemur to see if I can get the G string. No response yet. This place sells individual Velvets, but I've never dealt with them.

 

[bassbuddy]

Just heard from Lemur - no go. They said that Velvets are only sold in sets. I guess LNR is willing to break them up. BTW, I LOVE the way the Garbos feel - good bounce, easy enough to slap a bit but still feels solid under the right hand. Are the Animas similar, or are they higher tension? How about tone - darker, brighter?