Its all good. They last practically for ever. I would bet that it would actually be cheaper in the long run.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass Velvet Garbos double bass strings megathread part I
- Thread starter mic_j
- Start date
- Status
I also just put Animas on my 1961 Pollmann. First impressions: Have to retune after every song(getting less frequent already), Great feel under the fingers, no green stains, wonderful attack and fundamental. One thing I've noticed that hasn't been mentiond much--a lot of very high frequency noise when shifting. I believe that these are round-wound wrappings which are ground down a bit, but not enough to make them smooth. I'm probably complicating matters by using a very hi-fi rig with Bergantino 112 cabinets. I'll have to cut the high frequencies quite a bit. Anyone else have this problem?
So far it's still too early to come to any conclusions regarding the Anima's mature sound. I'll update my impressions in a few weeks.
By the way, I had a 12 hour gig for New Years. Two rehearsals and two shows with Don Rickles and Frank Stallone. Rickles still kills 'em in his 80's.
George
So far it's still too early to come to any conclusions regarding the Anima's mature sound. I'll update my impressions in a few weeks.
By the way, I had a 12 hour gig for New Years. Two rehearsals and two shows with Don Rickles and Frank Stallone. Rickles still kills 'em in his 80's.
George
I've noticed that most folk using velvets seem to mention Animas. I was wondering if they have been generally favoured over garbos? I tried a set of garbos on my little Jacquet when I had it & they were excellent after settling in - really opened up the sound. My left hand did occaisionally "stumble" on the d & g windings & perhaps a fully wound set (like the animas are, I think) would make for a smoother playing experience. If anyone has tried both sets, what are the differences you have found?
If you search the threads under Animas or Velvet, you'll see a post from 'jazzbass72' on the very same topic. That should answer your questions.
gomez
gomez
- May 6, 2003
- 5,272
- 160
- 64
- Disclosures
- Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine
So you new anima guys. Any news yet?
I'm specifically wondering about the learning curve adjusting to such a different thing. I am very curious about these strings as they seem like the kind of thing I go for. My luthier friends have been less enthusiastic about them. The roundwound thing and the wimpy E string thing. Meanwhile many player folks rave about them and wouldn't use anything else. I'm wondering if that is as big a deal after getting used to them or not.
There have been a couple nice sound clips on the site that have given me the impression of the kind of sound I prefer. I'm just kind of used to spirocores and tons of tension.
Inquiring minds....
I'm specifically wondering about the learning curve adjusting to such a different thing. I am very curious about these strings as they seem like the kind of thing I go for. My luthier friends have been less enthusiastic about them. The roundwound thing and the wimpy E string thing. Meanwhile many player folks rave about them and wouldn't use anything else. I'm wondering if that is as big a deal after getting used to them or not.
There have been a couple nice sound clips on the site that have given me the impression of the kind of sound I prefer. I'm just kind of used to spirocores and tons of tension.
Inquiring minds....
Ok, I've played two gigs with them and a rehearsal tonight and a gig tomorrow night. Been on there ten days. I've raised the action some and will probably bring it up a bit more. There are very very easy on the hands, which is great. They seemed kind of all over the place at first, with a lot of string handling noise and some kind of wild overtones. But they've settled in nicely. They have a lot of sustain and growl--not as much as spiros, but over time they have developed a lot more focus and the wild overtones are gone. They have a fatter, more organic sound than spiros, with more bottom and less high end. I like the tone a lot more, but it's in some ways a little less expressive. Vibrato, for example--it takes a lot of movement to get a little vibrato, whereas with spiros it's the opposite. But the vibrato just sounds more natural--less steely, less thin. They aren't roundwound--the string feel is fine by me, not quite as smooth as spiros or obs but no problem.
The E string is weaker, but to my ears it's fine in first position--it's just a little problematic when you get up to around B. I find them a lot harder to bow than spiros--the tone is more pleasant, but they give me a lot of trouble. But I have terrible bow technique. Playing with others, I think the animas have a fuller sound and drive the band better. I don't think I'm going back to spiros. I really like the feel and the sound
The E string is weaker, but to my ears it's fine in first position--it's just a little problematic when you get up to around B. I find them a lot harder to bow than spiros--the tone is more pleasant, but they give me a lot of trouble. But I have terrible bow technique. Playing with others, I think the animas have a fuller sound and drive the band better. I don't think I'm going back to spiros. I really like the feel and the sound
- May 6, 2003
- 5,272
- 160
- 64
- Disclosures
- Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine
That is a good thing.PB+J said:
Also a good thing.Jamsamich said:
Here we go...peanuthead said:
Uggh. Just what I need, something to make me suck even more with a bow.hamsamich said:
Well there you go then. Thanks, keep us posted over the next weeks.friedbolognasamich said:
Last night I had a rehearsal for tonight's trio gig. We'd had a long layoff. Guitar, singer, and me. Both the singer and the guitarist noticed the difference in sound right away. I was especially surprised (can you blame me) when the singer noticed. She said "is something different about your bass?" She said the sound was "fuller" and that is "resonated more" The thing is, I'm not sure either of them liked it at first. Intonation errors--of which there were plenty--seemed to be mroe noticeable. But after I warmed up and started paying more attention to how the bass sounded in the room and they both commented that they liked the difference. So there ya go.
It does seem lke they are sounding better than they did at first. Sveral people said three weeks before they settle in all the way.
It does seem lke they are sounding better than they did at first. Sveral people said three weeks before they settle in all the way.
When I switched to Animas, all the players that know me immediately commented on the tone.
Every gig I've played, someone comes up to comment specifically about the strings.
String height changes are a non-issue. You should be able to adjust in a few days.
Every gig I've played, someone comes up to comment specifically about the strings.
String height changes are a non-issue. You should be able to adjust in a few days.
Hi all,
my Anima set has been on for about 10 weeks now and I am overall very pleased with them. There is only one problem for me. The C on the A string has an annoying overtone which is to live with acoustically but really troublesome when I am amplifying. I have tried to dampen the afterlengt in different ways, tune down different steps but it's still there on the C pitch. The overtone is around F pitch 2 octaves higher. Has anyone else experienced this? Is my A string defect?
Any advice will be appriciated.
Oystein
my Anima set has been on for about 10 weeks now and I am overall very pleased with them. There is only one problem for me. The C on the A string has an annoying overtone which is to live with acoustically but really troublesome when I am amplifying. I have tried to dampen the afterlengt in different ways, tune down different steps but it's still there on the C pitch. The overtone is around F pitch 2 octaves higher. Has anyone else experienced this? Is my A string defect?
Any advice will be appriciated.
Oystein
Are you sure it's not a G that resonates? That's how I tune my C on the A string, by listening for the G resonance. Try dampening the G string while playing your C and see if the overtone disappears.
Martin
Martin
No, it's not the G. The G resonating is sympatethic compared to this. The overtone is not present when playing C on the E-string which makes me think it's related to the string and not the bass.
Sounds like a real wolf then. I assume you've tried a wolf tone eliminator on the A string afterlength to no avail. Changing strings sometimes helps, although wolfs tend to be a function of the bass rather than the string. I've had success in the past with going from Spirocores to Helicores. The wolfs on A and Bb on the Spirocore A string were so bad they would litterally throw the bow off the string. With the Helicores, I still have wolfs on these notes (on the D string this time), but they are manageable. Good thing is that wolfs indicate a good, resonant instrument. They will also change with wheather conditions, humidity etc. If tinkering with strings etc does not help, a soundpost adjustment usually does the trick.
Martin
Martin
regarding the cost of Anima's, they can be found for around $200 a set if you google. No intent to spam, so i won't get more specific.
Ciao! I'm trying a set of Velvet Garbo on my bass. I like the attack of the sound but I think they are too thick, I don't think they articulate so much to get a modern sound and the sound in thumb position is not very lirical.
Are the Animas less thick than the Garbo, they feel different in sound and under the fingers?
What about the compass 360?
I play 90% pizzicato so I don't care about the bow so much.
Are the Animas less thick than the Garbo, they feel different in sound and under the fingers?
What about the compass 360?
I play 90% pizzicato so I don't care about the bow so much.
I tried the Garbos briefly on a friend's bass, before I mounted Animas on my own bass. Though I didn't do any measuring, I think that the Garbos are thicker than the Animas, they certainly felt that way under my fingers. The feel is somewhat similar, although the wrap on the Garbo G string is completely different. And I would agree that the Anima is possibly the more "modern" sounding of the two sets. Very balanced, all over the bass. I'm not disrespecting the Garbos at all, I liked them a lot. The Animas suited my tastes a little better, and they allowed me to play arco as well. I have Spiros on at the moment, but I'm looking forward to getting back to the Animas soon.
Garbos are most certainly thicker than Animas. Velvet just replaced my defective Anima D and G with Garbos (at my request--thought I'd give them a try since Velvet was paying) and the difference is quite noticeable. Animas are, by comparison, skinnier, slightly lower-tension and, as Marcus said, more "modern" (more sustain, less gut-like, although naturally that's not to say Animas are even remotely "steel-like"); the Garbo D and G are really a hassle under the bow, they make Animas feel like Flexocors by comparison (and I'm a person who thinks Animas make Spirocores feel like Flexocors...).
But Garbos are great for that old-school thing, and anyone who wants to mix-and-match with gut on the top two strings would do well to consider Garbos as an alternative that stays in tune, feels like gut (relatively speaking), and doesn't need to be oiled/shaved. (You can get Velvet singles from LNR music in New Hampshire, BTW.) The Garbos really blew me away--playing double stops (like a fifth with the open D and A on the G-string, or a tenth with the open D and the F# on the G) was a religious experience, like having a subwoofer added to my bass, but they were just too cumbersome for me to keep on the bass.
Speaking of which--Marcus, you have Spirocores on your bass now, too? It seems like this week a bunch of those of us who swear by Animas have mentioned putting Spiros back on for various reasons. I kind of like it for a change (it's so easy to twiddle the fingers and, yes, to bow on them by comparison), but I too am looking forward to going back to Animas down the road sometime soon-ish.
But Garbos are great for that old-school thing, and anyone who wants to mix-and-match with gut on the top two strings would do well to consider Garbos as an alternative that stays in tune, feels like gut (relatively speaking), and doesn't need to be oiled/shaved. (You can get Velvet singles from LNR music in New Hampshire, BTW.) The Garbos really blew me away--playing double stops (like a fifth with the open D and A on the G-string, or a tenth with the open D and the F# on the G) was a religious experience, like having a subwoofer added to my bass, but they were just too cumbersome for me to keep on the bass.
Speaking of which--Marcus, you have Spirocores on your bass now, too? It seems like this week a bunch of those of us who swear by Animas have mentioned putting Spiros back on for various reasons. I kind of like it for a change (it's so easy to twiddle the fingers and, yes, to bow on them by comparison), but I too am looking forward to going back to Animas down the road sometime soon-ish.
Yup, I broke my Anima E string in December, so I decided to go back to Spiros for a minute, just for old times' sake. I have the weich set with a mittel E. So now I have Eddiefingers
....can play anything that pops into my head, arco all over the place...but the sound just isn't in my head anymore. Volume dropped by about a third, and thinned out a whole bunch. So I'm happy but not satisfied, which I was with the Animas. My wife told me to stick with the Animas, but I had to try my little experiment. I'll probably listen to her more closely in the future. I think Spiros are great, but I need to get back on the Velvets.
By the way, I never had too much problem bowing the Animas. I guess you would want to try that on someone else's bass before you laid out the $$$$$.
....can play anything that pops into my head, arco all over the place...but the sound just isn't in my head anymore. Volume dropped by about a third, and thinned out a whole bunch. So I'm happy but not satisfied, which I was with the Animas. My wife told me to stick with the Animas, but I had to try my little experiment. I'll probably listen to her more closely in the future. I think Spiros are great, but I need to get back on the Velvets.By the way, I never had too much problem bowing the Animas. I guess you would want to try that on someone else's bass before you laid out the $$$$$.
Marcus Johnson said:
Yep.
That's hilarious--my wife came home, saw the Lemur receipt on the table with "1 Set Thomastik Spirocore Orchestra Gauge," and cried "Oh no! Those copper strings sound so good! Why'd you take them off!"
I think Animas bow perfectly well for most things; but I can't really get any serious classical techniques going on them, and when I drop in on one of the university guys here for a lesson they just shake their head and say "forget about playing Beethoven on those." I'm a firm believer in technical issues residing in the arm of the player and not in the strings, but then again I also have a Pullman strung up with Flexocors and the arco response and capabilities with that setup are simply in another realm. Like my dad says, you gotta use the right tool for the job...
- Status
