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Double Bass Velvet Garbos double bass strings megathread part I

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#721
My set is staying in tune well at this point. Played in a really loud setting tonight. I was missing the Thomastic thunk at the beginning of the note but my bandmates thought it sounded like the best set so far. Woody, and stringy. As opposed to plastic or metal.

I have to play them in very different spots to get the articulation I'm used to. The lighter tension is nice on my hands but I tend to hit to hard due to the "missing" thwack. I need to spend more time finding efficiency in these strings. They are really weird and take a while to get used to. When I broke a good sweat my fingers got kinda sticky on the strings. A quick trouser wipe freed me up but it was another weird quirk to accomodate.

I have discovered I can't play in tune for s**t in thumb position. Never noticed before.

I didn't like the black fingers at first but I have begun to use them like carbon paper and can see if I am using my fingers in the right spots.

These things really give up the goods but boy they take some getting used to.

Interesting.
 
#723
Freddels, I get rattling from the tailpiece as well--don't know why or what to do about it. Also I think i hear the strings vibrating behind the bridge, between the bridge and tailpiece, which I did not hear before. I've threaded one of those velcro cable tie things through the strings below the bridge and that stops it
 
#724
. . . it would seem that if the feet of your bridge are in the correct place then the angle of the bridge would be determined by the proper length. If it's supposed to be 41.5" or 42" and that's what you have then the angle should be correct.
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Are all basses of the same model supposed to have the exact same string length, or does each bass require a tiny bit of fudging due to its own geometry, modes and so on? I would expect the latter, but maybe one of our luthier friends here could elaborate. Or we could compare here amongst Cleveland ply owners. My string length now measures 41-7/8" from the center of the nut to the center of the bridge-string contact point (+/- ~1/16"). Assuming every bass is slightly different, mine might be off from whatever it was before I changed strings, but since the strings are different, maybe this setup is just as valid, as long as it's close to the factory spec and works well (sounds good, etc.). Thoughts?
 
#725
My Eberle tailpiece sometimes rattles. Maybe somebody knows why, as the foam fix I've used too violates Arnold's axiom to achieve a tailpiece that rings like a '65 Deluxe Reverb being well kicked with the volume and reverb cranked.:bassist:
 
#727
Aleph5 said:
Or we could compare here amongst Cleveland ply owners. My string length now measures 41-7/8" from the center of the nut to the center of the bridge-string contact point (+/- ~1/16").
Click to expand...
I don't have a measurin' stick laying around but the bridge should sit between the inside notches on the ff holes. I can't imagine that number should very much if any from model to model. Not like they are made with stone knives and bearskins...;)
 
#728
Aleph5 said:
My Eberle tailpiece sometimes rattles. Maybe somebody knows why, as the foam fix I've used too violates Arnold's axiom to achieve a tailpiece that rings like a '65 Deluxe Reverb being well kicked with the volume and reverb cranked.:bassist:
Click to expand...

What type of pick up do you use? how is the jack secured?

When I had Animas on my bass I remounted my realist jack in a way that caused a rattle. you may want to look into that.
 
#729
I have a FC pickup and I unhooked the plug to see if the tailpiece still rattled. It did. It seems that the Animas (with the string loops) are a lot less stiff than steel core strings and therefore do not keep the tailpiece from vibrating more. I took a piece of soft foam (from a hard drive box) and put it b/w the tailpiece and the bass (down near the saddle) and the rattling has stopped.
 
#730
Aleph5 said:
Are all basses of the same model supposed to have the exact same string length, or does each bass require a tiny bit of fudging due to its own geometry, modes and so on? I would expect the latter, but maybe one of our luthier friends here could elaborate. Or we could compare here amongst Cleveland ply owners. My string length now measures 41-7/8" from the center of the nut to the center of the bridge-string contact point (+/- ~1/16"). Assuming every bass is slightly different, mine might be off from whatever it was before I changed strings, but since the strings are different, maybe this setup is just as valid, as long as it's close to the factory spec and works well (sounds good, etc.). Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I would think that each of these basses is more alike than not. They are cut out by machine and I'm sure all the measurements are exact. My tail wire might be a slightly different length than yours. My bridge might be a little different but other than that I'm pretty sure that everything else would be exactly the same measurement. I'm sure Arnold could shed some light on this.
 
#731
...What type of pick up do you use? how is the jack secured?
When I had Animas on my bass I remounted my realist jack in a way that caused a rattle. you may want to look into that.
Click to expand...

Mine's not rattling now. It may indeed be loose cabling around the phone jack mount for the under-wing pickup, which is a Clevinger Natural Presence.
 
#732
Uncletoad said:
I don't have a measurin' stick laying around but the bridge should sit between the inside notches on the ff holes. I can't imagine that number should very much if any from model to model. Not like they are made with stone knives and bearskins...
Click to expand...

My bridge feet are right where they've always been, between the notches. But the angle (and resulting length) can vary SOME before the feet appear not to be flat.

Freddels said:
I would think that each of these basses is more alike than not. They are cut out by machine and I'm sure all the measurements are exact. My tail wire might be a slightly different length than yours. My bridge might be a little different but other than that I'm pretty sure that everything else would be exactly the same measurement.
Click to expand...

Well, OK, not stone knives and bearskins, Mr. Spock, but the next worst (or best?) thing: wood and hand assembly variability that results in slight variations in shape of the arch in the top, especially, but also neck relief, unique resonant modes, etc. I'm sure the list goes on. How much all this results in variation in string length is what we don't know. 1/16"? 1/4"? We're talking the matter of tolerance for a very imprecise, semi-hand built manufacturing process.
:hiding:
 
#733
Aleph5 said:
Well, OK, not stone knives and bearskins, Mr. Spock, but the next worst (or best?) thing: wood and hand assembly variability that results in slight variations in shape of the arch in the top, especially, but also neck relief, unique resonant modes, etc. I'm sure the list goes on. How much all this results in variation in string length is what we don't know. 1/16"? 1/4"? We're talking the matter of tolerance for a very imprecise, semi-hand built manufacturing process.
Click to expand...
Aha, got the oblique trekkie reference.

I don't know that they should vary all that much even with the variables you mentioned. I'm not used to working on that scale so I'd defer to the experts.

Perhaps a DB luthier will chime in on that.

Anybody?
 
#734
A few more gigs under the belt. Last night was a small room jazz gig with reasonable volume. Really great sound. Doubled with a P bass this time and they worked well together.

Tonight was a rock gig pretty darn loud in a big room with minimal PA. When I run my rig out with the Animas on the bass It's feedback threshold is lower than with Dominants. Loud the Doms tend to sound plastic. They are louder I think amplified than Animas. At least I can play them louder before howling and other racket takes over. Dominants may be the loudest string on my bass so far. I had to use the tailpiece foam to kill the low frequency vibrating the Tailpiece was getting into. Haven't needed that since I was still using the spirocore reds.

Animas have a better tone when they get loud. Great tone across the volume range really. Nothing plastic or synthetic sounding. I still miss that front end thwack I'm used to with the Dominants. I'm not sure how far that carries though. The big warm zing of Animas is more of a natural sound, and when I don't overdrive them they really sound great. I tend to hit them harder as the tension is lower and the thwack is missing. Somehow my brain just says "hit it harder" instead of "hit it better". There is no advantage to that behavior. It just makes me tired.


Dono is right. I've gotten more compliments on my sound since i put those strings on than when i got the Cleveland bass last summer. The clarity in the upper and middle registers is weird but welcome. Besides the fact I realize I can't play in tune up there (already went over that) I end up with great articulate sound regardless of the dense mix. Which makes me want to foray more in TP when I'm walking and get that cool sound up there. It also reminds me I need to practice more. Can't slack off with these strings. Gotta play it right.
 
#735
Robert,
Keep the faith man. I put the Garbos on the Cleveland a few weeks ago and just like Marcus said they are coming around. The A and E strings are HUGE! I also was concerned about enlargeing the nut. Don't do it , it isn't necessary. There should be more than enough notch to carry the string with no side effects. The Garbos are now sounding like Spiros on steroids. Major league pizz!
Jim :hyper:
 
#736
Okay, thanks for everyone's recommendations over in my last thread (the one on gut-like strings, etc.). The consensus seemed to be Velvet Animas. I dropped by Hammond Ashley today, and got the last set they have. They're not going to carry Velvet strings anymore due to excessive breakages, and difficulty getting Velvet customer service to respond to them and replace breakages. They gave me a great price on the strings, but with the caveat that they (Hammond Ashley) are not guaranteeing them. If one or more break, I'm going to have to deal with Velvet myself if I want to try to get replacements.

This has me a bit nervous, obviously. I've read through the various thread I could find on Animas, but I just wanted to ask if any of you have recommendations on keeping these from breaking! Would it help to do them really slowly, like just one a day, and bring it up to tension very gradually? At Hammond Ashley, they said that they were seeing them break fairly consistently when first brought up to tension. Maybe they brought them up to tension too quickly???

Any advice or ideas are greatly appreciated! I don't have an upright gig until April 1 (slabtown from now to then, baby!), so I have a bit of time to be very careful and get things settled.

Thanks!
Liam
 
#737
I've never had any Velvets break on me. I use lots and lots of graphite on the strings, bridge, and nut when I put them on to ease the friction (which may be compounded by the round windings, especially at the bridge); and I make sure that the fat part of the winding at the top of the string doesn't get caught in a bottleneck at the nut.

I don't know what the deal is with Hammond Ashley not being able to get replacements. I had two defective Animas (windings coming loose) and I wrote to Velvet; they referred me to Lou Roten at LNR Music (their US rep) and he said he handles all of the US warranty issues. He sent me replacement strings free of charge and in a very timely manner.
 
#738
I recently bought an Anima D from someone here on Talkbass and replaced my Oliv D with it. I'm really liking it and it matches very well with my other strings (Oliv G and Superflexible A&E) in terms of tone, tension and diameter. It seems to make a nicer transition between the Superflex A and the Oliv G. It's less thuddy and bows easier for me than the Oliv D, too.

Are the Animas sold separately, and if so, where?

I think that stuff about how you shouldn't mix Velvet sets is :rolleyes:. If it works, use it. It can be very surprising how certain string combinations will work on different basses.
 
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