Double Bass Velvet Garbos double bass strings megathread part I

[Uncletoad]

So my question to the Anima (ab)users is - did you have to have the nut slots re-cut to accomodate the Animas' width, and if so, what happens then when you want to change to 'normal' width strings again?
Andy

I didn't change a thing.

I'm not as rabid a fan of these strings as some are and I imagine I'll use several other things before they box me up for good. I like em a lot right now.

 

[pierre]

Thanks Timo for your kindness.
The only problem with those Animas seems to be the difficulty to bow the G string. I love the feeling on both the right and left hand.

Are the compas 360 easier to bow ?

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I didn't change a thing.

Same here.

 

[FidgetStone]

I can only speak to the 180s from Velvet. The 180's have a nice warm pizz tone and they bow very well. Of all of the strings that I have tried so far (Helicore Hybrid, Obligatos, Flat Chromesteals and Spiro bottom and Flat Chromesteal top) I have to say that the 180s have been my favorite all-around string. They still had plenty of life left in them when I got the urge to try the Flat CS's after 14 months.

I will put the 180 G string back on some time to compare it to the FCS now that I am familiar with the FCS sound. I would have tried it already if I didn't have to do all that wrapping of the Velvet dental floss at the bottom of the string.

 

[PB+J]

Same here, animas went right on, no alterations.


The description of animas is right--they have a lot of the articualtion of spiros but a fatters, warmer, broader sound and they're easier on the hands. Rufus Reid uses animas--to my ears, his sound is the ballpark animas put you in

 

[PB+J]

rufus reid uses them on his instructional DVD--lots of chances to hear how they sound pizz and arc and in various settings. You could also go to his website where he has clips posted

 

[Marc Piane]

Animas are round wound right? Does this make for a scratchy sound when sliding? Are they hard on the fiingerboard? Do they require a bit more scoop than steel strings?

 

[Uncletoad]

Animas are round wound right? Does this make for a scratchy sound when sliding? Are they hard on the fiingerboard? Do they require a bit more scoop than steel strings?

Round yes, scratchy no. Scoop is the same as when I used Spiro or Dominants.
I haven't changed a thing except brought the string height up a tad.

 

[PB+J]

?? I would't call them roundwound--I think they may be ground flat--they aren't like spiros. But they're not like a roundwound bass guitar string. Somebody posted close up pictures in a thread a while back

 

[Uncletoad]

?? I would't call them roundwound--I think they may be ground flat--they aren't like spiros. But they're not like a roundwound bass guitar string. Somebody posted close up pictures in a thread a while back

Right. Not exactly round like a Rotosound BG string but not flat like a spiro. The windings are flat I guess but not close together, like they aren't smooth.

 

[Andy Allen]

No modification to the bass, eh?...there goes another excuse for not trying them


Andy

 

[Marc Piane]

What's the life expectancy?

Are they pretty durable or is breakage an issue?

How's the tension/feel?

 

[spaghettiwestern]

So my question to the Anima (ab)users is - did you have to have the nut slots re-cut to accomodate the Animas' width, and if so, what happens then when you want to change to 'normal' width strings again?

Andy

I did widen the nut slots on my bass, but i'm kind of a fanatic about making sure everything's set up correctly. And i do my own work, so that made it easier/cheap to do. I've had a set on for about 14 months now and have never experienced breakage with the Animas, even after taking the strings off & on again a few times.

Oh, and I've put normal steel strings back on for short periods, and they don't seem to roll around in the slots. If i were to go back to steel, though, i'd probably put a new nut on there for the sake of fanaticism.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

just found this website, which seems to sell a lot of strings seperately including velvet animas and garbos.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

now I've got even less excuse not to try an anima G...

Olie - somebody posted a link to this German site today :

Link Removed

And they seem to be a lot cheaper - so a set of Velvet Animas or Garbos are 203 Euros - which equates to about £140 !

Whereas the soundpost site you linked to is saying £180 for a set of Animas or Garbos.....

Significant saving!

 

[flatback]

Well I cant take it anymore. I have spent so much goddamn money on these strings and they just dont hold up. Last year I broke 3 of them (Schertler does not replace anything let alone answer emails) and finally I reduced it all to just the $75 G string which I dearly love the sound of (cause every other string whines like a spoiled brat) and after 3 months with it (finally broken in and sounding great) and the bleedin copper starts unwinding. I am just not going to spend the money any more. They need to get it together. I am just a regular working jazz bassist, I take care of my axe and equipment and to have to spend that kind of bread on strings that last a quarter of other strings life span and cost nearly 3 times as much. That is lame.
When they realize that there is a problem with their delicate strings and maybe discount the prices a bit or go back to replacing broken strings (instead of blaming me... never had a problem with any other string...)
I might give them another play, but I can't afford to run around with extra sets just waiting for the break. I'm bummed with these guys.

 

[Nuno A.]

Well I cant take it anymore. I have spent so much goddamn money on these strings and they just dont hold up. Last year I broke 3 of them (Schertler does not replace anything let alone answer emails) and finally I reduced it all to just the $75 G string which I dearly love the sound of (cause every other string whines like a spoiled brat) and after 3 months with it (finally broken in and sounding great) and the bleedin copper starts unwinding. I am just not going to spend the money any more. They need to get it together. I am just a regular working jazz bassist, I take care of my axe and equipment and to have to spend that kind of bread on strings that last a quarter of other strings life span and cost nearly 3 times as much. That is lame.
When they realize that there is a problem with their delicate strings and maybe discount the prices a bit or go back to replacing broken strings (instead of blaming me... never had a problem with any other string...)
I might give them another play, but I can't afford to run around with extra sets just waiting for the break. I'm bummed with these guys.

I've been working at the Velvet Customer Support for a month and i answer all emails on a daily basis, except if emails arrive after thursday 12.30, in that case i will only answer them monday, we are replacing all broken strings, what we ask if that customers can send us a picture of the damage or if they can send us the string, that way we can see what was wrong. i know in the past things were kinda slow here answering mails because there was nobody with that specific task, but now as i posted before, you can contact me at [email protected] . tell me which string or strings broke and where and if possible a picture, i will show everything to Stephan and then i will send you the replacements. thanks a lot.

Nuno Alexandre

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Well I cant take it anymore. I have spent so much goddamn money on these strings and they just dont hold up....They need to get it together. ...that last a quarter of other strings life span That is lame...When they realize that there is a problem with their delicate strings and maybe discount the prices a bit or go back to replacing broken strings (instead of blaming me... never had a problem with any other string...)

FLAT - honey I feel your pain, but you gotta realize that not everybody has your experience with these strings. Most of my gigs are done without an amp, so I ain't a low action amp sound dainty finger player. I'm not "babying" my strings. I've only owned two sets of these strings, the first from 2002 to 2005 and I only changed them because I had work done to my bass. The second set was put on in September of 05 and again no problems at all.

I'm not trying to be the Anima poster boy or anything, but if most of the Model Ts out there don't have brake problems and every Model T you drive does; well you gotta understand that Ford is gonna want to know what you're doing differently.

 

[flatback]

FLAT - honey I feel your pain, but you gotta realize that not everybody has your experience with these strings. Most of my gigs are done without an amp, so I ain't a low action amp sound dainty finger player. I'm not "babying" my strings. I've only owned two sets of these strings, the first from 2002 to 2005 and I only changed them because I had work done to my bass. The second set was put on in September of 05 and again no problems at all.

I'm not trying to be the Anima poster boy or anything, but if most of the Model Ts out there don't have brake problems and every Model T you drive does; well you gotta understand that Ford is gonna want to know what you're doing differently.

well Ed,
I realize that you ARE the poster boy for the durability of VELVETS, BUT let me just point out that there are NO threads here about the breakages of ANY other string and its not just one kind of Velvet. If you have GOOD LUCK with them Bully for you, but I am a working jazz bassist who has had problems with maybe a half dozen strings (2 G's 2 E's and an A) I wouldn't be so pissed if they were reasonably priced or if in the past I have been able to even get a return email from Velvet.
There is a new guy who sounds cool. We'll see. But just cause you have not broken a string does not mean that all the other posts here are from low action weenys who somehow abuse strings into breaking. (how action has anything to do with anything other then posturing I don't know)
I love the sound of Animas but since what club owners pay for gigs hasn't changed in 20 years despite the cost of everything else in the world getting more expensive, i think that asking THE most expensive string out there to last more then a few months is a reasonable expectation.

 

[PB+J]

it is reasonable--and Ed wasn't accusing you of being a string abuser or a weenie, he was saying that he, Ed, is a string abuser.

I've had the velvets on for a while now--about six months--and no breakage, knock on wood. You are surely right that for the money they cost, they should be durable

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

well Ed,
I realize that you ARE the poster boy for the durability of VELVETS, BUT let me just point out that there are NO threads here about the breakages of ANY other string and its not just one kind of Velvet.

There are a couple of threads here about Dominants (my fave string) breaking and scaring some folks off from trying them. Thomastik Mike is looking into the issues, but I just wanted to point out that it isn't only Velvet strings that have this problem.