i was kind of undecided to write on this thread since im not a Velvet Strings lawyer or something like, im just here to answer possible questions about the Velvets and in case there are some problems like breakages, defective strings, etc.
However i decided to write a few lines, because "rip off" sounded really bad to my ears, its usually associated with somebody who wants to take advantage from somebody else, or steal something.
I know that Velvets are not for everybody, and there are some things that can discourage players, like the fact that they need a couple of weeks before they really start to sound really good, the 180's are delicate in the sense that the metal windings shouldnt go inside the tuning machines, because they can break,etc.
When i 1st play garbos, more than 5 years ago, i didnt like the windings that much, round wound and stained all my fingers, nowadays, i play garbos and animas almost everyday at velvet and i havent had my fingers stained in a long time, also the last animas and garbos who come out of the production, are very smooth, sure not like a metal string, and i doubt if they will ever be. thing is, Stephan doesnt want to change the sound of the strings anymore, he felt that they have the sound he wanted too, and players are happy with it... increase the strenght is for sure one thing hes always working at, and thats for sure the hardest task cause really minimum changes on the core and winding(we are talking about centesimal parts of a milimeter), change the sound. We had some problems in the past with some defective sets and we are always changing broken strings, you contact us and we will change it free of any charges. About the windings beeing not completely smooth, because of the materials and winding process, i really doubt they will ever be smoother, again strenght issues.. the 180s are pretty smooth, almost like a metal string, and the last generation of animas, garbos and 360's, are pretty smooth too. We try to control every single string which goes into the market for possible failures, of course that sometimes 1 or 2 can go out with a failure, even with failures not seen with naked eyes. Velvet is a small company where everything is almost hand made and i can tell you that these strings sure take time to make, and we try to use only the best components... sure the strings are expensive, but they are made in Switzerland where fortunately people still can have a very decent living with good wages, if they would be made in China they would cost a fraction of the price. So my point is, you may not like the way Velvet Strings sound, theyr feeling, etc, but they are for sure not a rip off, saying that is not only insulting the people who are working very hard everyday to put out a very decent product but its also the players who are using them, do you think Rufus Reid beeing the player that he is, would use an inferior product, or do you think we make special strings for him? What about so many other players who have been using daily our strings( Ed Fuqua, Marcus Johnson, now PB + J, Bruce, just to name a few from the TalkBassers). Are they all stupid? because thats what i would consider myself if i would spend more than $200 on a set of strings that are one of the biggest rip offs in the DB world like Mark Carlsen said.
And to conclude,Garbos, Animas and 360's need in fact a higher action to sound at their best, due to their gauge and materials used, they need more space to vibrate, on the other hand, the 180's can be played with a lower action, even if we advise to always try a bit of a higher action to allow the string to fully vibrate. Stephan, besides beeing a Double Bass player, is a mechanical engineer, so he tries to use both of his worlds to make a nice string. He works so hard everyday, more than anyone there, he goes there on weekends to make prototypes of strings, and you know what, he could be in the sun laying down instead, but he has a big passion for his work and for the Double Bass like we all have. sorry for the long post
Nuno
again
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