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Double Bass Velvet Garbos double bass strings megathread part I

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#161
This has been an interesting thread. I had the original 180's and I gave them away, too (I think I sent them to someone on the list serv). I had the same problem as Ken, namely, they were copper in color and had a lot of annoying surface noise on the string when I bowed.

I play in a community orchestra, so bowing comes first. Based on the comments I've seen, I go back to my question: are the 180's significantly better for orchestral use than the Obligatos to justify the difference in price?

Thanks! :confused:
 
#163
IMO the new Velvets kill most strings in playability. They are better than Obligatos. They are easier to bow, and sound better too. They aren't even close to the same as the old formulation. Its as if they aren't made by the same company. Check them out!
 
#168
Monte said:
I love em. They feel more like steel than gut, but they do have a nice snap from being lower tension.

As for sound, go to the sampler page and listen to my tracks Bob's Blues or Take the A Train for the pizz sound, and Stella for arco sound.

Monte
Click to expand...

Monte, I saw in some other threads that you also have the Heritage strings on one of your basses. Between the Compas and Heritage, which string do you think would be better for orchestral use? Thanks, Brian
 
#170
DenglerABD said:
Monte, I saw in some other threads that you also have the Heritage strings on one of your basses. Between the Compas and Heritage, which string do you think would be better for orchestral use? Thanks, Brian
Click to expand...

Definitely the 180's are better for orchestral, and for the pizz sound I like, jazz as well.

I put the Heritage on my old Juzek that I'm trying to sell for the friend that bought it from me, and I wasn't that impressed. Not as warm as I would like, and certainly not as smooth on arco.

Monte
 
#171
Monte said:
Definitely the 180's are better for orchestral, and for the pizz sound I like, jazz as well.

I put the Heritage on my old Juzek that I'm trying to sell for the friend that bought it from me, and I wasn't that impressed. Not as warm as I would like, and certainly not as smooth on arco.

Monte
Click to expand...

That answers my question, thank you very much!
 
#172
Here is some info on the Velvet 180's from Lou Roten on the 2xbasslist. It appears that the strings I rave about are the SUIT, which are NOT the old formulation.

Monte


There are four formulations of compàs 180®: (The last design tweaking of
the 180's I'm told)

- standard tuned set (27 kg, red top) for orchestral playing.
Newly introduced

- standard/solo set (24 kg, black top) can be tuned in standard pitch and
solo (this is the SUIT set)
The SUIT was the formulation introduced about a year or so ago to be used
in both tunings.

- solo set for solo tuning only

- fifths tuning ('Red Mitchell' tuning)

Lou


Lou Roten
http://www.lnrmusic.com
[email protected]
http://www.capecodfiddlers.com
30 Danforth Road
Rindge, NH 03461 USA
(01) 603-899-9986
 
#174
Pete G said:
I ordered a set of the new 180s, and they should be in any day. If they bow half as well as some of you guys say, I'm gonna be in doghouse heaven...
Click to expand...

Where are you guys buying them from? I looked them up on Lemur's site and they're $277 ! :eyebrow:

I'd love to try them, but I may have to be content with Obligatos from Bob G instead at that price.

Are there any better priced suppliers out there (outside of California so I can save on the tax)?
 
#175
airbass said:
Where are you guys buying them from? I looked them up on Lemur's site and they're $277 ! :eyebrow:

I'd love to try them, but I may have to be content with Obligatos from Bob G instead at that price.

Are there any better priced suppliers out there (outside of California so I can save on the tax)?
Click to expand...

Quinnns has them listed for $199 but has not responded to my e-mails regarding which model they are.

http://www.quinnviolins.com/qv_velvetbass.shtml
 
#176
airbass said:
Where are you guys buying them from? I looked them up on Lemur's site and they're $277 ! :eyebrow:

I'd love to try them, but I may have to be content with Obligatos from Bob G instead at that price.

Are there any better priced suppliers out there (outside of California so I can save on the tax)?
Click to expand...

Lou Roten:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Lou sells them for $245. The last time I checked Quinn, the 180's they had were the old fromulation.

Monte
 
#177
I talked to Quinn Violin today about the Compas 180's. They have the "new" version that Monte mentions in another thread. The good news is that they sell them for $199.50. I went ahead and ordered them on-line just now.

I've been beating my brains out on which string to try after my Obligatos started loosing their tone and settled on the 180's after tons of reading and listening to Monte's samples. (Nice playing by the way Monte . . . )

I loved my Obligatos until the started loosing their tone after 8 months of regular use. They actually still sound fine for pizz but have gotten quite screechy for arco. My arco chops are virtually nonexistent so I wanted a more arco friendly string that wasn't super high tension with bright arco and total thud sounding pizz.

I'll share my "Obligatos to 180's" conversion observations in a few weeks.
 
#178
Yesterday I finally had installed on my Arvi the Velvet Compass 180s I ordered a while ago. These are the NEW 180s, and it did take some time to special-order a long C from Switzerland.

I'm not sure what to make of these strings yet, and they are still settling in and far from broken in. They are like gut strings in the sense that they stretch a lot when first installed, and -- as of this morning -- they're still stretching. The long C string I was shipped is defective (the winding is loose at the very top), and the vendor and Velvet were great about agreeing to send a replacement right away, but I have the bad one on for now.

Unlike prior Velvet strings, the new Compass 180s do not have "loops" at both ends of the string. They must be tied both at the scroll and tailpiece ends. This makes installation complicated. I'm glad Mike Shank was willing to put these on for me -- I'd hate to have tried myself.

My preliminary impressions are these:

The wider gauge and somewhat "brittle" feel of the metal wrappings are really odd to the touch -- both left hand and under the bow -- after years of playing thin metal strings like the Helicores and Flexocors. It is reminiscent of playing on wound gut, though I haven't touched a gut string since Nixon's first term. That's a challenge, because stopping the string with the fingers of the left hand is different than before, especially with the second and fourth finger -- I really have to take the finger to a different place than with the thinner strings, and the physical cues are different with a wider gauge.

Also, these strings demand to be bowed differently -- they seem to want a lighter, faster bow stroke. If I dig into them, I tend to overbow and get nasty squeaks and squawks.

Also, I don't like the sound of the open G nearly as well as the Flexocor, and the open A is hard for me to bow cleanly -- at least for now. Maybe that's just because these strings are new, or because I'm not used to them.

However, the sound is much bigger than I would have expected, and the tone seems much purer than on the Helicore/Flexocor mixed set I had on before (and which I liked pretty well). My left hand seems to find the true pitch much more naturally on the 180s, probably because I can hear the string pitch better.

You should take a gander at these strings if you get a chance. They're really different. Good or bad, I'm not sure yet. But they're definitely different...
 
#179
Pete, thx for the complete test. I think the Bow, it's weight and the bow pressure are very important in judging a Good Bowing String. It should not matter IMO how or which way you Bow to get a good sound IF the string is Top Notch. Obligatos DO get scratchy and are harder to Bow as they get older OR go on and off the Bass alot.

Also, If you are hearing your Pitch better then they are not as Dark or as Deep as the Other Strings you mentioned (Helicore/Flexocor). BTW, what is the mix and Why did you mix them?

By chance, I also had a Mix on my Martini when I first set it up. It came with Helicores but the G and D were thin sounding. The Old Old Flexicores from the Gilkes were darker on the G and D ONLY so I Mixed the two. After the Fingerboard job I put New Obligatos on it. It Pizz's better but is more work with the bow....
 
#180
Ken, everything you say may be right, but I'm not willing to take those positions myself yet. For example, I think that gut DOES bow differently than Helicores, and that doesn't mean one is good and the other bad. The 180s seem designed as a gut alternative, so it's not surprising to me that they need a somewhat different bowing approach than on my thinner strings.

My comments about the 180s need to be taken with a large dose of salt -- I've only had them on for a period of hours. The strings need to settle in and I need to get used to them before any of this means too much. And even then, we all play differently, and our basses are all different...

My mixed set was Helicore long C and A, and Flexocor (not Original Flexocor) D and G. I got to that from trial and error. I liked the sound and response of the Flexocors on my bass, which is naturally bright and sounds better with a darker string. However, the Flexocors didn't have the power I wanted for E and A. I tried an Original Flexocor A for a while, but that still didn't have enough power for me. I saw this mixed setup on Bryce Parys's bass, which is very similar to mine, and went with it.
 
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