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Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part II

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#261
I play around 20-25 gigs a month plus practice etc and I would change my garbos every 13-14 months, they still had life if them but the worst thing is having strings that start to die in the middle of a great gig, I've know people to get 2 years or so out of them but problems start to occur
 
#269
I know you do, you're buying things that people aren't even selling yet. I wish you'd get those EPs in so you can get going on trying to break them. I'm letting you test those for me on your dime (converted, of course to Euros or whatever they use in Austria).
 
#270
TroyK said:
I know you do, you're buying things that people aren't even selling yet. I wish you'd get those EPs in so you can get going on trying to break them. I'm letting you test those for me on your dime (converted, of course to Euros or whatever they use in Austria).
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I'm going to be old and grey before they show up.

...wait a minute.
 
#271
Maximos said:
Hello !
Velvet strings are new and they are expensive. The manufacturer claims they are the best.
Can anybody share his experience with Velvet strings with us ?
Thanks.
Maximos
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I played steel strings for years, Spirocores and Helicores. I read some of the stuff you've seen on the Velvet website and took the plunge.

Now, mind you, I only play pizz, no arco for me. I'll never go back to steels as long as these strings are available and I can afford them. I can get about 1 to 1.5 years out of a set. Just so you know, the size or diameter of Velvets is a fair bit larger than steels.

I play guts on my old bass and Velvet Garbos on my road bass. They are very stable after they quit stretching (about 2 weeks). Velvets are marketed as "simulated gut" strings and they come close, but not completely. Again, I like them and have gotten good service out of them.

In fact, I just bought a new set of Garbos in the past 2 weeks that I haven't installed yet. I'm still getting mileage out of the set that is on my bass now.
 
#274
Maximos said:
This is a very good and informative discussion about the Velvet strings. Thank you all for sharing your experience and concerns about this subject with me.
Maximos
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As people have hinted - you will find a lot more if use the search function.

There are some big discussions, which convinced me to try Animas and I have been very happy they did! :)
 
#275
Jeff Moote said:
I'm interested to know if anyone is using the Compas 180s for orchestral playing. They had a problem with the first "recipe" but claim to have fixed the issues with scratchy bowing. A search turns up mixed opinions here.

Anyone still using them?
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I used them for about a year and a half. Most of what I play is arco- probably about 90%. Even the non-classical stuff I do usually has some arco in it. For me, the 180s were the best sounding strings for pizz that I've ever played. They were also very good arco. But not quite good enough to stop me searching for something better... :crying:

I have the Bel Cantos on right now, which are better (different) for arco and not as good for pizz. Awaiting Evah Pirazzi...

The Compas 180s feel really good under my left hand. They're a bit thicker than regular steel strings and I preferred that, even though my hands are fairly small. I like the sound also, and feedback on chamber orchestra gigs was positive. For me I just didn't like the feel of them under the bow well enough. I'm not sure how to describe it, but something like 'not contacty enough'. I've given the set to a student though, and his bass sounded better immediately.

They are very finicky strings, and a pain to install, especially the long E/C/B. They are brittle and will break if the wound part gets onto the peg at all. Two broke on me (a long E and an A), so reliability was an issue too- it wasn't a lot of fun having to play two morning concerts with no A (a good challenge though but the kind of thing you really shouldn't have to worry about!). There's a thread here somewhere about Velvets breaking.

Don't know if that's of any help, but there you go.
 
#276
Dave Whitla said:
I used them for about a year and a half. Most of what I play is arco- probably about 90%. Even the non-classical stuff I do usually has some arco in it. For me, the 180s were the best sounding strings for pizz that I've ever played. They were also very good arco. But not quite good enough to stop me searching for something better... :crying:

I have the Bel Cantos on right now, which are better (different) for arco and not as good for pizz. Awaiting Evah Pirazzi...

The Compas 180s feel really good under my left hand. They're a bit thicker than regular steel strings and I preferred that, even though my hands are fairly small. I like the sound also, and feedback on chamber orchestra gigs was positive. For me I just didn't like the feel of them under the bow well enough. I'm not sure how to describe it, but something like 'not contacty enough'. I've given the set to a student though, and his bass sounded better immediately.

They are very finicky strings, and a pain to install, especially the long E/C/B. They are brittle and will break if the wound part gets onto the peg at all. Two broke on me (a long E and an A), so reliability was an issue too- it wasn't a lot of fun having to play two morning concerts with no A (a good challenge though but the kind of thing you really shouldn't have to worry about!). There's a thread here somewhere about Velvets breaking.

Don't know if that's of any help, but there you go.
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That does help - thanks!

Do you think they were fragile even when installed correctly? By 'not contacty enough' do you mean they didn't seem to grab the hair and "pull back" when you drew the bow? From what I've read they take a sort of nuanced touch from the bow arm - it becomes increasingly important to use the natural weight of the arm vs. pressure from the muscles (which is good technique anyway, regardless of the string). I know it's hard to put it in words, but any further explanation of the feel under the bow is much appreciated.
 
#277
I think they are probably ok when installed correctly, but mine were installed correctly and they still broke. Velvet replaced them, but I don't think bass strings should break unles they're really worn out. From what I've heard since, Velvet have worked to make them more reliable when intalled correctly.

My issue with their response would I guess be somewhat weight related. They seemed to let go and skate a bit at the beginning of a note if I dropped too much weight into them- so for louder, articulated playing I felt I had to be overly careful with them, thinking consciously about things rather than being able to just play. I do like the strings, and may yet go back to using them. I'm in a bit of a period of string transience at the moment!

I also found I had to change the rosin I was using to something less sticky, and although I tried quite a few different types I wasn't able to find one that felt right.
 
#279
Greetings: i just put on a set of Animas - and i have a question:

i think i read somewhere that the copper wound part of the string is NOT supposed to be wound on - just the long string at the end. But on my G it needed to be wound up to and including some of the wound string. is this a problem? what should i do about it?

the Animas are nice and fat under my fingers - but are adjusting right now, so out of tune in a flash!

looking forward to how they could sound.

Craig
 
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