I just finished using an Anima G with Spirocore Weichs on the EA and D for a few weeks. I thought I could get a great woody sound with higher action which I normally use. I also found the bass to be louder than it was even when I had a full set of Animas, although I was using lower action with the full set of animas. I have Olives on the D and G now, but I might switch back as I really did dig the tone I was getting
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part II
- Thread starter PB+J
- Start date
- Status
I've used both (currently using Belcanto's). For pizz, at least on my bass, the Superflexibles ring out louder and more clearly; the Belcanto's have a softer, subtler sound, and are not as loud, and they have almost a "delayed reaction" when you play them (sounds strange, I know). I have to play slightly ahead of the beat with these strings for pizz. The Belcantos sound beautiful, but if you need some cajones, I'd go with the Superflexibles based on my experience. To me they are a better mixed-use string.
For arco, the Belcanto's are absolutely gorgeous. Hope this helps.
Ok so I recieved my Velvet Blue set today. I had only time to put on the DG with spirocore Mittels on the bottom. First impression - they are a very nice string! They are louder than the Spiro's and take about half the effort to make them project. The most suprising thing was bowing the G, from what I read, I expected the G to be worse than the Spiro G. But not at all it bows very nice, has a very warm woody sound and it resonates longer than the spiro after I remove the bow. I have bowed the Obligato's, Spiro's, Corelli's, Gamuts and Jazzers. and I think these were very easy to bow. I put these on my 40's German Carved roundback, I did try a full set on a brand new wilfer and I thought they were very bright, but on a darker instrument they have a nice balanced tone, and thats with them only being a couple minutes old! Tonight I will put the EA on and do another write up on them.
Hey Adrian.
What about just starting with the D and G? Once I got to that point I was happy and the set was much cheaper.
Roger
Ok so I did the DG on a gig last night, they were really a great string and bowed well. Had some tuning issues but after they stretched out they began to stay in tune. The sound through the wizzy 10 Clarus Sl was different, it sounded kind of box like?? So I moved the full circle to the side and it helped I kept everything at 12 o'clock on the Clarus. So I went home and at about 4 this morning I figured I would put the EA on. The first thing I noticed was a change in tension, these strings are a lot looser than the spiro's, so my action went up enough that I had to close my bridge feet almost all the way to the bottom. I try to always leave a little gap in there, I don't think closed feet sound good. The A is rougher than the rest of the set, the finish is a little bumpier. The E though is just as smooth as the D and G. They don't have the thump of spiro's, but they are a more defined note and there is still a lot of growl. They perform well under the bow, but again I'm use to bowing tough strings anyways. They are a step towards a better direction in bowing than the Spiro. Over all I like these strings, they have a different sound all together. I save a lot of energy on these strings, you don't need to tug at them like Spiro's to get a loud articulate sound. They have a very woody sound to them and under the bow I have to admit, it has an old school gut sound to it. I will keep you updated as I have another gig on Sat. and the strings should be more settled in by then!
HMMM I don't know if I'm going to go back to the Spiro EA. I will let you guys know, right now I have the full set of Velvets on. I'm kind of torn, they are easier to play and have a nice articulate sound. They bow better than spiro's but I do miss the big thick EA!
Nobody is using these yet I guess?
I've always found with Velvets that yes, they are low tension and the top of the bass rises, raising the action; but that they also need more room to move, and if you just leave them where they are (or even raise them up more) you may find that you are then able to take full advantage of them. I know that the literature Velvet gives out with their strings (or used to) recommended that people accustomed to steel strings should expect to have a higher action necessary for the strings to sound best.
Of course, some people get hooked on the idea of having some specific string height that's the ideal on their bass no matter what the string, but the truth is that each kind of string will need something different. An action height that would be unplayable with Spirocores (unless you're Drew Gress) is often the perfect thing for Velvets or guts, and if you try to stick with low action on the low tension strings you'll never get the full effect from them.
Just me two cents, based on using all of these strings at one point or another...
Hmmm thank you I will move the feet back up to the original setup I had at the luthier. !!!
Well that's interesting. The strings were packaged as Animas and the silk color (red on top, yellow on bottom) indicates they are Animas, but the G string is wound distictly differently. It looks like a combination of copper and a synthetic winding. I sent Nuno from Velvet a message to see if he can help with the id.
Regardless, after speding a month with these strings, I'm getting a decent arco tone, even on the g! The high range is still a little tricky, but that's not exclusively a string issue
I just heard back from Nuno at Velvet and he said the Anima G string is in fact wound differently than the other 3. It's copper combined with polyester. It's got that fat pizz sound and is a little trickier to bow. This winding must be a little different than older Animas, as a couple of the guys here seem to have regular copper wound G's. I would think the all copper winding would be easier to bow, but maybe not sound quite as fat pizz?
btw - I've had these strings on just under a month and they're really breaking in nicely. I don't know if they're my string of choice yet, but I'm certainly enjoying them!
btw - I've had these strings on just under a month and they're really breaking in nicely. I don't know if they're my string of choice yet, but I'm certainly enjoying them!
- Dec 13, 1999
- 11,736
- 8,941
- 70
- Disclosures
- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
No Ed, the Animas that you have are the last generation of Animas, the windings on all 4 strings look pretty much the same, but on the G string if you look close, you will see that between the copper winding theres some little polyester...
Nuno
Interesting about the polyester - I was wondering about that. In any case, I don't really find these strings hard to bow after coming from the Gamut guts.
No. I'm not in front of my bass right now but I'm quite sure that the Garbo D is all copper. I have the Anima G next to the Garbo D on my bass and I find them about the same to bow. That is, much easier than unwound guts but not as easy as most other strings with smooth metal windings. Although the windings on the Animas and Garbos (except for the Garbo G) are a little bit rough, they are a lot smoother than what I remember from the previous generation of the Animas.
There's this [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] in the string gauge sticky were it says the following about the Garbos: polished polyamid wound on silk (G), polished polyamid/copper round wire wound on silk (D), polished copper round wire (A+E) wound on silk.
I also find it to be quite a difference between the Garbo D and the A+E which are only copper wound.
I looked closer and you are indeed correct. On the Anima G, the copper and polyamid windings about about the same width. On the Garbo D, the copper winding is extremely thin and the polyamid is wider. You have to look quite close to see it.
- Status
