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Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part II
- Thread starter PB+J
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I prefer Garbos over Animas, or even better; GUTS! If you want Jimmy Garrison-like sound, Garbos would work but there still nothing that can beat a good gut string. I think Animas have a more modern, complex sound to them with more sustain and warmth. Though, Garbos offer more acoustic volume and the oppurtunity to really DIG IN!
thank you all for the suggestion. I think I'm going to order the animas in the next few weeks. I think that the stability of modern strings just out weighs guts benefits. What string height are you guys using with animas? How long do you get out of a set? Dobyou need to use that oak rosin to play them with bow?
I have my animas up a bit on the high side now, but I had'em down low when I first put them on. Obviously, they are much louder up high, but they still sounded great a little lower. As for the life span, I read Ed Fuqua had a set on for 3years. The bowing part is the hardest. I think if you had a big heavy bow it would work better. I use carlsen rosin and it does the trick if applied liberally. The piz sound is well worth a little extra bow work, in my opinion anyway. You're gonna love'em
- Dec 13, 1999
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- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
Two sets for app three years, the first set only got replaced because I had a new bridge and I didn't want there to be any concerns with re-stretching the "crimp" from the old bridge. The second set was on from that point (September 05) till last November when my D string broke and I replaced the whole set.
It`s been about 5 years since I`ve had Velvet Animas on another bass I owned, and have decided to put them on my mid 20`s Juzek that I just restored. They seem to be taking a long time to break in, I constantly have to tune them up a half step every hour or so. Maybe I`m being too impatient, it has been about 24 hours. The tail gut wire hasn`t moved, Upton Bass kevlar wire. Has anyone else had this with Animas? By the way, I love how these strings sound and feel.
it took two days for mine to break in of playing all day. so probably a week of light playing is a reasonable amount of time to expect them to break in. it took a couple of months for my bass to respond to the benefits of there light tension. i love these strings.
I put on a set of Animas for the first time a couple months ago. They took a long time to settle in--it was a good few days before the pitch was stable. I love the strings though.
I definitely had the same experience. Maybe 3 or 4 days before they settled. Now they stay in tune wonderfully, though. I was wheeling my bass around in freezing cold yesterday and when i arrived at my destination, the animas were still perfectly in tune.
I have a set of compass 180 suites on my bass. I love the top 2 strings but the lower two seem to just be too weak in tension for orchestral playing. what are my options? should i put a regular compass 180 e and a to increase to tension a bit?
thanks.
thanks.
Jake deVilliers
Commercial User
- May 24, 2006
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- Owner of The Bass Spa, String Repairman at Long & McQuade Vancouver
I just put and D and G on only w/weichs on E and A. They are a nice guage. It's funny as I can from Anima's most recently and they feel quite a bit different. Not in a bad way though. Just taking me a second to figure them out. They are quite twangy right now...especially the D string. How long it that take to go away? Much easier arco than anima's BTW. I never had a real horrible time w/Anima's, but I never could come close to the clarity of steels w/them. I am hoping these will get me a bit closer.
would recommend helicore hybrid light gauge E and A to go with the 180 suites. the new evah weich would work too but it won't be available for a few weeks. the spirocore weich may work, but doesn't bow as well or have the pitch clarity of the helicore or the evah weich....................
I put my new Velvet Blue G and D strings on the Pollmann about four weeks ago, replacing the Obligatos. Immediately noticed a big difference in string tension. I resisted putting on the A because it's the best sounding of the four Obligatos. Finally put on the A and E Blues last week and played two gigs on them. They sounded great right away, but I had to retune after each song the first night. I learned that it's not smart to put on new strings like Velvets just a couple of hours before the gig. I am really liking these strings. With all four on now, I really notice much less hand fatigue by the end of the gig. They have a great sound without having to work so hard with the plucking hand. They also amplify very well through the Full Circle/Focus/Bergantino setup. After being disappointed by the Evah Pirazzis, I'm hoping these will be a long-term solution. The E is about my only concern, but I think it will just take getting used to not using as much energy as I did with the Obligatos. I'll return to this forum in a few weeks to give an idea how they are maturing.
George
George
I hate to start another thread, but before I make the almost $300 plunge I realy need a few questions answered.
1) I have weiches on my bass now. The bass is a great sounding german bass, but it isn't very loud. With the light strings on there (even with the action up a bit), it just isn't that huge sounding acoustically. Are animas going to raise the volume of the bass acoustically? And if so, how much of a difference should I expect?
2) How does the tension compare? I love the tension of the weiches. They are so easy to play. I could go a bit heavier or lighter, but not as heavy as evah's again. I injured my wrist and just can't take that much beating again.
and finally
3) How does the growl and clarity compare. On the audio recordings I've checked out the animas seem to be very punchy and clear.
I really want to do it... man.
it's just so expensive. and I can't end up not liking them. I will always have the spiros as a back up. Which is heart warming. But I just can't deal with the really quiet bass right now. It's too much for me.
1) I have weiches on my bass now. The bass is a great sounding german bass, but it isn't very loud. With the light strings on there (even with the action up a bit), it just isn't that huge sounding acoustically. Are animas going to raise the volume of the bass acoustically? And if so, how much of a difference should I expect?
2) How does the tension compare? I love the tension of the weiches. They are so easy to play. I could go a bit heavier or lighter, but not as heavy as evah's again. I injured my wrist and just can't take that much beating again.
and finally
3) How does the growl and clarity compare. On the audio recordings I've checked out the animas seem to be very punchy and clear.
I really want to do it... man.
it's just so expensive. and I can't end up not liking them. I will always have the spiros as a back up. Which is heart warming. But I just can't deal with the really quiet bass right now. It's too much for me.
- May 6, 2003
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- Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine
Acoustic volume from a bass is related to strings but improving it is not always solved by strings.
On my plywood Cleveland bass the volume of the bass with Spiro Mittel vs. Anima vs. Evah Pirrazi vs. Dominants was slightly different but not enough to say one was significantly louder over another by very much-especially in context in an ensemble.
My old carved bass with Spirocore Mittels on it is louder than any other string I tried including all the above...but not by much.
Setup, string height, TP angle, Overstand, Bridge height, Camber of the fingerboard cut, Soundpost fit and placement, Bassbar thickness and weight vs. the thickness and movement of the top all contribute much more to apparent volume than most changes in strings.
Here is my point. Don't buy strings anticipating that they will solve a volume problem. Buy strings for the way they feel, sound, project, make you play etc.
The only way to know that on any given bass is to try them and see. That process has cost me many thousands of dollars and taken many many years. I've tried a whole mess of strings on four different basses over the last 10+ years and right now both my basses are strung exactly the same; Spiro Stark E Mittel A/D/G.
Here is the other thing. That combo might not work for you and your instruments. Every player is different and every bass is different. Only you can sort that stuff out for yourself and while we can share our experience with you it won't amount to much until you try it yourself. As Dono says no bass player can escape the drawer of tried and unused strings.
If you don't have the stomach for the wasted bread don't start the process. You said "it's just so expensive. and I can't end up not liking them." Do you have the stomach for the wasted bread? Doesn't sound like it.
Find a used set in the classifieds for $50 or less. If they are compelling even a dead set will tell you something, at least enough to spend the dough on the new set and dump the old on the next guy. It's a smaller risk than all the money on a new set. But of course there is a rub with that too. A new set fully broken in on your bass for 6 months will tell you a lot more than a dead set from another bass. You aren't making noises that sound like a guy ready to do that either.
Or keep the Weichs and inquire and practice how to play louder. I am capable of playing louder than most of the players I encounter using the same exact bass and setup passing back and forth between the two of us. I may not play with better tone, or chops, or note choices but I can play really loud acoustically. I'm not that huge of a guy really. If I wasn't so fat I'd be pretty darn small overall. I had to play loud to be heard so I ended up learning how to do it.
So there you have it.
Keep us posted on what you decide.
On my plywood Cleveland bass the volume of the bass with Spiro Mittel vs. Anima vs. Evah Pirrazi vs. Dominants was slightly different but not enough to say one was significantly louder over another by very much-especially in context in an ensemble.
My old carved bass with Spirocore Mittels on it is louder than any other string I tried including all the above...but not by much.
Setup, string height, TP angle, Overstand, Bridge height, Camber of the fingerboard cut, Soundpost fit and placement, Bassbar thickness and weight vs. the thickness and movement of the top all contribute much more to apparent volume than most changes in strings.
Here is my point. Don't buy strings anticipating that they will solve a volume problem. Buy strings for the way they feel, sound, project, make you play etc.
The only way to know that on any given bass is to try them and see. That process has cost me many thousands of dollars and taken many many years. I've tried a whole mess of strings on four different basses over the last 10+ years and right now both my basses are strung exactly the same; Spiro Stark E Mittel A/D/G.
Here is the other thing. That combo might not work for you and your instruments. Every player is different and every bass is different. Only you can sort that stuff out for yourself and while we can share our experience with you it won't amount to much until you try it yourself. As Dono says no bass player can escape the drawer of tried and unused strings.
If you don't have the stomach for the wasted bread don't start the process. You said "it's just so expensive. and I can't end up not liking them." Do you have the stomach for the wasted bread? Doesn't sound like it.
Find a used set in the classifieds for $50 or less. If they are compelling even a dead set will tell you something, at least enough to spend the dough on the new set and dump the old on the next guy. It's a smaller risk than all the money on a new set. But of course there is a rub with that too. A new set fully broken in on your bass for 6 months will tell you a lot more than a dead set from another bass. You aren't making noises that sound like a guy ready to do that either.
Or keep the Weichs and inquire and practice how to play louder. I am capable of playing louder than most of the players I encounter using the same exact bass and setup passing back and forth between the two of us. I may not play with better tone, or chops, or note choices but I can play really loud acoustically. I'm not that huge of a guy really. If I wasn't so fat I'd be pretty darn small overall. I had to play loud to be heard so I ended up learning how to do it.
So there you have it.
Keep us posted on what you decide.
I made the transition and really love the Animas in every way!
But they didn't make me loud(er) - in fact at Jazz Summerschool, when I got the chance to compare myself with a lot of other DB students and Jazz pros (tutors) - I was one of the quieter ones - the Jazz pros are always louder regardless of strings or instrument!!
So - a great UK Jazz pro played my bass with Animas and was loud enough for anybody and he kept getting me to turn my amp down - but that's all to do with technique and not strings....
But they didn't make me loud(er) - in fact at Jazz Summerschool, when I got the chance to compare myself with a lot of other DB students and Jazz pros (tutors) - I was one of the quieter ones - the Jazz pros are always louder regardless of strings or instrument!!
So - a great UK Jazz pro played my bass with Animas and was loud enough for anybody and he kept getting me to turn my amp down - but that's all to do with technique and not strings....
i've had both Weichs and Animas on one or the other of my basses at one time or another.
Volume - Animas need more height than Weichs, they are physically thicker, a bigger string. String height will tend to produce more volume because there is more room to vibrate = louder. But Weichs at that same height will also be louder. So there are other things you might look into (like UncleToad said): try a lighter tailpiece, a new sound post position, perhaps you need a new bridge... any number of things that will increase the ability of your bass to vibrate with the strings. you might want to go to a luthier and discuss.
Tension - Animas are a fairly low tension string. Weichs have a bit more tension, I think, at least after they're fully broken in. I really liked the low tension punchy feel of the Animas.
Clarity and Growl - Spiros are more focused and much clearer, much more centered. In fact, the Animas have a much more complex sound, many different things going on there. Animas are big on fundamental but have multiple overtones that make the sound less focused but give it a round full feeling. They do not beat the Spiros for clarity and growl.
Why not get an Anima G string to experiment? If you like it, you can then get a D and so on. If not, it hasn't been the hole in your pocket you seek to avoid.
I used the Velvet Blues for 3-4 months on an early 1900's german 7/8 flatback (108cm string length) - I was satisfied with the D and the A string. The E was feeling to sloppy for me so I put another hybrid string on - an old used Pirazzi did the job quite well. The G string was alright, but compared to the other strings it was to thin. I put an Anima G on, which sounded better.
When I two weeks ago sold that bass for a late 1990's 3/4 montagnana copy (104,5cm string length), It felt ok with the strings, but I wasn´t completely happy. Also, the D string were making noices around A-C that I wasn´t able to come around regardless of the height of the bridge.
Now I´ve put on a six months old set of Helicore Hybrid Medium on (E,A,D), and still using the Anima G. For me, and on this bass - this feels just right. I have som problems with some strange middle overtones from the Anima string, maybe I´ll search for another G string. I realize that this string setup is a copy of Larry Grenadier's (on a completely different bass) - and I can frankly say that he is quite a lot of a sound ideal for me (listen to Brad Mehldau's Day Is Done to here what I mean). The Helicores didn´t sound that good on my old bass, but on my new one I really like them.
Having that said - I also think the Velvet Blue strings are an alright set of strings, but right now other strings suits be better.
When I two weeks ago sold that bass for a late 1990's 3/4 montagnana copy (104,5cm string length), It felt ok with the strings, but I wasn´t completely happy. Also, the D string were making noices around A-C that I wasn´t able to come around regardless of the height of the bridge.
Now I´ve put on a six months old set of Helicore Hybrid Medium on (E,A,D), and still using the Anima G. For me, and on this bass - this feels just right. I have som problems with some strange middle overtones from the Anima string, maybe I´ll search for another G string. I realize that this string setup is a copy of Larry Grenadier's (on a completely different bass) - and I can frankly say that he is quite a lot of a sound ideal for me (listen to Brad Mehldau's Day Is Done to here what I mean). The Helicores didn´t sound that good on my old bass, but on my new one I really like them.
Having that said - I also think the Velvet Blue strings are an alright set of strings, but right now other strings suits be better.
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