One of the things that I've discovered over the years is that the tone you hear in your ear is not necessarily what someone else will hear farther away from the bass.
I agree with that, and in fact it was borne out in my session last night, where most everyone commented on the warmth of the sound put out by the velvet blues. In addition, it was the first time I played with this particular group, a quintent, with no amp. The fact that the blues are bright and articulate to the player yet warmer and more organic to the listener is definitely an asset, allowing you to hear what your doing without sacrificing a warmer tone. They have also warmed up considerably since i put them on. I hope this trend continues without loss of volume.
The volume is just great , even on my smallish german bass. Not to say I didn't work a little harder, coaxed by the fact that with just a bit bigger sound I could approach playing unamplified. This gives me great incentive to improve my technique with regards to volume. Relying on an amp in sessions has tended to make me a little lazy at times. I can feel it a little this morning though. Got keep working at it.
In terms of feel, they are quite different form the superflexibles,
and then innovations 140bs I had been using. The profile of the windings make moving around on them more challenging than those smoother strings, requiring some adjustment in approach that I haven't quite nailed yet.
They are on the lower end of the spectrum tension-wise, but not without a certain stiffness, reminiscent of the way dominants feel stiff, but again at a much lower tension.
I had a set of animas at one point , and it seems that the animas were a little more flexible.
In general, feel and playability are not my favorite at this point, although they're not awful. They just feel so different than the thomastiks I was used to. Hopefully I'll acclimate.
hmmm, that's interesting. i wouldn't have expected that either. what kind of rosin to you use there?
