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Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part II

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#901
fred pratt said:
Okay, I'm not into name-dropping, but a chance encounter I had recently pertains to the discussion of Velvet bowability. I was at David Gage's shop getting some work done and John Patitucci happened to be there gettting some work done on his new road bass. After Mike Weatherly introduced us I hung out probably longer than I needed to, talking to John (very nice guy) and listening to him play the bass as Mike made adjustments to it. We talked very briefly about strings. John had EPs on his bass and I was reminded to ask Mike how he removed the grime that Velvet Blues left on my fingerboard. (The answer is a fine cloth or fine steel wool). John said something about not wanting to be anywhere near Velvet strings when he had a bow in his hand. Obviously that's just his own experience.

Me, I don't know, since I'm not going to start on the bow until I master two more Lennie Tristano/Sal Mosca-created exercises that are probably going to take me at least a couple months a piece. I love the pizzicato sound of the Blues on my bass, both acoustic and amplified.

Someone told me Animas bow better than Blues. I have a lightly used set of Animas in my drawer, just waiting in case that's true. I also still have an un-opened pack of EP Weichs in my drawer, just in case I wind up agreeing with JP.
Click to expand...

A few things:

1 - Patitucci is one of my favorite all-time players.
2 - After about a whole year, my Velvets are much more bow-friendly, and I'm getting better bow sound than I ever did with Spiros.
3 - A few months ago, this guys from one of my country's major orchestras came by, bow-played and sounded great on my bass strung with Velvet Blues. Not as good as he would've sounded with, say, Flexocores, sure, but I'd settle for his bowed sound on Velvets any day.
4 - I still can't get really comfortable with Velvet's texture on my left hand fingertips, and I had to make some technique adjustments on my plucking hand too.
5 - I think next time I'll go the extra kilometre and get the Animas.

My $0.02.-
 
#902
I go back and forth between mittels and Animas, normally with an Olive G with both. As much as I have tried to get a good arco sound on the mittels, it just doesn't happen-particularly on the A. I have tried different bows and rosin with only limited success. Due to a recording date this month I just put the old Animas on and find them much easier to bow. The tone is warm and round rather than thin and nasal with little fundamental.
I had a new set of Animas on this bass last summer that I couldn't bow to save my life, so I think they may need to have some age on them to sound right.
 
#904
Not too much. The velvets need to be hiked up maybe a mm more but the tension is still much lower.
Consistently using the Olive G is nice.
FWIW, I have had the mittels on and off only 3-4 times in the last year. My bass, being a flatback and undergoing a full restoration just before I bought it last year has gone through some changes. I'm really not as neurotic as I appear.
Hopefully, the bass will be able to settle into a consistent string in the next year or two.
 
#905
I have used Anima's (G and D only) for about 4 years now. I can testify that they bow actually very well once they break in. I wouldn't enter a masters in classical performance with them but for the vast majority of us playing a wide variety of style on one bass (including orchestral) they can hang. I just replaced them as my D wrapping was coming loose at the bridge. My own fault, I had a moment of weakness, took them off to try something new and quickly put them back on only to find that in the on/off they had been damaged.

Fred, I have tried the blues too. IMO, Animas bow better than Blues. Of course, I did not let the Blues mature on my bass (not practicing what I preach).
 
#907
Finally got my Garbos broken in on my new BSX 5 string Allegro EUB, including a specially ordered Anima/Garbo B string that just sounds MASSIVE and has a nice tight feel compared to the floppy Helicore Hybrid B that came with it. While I loved my Garbos on my old plywood upright, i'm flat out amazed at how they make this EUB sound more credible and URB-like.

Here's a link to some clips I recorded:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8959666&postcount=167
 
#908
ElMon said:
Finally got my Garbos broken in on my new BSX 5 string Allegro EUB, including a specially ordered Anima/Garbo B string that just sounds MASSIVE and has a nice tight feel compared to the floppy Helicore Hybrid B that came with it. While I loved my Garbos on my old plywood upright, i'm flat out amazed at how they make this EUB sound more credible and URB-like.

Here's a link to some clips I recorded:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8959666&postcount=167
Click to expand...

ElMon:

Thanks for the great demo of the BSX Allegro.
This comes the closest I have heard yet to an amplified double bass.
 
#909
RShew said:
I have used Anima's (G and D only) for about 4 years now. I can testify that they bow actually very well once they break in. I wouldn't enter a masters in classical performance with them but for the vast majority of us playing a wide variety of style on one bass (including orchestral) they can hang. I just replaced them as my D wrapping was coming loose at the bridge. My own fault, I had a moment of weakness, took them off to try something new and quickly put them back on only to find that in the on/off they had been damaged.

Fred, I have tried the blues too. IMO, Animas bow better than Blues. Of course, I did not let the Blues mature on my bass (not practicing what I preach).
Click to expand...

Now the D wrapping on my new set came undone at the bridge. Hope it was just a bad string. Never had this problem before. Anyone else?
 
#910
RShew said:
Now the D wrapping on my new set came undone at the bridge. Hope it was just a bad string. Never had this problem before. Anyone else?
Click to expand...

Run your finger over the bridge groove there on both the fingerboard and tailpiece side - you may have a sharp edge there that is snagging the winding. Might take a trip to the luthier and have it checked out. Your D string groove may also not be quite wide enough and could be pinching the windings.

Strings like Velvets (wound gut, etc) that are not totally smooth are not very tolerant of sharp or abrasive edges anywhere along the string path.

You could also PM Nuno and see if he can help you out - if it ends up being a bad string.

I have had my Garbos on and off my bass multiple times trying out different setups and the Garbos still have no winding issues.
 
#912
Gearhead43 said:
Run your finger over the bridge groove there on both the fingerboard and tailpiece side - you may have a sharp edge there that is snagging the winding. Might take a trip to the luthier and have it checked out. Your D string groove may also not be quite wide enough and could be pinching the windings.

Strings like Velvets (wound gut, etc) that are not totally smooth are not very tolerant of sharp or abrasive edges anywhere along the string path.

You could also PM Nuno and see if he can help you out - if it ends up being a bad string.

I have had my Garbos on and off my bass multiple times trying out different setups and the Garbos still have no winding issues.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. Not a bass/bridge issue. Slots are wide enough and well lubricated. I have had these strings on for years and never had an issue till this new one I just put on. I think its a faulty string. Just wrote Nuno. Thanks again.
 
#915
I've got a used set of Animas inbound and scheduled for Tuesday. I've touched various Velvets on other basses over the years and have waited for just the right time to try them on mine. I know that it's going to take some time for both me and my bass to settle into them and I'm going to try hard to wait it out and give them a fair chance.

I'm vary curious about how it's going to turn out. Of all of the things I've tried, this is going to be totally different and I'm not sure what to expect exactly.
 
#920
Marcus Johnson said:
They didn't suck for me, they were great. What sucked was my ability (or lack thereof) to play any decent arco on them. Other folks don't have that problem, I guess. I just couldn't get comfortable with the bow on the Animas.
Click to expand...

It's not just me!!! :hyper:

Man, I just think about looking at the G cross-eyed and sucker squeals like a stuck pig.:help: Doesn't stop me from trying to bow them though :D

In all seriousness: The loose feel is nice. the pizz is nice. The volume is nice. I'm just too ham fisted with a bow. On the positive side, the Animas have really helped my bowing technique ;) I suspect you'll have some fun with them for a while.
 
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