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Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part III

#221
JayB said:
I'm back to using a full set of Animas, for now. For the record, I play mostly old jazz and string band music with some "out" stuff peppered in. The are really nice strings, but I've had tons of maintenance (breaking, buzzing, unwinding) issues with them, mostly on the high strings. Also, as strange as this might sound to steel guys, they are STILL too stiff for me/my nice sounding plywood bass for slap and even some pizz (tension is comfy, though.) I busk / play unamplifed a lot and my hands are getting killed.

I've already done the Gamut Gut thang twice, which are easy on my hands and good for slap but not fast enough pizz for me, and always go back to the Animas as a compromise, so I figured it was time to explore other options, namely nylons.

I ordered some Golden Slaps I'm going to try, as they've gotten good reviews as a pizz string. I'll keep the Anima E on for now, as my bass and hands really like it (only one on the box the feels "just right" currently.) I'm actually feeling pretty confident about the Slaps for D+G, its the A I'm worried about. Maybe plain the gut As and D have terrified me away :help: but I just find it hard to believe any unwound string that big could sound as clear and be as fast as I need. For 40ish bucks, its worth a try? Could always just put the Anima A back on. I might end up keeping it 2+2 just so I have a pair that can sound nice bowed! :hiding:

So has anyone actually done this? Used Velvets as the "wound gut" and Nylon as the "plain gut"?
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JayB, have you tried Eurosonic Ultra Lights? If you dont bow, you should try these. On my old plywood, these were teh best sounding and feeling strings. They are steel core wrapped in nylon and feel really nice and sound great. If I didnt bow, I would go back to them in a sec.
 
#224
I am aware from older posts, of the inability of bowing the G, in a Garbo set. How about the rest of the set D-A-E?

Are they that much harder than the Anima's for bowability?

Considering using the Garbo A with gut G,D,with Anima E.
 
#226
While I liked the Garbo A -- I found it fuller and "guttier" sounding than the Anima, the E lacked definition and was "tubby" sounding. The Anima was a better choice.

My favorite Garbo string was actually the D. Plain gut Ds have their issues and the Garbo D is a good substitute. I had a set that I liked which was Anima E, Garbo A and D and plain gut G. I might still use this combo except for the bowing issues.

The reality is that Animas don't bow very well and Garbos are worse. The Garbo G and D have a different winding than the A&G that makes them pretty much unbowable (the G is worst of all, for it has a winding even different from the D - almost like a nylon material). Animas can be bowed, but the tone and response is really not very good, kind of a dull, hollow sound. I don't even recall what bowing a Garbo A is like, but I don't imagine it would be any better.

Anima and Garbo are great pizz strings though. You can mix and match to your taste, plain guts up top, etc. If bowing is important, plain gut can be a little challenging at first, but they are very bowable once you get used to them. But for the E&A, go with something like Evah Pirazzi, wound gut, or even a steel string. These days I use Spiro Solos on the bottom and Gamut gut on top. Sounds great for both pizz and arco.
 
#228
I've just put these puppies on, and my first impressions are very favourable -- I'm enjoying the low tension and the higher action that allows without straining my left hand. They've been on only about 12 hours, so obviously they're not holding their tuning yet, but I don't think it's going to take long.

Just for yucks, I drew a few bowed long tones, and it makes me think I must have a terribly unrefined ear, 'cause I kinda liked the tone, even from the E and A. I should point out that I keep my arco playing very much to myself, for which kindness all music lovers should be grateful, so this is not a recommendation by any means. My opinion may change as they mature, but I'm afraid for now I don't have the excuse to pack my bow away that I was looking for in these strings. :bawl:

In addition, for what it's worth, I don't appear to be having the problems with nasty overtones that Mr Friedland and some others were having, which suggests to me they were unlucky.

I'll see what my buddy thinks when I haul my bass over there later today ...
 
#230
donn said:
For the record, would you please state what these puppies were? (Post is titled "Garbo gut G", but strings are plural and appear to include an E and A, and there's a reference to a harmonics issue that has been noticed with Animas, if that helps explain why I'm confused. Full set of Garbo? Anima?)
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Sorry - "Garbo gut G" refers to the full set, the standard G-string having been replaced with a gut string made for or by Velvet. They're discussed elsewhere in this thread IIRC. With respect to the overtones, Ed Friedland reported the issue with what he believed were Garbos, and I think you may have had a similar problem with Animas. I may be misremembering. Hope that clarifies things.
 
#232
The bowing thing is funny...
I have animas on my bass with a compas 360 G (left over).
I haven't done much classical lately but got a surprise call to audition for an opera gig.
At short notice it was impractical to change strings, and I am pleasantly surprised at how the animas are performing.
They are less forgiving than evahs (which I had on before) but with less arm weight and more focus on bow speed, they actually perform well.
Moreover, on my old German (originally a 3-stringer) the deeper resonance of a lower tension string compensates for the reduced ability to 'dig in', such that a good dynamic range is quite achievable, and I am able to get a pretty rich piano and a strong forte.
Hopefully the panel agrees, though I am prepared to get compas 360s if I get the job, for the sake of a somewhat cleaner tone.
Still, pleasantly surprised...
 
#236
AMJBASS said:
Is the Gut G on the new Garbo set plain, or wrapped? I have a standard Garbo on my G and it sounds terrific. I'd love to hear the Gut version.
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Its a plain gut 'G' string with Garbo 'E', 'A' and 'D'. Its a very well matched set of strings if you're going for *that* sound!
 
#240
GrowlerBox said:
Just to clarify slightly - this is correct, except that the D is a Garbo light. I'm loving them.
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Are you sure? The set I measured has the regular Garbo sized D string - and the Velvet site lists the tension for the Garbo/Gut D as 25kgs, not 23 kgs like the Garbo Light...
 

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