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Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part III

#344
Velvet Blue are low tension, Evah (regular) are high tension. I'm sure the Evahs bow a lot better, but for pizz also Evah Weich is often a better choice than the regulars.
I would also consider Zyex, I think lower tension than regular Evahs and not as dark. Probably a better compromise if you pizz a bit more than you bow.

I even used the bowing strings from Velvet, Compas 180 and Classico, and both are harder to bow than Evahs. Don't I think you should not expect any Velvet string to be easy to bow and good for orchestra. (The Compas 180 and Classico are bowable, but you need to use a very light bowing. Not my favourite...)

I'm a long time Nymans user but now like Kolstein All-Weather or Petz Premium better. (But this depends on the bow, strings, bass and player.)
 
#346
I've had a set of blues on my main bass since November of last year. I had initial problems with bowing but now I get along fine, but my ratio is probably 20% Arco. This bass has a low standoff and the bow I use has fresh black hair. I get good dynamic range with the bow, use kolsteins all weather as well. My other bass has blues, has a much greater standoff and bowing is more challenging, possibly due to my infrequent playing on it as it is my backup. This bass originally had orchestral strings on it and there was definitively a greater ease in bowing but pizz was not there at all. I do agree with Eric that a different choice of string may be better suited to your ratio of pizz and Arco. I never had a full set of spiros on my main bass but did on my second. I never liked them for bowing. These were medium spiros. For mainly pizzing, blues kill it on both my basses. My luthier agreed too when I took my main bass in for a dressing. Previously I had a hybrid Spiro top obligato bottom setup which sounded great too. Details on that is somewhere in this thread, posted last November. Know with the blues that it takes some time for their brightness to fade. I particularly liked the bright about them and had to accept the darkening. Once I did I really appreciated the aging process and the final sound. I don't have to change strings every 6 months anymore!
 
#347
My experiences so far. I have been hearing and reading about Velvet, specially Garbos, forever. Finally I felt it was time to make the move. My previous strings were Rotosound 4000's, that I had on my bass for years, using steel strings before, mainly Spirocore. The Rotosounds were a revelation, no more blisters, and a more gutlike tone. I felt the E and A were a lot tighter than the D and G with the Rotosounds. So I chose Garbo light, hoping to get about the same tension on the D and G as the Rotosounds and then a corresponding tension on the E and A. To my surprise the Garbos felt a bit tighter than the Rotosound D and G. The Rotosounds must be really light. On the other hand I got the uniform tension with the E and A, which I think is a cool feature with Velvet.
So playing did not get "easier". But I do get more sound, both in volume and definition. If you try Velvets, I urge you to let them sit on the bass for at least 14 days, a lot of things happen in this period.
Well two days ago I unpacked my bass after the rehearsal with a trio I play in the day before. Tuned the bass up (it is still losing a bit). When I got to the E string there was sort of a "clanck" (I think), and it started to sound like I was using a fuzz pedal, a pretty loud buzzing sound. Luckily it is not the bass, I suppose the winding somehow got loose(?) So now the old Rotosound E is back on, sounding dead. I think I will take responsibility for the incident, since the Garbo E is slightly thicker, so I should probably have worked the slots a bit. I however have been so happy with the results so far, that I think I willl buy a single Garbo light E to replace it. Perhaps some time in the future experiment with the Garbo gut set.
 
#348
Set of Blues came on and right off. As many have stated they need a very light bow touch and were not the easiest to get started. The A and E seems to bow fine for me, but I found I really had to lighten my touch with the G and D strings. Pizz I really loved them, but not going to make it for the 50/50 I am doing these days. Spiro back on.
 
#350
They were on a few days and I had two rehearsals with them. I am not a classical player, but really didn't dig the uneven play with the bow. I found that the E and A started quickly and played fine with usual arm weight. It was a hard switch to then lighten it up to get a good start and sound out of the G and D. I am use to digging in with the bow for some particular tunes I play with a group on the G and D strings and the Blues just choked. I have been using Spiro weichs and have no issues with them.
 
#352
This must be the longest post in history.
I have a 1956 American Standard, 43 inch string length.
I have been wanting to try the Velvet Garbos but can't decide between the regular or the light gauge.
Velvet G Or Plain Gut G? I live in Florida and play some festivals so I wonder if the Gut G is going too be a problem with humidity.
I have been Playing Spiros Mittels on the E & A, Evah Pirazzi Med on the D & G.
I Play Mostly Bluegrass.
 
#358
I played the blues on my friends czech bass recently and didn't like how they sound. He and I both have garbo (although I've got gut g) on our main gigging basses and we both share the opinion that Blues are just not as good. I wouldn't compare them to evah either. They are different under the bow and left hand, different diameters, materials etc. Evah is just a modern synthetic strings, they bow ok and pizz sound ok, you can compare them to dominants, zyex or whatever. I tried them as solo strings ( I'm not sure of the gauge) on my bass and med. orchestral strings on my friends bass and figured these were not for me. Velvet, on the other hand, is some special strings. They sound their own way when bowed or plucked. In that situation I'd say go for it buy a garbo set if you want that sound. You're unlikely to find it somewhere else.
 
#359
Hey you Velvet`s / gut using folks, what would you recommend?

I´ve been lately digging more and more the old school sound and been using lighter tension strings set slightly higher, say 7-8mm to 10-11mm and really prefer the response and sound over lower setup. As I am forced now to make playing easier ( neck tension, infection on levator muscle, right arm issues ) I`m switching the core of my playing from 5ths back to 4ths and could go from steel strings ( my beloved Spiro weichs ) to more gut type of sound and feel. I`ve been thinking about choices that I have, which are solos tuned orch, lower tension strings like Velvets, full set of gut or some mixture of these. I need the strings to be bowable and I really like the bowed sound and feel of Spiro weichs. I have tried a bass with plain gut GDA and wound E, it bowed easy enough for me.

My bass has 104cm vibrating string lenght and an adjustable bridge.

I`m particularly interested in these options ( these are all available at Bassico.eu ):

Full set of Anima`s -Wondering how they compare to Spiro weichs as I would like a little lower tension than Spiros?

Anima E&A with Efrano, Lentzner or Chorda plain gut D&G -How`s the tension between Anima`s and plain gut? What`s the major difference between Chorda and the cheaper gut options?

Garbo light E&A with plain gut D&G -Tension should be fine but how`s the bowability of Garbo`s?

Spiro weich / gut mixed -I have really nice set of dead s42weichs

Finally, full set of gut, plain GDA / wound E or plain GD / wound AE -Kinda scared of the wound gut stability issues.

I`m not into other hybrid strings like Obligatos, EP`s, Dominants etc, with the exeption of downtuned solos. I tried a mixed set of Flat chromesteels / Belcantos which sounded nice but had very low volume and lack of projection.

Many thanks in advance, Reiska
 
#360
All basses have their own character but if it's any help.

I've tried garbo gut G set, I liked it and it got me into playing guts.

Garbo E&A works with plain gut D&G and I felt the tension was a good match. The E was a bit too low tension to vibrate my bass though.

Spiro E, and garbo gut G was a good mix with plenty of power on the bottom and nice gut clarity on top.

I've tried all sorts of random second hand gut strings and they had good qualities but a matched set is better for volume and smooth playing.

Right now I use gamut lyon medium D&G with chorda Carlos H E&A and it's a good balanced set.
 
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