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Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part III

#441
Tuning stability is no worse than any other string. You do have to be careful where the string bends over the nut and over the bridge. I've broken windings taking the string off. I would be liberal with the pencil lead (graphite). It's one of those strings people feel are worth the expense of breakages. If you are careful and don't take the strings off the bass more than a few times, you'll prob be ok.
 
#443
Sam Dingle said:
Any other set backs? They sound like their great.
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In regards to set backs, IME there aren't any. I have taken my Garbos on and off 3 different basses (all with different mensures) several times in the last few years with none of the unwinding and breakage problems others have reported. Maybe I'm fortunate in that area and am blessed with a special set.

One other item worth mentioning is the arco capability of Garbos. Again I've read posters claim difficulty bowing them, not my experience at all. They do just fine for me, but I'm no where near as proficient with the bow as most are. YMMV. Hope this helps.
 
#444
Sam Dingle said:
Question about Velvet Animas. I have heard a lot about durability issues and was hoping someone would comment on that. I'm currently using Spiro Weichs with Anima G, would love to try the full set but don't want strings to break constantly. Also how is the tunining stability once they settle in? Thanks.
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IME Animas are not Spirocores when it comes to tuning stability but not bad either. I`ve been taking them off and on a lot lately since I`ve been trying different options on my new bass. I`ve been stringing them carefully and haven`t had any breakages yet. I have a spare D since the " old " one seems to snap the next time I`m swapping it, the windings are separating badly, but no breakage so far with all the swapping.

For me, they have all the best qualities of gut and steel when plucked. Lots of gut character with steel sustain, growl and plenty of volume, all packed in nice low tension. The G was unbowable for me but some say that rosin has lots to do with that. They`re not Spiro loud when bowed but have their own voice with the bow too. I have a Garbo gut G and it works very well with the Anima set.
 
#447
This is very true. I'm just worried about having to tune without a reference point. This just has to do with my ear. I know at the beginning of a set with spirocores or Evahs that when I tune them, I won't have to tune then again (till maybe the set break) and I check my G tuning against my spiro D, but the possibility of all strings going out of tune even slightly leaves me a tad worried
 
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#449
I bit the bullet and bought a set of Animas. They're on the way. I realized unless I'm playing in my wind ensemble I'm always playing through my amp which has a tuner and mute switch on it that I'm able to use with ease. My teacher gave me his used G/D and I loved them so thought I'd spring for the whole set. This is the last experiment I'm doing for a while. Hopefully its the fell that I like.
 
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#451
Their gut g is basically a plain gut g string that has the standard velvet endings ( yellow loop at the tailpiece and dark green at the top) rather than a gut loop or knot. I'm not sure about the diameter but it matches the set pretty nicely. I used it with the light gauge garbo D but I have seen people use it with regular D as well
 
#452
Velvet homepage says that the tension of their gut G is 23kg. I`ve used it with Animas and that`s a nice match. It`s a quality string, the end loops have survived my misuse well, I`ve tuned it to A and G both. Needs to be maintained at times as all plain gut strings.
 
#453
I have a question for people who have used Velvet Blue. I'm taking my new bass in this week for an overhaul and purchased a set of Blues for the bass, both because of price and because I've always been curious about them. I used Animas for years on my old bass, and liked them quite a bit although the nylon wrapped G and durability issues were annoyances.

I understand the Blues will be brighter, and that shouldn't be an issue as this bass is pretty dark to begin with. What concerns me is that I've read many posts here saying that in the beginning, Blues a VERY bright. How long do they take to mellow out? Are we talking a month or six months? And do they only mellow when they are completely dead?
 
#458
I went to my luither today to drop off my bass, who is a jazz violinist who plays DB as well. He showed me his bass which had, suprise suprise, a pretty old set of blues strung up. Even well used, the blues seem to be pretty bright strings, although not twangy with a good feel. Let's see how my bass likes them....
 

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