Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part III
- Thread starter Dudie
- Start date
- Jul 19, 2000
- 2,014
- 2,224
- Disclosures
- Owner/President, Gollihur Music LLC
They are back in production. The only strings unavailable at the moment are the gut strings (like the Garbo G-gut). They find themselves needing to find a new gut supplier. But the other strings are available, and they should be 100% quality again.
bskts: I used them (Garbo) for a year or so about 5 years ago. Never had a breakage problem but I had a string where the copper winding cracked. Great customer service though. I liked them but I ended up going to a Spiro Weich E and A /Zyex medium mix. I needed a faster attack with a solid fundamental because of the material our band was playing. Velvets are kinda unique....lots of reading on these threads to help you understand why.
My problem with bowing Blues is that the bow had problems "grabbing" the string. My bow guy thought black hair would be the best solution, going from chestnut, but it didn't make much difference. If you've tried something that works, Let us know.
That new Anima G string looks great. Is it still Tynex wrapped? I always loved how Animas sounded, but hated how the G would unwind, not to mention it eating the fingerboard.
I'm using Anima E/A under Gamut D/G.
Pizz; all strings are pretty even in feel, timbre & volume, better than when I had old Mittels for E/A under the Gamuts. I'm really liking this setup. They amplify well via the FC, HPF, Aguilar & RevSound 2x10. FWIW, (the Zyex Med also amplified very well through this rig).
Arco: My inexpensive Brazilwood bow with 7 year old black hair and Pops will grab the Gamuts easily, but the Animas need a more firm touch to start. The arco tone of the guts is normal (kinda bright and buzzy), while the Animas are smoother & warmer, but the volume remains pretty even. fYi - my arco skills are pitiful.
Can anyone comment on the newer Anima G? Mine just broke after a year so I'm wondering if I should get another one.
Bought a set of blues to replace Corelli 370f on my old German Ply termite eaten baby. Pizz heaven and arco hell. I tried Pops, Kolstein and even yanked out a cake of Pirastro Olive from my violin case. In desperation put on some powdered rosin I had from some varnish experiments. Got some grab but gave up & put the Corellis back on. After playing the blues pizz I was spoiled. Mark suggested Carlssons so I put the blues back on and tried the Carlsson- no good. Took a rag of alcohol to clean up some and the dry rosin melted in and ! bow meets string. Now I'm using powdered rosin mixed in some everclear wiped on. So far the blues are now usable. Now this is just an area for exploration for those desperate. I have a $125 Chinese German CF bow w/ black hair not a $5k pernambuco so....
I never minded bowing Animas despite sounding a little more P.C. than orchestral, but the Blues were something else. On my bass, they were much more inconsistent and hard to start.
RE: Nymans, I thought that was the same stuff as the Carlssons-no?
"On my bass, they were much more inconsistent and hard to start"- absolutely, here too
Kung fu: strings were clean. The bow hair got the alky rub. Anyway, my bowing can easily sound like a cross between a bunch of geese and a pissed-off Pteradactyl so getting the blues to sound like anything I count as something of a victory
"On my bass, they were much more inconsistent and hard to start"- absolutely, here too
Kung fu: strings were clean. The bow hair got the alky rub. Anyway, my bowing can easily sound like a cross between a bunch of geese and a pissed-off Pteradactyl so getting the blues to sound like anything I count as something of a victory
Ah, OK. I misread. I use acetone rather than alcohol to clean bow hair, which makes archetiers wince.
Just put a new Anima G and D on my bass. I briefly tried out the older version of the G and there's a bit of a difference. I think the biggest thing is that because of the closer windings, the string is less roundwoundy than before and thereby is fairly easy to bow. The arco tone doesn't have as much as that gut like buzz than it did before, but it's still slightly there. Pizz wise there's no difference that I've noticed. I'm only on 3 days with these strings, so let's see how long they last and if they chew up the fingerboard that much, but I'm liking them a lot so far!
Also, I do have a quick question about Velvets. I'm really digging the Anima D and G, so I think I'm going to get an Anima E and A soon to see if my bass likes the full set. My bass does have a wolf tone on the A string, so I'm wondering if it's safe to put the wolf tone eliminator on the Velvet A string? Knowing a lot of people have said these strings can be fragile, I want to make sure I'm not damaging the strings.
