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Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part III

#681
Peck_Time said:
I just want to throw in a vote for the Velvet Blues. They’re cheap(er than other Velvets), they sound great, they’re far more bowable than Garbos and they’re easy to play.
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Blues are definitely a pisser. Way more character than the Corelli 370's I came from. I did find that the D arco was prone to whistle and could be hard to start.
 
#682
Sean Riddle said:
Update on playing arco on the new Anima G string. Velvet seems to have really improved on the bow-ability of the G string. I remember the old Anima G I had for a short bit was damn near impossible. The new one took some time to get used to but now since I have a better knowledge of how these strings bow, they are really starting to sound good! I finally tried them out in a chamber ensemble and they did really well. The blend with the other bass player was nice and the articulations with this piece (an original piece by one of my friends with some complex rhythm cycle) were easy to translate. I did a recording session last night and they sounded good for that setting. I have some more next week that should give me a good picture of how the arco tone sounds recorded, so I’ll report more then! Overall the tone isn’t as bright and scratchy as I thought it would be. If you’re going to use these strings to bow any situation though you need to put in a lot of practice because these strings don’t behave like steel strings under the bow.
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Cat, are they less raspy than Blues? Just curious cause my bass generates it's own rasp and I'm still on the Compas 180's to help with my intonation. Someday I would like to try the Animas though.
 
#683
vinnycolletti said:
Cat, are they less raspy than Blues? Just curious cause my bass generates it's own rasp and I'm still on the Compas 180's to help with my intonation. Someday I would like to try the Animas though.
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I’ve never played the Blues so I can’t compare. There is a natural rasp to the Animas, but with practice you’ll learn how to minimize the rasp.
 
#684
I've been watching a lot of youtube and it seems like in New York, everyone and their mother is using a Velvet G with some steel EAD. Is this a new thing? I know Larry Grenadier did it for a long time and I tried it briefly (10 minuets) but it seems like everyones doing it. The sound they get is incredible.
 
#686
I've been a happy blues user for years and it's time for a new set. I'm thinking about bumping up to Animas. Why? There must be a reason they cost more? Rufus sounds better than me? I'm nuts? I'm scared of breakage. Is this still a concern or has this been addressed?
 
#687
New Velvet Blue user here switching from spiro weichs. Got them 3 days ago and if I'm not playing the bass then I can't wait to play the bass. I most only play pizz so I can't speak to arco playability but I'm loving the low tension and the attack at the front of the note. I think they sound better amplified too with Full Circle. Did raise the the action a little and it made the bass really sing although thumb position is definitely more challenging now. They are still stretching but holding the pitch better each day. So far I'm lovin them.
 
#688
Hello everyone, I have some questions about Velvet.
Mostly I play in orchestra and sometimes solo, so I play about 90% arco or more.
I have never played any single string made by this brand. Eventhough I love the pizz sound of Velvet, especially the Garbo, wondering if I could play one set of them in orchestra.
Many said that Garbo is not good to bow, while Blue or other series(anima,180,360?) are good.
If strung as orchestra strings, do they have sufficient volume? Sufficient punch and projection? Can be heard clearly in low, fast passage? Will they buzz or rattle under great bow pressure? How does it feel like when it comes to high high thumb positions like Bach or Bottesini?
I found a video here, and I can't see any wrong with being bowed. But there's no comparison to other brand on one instrument; and still I am curious about the higher register and great pressure.
Thanks !
 
#689
Alberto Wang said:
Hello everyone, I have some questions about Velvet.
Mostly I play in orchestra and sometimes solo, so I play about 90% arco or more.
I have never played any single string made by this brand. Eventhough I love the pizz sound of Velvet, especially the Garbo, wondering if I could play one set of them in orchestra.
Many said that Garbo is not good to bow, while Blue or other series(anima,180,360?) are good.
If strung as orchestra strings, do they have sufficient volume? Sufficient punch and projection? Can be heard clearly in low, fast passage? Will they buzz or rattle under great bow pressure? How does it feel like when it comes to high high thumb positions like Bach or Bottesini?
I found a video here, and I can't see any wrong with being bowed. But there's no comparison to other brand on one instrument; and still I am curious about the higher register and great pressure.
Thanks !
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First I have to say, my playing is not very good especially in thumb position I can tell you that if you want Velvets and you play 90% arco you will be happiest with the Compas 180 set. I had a set of blues but found them difficult to bow while the 180s bow nicely. Pizz is very good and they have good volume and respond well played hard or softly to the end of the fingerboard . They are very easy as far as tension and I have only had some buzz bowed hard high up on my E which is too low anyway. Hopefully a good player will chime in.
 
#690
vinnycolletti said:
First I have to say, my playing is not very good especially in thumb position I can tell you that if you want Velvets and you play 90% arco you will be happiest with the Compas 180 set. I had a set of blues but found them difficult to bow while the 180s bow nicely. Pizz is very good and they have good volume and respond well played hard or softly to the end of the fingerboard . They are very easy as far as tension and I have only had some buzz bowed hard high up on my E which is too low anyway. Hopefully a good player will chime in.
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Thanks a lot sincerely ! Taking your advice, I am considering a Compas 180 set. But I'm still afraid that the G and E will buzz when I play forte accent, since I am used to playing with my bridge as low as possible(fortunately it is adjustable).
 
#694
Alberto Wang said:
Oh that really makes me hesitate. If I adjust my bridge higher, and make more effort on my right hand, may it work in orchestra playing?
But they're still fine to Bach, aren't they? witch doesn't need big power and bow pressure, but lots of chords.
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I personally wouldn't play velvets with the bow. Never heard or tried the compus but I hear they have an old gut sound. I would stick to some kind of steel/orchestra string. What are you using now and what don't you like? Why the interest in velvets?
 
#695
Sam Dingle said:
I personally wouldn't play velvets with the bow. Never heard or tried the compus but I hear they have an old gut sound. I would stick to some kind of steel/orchestra string. What are you using now and what don't you like? Why the interest in velvets?
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Hi, I'm using Spiro light now, which I have already used for 5 years, so they aged and speak badly. I love to play Bach on my bass, therefore I set my bridge extremely low. However no matter how low the strings are, and how loose the old Weich are, they still hurt my thumb when I play double stops and chords on high thumb positions. Therefore I am looking for a light-tension, soft-feeling string. Velvet's pizzicato sounds amazing; I image that old gut sound can be bowed. I think that kind of sound would be appropriate for Bach. As for orchestra playing, if Velvet really doesn't be suitable, I can play another bass instead; but if it work well in ensemble, it would be a double-win result.
 
#696
The Velvet Classico are a little bit more bow friendly than the Compas 180 and these sets are the only ones you can consider for mainly playing arco. But their bowing style is very different from bowing Spiros. The tension is lower than orchestral Spiros, but not as much as the other Velvet strings.
But I got issues with the winding on some strings with both sets and the surface is not as smoothly polished as a Spiro. And if you wind the tube connecting vibrating part to strap onto the peg the string might break (even if they tell you they won't), so they might be a bit hard to mount (specially the string on the lowest peg).
 
#697
Hi friends,
I have the original strings on from when I bought my bass over ten years ago. I can't even remember what I had put on them at the time (maybe helicore?) but I've been thinking of going with a very pizz-focused string with low tension for a long time. I will bow from time to time in the folk/pop type of stuff I usually play but it's for effect and I am by no means a focused arco player. I need a good jazz/contemporary pizz string. Getting something with lower tension has long been a hope of mine. Does it sound like Velvet Blue might be in that realm or do you have any other suggestions?
 
#698
krbrunet said:
Hi friends,
I have the original strings on from when I bought my bass over ten years ago. I can't even remember what I had put on them at the time (maybe helicore?) but I've been thinking of going with a very pizz-focused string with low tension for a long time. I will bow from time to time in the folk/pop type of stuff I usually play but it's for effect and I am by no means a focused arco player. I need a good jazz/contemporary pizz string. Getting something with lower tension has long been a hope of mine. Does it sound like Velvet Blue might be in that realm or do you have any other suggestions?
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I wouldn't sugguest velvets. They don't have a long life and if that's how long you want to keep strings you risk them breaking or just being dead. I think the best pizz focused string is spirocores so you should try Spirocore light/weich.
 
#699
I don't know if life is necessarily a huge concern of mine. I just kept my last pair out of budgeting issues. I appreciate your tip though. Spirocores were the other ones I was leaning towards. How is the tension on those though? Higher than velvets correct but, in general, high medium or low?
 
#700
The guy who organized the BASS meeting some years ago in the Netherlands (Almere/Amsterdam) plays Compas 180 for classical and told me that he uses his set for a really long time and likes them. I have tried them, but it was difficult to adjust my (rather bad) bowing from steel/synthetic core metal wrapped strings to them because you need to bow lighter with them, similar to naked gut bowing.
 
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