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Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part III

#101
Hi everybody.
I play a full massive Eberle from 61 currently fitted with Evah Pirastro strings. These er great for both finger and bow, but I want a more "dark" and old school sound.
Thinking about changing to Velvet Garbo strings, but as far as I can see in former threads, the Velvet Garbo isn´t god for bowing.
Does anyone here have experience with bowing and Velvet Garbo?


I currently play with two artist that both require that I play with bow. Is it possible with Velvet Garbo strings, or should I just "get along" with my current sound with the Pirastro strings?
 
#102
kristianbl said:
Hi everybody.
I play a full massive Eberle from 61 currently fitted with Evah Pirastro strings. These er great for both finger and bow, but I want a more "dark" and old school sound.
Thinking about changing to Velvet Garbo strings, but as far as I can see in former threads, the Velvet Garbo isn´t god for bowing.
Does anyone here have experience with bowing and Velvet Garbo?


I currently play with two artist that both require that I play with bow. Is it possible with Velvet Garbo strings, or should I just "get along" with my current sound with the Pirastro strings?
Click to expand...

Most people describe the Garbo's as "unbowable" especially the G string, which has a synthetic cover that doesn't allow the bow to catch the string very well.
Have you tried Pirastro Bel Canto? Will certain give a darker tone than Evah's, but really great under the bow.
 
#105
JayB said:
Going to Velvets is going to be a huge tension drop from Evahs, which is something to consider if you like how your bass feels currently.
Click to expand...

Definitely true. I'm a bit of a tension junky and had Evah regulars on my bass. I switched to Animas on the bottom and guts on top. The tension difference was definitely something for me and my bass to get used to but it is awfully nice not to be in pain at the end of a gig.
 
#108
Animas bow just fine, and I'm wondering, if the
only reason people say Garbos do not bow well
is the G string then the new option Velvet has
to get a G Gut should solve that. The default Garbo
G is weird, I have it on an Eminence so I'm not sure
what I would think of it on my Hungarian, at this point
it doesn't matter since I don't think I'll ever take the
Gamut's off :D
 
#110
Marcus Johnson said:
Bel Cantos are made by Thomastik.
Click to expand...

Quite right! My bad. I came across BC's for the first time last week and was really impressed with how easy they are to bow, and they get a nice pizz tone. I am having a new bass built, and am really wavering between the BC's or trying a set of Anima's. I want a really great pizz tone, but I ALSO want a great arco tone. I am a very experience arco player and used Spiro Mittels for years and was able to bow them fine. With that in mind, should bowing Anima's be that much a stretch from spiros, which are not the most bow friendly strings ever?
 
#111
The main thing that I found with the Animas was that I had a hard time zeroing in on the pitch, for some reason. Spiros were a lot easier for me. But other folks seem to bow Animas fine. The arco tone of the Animas is really different from Spiros.

The best combination of great pizz and great arco for me has been the Evah Pirazzi Weichs. The Gamut guts that I use now are also great, but you have to want that gut tone and feel in both the arco and the pizz, or you're just not gonna hear it.
 
#112
Marcus Johnson said:
The main thing that I found with the Animas was that I had a hard time zeroing in on the pitch, for some reason. Spiros were a lot easier for me. But other folks seem to bow Animas fine. The arco tone of the Animas is really different from Spiros.

The best combination of great pizz and great arco for me has been the Evah Pirazzi Weichs. The Gamut guts that I use now are also great, but you have to want that gut tone and feel in both the arco and the pizz, or you're just not gonna hear it.
Click to expand...

How would you describe the bowed tone of the gamuts compare to say, the bowed tone of spiros? I would LOVE to try Gamuts, but that is a $400 experiment and any advice helps! I like EPs, but am discourage when many have said they poop out after less than 12 months. I am looking for a durable string, as I just can't afford to change strings alot.
 
#113
Oh, Gamuts and Spiros are opposite ends of the spectrum... and more similar than you might think at the same time. Zen enough for you? LOL.

The tone of bowed Gamuts is somewhat typical of all gut strings... there's that little "whoosh" sound, a little bit of air that's hard to describe. The copper wound lower strings are very nice... big and full, lots of character and grain. The unwound plain top strings can really sound harsh if you use a pickup, so I try not to. No amp, or a good mic, is much better... but a pickup's okay if I'm using my Acoustic Image amp, which is very arco-forgiving. They don't sound as nasal as some other guts I've played. They have a nice singing tone, but it's a bit of a butt-clencher getting it. If you can do it, it's pretty great. I played some heads arco last night, and it reminded me that I need to get some serious bow practice into my schedule. :D I pulled out John Goldsby's jazz arco book as soon as I got home last night.....
 
#114
kristianbl said:
Hi everybody.
I play a full massive Eberle from 61 currently fitted with Evah Pirastro strings. These er great for both finger and bow, but I want a more "dark" and old school sound.
Click to expand...

I have Velvet Compás Blue strings on my bass, mainly just because they're relatively low tension and not too expensive, and to me they seem easy to bow and sound great. I guess they might not be much different from your Evah Pirastros, but maybe a little darker? maybe someone who has tried both would know. I believe the Blue physical tension is lower.
 
#117
Has anyone used this set? What's the G like?

I'm curious about how they bow, as jfv said, maybe the gut G would cure the Garbo's tendency towards unbowability?

Also one of the points about Velvet sets of strings was the even tension across all strings. The Garbo gut set doesn't have this even tension, does it make a difference?
 
#118
For the past year and a half, I've been very happy with a full set of Animas on my Rivere & Hawks. This set had been on my German bass for about eight months beforehand, but weren't really making it on that bass. On a whim one evening, I threw them on the Hawks (which had Spiro Mitts on) and to my surprise, The bass loved them. The sound warmed up and opened up. In addition, They made the bass easier to play from a hand fatigue standpoint. My only wishes were that they were a hair louder and maybe, just maybe, a shade darker. So, like every other neurotic tone seeker here on this board, I read some opinions and did some research and ended up buying a set of Garbos for my spring visit to Mr. Shanks.

The Garbos were installed yesterday, and while it's way to early to tell conclusively, I like what I'm hearing, so far. They are a bit louder and seem to generate more lower-mid fundamental than the Animas. I really dig the feel of the larger diameter string, too. My playing is almost entirely pizz, so any bowing issues that people have with Garbos are moot for me. I'll see how they break-in and age and post some periodic up-dates.
 
#120
Bijoux said:
How thick are the velvet blues compared to animas or maybe even Spiro mittels or obligatos. Well are they thicker than most steel strings? Thank you
Click to expand...

i used animas for several years before trying the blues and i think that the diameters are fairly close. Definitely thicker than obligatos or spiro orchestra (have not tried mittels). There is a feel difference between animas and blues which at first made me think that trying the blues was not a good choice. However, after breaking them in, i think they are quite nice.
 

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