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Double Bass Velvet strings megathread part III

#121
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
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Velvet Blues are sounding very good on my wife's bass right now! ;) The Blues are very similar to Spiro Mittels in gauge - the 'G is a little thicker and the 'E' is a little skinnier.

Full numbers on all these strings are available on the 'Double Bass Strings' page at www.thebassspa.com
 
#128
I'm chiming back in to spread some more Anima love. These things have really settled in. When I swapped out the Gamuts, I was nervous but it has really paid off. The tuning is perfect, the feel is soft, quick rebound compared to gut, slap-able, bow-able, and they are LOUD. While I know Garbos might be the logical choice, these are great for roots/Americana music. Everyone who plays my German ply bass digs it. Early 90s Eberle owners, take heed! :D

I have some new observations after practicing a bit more with the bow. If you like that slightly scratchy, gutty arco that can be rad for jazz and folk music, they can be very useful and fun to play. They grab the string real nice after a few months. I've found that there is a tradeoff in arco on the G string in thumb position, and my teacher (who actually has the right to say something about arco) agrees. Not impossible to get a good clean sound, just a little harder. I found a lot of rosin (nyman, in my case) helps a good deal.
 
#129
Question for guys with more Anima experience than me: I just got a really beat up D string off of a guy on TB and put it on my bass which now has a Spiro E, BelCanto G and A, and now, an Anima D. I got the D for $15 just for an experiment to see how Animas might work on this bass. Sofar, I am totally blown away by the String. It has an odd metallic rattle that is probably due to this string being beat to hell by the seller, (it is unravelling in places) but aside from that it really sounds great. Thumb position pizz is huge sounding, and I find that the Arco experience to be opposite of what everyone else here is saying. I found that it bows really really easily. I could play Orch excerpts like the Beethoven 5 Scherzo and had no problem starting the string. Of course the tone is a little raw sounding compared to the BelCantos, but then again, everything pretty much is. Only in thumb position does the string get difficult, and even up there it just wants a faster bow speed and less weight than a steel string. I just LOVE how they felt under the left hand. I have been searching my whole bass life for strings that would be softer under the left hand and not puny sounding, and these may be it.
Here is my question: are the other strings different under the bow than this D string?
Also, can anyone make a direct comparison to the Compass 180 set versus the Anima as far as pizz tone? I wasn't getting a huge amount of sustain from the Anima D, but it was really beat up, and my action is pretty high, more like an orchestral setup. I wouldn't mind a smoother arco tone, but not at the expense of the loud pizz thump. Most of my paying work will not be in the classical world anyway, and a great pizz tone is paramount.
 
#130
engedi1 said:
Here is my question: are the other strings different under the bow than this D string?
Also, can anyone make a direct comparison to the Compass 180 set versus the Anima as far as pizz tone?
Click to expand...

G is the rawest sounding Anima with the bow. But it is good if you like Paul Chambers´arco sound.

I have both sets and have been playing Animas for years. Animas certainly have fatter and stronger pizz sound, a great mix of an old school and spirocore sound. And you can also bow and slap them.

Compass 180 orchestras are also great strings. They have a cleaner classical bow sound. They also have great sustain and feel for jazz pizz but the sound is thinner (so are the string gauges also) less thumpier and more modern than with Animas.

Sometimes when my Animas get too old (D has the least sustain and goes dead first) I replace the D with a Compass 180 D-string and it works great! So maybe I would like the Anima D to have a bit more sustain. But it´s also a slight problem with my bass.
 
#131
Thanks Elmer. Velvet strings being expensive, and not great on resale since they seem to be a bit fragile, I need to get the right string the first time. I was also hoping the D string that I bought could have more sustain, but it certainly sustains more than the Bel Canto D string, and is louder for sure. I guess I will go with Anima's as the pizz tone is the real priority. As long as Animas can bow good enough for pit work that is cool.
 
#133
engedi1 said:
Now I am leaning towards the Compas. I have been a steel player my whole life on the bass, and maybe will find that to be a much more friendly transition, especially since arco is a big part of my life. sigh... I really need two basses...
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I think that while the Compas strings are nice, Evah Pirazzi Weichs are less money, have normal installation, and would probably be as good double duty strings for your purposes. Of course, your bass and your preferences will have the final word.
 
#136
I don't know, but at least perhaps I can save you the trouble of contacting Pirastro. At least by email. They're happy to recommend Evah Pirazzi Weichs, and include promotional materials touting their benefits, but will not address tension. (When asked in English - maybe German would work better? Though it's really possible that unlike Velvet they don't have a way to measure this and they simply don't know the answer.)
 
#139
Francois Blais said:
IMHO, they have all the numbers.
They probably just don't want to publish them.
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That would sure be a reason to stick with Velvet.

Given the data we have, Velvet Compàs Blue looked pretty good to me for low tension. The only strings that beat them were Eurosonic Light, Corelli 370M and "Pyramid 214" gut strings (probably representative of gut strings in general, don't know), and without ever having played any of those, I'm guessing Blues play a lot more like a mainstream general purpose string.
 
#140
donn said:
That would sure be a reason to stick with Velvet.

Given the data we have, Velvet Compàs Blue looked pretty good to me for low tension. The only strings that beat them were Eurosonic Light, Corelli 370M and "Pyramid 214" gut strings (probably representative of gut strings in general, don't know), and without ever having played any of those, I'm guessing Blues play a lot more like a mainstream general purpose string.
Click to expand...

That's not a reason to not try the Evahs, IMO. They are fine strings. The weichs are similar feeling to spiro weichs, IMO. Blues feel and sound different than "mainstream" strings like spiros, evahs, oblis, etc. I"ve tried many strings and the Blues are pretty unique.
 

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