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Double Bass What is this?

Hi fellow Bassists...

I need help to figure out what brand and model of strings this is.(picture)
I borrowed them from a friend but he doesnt know anything about them.

The thing is, I kinda like them but I can't buy a set for myself because I simply have no idea what it is.

Thankful for any help /Erik
 

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  • Bild 2012-03-15 kl. 16.15.jpg
    Bild 2012-03-15 kl. 16.15.jpg
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Official name Innovation 140B (Braided).
The actual made 140B strings have black silk on both ends (at the request of orchestral players), but dark blue with yellow in the middle at the tailpiece and different colours at the pegs end are Innovation 140B. I have a mixed set from older and newer stock strings.

Very nice to play, maybe a bit quieter than higher tension strings. The E and A need some playing (or bending treatment) to open up (at least with my set). On of my favourite sets.
 
I see!

Could you compare these strings with, for example Evah Pirazzi or Belcanto.

I am very new at playing arco and haven't really tried that many strings. I love the feeling of bowing the Innovation although I feel they lack a bit of brightness, especially in the higher octaves. Although some strings that have more brightness are way to scratchy and "metallic".

So, in essence, is there any strings that'll give you the same "carefree" playing but with a little more brightness?
I know this is probably a silly question cause strings react differently on different basses and so on... but just to get a hint on what I should try out.
 
The 140B was my spolution to more brightness when I tried the Evah Pirazzi Weich. Not that much more, but more. The regular Evahs are darker than the Evah Weich. Both Evahs have more tension than 140B.

I never tried the Belcanto. Steels trings are generally thinner than synthetic core strings, at least for the higher strings. I play a high C, tried about 10 different steel strings and disliked them all for the small diameter (hard to press down in thump position).

If you are willing to give up the highs for more midrange you can try the Innovation 140H. A bit more tension (probably similar to Evah Weich), a bit more aggressive, sounds a bit like a simulation of a wound gut string.

If you want to stick with synthetic core to get a larger diameter than a steel string try the Velvet Compas 180. You need to bow well, because the more brightness will make bowing failures very obvious. But these strings cost more than twice as much as the 140B.

The reason I never tried the Belcanto is that they don't make a Belcanto high C. And probably my high C steel string experience. My problems with stel high C are that they are too thin in thump position to be pressed down successfully and they often don't sound good in lower positions.
It seems that you cannot have both, good sound in lower and in upper positions. Since the steels were too thin for me I decided to try the (few) synthetic core options and live with the shorter sustain in higher positions. I probably don't have much experience with your problem because I just play that stuff on my high C string (still a development string and not the last word, I didn't like the regular aluminium wound high C together with the standard set). But if you need something brighter than 140B you need to look out for a solid core synthetic string like Innovation 140H (medium low tension) or Pirastro Obligato (medium high tension).

For me the best medium bright arco and pizz string is the Velvet Compas 180. But expensive and needs a lot of care to mount them correctly. If you need them a bit lower tension there is a SUIT set that sounds similar with just a little bit less power.