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Double Bass what string for a mellow big sound?

#21
Innovations strings for sure.. silvers / slaps / blacks . Guts are it(but they can break)ouch). any body try the steel strings - Original flexibles.(not sure if i have this name correct!). i picked up a used G and D here on TB. those had a real good mellow tone to them. they were used alot!maybe thats why they were mellow!lol..! but the innovation rockabillys/blacks are smoooth!! my 2 cent
 
#22
Bassplayer48: A lot depends on how you play..if you have, or like, a strong sound I would suggest a Spirocore Mittel E, Spirocore Weich on the A and D and Bel Canto on the G (very gut-like) to get rid if the tinny Weich G sound.
I have tried this combination and found it to be very good for pizz. Solid, mellow (once the Weichs wear in), medium-low tension, low maintenance, inexpensive and easy to play on.
 
#25
I had UB blacks - but - to my tone deaf (w/2 hearin' aids) ears, they were just too twangy - too much treble & not enough bass . . . Jerry Fretwell just put on a set of Lenzner Guts - G&D plain/bare with the A&E silver wrapped - I'm happy with 'em. He tried just about every string in his inventory before we settled on the Lenzners to include Eurosonic Lights, Innovation Silver Slaps, Swiss Garbos & I had already tried the Spiros (sounded OK - but - I just don't like steel) & the Blacks. If ya want a gutty sound - best go w/guts - huh ?

But . . . I've never heard of anyone but Jerry who'd go the distance like that just to make ya happy !

Good Luck in your never ending search for the purrfekt sound - remember, it's all in the "ear" of the beholder . . .
 
#27
i recently put some ub blacks on my bass and i really love these strings. they sound a lot louder, darker and punchy than the obligatos that were on before. worked really well with my bass and amplified well also. they are fairly thick and feel really good under your fingers. you can really dig into these strings compared to the obligatos. i have not had alot of experience with other strings, but these are great strings for what i am doing.
 
#32
martinc said:
Francois: I think the Bel Canto fills that role now. A bit less tension than the Jargars too. For me the Bel Canto sounds and plays better than the Jargars for pizz. A more centered note and a bigger, warmer sound.:hyper: Don't know about bowing though.
Click to expand...

Belcantos are a dream to bow... I almost sound competent playing them. :hmm:
 
#33
I just heard Greg Garrison with Punch Brothers the other night, and for me he had the cleanest, clearest, roundest sound of just about anyone I've ever heard amplified (that's quite a lot of players- good, bad and middling). He was playing on EPs on the lower three with an Olive G. I couldn't hear any change in tone from one string to the next. He was mic'ed with an ATM 350 (or 35?) that looked like it just went straight into the house system. Although I don't play any bluegrass, for plucked sound in just about any type of music that's exactly what I'm looking for.
 

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