What strings do you BassChat DB'ers play?

[Clarky]

OK, I know most of us playing ( or blagging their way on) DB are forever experimenting with strings to get the sound we have in our heads and that different basses suit different strings better. Butt ... I would be interested to see what y'all currently have as your preferred strings and why (while recognising the answer could be different in a couple of months time!)

I'll start - after working my way through endless permutations I have ended up with

E Spiro Mittel
A/D/G Pirastro Oliv

Its the closest I've got to that 'LaFaro sound'. My only gripe is the tuning stability of the Olivs which swings massively with the weather and humidity. I also love Danny Thompson 's growly Spirocore sound but I don't have the hand strength to replicate the buzz/growl that he gets with those strings

Edited September 19, 2013 by Clarky

[Beedster]

Silver Slaps which I bought from you Clarky, they're about the only strings with the balance of low tension and decent tone that work on my old Rumanian. I fend them increasingly quite noisy and a little like TI Flats on EB, just not quite solid enough. I played Evah's on the old German and loved them, and they'll be the starting point when the new instrument arrives, whenever that will be

Edited September 20, 2013 by Beedster

[PTB]

I am very happy with my Innovation Golden Slaps. The amplified sound is warm & clear in the mix and, as I found out a few weeks back, the record well into a Mic.

Having said that, my set are almost 2 years old and I'm wondering if I simply get another set of Slaps or try some real guts. I have deferred doing anything about this til 2014 due to other pressing expenses but am looking forward to this.

[henrywillard]

I currently have Evah Pirazzi Weich's on my trusty Westbury bass, and they're the best string I have tried so far.
There are still many more strings out there I would perhaps like to try in years to come, but right now my Evah's, although not the loudest of strings, feel wonderfully comfortable to play, and are extremely well balanced all across the fingerboard. Very responsive, and my Wilson K4 also seems to love them.

[mtroun]

Oliv G and D, Spiro Mittel A and E. The A string may be getting replaced soon.

[alistair Sutcliffe]

Innovation silver slaps. They sound great on my el cheapo and they're easy to play. I play slap and pizz, i don't know how they bow.

[geoffbassist]

I'm a big Evah Weich fan. I go through phases of string swapping, but I really like these and always come back.

[BassBod]

Spiro mediums (red silk both ends) on acoustic and EUB. It just gets too expensive to experiment, and I have to play all sorts of music...so I decided to man up and just get used to them. Its working, as long as I don't have more than two days without playing. I think string choice and set up go together - its not like bass guitar where there are only small (user) adjustments are needed.

Over the years I've used loads - Superflexibles (they weren't) Innovation Honeys (nice, but windings moved on core) Innovation Rockabilly (great, may go back one day) D'Addario Helicore (much like Spiro's, but not) LaBella black plastic (very nice, and sounded great on EUB).

[Bilbo]

Another Evah Pirazzi Weich user here. I use them because they sound like bass strings. To me, anyway. That's all.

And they do a high C.

[ShergoldSnickers]

I'm totally new to this game, but the difference between the Evah Pirazzi Weichs on G, D and A, and the Spirocore Mittels on E and B is definitely there. Not that the Spiros are bad — far from it. The Evahs just 'sing'. There is a degree of experimentation required it seems to me, but I think the next change will be to Evahs all round. Expensive is this double bass lark.

[Hector]

Used to be spiro weichs full set.

Now I'm on D'Addario Helicore Hybrid (Mediums) EAD and Zyex G. Basically I wanted a bit of a fuller sound on the G string - I have quite a bright bass, so the Spiro G ended up sounding a bit nasal. I decided to give the helicores a punt since I was changing strings. Similar sustain and growl to spiros, but a little darker and almost gut-like after some breaking in (which is a good thing on my bass). They are slightly higher tension than the spiros, but that's nit-picking a bit, and that slight extra tension suits my bass without impairing my ability to pull a big sound. It's a nice balanced set. I particularly love the sound and feel of the Zyex. It's a poor man's alternative to an Oliv G, basically, but it's actually a really great string in it's own regard and I'll likely not bother trying Olivs for a while.

Overall, it's a good set that seems to have made my bass come alive a bit. I get a lot more compliments on my sound since I changed strings.

Edited September 20, 2013 by Hector

[artisan]

Rotosound RS4000 for me,sound like old school guts to me & perfect for the Rockabilly/Country stuff i play.
Pretty low tension & feel very nice on my fingers,they make my ply Strunal sound great.( its just a pity about the player)

[Cat Burrito]

I don't bow at all but Thomann's Gut-a-like vintage strings for me and I was much happier with them than I ever was with the stock ones

[fatback]

The bass is an old Czech hybrid. Early on, I moved from Pirastro Jazzers to Spiro Weichs for the lower tension. I miss the extreme growl of the Jazzers' E, but the playability of the spiros is great. The G sings beautifully as well.

I chose metal because I thought I'd need a mag pickup as a backup in case of feedback problems. In fact, I've never used it in a gig, although nice to know it's there.

Edited September 20, 2013 by fatback

[Beer of the Bass]

I've settled on Spirocore Mittels for the moment. The arco sound tends to be on the bright side and takes some practice to control well, but nothing else I've tried quite gets the growly pizz sound I like. I also have close to zero budget for experimentation at the moment, so working with a long-lasting string which I already own two sets of is the only sensible option. I think my old bass is just about dark enough that the Spirocores complement it nicely, while on a brighter sounding bass they might be grating.
On the current bass (old German flatback), I've also tried Innovation Honeys, but ended up going back to the Spiros. The Honeys were pleasant to play and easier with the bow, but I kept wanting that Spirocore pizz sound back. On my last bass (plywood), I've also been through Thomastik Superflexibles (sort of like Spiros with less growl) and Thomastik Dominants (fantastic, loud, just enough growl but horribly breakable).

[mtroun]

I find the Spiro Mittel E to have a GLORIOUS sound arco! It's a little tricky to start, but then I'm not the world's best arco player. My Spiro Mittel A is driving me nuts though - it wolfs on the open A, any idea if changing to a different string will help or is there something else I need to do?

[Beer of the Bass]

Is it OK an octave up on the A-string? My bass was really wolfy around the octave A with Spiros, and I found that one of those little brass wolf-eliminator weights carefully placed on the afterlength evened it right out.

[ubassman]

G # and A seem to be the hot spots for Wolf notes on a DB - dont know why that is but it usually in this frequency range. I get a seasonal Wolf Note appear this time of year when the central heating comes on . I put it down to changing the natural moisture content air in the house which is dryer and so the natural resonant frequency of the bass changes slightly with less moisture content.

A few DIY things you could try - theres a Wolf eliminator to fit on the after string and dampen the vibration ( obviously !), but you could also try Dampits and see if your bass is like mine and likes to be a bit higher moisture content. This time of year I also move the bridge away from the f notches 5 mm towards the tailpiece - it will shorten the after length of string ( sometimes its the afterlength that contributes to the overtone ). It will produce a deeper richer and fuller sound which on my bass seems to 'push though' the problem.

Finally, you could check the position of the E foot of the bridge to see that its centred over the bass bar - I use a thin piece of wood 2mm thick the size of a £5 and carefully slide it in through the F hole so that it sits tight to the bass bar. Then its a case of marking on the curve of the f hole and notch , pulling it out of the bass, and using the information to draw where the bass bar is situated. Mark a line with a wax chinagraph pencil to mark the position on the top , and establish the centre line of the bass bar. A properly aligned E bridge foot over the bass bar will make the top vibrate as efficiently and cleanly as possible and can help eliminate unwelcome 'dirty' frequencies.

[mtroun]

Yes well here's the thing: it wolfed before when I had a bigger bridge which had not had the adjusters fitted properly (and therefore wouldn't sit straight). It now continues to wolf, and when Tom Martin looked at my bass he said the bridge was too small and wasn't covering the bass bar properly.

But I've just spent £150 on a new bridge so I'm loathe to get a replacement just yet. The luthier who fitted the new bridge was recommended highly on basschat, so I don't know if it's just differences of opinion on bass bridge size. He shot the fingerboard as well and it's playing absolutely beautiful compared to before.

My problem is I'm a driver not a mechanic! Btw ubassman you don't happen to play gigs in Leicester occasionally do you?

[mtroun]

A case of mistaken identity then...

[ubassman]

if they were a great player ...then yes it was me !!

[keeponehandloose]

Clef Guts, but they may well be like Triggers famous broom ,and are actually all Lenzners now, Im not sure anymore.

[ubassman]

[quote name='mtroun' timestamp='1379695619' post='2215889']
when Tom Martin looked at my bass he said the bridge was too small and wasn't covering the bass bar properly.

But I've just spent £150 on a new bridge so I'm loathe to get a replacement just yet. The luthier who fitted the new bridge was recommended highly on basschat, so I don't know if it's just differences of opinion on bass bridge size. He shot the fingerboard as well and it's playing absolutely beautiful compared to before.

[/quote]



Many luthiers will keep a range of standard stock bridge blanks and cut the profile and feet to suit the bass and take a ' thats near enough approach' . A properly carved bespoke 'tailored for the bass' bridge will be twice the price.

I would have a go a aligning up the E foot on the bass bar and see what happens. Its an entirely reversible operation and usually a case of moving the bridge only a very small amount. If that doesn't work then a Wolf tone eliminator might be your best bet and not too expensive.

[ubassman]

[quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1379697672' post='2215912']
Clef Guts, but they may well be like Triggers famous broom ,and are actually all Lenzners now, Im not sure anymore.
[/quote]

...can you say that in english !

[ChrisF]

Innovation Rockabillys.... and I love them. Couldn't quite get the sound I was after at first, and I blamed the strings, but it was my technique that was at fault.

but I would like to give Rotosound RS4000's a go.. after a recommendation from Artisan.