daflewis

+1 for the Fishman Platinum Bass

[quote name='PaulKing' post='1345065' date='Aug 19 2011, 07:55 AM']I'm not a bower but ... I've read quite a bit about Silverslap/Supersilver tending to roll under the bow. Somethig to do with all windings going in same direction maybe?[/quote] Hmmm... I really need to check these out - I'm surprised how many people seem to use them as an all round string. in fact, i'm going to go and put them on my spare bass now!

Hi Clarky, The G string on the silver slaps is totally synthetic - just the core which is yellow and a nylon coating, but the D has some metal wraps so the bronze wire is there to colour the string to match the G (as well as add some weight as Paul mentioned). One of the things that has been requested a lot is a silver slap set that would work with a magnetic pickup, but Tony has told me that because of the fact that there are no wraps on the G string it's going to be tough. However, we're going to try and work out something.... Baboom, thanks for that - I'm going to have to try the slaps with a bow and see what they're like... Please let me know how you get on with them on your gigs in September if you get a chance. Cheers, Daf

Hi again, Got a reply from Tony this morning - "The reason the D string is that colour is there is bronze wire showing through the outer layer, we try and get the G+D strings to look similar to gut" Cheers, Daf

[quote name='baboom' post='1342612' date='Aug 17 2011, 12:42 AM']Just fired on some silver slaps (well, the violin shop did) and am loving them. They replaced metal flats that came with the bass. Two queries 1. The D string is a bit more yellow than the others - any particular reason? 2. How long does it take to settle down the tuning. It's getting better after three hours jamming at a local acoustic session.[/quote] Hi Baboom, Glad you're liking the Silver Slaps! They should settle down pretty quickly, within a day or so as a rule, as the core material doesn't stretch much.... (though there are other factors that can effect this like how neatly they've been wound on to the tuning pegs and whether the nut and/or bridge have been widened to take the strings and/or lubricated with graphite, i.e. just rubbed with pencil lead). As for your question about the D being more yellow; you've got me there! but I've emailed the factory, so should have an answer for you later today with a bit of luck.... Just out of interest, are you a slapper, or do you just like the low tension? Cheers, Daf

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='1326345' date='Aug 4 2011, 12:25 AM']I did try a set of Honeys a while ago, I can't remember much about them, apart from the stiffness. I had a Kolstein Travel Bass for a while, which came with Kolstein Heritage strings. It sounded amazing, but as always I thought I could improve sound / playability. It's a 39" stop so I thought a 1/2 scale Honey D would be worth a shot. Well it was too thick, stiff and toneless, so I contacted Tony who replied saying he was working on a new formula and would send me a sample. After a few months I reminded Tony about this and he said he'd lost my details and would sort something out. I've never heard from him since, which is a bit disappointing, I know others who have had great customer service from him. I've since sold the Kolstein, which sounded even better with a new set of Kolstein Heritage. I might still have an old set of Heritage if Tony would like to check them out. I've got Flexocor on my Eminence r/n and plugged in it sounds like my Hungarian acoustic. Anyway I'm all for supporting local and national business. I'd like to find a string for jazz & orch. to replace the Flexocor and the Heritage, that can be bowed and pizzed, for under £100 without being too thick! I'm also liking Bel Canto so anything close to the three I've mentioned would be welcome. Best Keith[/quote] Hi Keith, Thanks for this, I don't know what happened with Tony, though he's a technician rather than a player - there used to be another guy (player) who was involved with the company, but after he left i think the development kind of stopped. The thickness of the strings is something i've expressed concern about, particularly on the jazz/orch side and i feel this could be putting some people off trying them as it may involve widening the nut/bridge; (though it is a function of the cores they use), I'm currently testing out a couple of thinner cores, so hopefully something will come of that. I'm also interested in your comment about stiffness, do you mean the tension? or the fact that the strings don't bend easily/aren't very flexible? You mention the flexocor, bel canto and heritage; have you played obligato and/or evah pirazzi? i only ask to get an idea of whether there is something in particular you prefer about the three you mention over other "hybrids". I've also heard a lot of good things about the Kolstein Heritage, though I've never tried them; if you do have an old set lying around I'd be really interested in checking them out and getting tony to do an "autopsy" on them. Cheers, Daf

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' post='1317436' date='Jul 26 2011, 06:31 PM']Certainly, I'd be interested to check out anything that is developed in that direction. I keep switching back and forth between the Spiros and Honeys as both have certain things I like, so something in between could be perfect. I feel like the Honey G string gives me exactly what I need for pizz, but there is a softness to the attack on the lower strings which isn't always what I'm after.[/quote] I'm totally with you there.... Hopefully We can come up with something!

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' post='1317034' date='Jul 26 2011, 01:42 PM']I wonder how much brighter sounding you could go with a synthetic core string while keeping their desirable properties? It strikes me that people looking for maximum growl, sustain and attack are already quite well served elsewhere and might not be the obvious market for Innovations.[/quote] Hi Beer, I think you misunderstand me, We're not talking about creating a spiro clone here - the essential nature of the synthetic core is important, but I personally have found that, particularly on the lower two strings that I would like a bit more definition and I think that there is room, especially on the jazz/classical side for a couple more string types that may have a wider appeal.

[quote name='TheRev' post='1316907' date='Jul 26 2011, 12:37 PM']I have tried the Honeys on my Eminence and though they were warmer than the stock Helicore hybrids, I did miss some of the attack. Having said that, they were a second hand set, so all the attack may have been played out. If there are trial strings on offer, I'd love to try a set of silver (or golden) slaps and see how they compare to my now ageing set of Velvets. I have 5 gigs over the August bank holiday weekend, which would be an ideal opportunity to give them a trail run and write up a little review? Dave[/quote] Hi Dave, The honeys won't have as much attack due to the gutty nature of the sound (i wouldn't have thought it was just their being dead) which is why I was looking at developing a new string with a bit more growl, sustain and attack to it. As for trying out the slaps, PM me your address and I'll do my best to sort something in time for your gigs - and a review would be Really great! Thanks. Cheers, Daf

Ah! sorry Owen, my mistake - when you described your strings as "rockabilly strings" i just assumed you meant the style - Thanks for the clarification - I've edited the earlier post. Hi Jake, thanks for that - and I had no idea you could actually bow the slaps - I thought the nylon coating would preclude that totally. I shall have to give it a try....

[quote name='TheRev' post='1316351' date='Jul 25 2011, 09:48 PM']How are silver slaps for pizz? I need to get a bit slap happy for a new project but, much as I love my Velvet Garbos, I think they're a bit too stiff for slap. I still have my jazz/soul trio on the go so I need strings that will suit both light slappage and jazzy pizz. Also, what's the difference between the silver and golden slaps? Just the colour?[/quote] Hi Rev, Well, first the easy question! yes, the colour is the only difference between the golden and silver slaps. as to pizz on the silver slaps - as a jazz/show player my experience of the silver slaps is a little limited especially compared with some of the other folks round here... - i have played them but not "in anger" so I wonder if someone with more experience could help us out here? As mentioned before PaulKing slaps the braided solos, but i wonder if there would be enough sustain in them for you; and Owen slaps the honeys (man, that sounds dodgy!) but they would have higher tension than the solos (though, i think, not as high as the garbs?) EDIT - Owen has informed me that he doesn't slap them so please ignore that! Thank you for mentioning this as it's something else I can look into on the development side - (though i know that doesn't help you right now!) but, again, if there are any current sets that you'd like to try out for a few weeks please let me know and i'll get them out to you as soon as i can. Cheers, daf

[quote name='owen' post='1316094' date='Jul 25 2011, 06:59 PM']I love my rockabilly strings. I wish I could bow them. I use honeys as a 'nearly there' bodge, and they are also great.[/quote] Hi Owen, PaulKing uses the braided solos at concert pitch as a slap string and says that apart from a slightly metallic edge to the slap itself he really likes the feel and tone of them - they'd have the advantage over the honeys of being lower tension, a more gutty sound and they bow better too! If you'd like I'll you out a set to try as soon as I get them. Cheers, Daf

[quote name='geoffbassist' post='1313541' date='Jul 23 2011, 09:04 AM']Thanks Daf. I think innovation are about the only string manufacturer who's strings I've never played. My intrest is in string suitable for predominantly jazz. However I usually use a hybrid string and particularly like Evah wiechs and Helicore hybrid lights (which I currently use). I've never tried 'orch tuned' solo strings, but always enjoyed them at solo pitch. I think I would like them as I'm into low tension strings. Ive also noticed that people who own innovations always seem to rave about them so they must be doing something right! Let us know how you get on with your new sets/prototypes. Cheers Geoff[/quote] Hi Geoff, Yes, the innovations are loved by many - I think it's because they've pretty much cracked the "gut" sound and feel without the problems of the real thing; the silver slaps particularly are hugely popular with the slap fraternity and I'm hoping to develop one or two ideas on that side as mentioned earlier. As for the jazz/orchestral side again people looking for a gut sound and feel love them, but my feeling is that there could be a few more versions with a more "modern" sound and a lighter feel, but without losing the essential nature of Innovation...

Geoff, sorry I missed that bit about which strings I use. Well: I have a full size Emmanuel Wilfer strung with braided core solos tuned to concert pitch An old English bass (1869) strung with honeys And a german flat back (c.1890) strung with solo obligatos tuned to concert pitch (but don't tell anyone!) Having said that, they're mostly now strung with a weird and wonderful array of prototypes from Tony!

Hi TPJ, thanks for that, sorry I was writing that reply (and in the middle of my show) when you posted... Yes, innovation do seem to cover most of the basses! (sorry!) though one thing I'd like to see is a more "growly" jazz string....

Great! Thanks Clarky that's exactly the kind of thing we need! PaulKing has told me that he uses the braided core solos tuned to concert as a low tension slap string and wondered about a nylon coat on those; and I'm currently working with a version of the braided core with ferrous metal wraps for mag pickups, so maybe we could try combining the two...

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys! I have to admit to being a little nervous, but hopefully it will be fun, informative and a useful resource for everyone. I've taken a step forward today with the idea of a pool of strings to try out - I got the Go-ahead in principle from the company so as soon as I can get hold of some sets we can get them out there!

Hi everyone, Welcome to this new sub-forum for Innovation double bass strings. I've been approached by Innovation and asked to host this area, so I'll be around to answer any questions about the company's products, as well as any general questions that people may have - (bass related, that is!). Please allow me a day or so to reply (though, of course, i'll try and be quicker) but I may need to go back to Tony for more in-depth questions. (He's Innovation's chief tech and the guy who actually hand winds many of the strings) We're hoping to incorporate some special offers along with announcements of new lines, and I'm working on trying to get some kind of trial system going so that people can try out any set of Innovation strings that they might be interested in for a week or so without the usual expense that tends to go with it. I'm also going to be working with Innovation to both develop the existing range of strings and create some new lines, and to this end, I'm hoping you might help me by giving me your views on any Innovation strings you have tried (especially if you decided they weren't for you!); as well as telling me what you'd like to see in a new string. I'm currently putting together a questionnaire which I'll post a link to as soon as I've finished testing it - it would be a great help if you could find a few moments to fill it in. To give you an idea, two things that I personally think could be of interest are; first, a lower tension jazz/classical string (there are a lot of guys new to double bass who are after something a little easier on their hands) and secondly, a string that is guaranteed to work well with a magnetic pick-up. But if you have any other thoughts, please let me know. As for now, watch this space! Cheers, Daf

I used to use the corellis (though i've moved on since); but they're a good string for someone just starting out on db as they're very light. I would always recommend buying second hand, as new instruments (especially cheap ones) are liable to warping and cracking because the wood often hasn't been properly seasoned.

[quote name='4StringFortress' post='1274427' date='Jun 19 2011, 09:18 AM']I dont think I need a new tailpiece. And the tailpiece wire was a stainless steel wire already and it still snapped. Would it be worth taking it to a luthier and spending a bit more money getting it repaired with a better quality wire and set up properly? (I havnt had the bass set up before) Would it make much of a difference if I got it setup?[/quote] 1. if the tailpiece wire was solid core steel then they are liable to snapping - the advantage of stranded steel wire is that you can tell if it's on the way out. I was advised to change by a luthier for just this reason. cost about a tenner. 2. yes, definitely! 3. yes, definitely! you should notice quite a big difference - really worth a try and you shouldn't be looking at much more than about £50 or so....

You're going to feel so great after you've done this! - and whatever else you feel you are, brave is perhaps something you've missed out. Sure you're scared, but you're doing it anyway and that's the real point. this is going to be worth years of bedroom noodling and sounds like it's already inspired you hugely. I had a similar experience a few years ago - I was asked to do an emergency dep on Phantom of the Opera at less than a day's notice and i spent the 12hours or so wondering why the hell i had said yes.... but man, what a rush! and looking back it's something I feel really proud of and am so glad i did.

You can think of the differences between 3/4 and full size a bit like speakers - difference between a 10" and a 15" - more bottom end and more volume from a full size; but the biggest difference in sound for me is the response - the full size takes that bit longer for the note to bloom so it's not ideal for jazz - though as said before, two basses of the same size can vary vastly anyway.

I assume that you're sure that the diameter of the old and new end pin are the same? otherwise you'll need a new block...