How do Honeys compare (tension and sound) to...

[thisnameistaken]

I'm assuming they are darker sounding that Spiros, but are they lower tension too?

I guess they are higher tension than Silver Slaps, but how different is the sound?

Any info much appreciated.

[Clarky]

I can only confirm part of your question which is that they are definitely noticeably higher tension than Silver Slaps. I didn't get on with the tension and took them, off my bass immediately (and flogged them)

[thisnameistaken]

I find the silver slaps to be a little too low tension for me. I really like them for what they're intended for and they sound good on my bass I think, but I am still looking for a better all-rounder string; something with an old-school tone that bows better than the slaps.

[Clarky]

Did you ever try Kolstein Heritage strings? Steels but very smooth and lower tension than other steels I have tried, and a bit higher tension than Silver Slaps. Sort of like the DB equivalent of TI Flats

[thisnameistaken]

They are on my list. I'm gradually working my way through different strings and trying not to sell any that I take off (although a friend took my Evah Pirazzi D and G...) in case they sound good on my imaginary excellent future bass that I'm never going to buy.

[TPJ]

I had Evah Weichs on for a while. The Honey's were lower tension than them on the bass. I'm currently running Velvet Animas which are comparable in tension but louder and clearer throughout the range. Honeys sounded the best on this bass so far though.

Have you thought about the orch Honeys? They have the braided core and are supposed to be more bowable than the jazz Honeys.

[thisnameistaken]

TBH I saw a cheap used set of 140H on ebay which is why I was asking. I'll pop back with my impressions next week I guess.

[Beer of the Bass]

I changed from Spiro Mittels to the Honeys. The Honeys feel quite a bit lower in tension, but it is hard to judge as they are also thicker. They are much less floppy than most dedicated slap strings though. They are definitely less tiring than the Spiros when digging in.

[thisnameistaken]

Got them on today. The E is a bit of a disappointment but I've got a couple of other Es I can try. Pizz on the other strings is pretty nice, comparable in sound to the spiro weichs I used to have on, but they feel a little lighter and more flexible a bit like evah weichs. Under the bow they take a little effort, again a bit like spiros, but sound pretty good.

I think I've just confirmed to myself that I need two basses - I really like both the modern and trad sounds and I want both. Would still like to try Super Silvers though, I think the Silver Slaps are a bit too floppy for me but to be fair they are great to slap and bloody loud.

[Beer of the Bass]

The E on mine seemed to improve in the first couple of weeks. I'm not sure if the sound changes as the core stretches out, or if I adjusted my technique without noticing.

[Shaker]

I started with D'Addario Medium gauge Hybrids (too tight and they seemed to strangle the sound) and then changed to D'Addario Light gauge Pizz (much, much better). I have just tuned them down by a tone D, G, C, F and they sound (and feel) better still. I also tried Weedwackers and hated them. Far too fat and floppy and, for me, the E and A were unusable.

So, how do Honeys compare tension wise? If Weedwackers are 1 and hybrids are a 10...where would the Honeys be?

Any input would be much appreciated.


Shaker

[daflewis]

Hi Shaker,
I've replied to your pm, but just for reference I'll post here too...
I'd say that the honeys would be about 4/10 on that scale, though it's a surprisingly subjective question, and the stop length and the angle over the bridge will both have an effect on the tension.
The honeys probably woun't have quite as much growl as the hybrids as they are designed to simulate gut, but they do have some, along with a nice warmth to the sound. It's also worth bearing in mind that they are a little thicker than most strings.
Cheers,
Daf