Beer of the Bass Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 (edited) I'm playing Spirocore Mittels at the moment, which I love the pizz sound of, and I can just about live with the arco sound, though it's always a little on the bright side. The acoustic volume and projection of the Mittels is something I like too. I'm suffering some left hand/wrist issues which I'm going to see my GP about tomorrow, and I'm considering going to some lower tension strings for a while. I suspect that my problems are triggered by my guitar playing rather than double bass (as the pain starting has coincided with an increase in the time I spend playing guitar), but while my wrist is a little tender I'd like to make things easier on myself. So, I'm looking for recommendations of strings which are lower in tension and somewhat bow-able which still have reasonable projection and can get me to that growly pizz place I enjoy with Spiro Mittels. I don't mind strings which bow like Spirocores, but my arco requirement probably rules out some of the non-metal wrapped strings. Spiro Weichs might be an obvious contender, but I'm sure there are others out there. The new Innovation Jazz/Arco hybrids sound promising, but aren't on the market yet. I've had Innovation Honeys before, but those are perhaps a little on the dark side and don't feel a lot softer than the Mittels. Edited March 13, 2014 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 (edited) [url="http://www.hervejeanne.de/saitenmatrix.php"]http://www.hervejean...aitenmatrix.php[/url] I've not played them but I am sure someone will suggest Evah Pirazzi Weichs, albeit these are darker sounding than Spiros. From those I have played, Velvet Blues are really lovely (I like those a lot, more in fact than the silk core Velvets as they are slightly brighter and a great deal cheaper, which is nice!) You can hear both in the string matrix above to see how they compare with Spiro Mittels Edited March 13, 2014 by Clarky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 That string matrix is a useful thing. Interesting that the arco sample for Spirocores is missing! What's the surface texture like on the Blues? Are they a fine roundwound like the other Velvets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Velvets have the same copper windings as on the EAD of Animas (the Anima G is a bit different). They are quite noticeably slimmer gauge than Animas and a lot slimmer than Garbos due to manmade core (some kind of plastic like perlon). The gauge means they are less alien if switching from Spiros. The downsides are they take a couple of weeks to become stable tuning wise and some people report unwrapping issues (I have never had this). Plus they tarnish with sweat although the oxidation is easily removed with a wet rang and toothpaste (Velvet's own recommendation!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 I've had a bit of a search around here and on Talkbass, and the Blues sound like they may be worth a try. I think I'll look for a used set, as it's hard to be sure whether I'll get on with them. It's a shame I missed the last couple of sets in the classifieds. I may have to put a wanted ad up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 I've decided to try out Spiro Weichs as my first port of call, and already have a used set on the way (Hurrah for the basschat classifieds!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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