String advice needed - stepping up tension

[Jimryan]

Evening all,

Been playing and giggin my upright constantly since getting it back in September and loving every minute. When I bought it, I followed the general consensus and swapped the strings immediately (bought the strings before the bass actually). For a while now I've had a rotosound endorsement, so logic (but mainly wallet) told me to go down that avenue first.

The rotosound strings are amazing, I love everything about them. The feel, the sound, the tension even the mismatched set. However, I don't like the fact they're not particularly bow-able. Over the years I've not been a huge fan of classical music (I like some), but more and more I'm wanting to use the bow as not only is it a good tool to have sound wise, but it's also pretty fun too.

So with wanting to bow more in mind, I set out to find some new strings. First stop, basschat. Straight away I spotted and bought a set of D'addario helicore hybrids. They're a medium tension set so thought I'd be fine. Going from low to medium can't be THAT hard can it? Something in the back of my mind was starting to cause doubt though, and fortunately spotted a listing (again on BC) for the same strings but a low tension set. Or at least I thought they were the same until they arrived and whilst advertised as hybrids are actually orchestral.

Anyway, they arrive after a week of Royal Mail being themselves, straight on that evening and I tell myself I'll let them settle and try them at rehearsal next week, rather excitedly). So along came Thursday, rehearsal day, we get there, we set up, tune up, check bow and rosin and try open strings and oh my did it sound beautiful. Let's get cracking. At this stage I don't bow a lot (mainly want the option to and to be able to have fun with it at home), so most of rehearsal is pizz. Half an hour in to our normal routine and I can't play. Left hand in agony and worn out, right hand covered in blisters. Rehearsal is off, I've called it. With the Rotos on the bass I'm fine doing our regular two hour set and extras (ska, reggae and hip hop), but not with these. Wait! I've got the low tension set I anticipated needing. Genius idea James. Got home and swapped them immediately. Now I can't play with these blisters, I'll let the strings settle and try again next rehearsal. So next Thursday comes, this time with the low tension set and what happens...exactly the same. Now I can't leave it like this, it's Thursday and I've a gig on Saturday. This time the strings come off and the Rotos back on, blisters covered in superglue and I was playing exactly as I was before.

That brings us to now. As much as I love the sound and feel of the Rotos, I really want to do more with the bow. Thus, I really want to learn to get on with the new strings. Although the Rotos claim to be low tension, I've decided by comparison that they're actually ******* low tension strings. Is my plight merely a case of man up and get on with it, or are there any crafty little tricks or techniques for getting used to higher tension strings, something like change the G first to slowly built up strength and stamina, then slowly change them one at a time? Any little excercises people can recommend? There is always the option to change to Rotos before rehearsals and gigs, but that's too much hassle and a second bass is definitely not an option.

Cheers,

James

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Edited July 26, 2016 by Jimryan

[Beer of the Bass]

It's hard to tell from a forum post, but I'd guess the two avenues to look at would be setup and technique. If your bass has a high nut or bridge or too much scoop in the fingerboard it might play fine with low tension strings but be hard work with the steels. Alternatively, it could be that you've developed playing habits which you can get away with on low-tension nylons but which cause you problems on steels.
If you've only been playing since September (or even come back to it after a break), maybe a few lessons might be worth thinking about, and you could probably get some feedback on your bass setup at the same time.

[Winny Pooh]

Might be time to add adjusters and lower the string height. You may find you prefer more flexible synthetic core strings like Dominants regardless of string height.

Edited July 27, 2016 by Winny Pooh

[TheRev]

There's no consensus between string manufacturers about what constitutes 'medium' tension, so you may need to experiment with different strings?

I've found that medium tension steels and medium tension synthetic strings are very different beasts, but I've found the following sets to work well for me:

Spiro weich
Innovation braided
Presto nylon wound.

If you want strings for arco, then the Innovations are the best bet. They sound quite nice with pizz too.

[Jimryan]

Cheers for the replies guys, all helpful stuff. My setup could definitely with a once over as there is a bit of a scoop. As for a catch up lesson, I've not had a lot of luck finding a teacher. There is a guy locally I've known for a while and is a great player, I'm hesitant though as everything I've read and everything I've seen in Geoff Chalmers' videos regarding technique are the opposite of how this guy plays. So I'm not sure I'd want lessons from him.

In regards to the other posts, as I've just stated in the strings for sale thread, after trying only two sets of steels, I can't rule them all out. However, string wise I've tried two steel sets and one synthetic set and I'm always returning to the synthetic set. So you guys could be right and its synthetics that work best for me.

Having done a bit of reading up on different strings this week, I've made a little shortlist of ones I'm considering and I've narrowed it down to...

Evah Pirazzi Weich
D' addario Zyex
Innovation braided 140B

[philparker]

Regarding teachers: don't be afraid to travel - indeed, it may be essential to find the right calibre of teacher to cater for your exact requirements and there are a few good teachers in Southampton who would fit that bill (although I don't have direct experience). I agree with your sentiment that someone who may be a great player, but with veritable bad habits and questionable technique, may not be the best tutor to give you the right direction.

Strings: I've owned Pirazzi Weichs for over a year now and recommend them highly for both pizz and arco, the best hybrid I've used. I have recently taken them off my main DB, to my back up DB, and replaced them with Flexocors for arco only, but they don't necessarily bow any better and the Pirazzi's sound superb played pizz. I have also tried the D'Addario Zyex lights (on a fellow-Bass Chatter's DB) and was also very impressed. Depending on the tone you are looking for, the Pirazzi's are dark and moody and the Zyex are bright an punchy - they both bow and pizz very well.

[Jimryan]

[quote name='philparker' timestamp='1469884044' post='3101762']
Regarding teachers: don't be afraid to travel - indeed, it may be essential to find the right calibre of teacher to cater for your exact requirements and there are a few good teachers in Southampton who would fit that bill (although I don't have direct experience). I agree with your sentiment that someone who may be a great player, but with veritable bad habits and questionable technique, may not be the best tutor to give you the right direction.

Strings: I've owned Pirazzi Weichs for over a year now and recommend them highly for both pizz and arco, the best hybrid I've used. I have recently taken them off my main DB, to my back up DB, and replaced them with Flexocors for arco only, but they don't necessarily bow any better and the Pirazzi's sound superb played pizz. I have also tried the D'Addario Zyex lights (on a fellow-Bass Chatter's DB) and was also very impressed. Depending on the tone you are looking for, the Pirazzi's are dark and moody and the Zyex are bright an punchy - they both bow and pizz very well.
[/quote]

Regarding the strings, which would you say had the better left hand feel?

[philparker]

They're both very similar, but I've only played about half an hour on the Zyex lights, I've played over a 100 hours on the Pirazzi lights, sometimes for over two hours at a time (orchestra practise) and they're about as easy on the left hand as you can get (with a good set up of course!).