New strings

[Kip Kersey]

Hello everyone. Hope this isn’t a tired point of discussion. Somebody gave me an upright bass and I’ve been playing it on and off for about a year now but I’ve started to get into it much more recently. I’m wondering how much of a difference changing the strings would make? I don’t even know how old the strings are but is it worth shelling out for a new set?  

[TheRev]

Strings make a lot of difference to how a double bass sounds, much more so than electric bass.

However, it's not so much about how old the strings are than how they're made and what they're made of - steel ropecore vs solid gut for example.

The starting point in choosing new strings would be, what don't you like about your current set?

[Kip Kersey]

Well I’m pretty new to upright so in all honesty these are the only strings I’ve ever tried. Despite having no reference point I do however get the impression that they sound pretty dull and lack sustain. Fairly certain they’re steel but I’ve no idea how old they are. 

[TheRev]

What colour are the silks at the pegbox and tailpiece? Most manufacturers use unique colour combinations so it's possible we can identify your current string.

Even with steel strings, an orchestral string will sound different to a jazz/pizzicato string.... seriously  it's a bloody minefield.

But, for a first step on the long and meandering road of finding the 'right' bass strings, I'd always recommend starting with a set of Thomastik Spiricore Weich. Nice tension, good sustain and note definition. They're a classic 'jazz' string and if you don't like them you'll easily be able to sell them.

[jrixn1]

Do you have a teacher or other experienced person who could give a second opinion, in person?  Where are you located?  Strings are expensive and there might be other reasons for the dullness e.g. setup or technique.

[Kip Kersey]

33 minutes ago, TheRev said:

What colour are the silks at the pegbox and tailpiece? Most manufacturers use unique colour combinations so it's possible we can identify your current string.

Even with steel strings, an orchestral string will sound different to a jazz/pizzicato string.... seriously  it's a bloody minefield.

But, for a first step on the long and meandering road of finding the 'right' bass strings, I'd always recommend starting with a set of Thomastik Spiricore Weich. Nice tension, good sustain and note definition. They're a classic 'jazz' string and if you don't like them you'll easily be able to sell them.

The silks  are black. 

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Funnily enough I was reading the reviews for those strings on Thomann. 

 

The a string above the nut looks to be unraveling/uncoiling tbh. 

18 minutes ago, jrixn1 said:

Do you have a teacher or other experienced person who could give a second opinion, in person?  Where are you located?  Strings are expensive and there might be other reasons for the dullness e.g. setup or technique.

I’m based in Liverpool. 

 

I’ve had a few tips but mostly been learning from online resources. I know a couple of people I could chase down for information. It’s just getting hold of them when it’s convenient. 

[tinyd]

One thing that's worth doing is to keep an eye out on basschat for people selling strings secondhand. It saves money and is generally a good way of trying strings out to see what you like. As @TheRev says, Spirocores are a good place to start if you want a bright-ish "jazz" sound - I had some in the past and they're good, although I've moved to Evah Pirazzi Weichs now which I also got secondhand.

[TheRev]

20 hours ago, Kip Kersey said:

The silks  are black

They could be Innovation Braided, according to Bob Gollihur's string identification chart.

https://www.gollihurmusic.com/faq/57-STRINGS_STRING_IDENTIFICATION_CHART.html

Innovation are good strings,  the Braided are an 'orchestral' string, optimised for Arco playing, which can make them a bit dull sounding & lacking in sustain for pizzicato.  If the wrap is unravelling above the nut but still intact on the playable length, then I wouldn't worry too much, but if you want a brighter sound then you may want to look at a pizz/jazz string rather than orchestral.

Spiro wiech,  Evah Pirazzi Welch (as mentioned above) and D'addario Zyex are all good places to start.