Reviving double bass strings or time for a new set?

[chyc]

I seek the collective wisdom of the bass-hive mind. On my upright is an 11 year old set of Pirastro Obligatos. I cannot remember what it sounded like 11 years ago and Obligatos are famed for being warm with less definition and my ears are surely degraded in that time, but I swear it's far deader and woolly now than when new.

Trouble is bass strings are a not insignificant chunk of change now and I'm not one for wasting strings that can be restored. On my electric one very nice trick I've used successfully is the detune and slap technique. This fairly obviously cannot be done on my upright so does anyone have any tips for bringing a bit of life into strings, particularly Obligatos?

Failing that, what's the general feel for arco and pizz strings these days? I totally get it's personal, but it's been 11 years since I last looked and there are brands I've never heard of now and I don't know where to start! At the time I really liked the sound of Spirocore when plucked, but the scratch when bowed put me off. Is there a proper hybrid on the market now?

 

 

[Beer of the Bass]

I'd say an 11 year old set of nylon core strings is probably past it, I'm afraid. 

If you like the pizz sound of Spirocores, it's hard to be happy with much else (in my opinion), and I feel like they're not so bad to bow once you get used to them. On my bass the Weich/Light gauge were a little mellower and easier to control under the bow than the Mittel/Mediums.

[chyc]

23 minutes ago, Beer of the Bass said:

I'd say an 11 year old set of nylon core strings is probably past it, I'm afraid. 

It's what a feared, but thanks for confirming.

23 minutes ago, Beer of the Bass said:

If you like the pizz sound of Spirocores, it's hard to be happy with much else (in my opinion), and I feel like they're not so bad to bow once you get used to them. On my bass the Weich/Light gauge were a little mellower and easier to control under the bow than the Mittel/Mediums.

Maybe my bowing technique has improved since then (hahahaha), but I found that while you could just about get away with it in an acoustic setting, the scratches through a piezo pickup just were too prominent to be anything approaching pleasant. By contrast the Obligato gave a lovely full arco at the expense of the Spiro growl when plucked. I'd probably say that the Obligatos have made me very lazy with respect to intonation as it's so forgiving on that front. I'm going to be in for a shock with a crisper set of strings.

Argh, decisions decisions.

[TheRev]

Out of the new(er) breeds of strings, D'addario Evah Pirazzi weich and Pirastro Perpetuals seem to tick a lot of boxes.

I switched to the Perpetuals from Spiro weich, they're a bit warmer and softer sounding than the Spiros and they don't have that nasal E thing that Spiros do.

My arco is scratchy regardless of the strings involved so I can't help you there I'm afraid.