Flat-Chrome/Flat-Chromesteel?

[Ken Smith]

I played a great English Bass today made by Charles Theress (c.1860?) and it was strung with Pirastro Flat-Chromesteels. These are Red and White at the Ball end. This Bass Bowed great and the tension was quite low. The Pizz was good as well but I was most impressed with its ease of Bowing down to the E-string. I wonder if this is normal for this set, or the Bass is just loose or the set was a solo gauge.

I am looking for a string with less tension for my 5er as the regular Flexocor 92s are just ok on that Bass but require a bit of work. The tension is on the tight side and the Permanent B is just too much work in comparison.

Perhaps it was the wrong set or combo of strings that made me give up the 5er as quickly as I did playing only one concert with it right after its restoration.

So, tell me more about these Flat-Chromesteels, how they work, feel and perform mainly with the Bow.

[JoeyNaeger]

One of my bass teachers use them on his solo bass. They're solo gauge but I'll see if he'll let me try out his bass.

[Anselm Hauke]

I played a great English Bass today made by Charles Theress (c.1860?)

sorry for being offtopic, was it the theress sold by thwaites?

[Ken Smith]

sorry for being offtopic, was it the theress sold by thwaites?

I know 'about' that Theress as well. That Bass was offered to me before it was sold if they had time to send some of their stock over to me to sell here in the USA. This Theress has been here in USA for many many decades. I never saw any pics of the Thwaite's Theress but the one I saw was a fantastic British Bass.

On the FCS's being solo gauge I am not aware that the ones I tried were lighter than Orchestra gauge. I am getting a set of 5s soon and will see if they are the same as what I have tried. I may have to ask if the ones on the Theress were solo gauge in fact or just orchestra gauge.

[Ken Smith]

That was fast. The Strings came today straight from Germany. I must say that these are the prettiest Strings I have seen in awhile. Ruby and White twist at the end by the tailpiece. I guess I will need a shot of this..lol

They are much lighter in feel and slightly thinner in gauge than the Flexocors and have the same color Ruby at the TP but with white in the middle. I don't know what the relation is to Flex's if at all.

They are much brighter so far but then again, the others were over 2 years old on the Bass. They Bow fine and play easier with both hands than Flex's. As soon as the edge wears off and they settle in, I will report back on the tone. For now, a new string on a Bass I hardly use is too soon to judge.

[Calvin Marks]

Hey Ken. How did the FCS fair to the 92's?

[Ken Smith]

Hey Ken. How did the FCS fair to the 92's?

They are thinner and brighter. The 92s are extremely smooth. The FCSs bowed well but I believe the lighter gauge helps in that.

For lighter, I would go with 92s Solo but use the normal gauge E if your Bass has problems with floppy Es.

I had 92s with a regular Ext. E/C on my Hart Bass for over a year and the E was just fine on that Bass. A few days ago I put a new set of Belcantos to try and the Ext. E/C is huge. About .110 or so as compared to about .105/stark 92 or .100/reg.92 ext. The non-ext 92 is about .97, lighter than the longer ones.

On my Hart, both the heavy E and the regular A of the Belcanto set seems a bit taught on that Bass. I guess that's good if you dig in real hard. I haven't had to on that Bass.

I find that some Basses can take almost any string and others are not so 'string-friendly'. When it comes to matching strings, value, cost or vintage of a Bass does not come into play as much as the individual bass itself.

With a new Bass which I think is what you are working with to match up, playing it in with a slightly heavier string for a year or two might be best to open it up. Some things take time to adjust within themelves.

I have to play this (http://www.spso.info/concert3.htm) program next month. First I had to choose which Bass (Martini, Gilkes or Hart) of mine worked best for what I have to play. Then which bow for that Bass and just a few days ago, I put the Bel's on. The 92s were well over a year old so any new bowing string would sound smoother. I will leave the Bel's on for a bit but I was thinking of some kind of Solo set tuned Orchestra. Maybe not.. Choosing a bass was confusing enough. It took way too much time away from my practicing. After I made my final choice (and I mean FINAL as I picked each Bass once or more before), I covered up the other two because looking at them would make me want to switch every other day..:confused:

If you want a string that bows almost as good as the 92s but don't mind them a bit brighter and maybe thinner feeling under the fingers, then the FCSs are a very good quality string. What I like about them mose is the color at the ball end. Bright burgundy red over white silk.. Classy;)

[Calvin Marks]

They are thinner and brighter. The 92s are extremely smooth. The FCSs bowed well but I believe the lighter gauge helps in that.

For lighter, I would go with 92s Solo but use the normal gauge E if your Bass has problems with floppy Es.

I had 92s with a regular Ext. E/C on my Hart Bass for over a year and the E was just fine on that Bass. A few days ago I put a new set of Belcantos to try and the Ext. E/C is huge. About .110 or so as compared to about .105/stark 92 or .100/reg.92 ext. The non-ext 92 is about .97, lighter than the longer ones.

On my Hart, both the heavy E and the regular A of the Belcanto set seems a bit taught on that Bass. I guess that's good if you dig in real hard. I haven't had to on that Bass.

I find that some Basses can take almost any string and others are not so 'string-friendly'. When it comes to matching strings, value, cost or vintage of a Bass does not come into play as much as the individual bass itself.

With a new Bass which I think is what you are working with to match up, playing it in with a slightly heavier string for a year or two might be best to open it up. Some things take time to adjust within themelves.

I have to play this (http://www.spso.info/concert3.htm) program next month. First I had to choose which Bass (Martini, Gilkes or Hart) of mine worked best for what I have to play. Then which bow for that Bass and just a few days ago, I put the Bel's on. The 92s were well over a year old so any new bowing string would sound smoother. I will leave the Bel's on for a bit but I was thinking of some kind of Solo set tuned Orchestra. Maybe not.. Choosing a bass was confusing enough. It took way too much time away from my practicing. After I made my final choice (and I mean FINAL as I picked each Bass once or more before), I covered up the other two because looking at them would make me want to switch every other day..:confused:

If you want a string that bows almost as good as the 92s but don't mind them a bit brighter and maybe thinner feeling under the fingers, then the FCSs are a very good quality string. What I like about them mose is the color at the ball end. Bright burgundy red over white silk.. Classy;)

Thank you Ken, this was very helpful. I spoke with my luthier (bass maker) the other day and he said that most of his basses work best with higher tensioned strings because he uses a fairly thick bass-bar. He recommended Flexocore Originals and a very heavy E such as Spirocore.

I currently have VELVET Compass 180 Suites on...totally different concept to flexocore. These are great sounding strings for solo playing (which i do a lot of), but for orchestra you just don't get that fundamental.

My teacher LOVED the VELVETS and begged me not to get rid of them, but I want a string that produces a bit more sound.