Velvet compas 180°

[Jeff Moote]

I'm really beating around the internet for opinions on strings these days so if you've read my posts elsewhere or I've contacted you personally, sorry for the repetition.

I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts on these strings for a player doing almost all arco playing, split maybe 70/30 between orchestra and solo (classical) playing. I'm particularly interested if the low strings (E, ext E/C or low B/C) are strong enough for section playing.

I read some of Ken's old posts on TB, and it seems he had a set of the old recipe before Velvet reformulated these making them infinitely better for the bow. From the opinions of those who've tried the new ones, I've heard anything from "scratchy with the bow" to "the best bowing string I've tried". I'd obviously just go and try them myself if they weren't such a big investment! One thing that people seem to agree on is that they bow better than Obligatos and are in the same general "low tension" feel. Given that Oblis are more than acceptable to a lot of people, I wonder if this alone is enough positive indication for me to at least try them out.

[Ken Smith]

First off, I am sorry my review on TB is out dated and that I may have given it a thumbs down opinion. A player that subs in my section has them on an old Juzek Bass and from a Bass/stand away they sound good on his Bass. New or Old formula I have no idea! When I did go and try his Bass, I just didn't like the strings on his Bass either.

One another note of 'different strokes' kind of comparisons we must realize is that some Basses bow better than others and that some strings work better on some Basses as well. I have several Basses with regular Flexocor or Starks on them and they just do not bow the same Bass to Bass even with the exact same strings. Sometimes it's a matter of matching up the right String for the Player for a particular Bass.

When I get a Bass and the Strings are working well, I usually don't take them off for awhile. One of my Basses sounds and plays almost the same no matter what String I use. Other Basses go from night to day in difference when you change strings. If it was that easy, there wouldn't be as many kinds of strings as we have today and believe me, there are probably more kinds and styles coming..

[Jeff Moote]

Different "strokes" indeed!

While I can't say I've been unhappy with the strings I've tried, I guess I wouldn't mind trying something completely different to see how the bass reacts and how the strings work with my technique.

One thing that is appealing is that I am most likely switching to fifths tuning in the next month, and they manufacture a set for this tuning which is supposed to be balanced across the strings. This seems good compared to "mixing and matching" to come up with a reasonable set. My only hesitation at this point is the fact that most players using synthetic strings like Dominant or Obligato seem to like a steel string for a low B/C as it speaks better, but I'm wondering if Velvet has done things correctly with their set.