Orchestral String choices...

[Ken Smith]

Orchestral String choices...

Please list your favorite Orchestral Strings in the order you like them. Also, list what you prefer for heavy Orchestral Bowing only and not just for an occasional Arco venture.

Feel free to explain why you like what you like and the type of Bass you use them on along with the string length as well as your Bow if you care to go into it.

[Nick Hart]

Right now I'm into Bel Canto A and E and Flexocore purple G and D.

The Bel Cantos were to floppy on top and didn't have a round enough tone, but they have a fat sound on the bottom of my bass. Before these I used the orginal flexocore A, D, and G with a helicore E for a long time.

[Ken Smith]

I just took a set of EPs with Ext.'E' off of my English Gilkes that were on the Bass for about 4 months. I put on a new set of Flexocor 92s with the Stark Ext.'E' (yes, I have a few of the discontinued Stark xE's left).

The Pizz was beautiful with the EPs but the Flex's just Bows a bit sweeter and smoother. If I was doing more Jazz playing than Orchestral Bowing then the EPs would still be on my Bass. The Gilkes is a brighter type sounding olde English Bass with more midrange presence rather than a low organ sounding type instrument. Perhaps the EPs would do better on an ultra dark sounding Bass that needs to be brightened up? For me, a Bass can never sound too deep with a Bow in an Orchestra.

So far, no matter what I try I keep coming back to Flex 92s with either a Regular or Stark 'E' depending on the Bass.