Obligato?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Katie Long

I've always had helicore orchestral strings, but when I broke my bass a while ago ( ) the one I borrowed from the luthier had these lovely obligato strings on it and I actually quite liked them. Anyone else have an opinion on the Obligatos versus the Helicores?

Katie, these are two different animals String wise. The Helicores have a thin sound G and D and heavier A and E, all steel/metal construction. The Obligatos are Synthetic core strings with metal wrap. The E on the Heli is one of the preferred Es out there but I don't care for it's tone. The Oblig E may turn or twist too much after awhile and not Bow so well.

I think if you wanna try a softer feeling string try the Jaegars or Belcantos. Both all metal construction and soft feeling. Tone wise I like Flexocor most. Here in USA we have a new string out of Poland called Eurosonic Orchestra that I consulted on. In Europe if they get released there will be sold under a different name brand.

Obligatos were at one time my favorite string but after awhile the E was not as good as it was before. It's worth a try if you have already played and liked them but are in now way similar or comparable to Helicores. Just too different in my opinion.