Thomastik Bel Canto Strings

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by E. Joel

My problem, dear Anselm, is that the Bels are a little bit more forgiving than plain gut. I'm not good enough for those yet! And then there is that solo playing problem again...

Richard, I don't like playing everything near the bridge either. Rabbath does have one nifty bowing technique. He can open up his instrument like few other. Do you have his DVDs?
(He has gold spun strings from Sonore. Probably cost at least $2,000, no kidding.)
Myself, I don't have anywhere near his control over my instrument, in any department (and I don't have that kind of money either - I mean, come on, if I had gold strings I'd sound good too!!) so I'll just stick to whatever will make me sound better in the long run. Hopefuly.
Saw him (Rabbath) a few weeks ago down in Germany, and despite being 78 years old, he plays like crazy! One remarkable man and musician, that one.

No, I don't have the DVDs, but watched him on Youtube demonstrating bowing. I'll have to pass on the gold spun strings too. I suspect that good bowing technique makes vastly more difference than some fancy pants string - I'm sure that Rabbath could bow Weichs!

[Joel Larsson]

Yes he can. He made a bit of a point of showing us students how good our instruments could sound if played properly.

[Richard Prowse]

I like the cut of this guy's cloth! (old English retort)

[Richard Prowse]

Ah, i bel canti are feeling so good! I've worked on my bowing lately.
Io amo i bel canti!

[Ken Smith]

I have them on my Gilkes(Jilkes) and Martini now. For the Martini, I pulled them off the Hart and switched for the 92s Flex's that were on the bass.

The Extension E/C Belcanto string is a heavier and tighter gauge than the regular E-string. This makes a huge difference.

I put on a new set at the ISB during the show one day and the difference between them and the Flexocor 92s was amazing. The Gilkes has never sounded so full and deep as it does now. The Flexocors are more colorful but less round in the sound. My Martini is a more colorful bass 'period' and the color still shines thru with the Bel's on it so it's not just the String. The Martini is sweet either way.

[Richard Prowse]

How do you find they respond to rapid bowing - like a quick semiquaver (sorry, 16 note) run?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Richard Prowse

How do you find they respond to rapid bowing - like a quick semiquaver (sorry, 16 note) run?

Ok, 16ths at what quarter note tempo?

I have no problem playing these fast or any other strings for the most part as long as they are on a good bass with a good set-up.

How would a string brand stay on the market of they could only be played slow?

I have a fairly light touch with the bow and can play quite fast as long as my left hand can keep up with my right/bow hand. Fast for me is not a problem bowing. Fingering is the problem. Try doing all the major works of Mozart and Beethoven playing the fast stuff. That's meat and potatoes for a good workout..

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

I have them on my Gilkes(Jilkes) and Martini now. For the Martini, I pulled them off the Hart and switched for the 92s Flex's that were on the bass.

The Extension E/C Belcanto string is a heavier and tighter gauge than the regular E-string. This makes a huge difference.

I put on a new set at the ISB during the show one day and the difference between them and the Flexocor 92s was amazing. The Gilkes has never sounded so full and deep as it does now. The Flexocors are more colorful but less round in the sound. My Martini is a more colorful bass 'period' and the color still shines thru with the Bel's on it so it's not just the String. The Martini is sweet either way.

Getting back to Belcantos here, shortly after putting the Bel's on my Martini from the Hart and putting some new Evah's on the Hart, I decided that I preferred the sound of the Bel's on the Hart over 92s and Evah's so.. I switched strings once again on these and put the Evah's on the martini and the Bel's back on the Hart. The Hart sounds great now and the martini although not as smooth as it was with Bel's still sounds great with the EV Weichs on it.

IF, I have to choose only one string for every bass, I would be in big trouble. Bel's work best on many basses but not all. Sometimes the grittier bite of a Flexocor or Orig. FlatChrome is just what the doctor ordered...

[Calvin Marks]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Getting back to Belcantos here, shortly after putting the Bel's on my Martini from the Hart and putting some new Evah's on the Hart, I decided that I preferred the sound of the Bel's on the Hart over 92s and Evah's so.. I switched strings once again on these and put the Evah's on the martini and the Bel's back on the Hart. The Hart sounds great now and the martini although not as smooth as it was with Bel's still sounds great with the EV Weichs on it.

IF, I have to choose only one string for every bass, I would be in big trouble. Bel's work best on many basses but not all. Sometimes the grittier bite of a Flexocor or Orig. FlatChrome is just what the doctor ordered...

Belcanto is a very nice string indeed. It has quite a robust sound for a fairly low tension string and the pizz sound is very nice. They're better strings than Evah's IMO because the Evah's are so high tension and large in gauge that it makes playing a chore.

I've also heard that the Bel Ext C is the best out there.