Oliv Height

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Calvin Marks

Just got a FREE set of Olivs from my old teacher, kind of a goodbye gift. Does anyone know roughly how high the strings should be for these strings?

For steel my set-up is:

G-6.5
D-8
A-9
E-10

Thanks!

You play 6.5-10mm for solo? wow.. that is high in my book..

Calvin, my Gs average 3-5mm and the Ex 7-9mm at most.. 4-8mm being my average for Orchestra. For solo, I like lower but I can even do Orchestra at that height.

Once I had Oliv's on my Martini. I made a thread on TB called Oliv Martini when I had them. I did La Boheme with this set-up but to get any decent pizz out of the Oliv E, I raise the adjusters about 2 full cranks around. This would be about my height for gut strings which Oliv's are actually but with a thin metal wrap around the gut.

Shortly after that concert, I took them off. A year or so later I used an Oliv G/D, Eudoxa A/E combination and that to me was the best for bowing and pizz using wrapped guts. The full Oliv set was the fattest thing I had ever heard. The Martini is quite a dark sounding bass and punchy as well. I would welcome that set again if doing the same opera but right now the BelCantos seem to work best all around on that bass.

6.5-10mm for steel? That sounds to me more like an average height for orchestra. I guess playing every day like yourself that feels normal. It takes a special bass and fingerboard to play 3-7mm without buzzing. Of course, I have to be careful how I play as well. Playing Gut strings all thru high school I've learned to draw the bow more than press it into the strings. Perhaps that has helped me with steel playing as well.

My suggestion would be try the same height and raise the bridge adjusters as needed. One note of caution. Thicker strings like the Olivs require bigger slots in the bridge and nut. Otherwise, you could easily damage the strings putting them on. Keep checking your bridge as well when re-stringing. The bridge tends to pull forward so correct it as needed. The Olivs take time to come to pitch and stay there. You will be tuning them for a good week and then a few times a day when they settle in as well.