Thomastik Bel Canto Strings

[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.

[Richard Prowse]

I'm in total agreement Calvin.
My Bel Canto strings have been on my main bass (I only have two) for most of this year and will be staying put. They've settled down nicely - both for arco and pizz. The whole range sounds great. They're a joy to play.

[Richard Prowse]

I love Bel Canto strings.

[Scott Pope]

Well, here goes: the Bels GDA with the Spiro 3885.5W E have been perfect for my jazz & dance band gigs the last few months playing mostly standards. Now, for something completely different: I'm playing a cross-over country/rock/rockabilly gig this weekend. Last year I played this gig with Spiro Weichs, and of course, with so much sustain and growl that Spiros are known for, I could make them do what I needed to. The Bels, of course, are rounder and darker in tone. We'll see....

[Scott Pope]

Well, a little preamp gain and touch of compression can go a long way to make a gig work. Although it probably sounded fine out front, I was not happy with the darkness of the Bels for this particular gig, which comes as no surprise as they are really not meant for this kind of gig. But the bandleader liked it, and with strings being expensive, I'm not sure I'm in a position right now to have different string sets for different gigs.

Great experience, however.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Scott Pope

Well, a little preamp gain and touch of compression can go a long way to make a gig work. Although it probably sounded fine out front, I was not happy with the darkness of the Bels for this particular gig, which comes as no surprise as they are really not meant for this kind of gig. But the bandleader liked it, and with strings being expensive, I'm not sure I'm in a position right now to have different string sets for different gigs.

Great experience, however.

I am curious. If you are doing mainly Pizz type jazz/pop playing, why not just use Spiro reds? They pizz better, more clear and cost less? The Belcantos were designed for Orchestra bowing so every problem you have in Pizz playing is because they focused on the opposite, bowing!

Most basses do not do both orchestra bowing and jazz pizz equally well with the same set of strings on the same bass. If Bowing is your goal, Bel's are a good choice for some depending on the bass, tone and style you play. If it is jazz you are looking to do, I would not suggest these strings for most players for the reasons mentioned.