Obligatos

[Marcus Johnson]

In my Obligato days, I had an E string do the same thing, though maybe not to the degree that you describe. It held together more or less, so I left it on for the life of the set, which turned out to be about six months. I had no other problems with Obligatos during the time that I used them (maybe three sets, total). Maybe you could get a replacement from Pirastro if you let them know.

I like the Obligatos overall. But after having driven everyone on two internet bass forums nuts with my incessant string queries for the last few months, I've really come to appreciate the beauty of Spirocores. I just wonder if there
is something inherently wrong with the idea of trying to wrap metal around gut or perlon. It also seems to be a bit of a problem at Pirastro at the moment. I haven't seen too many people talking about their Dominants coming apart, or their Gamuts or Dlugoleckis unraveling.

I don't mean to turn this into a rant. I think the Spiro/Obli combo might be a really nice thing.

[Charles Arms]

I never really warmed up to Obligatos. My Shen came with them. The E was flabby and the G was ultra goose-like with the bow. The A and D were fine I guess.

They do play easy enough. They may be too easy to overplay, in fact.

Part of it may have been that my teacher doesn't care for them at all. But I don't see me buying another set of Obligatos.

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Although they were new and in the package, since I didn't buy them from a dealer I wouldn't feel right asking for a replacement. Just gonna see how long it lasts. The Spiro E and A are probably going on the bass next. The more I played spirocores on this bass, particularly the G, I kept wanting a warmer sound and so far, the Obligatos are the ticket.

[Ken McKay]

I just put some Obligatos on the Q bass. It has been strung with Spirocores because I love them for growl, playing jazz. But it is Quinn's bass (my 14 y/O son whom I built the bass for), and he was trying to play Mozzart with those spiros and I realized how selfish I had been. So I changed them.

They bow much easier and I can notice how much easier it is to get the string started with these compared to Spiros. And they don't sound too bad pizz style. The wolf on the A string went away also and I don't need the brass wolf eliminator.

So for so good.

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Ken, sometimes parenthood is a lesson in unselfishness. I've been at it for 19 years and hope to figure it out at some point.
I'm loving these strings on my bass. My bass finally sounds like I want it to.

[MatijaSchellander]

I just wrote a longer reply, but my programm crashed.
Anyway, I played obligatos for the last 2 years, and had no problems with the 2 sets I used up in this time, other than a broken E string that I played for one year in a period where I moved the bridge aroung a lot.

I liked them quite a lot, but now I don´t care too much anymore - they bend too much under the bow, and have a bit undefined pitch.

I have TI belcantos on my bass now for a week, they are getting better every day, sustain increases (!), more growl... I´m curious how they will sound in a month. Arco is fantastic, easier than the Obligatos IMO.
If you want a string that sounds warmer thans Spiro, but has a very defined pitch and speaks fast, give BC a try.

[Eduardo Barbosa]

hmmm.... funny...
I've been using Obligatos for a while and haven't had any problems with strings coming apart, or rolling and the set I am using now might be close to being 3 years old and I think that it sounds great!
I play mainly Jazz with that bass and occasionally I'll bring it to an Orchestral rehearsal where they also sound very sweet and mellow enough to blend in with the other basses.