Oliv/Eudoxa longevity

[Marcus Johnson]

Hi all.... the time for a string change is rapidly approaching, and I want to try the Oliv/Eudoxa thing. I'm looking forward to it, and the only trepidation I have is that some folks have had issues with the windings coming apart. Ken, I know that you, and others like Don Higdon, have used them successfully without any problems. I plan to modify the nut and bridge slots to fit the strings, and use graphite as always.

Just wanted to hear anyone else's take on this, I know it's been discussed elsewhere before, but not in this forum. Is it necessary to baby these strings in any way? I don't really abuse strings, but I don't have a feather-light touch either.

Thanks, MJ

[Michael Case]

I've been using Oliv G&D with Obligato A&E for about 3 months. No nut groove widening or problems. They seem to hold up for me (and I too can dig in pretty hard at times). The Olivs still are a little unruly tuning wise, but that's more like overnight or going from warm to cold.

[Marcus Johnson]

I still want to try the Oliv/Eudoxa combo, but some recent posting on TalkBass is giving me the willies. Same old stuff; windings coming undone, strings falling apart. Someone stated that there were some bad batches being sent out at the moment, and that Lemur was considering halting distribution of Pirastro wound guts until it's fixed. I don't know if that's true, but it isn't exactly making me want to pull out the credit card at the moment.

[Ken Smith]

Wasn't this discussed to death somewhere else recently or was that just a bad dream?

Well, I did delete a lot of things over there so my bad. Anyway, here is some stuff I posted in the past about the problems with wound guts;

Did you properly re-groove the Bridge and Nut so they slide freely at both ends without friction?

I agree that this could be the problem. I suggest that you contact Pirastro if something breaks during normal usage prematurely. I think heavy Pizz could be a problem as they are made mainly for use with the Bow. Your fingers also rub the windings when you play as well. I have fairly clean technique and have never had all these string problems I hear about here on TB. User error could also be the case here. A delicate string like Eudoxa, Oliv and even Obligato may need some extra care especially if you are naturally heavy-handed.

Pairing Olivs I have the Eudoxas on the Bottom and they sound great. I think anything more metal-like and you defeat the gut-style tone of the Olivs you are trying to match. That's just my opinion.. Obligatos are a choice as well or something softy sounding but the Eudoxas have suck a sweet tone and with plenty of sustain as you would get with traditional roundwound guts but with less of that 'whistle while you work' thing...

hyperactive fast soloing?? I have mine up a bit on the action and they are not best for fast soloing at all. Think more of Paul Chambers or Ron Carter kind of touch/attack. Layed back big boom gut kinda sound..

I have a gig later this month at the Philly Art Museum, 'Sunday Brunch' with just Bass and Vibes, all acoustic. I am thinking of taking this Bass and seeing how well it does for Jazz. I have not taken it out much since I put the strings on but in a couple of weeks I will bring it to an Orchestra rehearsal and check it out there. I needed my Low 'C' the last few weeks and only played my Gilkes so I haven't played the Oliv/Eudoxas much out of the office.

The Gig went great by the way. Love the soft gut-like feel and response.

Also, I did a Christmas concert with one of the orchestras with the Olidoxa set-up Bass and it was great on the Nut Cracker and such.

Olidoxas I have Oliv G/D withe Eudoxa A/E on one of my Basses and it works great for Acoustic Jazz or even Orchestra. I use mainly Flexocor 92s Starks on my other Basses but on this Bass the combo sounds great. Big full round tone. If you want sustain for the D and G then maybe all Eudoxas or even steel Jazz strings like Spiro type might suit better but for the old school pizz and with smoother than Gut bowing, this combo/set takes the cake..

D=thud?..Maybe it's your Bass, the set-up or both? I have plenty of sustain on my Bass and fairly even between the G and D. Maybe the nut is too high or the Bridge or nut slots are not cut correctly. Set-up is not an exact science. Each bass has its own 'zone' or sweet spot. How high off the FB is each string at the end of the FB say about 34" from the nut (as FB lengths vary)? I have from G - E about 6, 8, 10, 11mm at the highest and about 1mm lower each at times when I lower the adjusters. My Strings almost touch the FB up at the nut. That makes it play like butter.

String-player-bass-setup matching Guys, it all depends on the Bass, player, set-up and then the string. Too many variables here as I see so many different combos that some love and some hate. That's because what works for one players on a bass with that set-up may not work for another. Heck, I use different strings for different Basses with the same or different set-up so not even "I" can agree with myself at times. How is this poor guy or anyone for that matter going to find what he needs with so many viewpoints?

Specifics of the Bass, set-up and playing style are the least of things to know before suggesting a string.. I think..

My main thread over there on TB about the Oliv/Eudoxa might be gone but re-capped above are some similar posts I made on other threads> i am glad to see it over here so it can be continued as I have some new info on string combos.

Between the Bass I had the combo (aka olidoxas), and the Lion head Bollbach I had strung now with Jaegar Fortes, I wanted to try the Eudoxas with the Jaegars. Now I have Jaegar/Eudoxa on one Bass and Oliv/Jaegar on another. Both Basses now have another interesting and workable combination. The Jaegars were stiff on the Lion and the Eudoxas a bit soft on the other Bass. The other Bass works fine with the Jaegars and the lion loves the Eudoxas on the bottom. Thanks to watching Bill Blossom (NY Phil) do a recital on his Bollbach Bass (almost a twin to mine) with just a Eudoxa 'A'. It gave me the idea to switch the bottom strings between the two Basses.

Now, Eudoxas on and off can be dangerous but I had no more or less problems than I did with Obligatos in the past. Just be careful and put some graphite in the properly grooved slots.

[Marcus Johnson]

Yeah, Ken, as a matter of fact, your contributions over there actually made me want to try this combo. I read those posts many times! It's only recently that a couple of folks have had some Olivs come apart in their hands, which led them to speculate that maybe there was a "bad batch" out there at the moment. Speculation isn't enough to make me take the deal off the table, but I do want to research before I plop down the $$$. It's still most likely going to be my next string experiment. I contacted Pirastro to see what they have to say, and I'll probably give Lemur a call as well.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Yeah, Ken, as a matter of fact, your contributions over there actually made me want to try this combo. I read those posts many times! It's only recently that a couple of folks have had some Olivs come apart in their hands, which led them to speculate that maybe there was a "bad batch" out there at the moment. Speculation isn't enough to make me take the deal off the table, but I do want to research before I plop down the $$$. It's still most likely going to be my next string experiment. I contacted Pirastro to see what they have to say, and I'll probably give Lemur a call as well.

Anything is possible in the string biz from what I have seen. Lets see what Pirastro says. Was it Adrian Muller you contacted over there?

I like the Eudoxa bottoms so much now that I am thinking of trying the G and D as well on some Bass some day.