Obligatos

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Well, I'm a little late to the Obligato party, but I bought a brand new set at a good price over on TB for my Upton Hybrid.
First off, Upton recommends Spiro Mittels for these basses and that's the way mine met me. The Spiros sound big and punchy, bow OK and sustain for days. I put and old Weich set to try a bit lower tension. Although a lot easier to play. the Weich didn't get the bass moving as well.
I see why people love, and hate the Obligatos. Lovewise, they are very playable strings with a 'woody' character. The bass now delivers a better fundamental, sounds more 'old school' but with good sustain. The G is much better.
Hate: Even after taking great care in filing the nut and bridge slots, using lots of pencil lube, the E is coming apart above the nut! Bringing it up to about a C pitch, the string winding began to separate on the nut. I loosened it, widened the slot and lubed again. There are three distinct separations. One at the bass of the nut and two just above. The strings are now holding a pitch pretty well. If/when the E goes I will probably go back to a Spiro Mittel on the E and maybe the A as well.
All in all, as of right now I'm happy with them, but wonder if they are more trouble than they are worth.