Belcantos for Jazz?

[Ken Smith]

After a mini-String search (more on that here) I put a set of Belcantos back on the Martini that were on the bass briefly awhile back but the Hart at that time needed them more so like a good sport the Mr. Martini is, he gave them up respecting the wishes of his elder!

Today however, I pulled them off the Hart and put the Bel's back on the Martini where I wanted them originally. The Hart is doing just fine with its old Flex.92s back on that were on for the most part since its restoration in Oct. of '07.

The Martini has some decent tension and not a lot of after ring to the notes which for Jazz is better I think than having a mushy sustain with no center to the note.

For me, Jazz Bass should not be that buzz saw type sound that makes more noise than it does music notes. Somewhere between the old Gut sound and the modern Spiro tone is what I personally like. The Martini has a nice clear Pizz tone acoustically but I've yet to test it with my Amp and Pickup. I think these will sound more like a mature older type sound than Spiros but not at all that gut like. Fat Steels basically.

My goal has always been setting up each Bass so it can do everything with the same set of strings. My old Italian Bass some 25-35 years ago was mainly strung with Spiros. I played everything with that bass from Jazz to Orchestra and it was just fine. The Martini at 91 years old is less than half the age of my old flame and it needs what it needs to be versatile across the board. I think Belcantos can be universal on the right Bass.

I must mention here that the regular E string Belcanto is lighter in gauge and tension that the slightly beefier Extended E/C string. A major difference between the two for the better as far as having an extension.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Ken, I noticed that you wrote this at 3 AM! Had you stayed up late, or gotten up early? Did Claudia kick you out of bed (again)? Your friends are worried about you, old guy...

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

Ken, I noticed that you wrote this at 3 AM! Had you stayed up late, or gotten up early? Did Claudia kick you out of bed (again)? Your friends are worried about you, old guy...

Arnold, this is off topic! Do you have something ON topic to say?

I was up late and worked late. I was playing at the office on these strings till 1:30am. I stopped playing to come home and sleep.

Everything at home is just fine and dandy..

Did Barb make you sleep in the Barn again with the Horses? Is that why you are talking like this, so grumpy and bitter?

Belcantos for a 'different' old Jazz sound.. Regardless of where the misses makes you sleep..

[Adrian Juras]

Its too bad they don't make a Stark Belcanto E. That would probably work out nicely for a darker pizz tone.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Adrian Juras

Its too bad they don't make a Stark Belcanto E. That would probably work out nicely for a darker pizz tone.

As a matter of opinion, the Extension E/C to 'me' is a Stark in comparison. Coming from using 92s and comparing the regular or even the E/C 92, the Stark 92 is about as different in comparison to MY feel as the E/C Belcanto to the regular Bel E.

The don't call it a Stark but it feels like it.

My Martini with 92s needs the Stark 92 E/C. The Hart with 92s is just fine with the regular E/C 92 at about .102, the regular E being about .098. The Stark 92 is about .106. I had the same Belcanto set on both Basses. The E felt TOO heavy on the Hart but felt great on the Martini. I had another set on my Gilkes as well and the E/C was only a tad heavy by comparison. So, it depends on the Bass. Some older basses need regular gauges and some more robust ones need the extra oomph to get the blood flowing..

All of the above Bass comparisons have C-Extensions.

[Richard Prowse]

I found the pizz feel of the Bel Canti slightly light on my plywood, but I'm loving it on my carved - they've been on for a year now and they will be staying. I'm looking forward to lots of jazz gigs - you know me, forever the optimist.

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

Ken, I noticed that you wrote this at 3 AM! Had you stayed up late, or gotten up early? Did Claudia kick you out of bed (again)? Your friends are worried about you, old guy...

Yeah, who the hell wound him up. My ear is still sore from a recent phone conversation we had. Check that.....He had.

EDIT: I laid the phone down, went to the can, checked the mail, made lunch and called my Doc on my cell about my bleeding ear and he was still going a mile a minute.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

Yeah, who the hell wound him up. My ear is still sore from a recent phone conversation we had. Check that.....He had.

EDIT: I laid the phone down, went to the can, checked the mail, made lunch and called my Doc on my cell about my bleeding ear and he was still going a mile a minute.

Oh Really? That's good to know..

[Joel Larsson]

A friend who manages to make a living as a jazz player just recently switched to the Bels, and he likes them. Myself, admittedly being a half-arsed jazz player but I do enjoy to thump away every once in a while, also like them. I think Ken is right that they sure don't have the buzz (or the 'mmMWAAAH', as it has also been called) that some want but they are still clearly steel strings—they could be said to be 'gutsy' compared to other steels, but they are hardly gut! So, they're nicely in between the extremes... I like that. Now, how did they work with amplification?

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by Joel Larsson

Now, how did they work with amplification?

Mine amplify fine.