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Old 05-19-2007, 08:31 AM
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Katie Long Katie Long is offline
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Question Obligato?

I've always had helicore orchestral strings, but when I broke my bass a while ago ( ) the one I borrowed from the luthier had these lovely obligato strings on it and I actually quite liked them. Anyone else have an opinion on the Obligatos versus the Helicores?
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Old 05-19-2007, 12:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Katie Long View Post
I've always had helicore orchestral strings, but when I broke my bass a while ago ( ) the one I borrowed from the luthier had these lovely obligato strings on it and I actually quite liked them. Anyone else have an opinion on the Obligatos versus the Helicores?
Katie, these are two different animals String wise. The Helicores have a thin sound G and D and heavier A and E, all steel/metal construction. The Obligatos are Synthetic core strings with metal wrap. The E on the Heli is one of the preferred Es out there but I don't care for it's tone. The Oblig E may turn or twist too much after awhile and not Bow so well.

I think if you wanna try a softer feeling string try the Jaegars or Belcantos. Both all metal construction and soft feeling. Tone wise I like Flexocor most. Here in USA we have a new string out of Poland called Eurosonic Orchestra that I consulted on. In Europe if they get released there will be sold under a different name brand.

Obligatos were at one time my favorite string but after awhile the E was not as good as it was before. It's worth a try if you have already played and liked them but are in now way similar or comparable to Helicores. Just too different in my opinion.
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Old 05-19-2007, 04:01 PM
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Drake Chan Drake Chan is offline
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Obligatos are a pretty good string when new. Plenty of warmth and decent power, good under the bow, and pretty good under the fingers. The problem with them is when they get older. By older, I mean being on your bass from 6 months to a year.

I recently played a friend's plywood with some old Obligatos. The G and D string were still decent, but the E and A string were completely dead. I mean, they barely had any sound at all. Of course, this was all pizzicato. With arco, these old Obligatos were completely slippery under the bow on all strings.

Basically, be prepared o keep changing Obligatos if you get them: they have a short lifespan.

I currently play a Juzek with Helicore Orchestrals. They are a decent strings and have nice grip under the bow. But as Ken said, the sound is rather blah and uninteresting compared to Flexocors.

Yesterday, I was at Ideal Music in New York trying out the Roma, Eberle, and Wilfer carved basses. All of them but one had Helicore Orchestrals; one of the Wilfers had Helicore Hybrids. None of the basses were set up particularly well, but were all playable. The bow I was using had old hair that barely gripped the strings, but I got a sound out. Anyway, whether it is from the setup or not, the Helicores were pretty inconstent. I recall that one G-string sounded like an acoustic guitar string and was just nasally. If I were to get strings, I would skip Helicores and go for something else.

It's funny. Helicores seem to be the standard string for doublebass merchants who are selling basses with "upgraded" strings or the "good" strings to replace whatever placeholders they have on to start with.
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Old 05-19-2007, 04:40 PM
Greg Clinkingbeard Greg Clinkingbeard is offline
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The Obligato E also has problems problems with the windings coming undone and breakage. I'm on my second one in just a few months and it's starting to go.
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Old 05-20-2007, 05:27 PM
Marcus Johnson Marcus Johnson is offline
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I may be the only guy in the world who's had no problems with either rolling or windings coming undone on Obligatos. I have some really old ones on at the moment, and while they're no match for the Olivs on top, they sound nice and fat under the bow. Not bad at all.

Katie, maybe you might want to check out the new Pirastro Evah Pirazzis as well.
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Old 05-22-2007, 01:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson View Post
I may be the only guy in the world who's had no problems with either rolling or windings coming undone on Obligatos. I have some really old ones on at the moment, and while they're no match for the Olivs on top, they sound nice and fat under the bow. Not bad at all.

Katie, maybe you might want to check out the new Pirastro Evah Pirazzis as well.
marcus, you are not the only one.

i never understand what people write here or at talkbass about the short lifespan of oblis. i have one set on my main bass for 2 1/2 years and they sound and play better then ever, arco and pizz. no problems with windings coming off or dead strings after 6 months. same on the basses of other players i know.

sometimes i think they sell different versions of them in germany and the US.

for me they are very good hybrid (pizz/arco/jazz/classical)strings

to answer katies question: i had helicore orch. strings for 4-5 years on the same bass mentioned above. i switched to them from flexocores, liked the helicores better, then switched to oblis.
imho if you play mainly classical/arco i would recommend the oblis over the helicore. to me they have a little more gut feeling then helicores, so they also work very well in historic baroque-playing-settings with modern instruments.
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Old 02-11-2011, 01:23 PM
Eduardo Barbosa Eduardo Barbosa is offline
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I know this is and old thread. But I have also had good luck with Obligatos.
I do remember getting a set when they first came out, and I do remember the rolling, and I do remember that they died after about 8 months.
But since then, about 2 years ago I got another set and I am not experiencing the rolling problem anymore, and they still sound very, very good. I am very surprised that after two years they still sound bright and don't seem to be even close to be dying.
I practice just about daily. I teach using my bass. And I play with that particular bass about 5 gigs a week!
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Old 02-11-2011, 02:59 PM
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Anselm Hauke Anselm Hauke is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eduardo Barbosa View Post
I know this is and old thread.
yes, and what happened to katie? (Last Activity: 08-31-2008 07:07 PM)
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