I am mainly a jazz pizz player, although I work with the bow for improvised solos and enjoy practicing the Bach Cello Suites and other classical music.  I began auditioning double bass strings a few years ago in an attempt to find something that would work well as a hybrid string for both styles of playing.  One thing I have learned through this process is that there is not one single “best” string for all basses and musical styles.  One brand of string on my bass may not respond and sound the same on your bass.  This auditioning of double bass strings can also be a very expensive proposition, so borrowing strings to try from your colleagues or buying used is a good way to go with this.

Thomastik Spirocore Mittels were my main string into the early ‘90’s until I got an endorsement for the new D’Addario line of strings.  I felt really good about their product until 2002 or so, when I noticed inconsistency issues.  Around that time they changed the terms of my endorsement deal so I decided it would be a good time to start trying out other brands, as I was not particularly happy with the D’Addarios anymore.  I will start out with my impressions of the D’Addario Helicore line, although it has been a number of years since I last used them and haven’t experienced their current lineup.

Helicore Orchestra  - I used these strings for a short while, about a week to be exact.  When they were sent to me, I mistook them for the original Helicores I had been using and liked, as they came in similar blue packaging.  I strung up my bass with them one day and went straight to a recording session for Verve Records.  When we started recording, I immediately noticed that these strings were not what I was used to or expecting at all.  For the pizz playing I was doing, they were much stiffer and much fuller sounding with a bigger fundamental, but without the sustain I prefer in a jazz string.  I got a pretty good sound that day, if somewhat dark and a bit lifeless.  I think these strings might work well for some in this context, but not for the sound and feel I go for.  For a while at least, I know they were popular with Orchestral players.

Helicore Hybrids - I used these strings off and on for a number of years and liked them pretty well as a pizz string for jazz, but I don’t feel they ever were that great with the bow.  They are a bit darker than the Helicore Pizzicato strings.

Helicore Pizzicato - This is the brightest, most sustaining, string in the line up and is the D’Addario answer to Thomastik Spirocores.  They come in four gauges like the Spirocore line.  They are a well priced alternative.  The mediums that I used were not great bowers.

Pirastro Obligato - These are the strings I decided to try out after my Helicore period.  I was immediately struck by their somewhat looser feel and warmer sound than the previous strings I had been using.  The E string was the only problem string for me, as it had a dirty, buzzy quality to it on my bass and I knew it wouldn’t be suitable for recording.  I found the other 3 strings intriguing, bowing very well and giving me a warmer pizz sound than I had experienced before.  I decided to replace the E string with a Spirocore Mittel and then went with Spirocore E and A, Obligato D and G combo for a while.  A nice mix.  The Obligatos have a tendency towards short life and when they go, it’s quick.

Thomastik Spirocore Mittels - Going back to these strings after many years with the Helicores, my initial impression was of a big step up in quality.  The sound and feel of these strings are first rate.  Very well made with a long life span.  Their initially bright sound mellows out after playing for a while (weeks, at least).  Not the easiest bowers, but for jazz pizz, the standard.

Thomastik Spirocore Weichs - I decided to try these on a bass that has a bit tighter feel than my main instrument.  These are very similar in sound to the Mittels, but I find they bow smoother and start easier.  They are also excellent jazz pizz strings, lively and easy on the hands.  Maybe a bit less “gravitas” than the mittels.  I really like Weichs!

I received a couple of sets of Corelli strings from Savarez of France to try out.  they are well priced, and I was hoping they might meet my needs.

Corelli 370TX - These are the heavier gauge in the 370 line, although they are still very thin.  Fantastic bowing strings with a bright, cello like timbre.  Their pizz sound really isn’t suitable for the jazz I play, so I went on to the next package.

Corelli 380TX - These are heavier strings than the 370’s, closer to the Spiro Weich gauge, I think.  The E string did not speak at all on my bass for pizz, the A was fair but the D and G strings were quite usable and bowed wonderfully.  I used these in combination with the E and A Spiro Mittels for a while.  They probably would have been in better balance with Weichs.

Thomastik Dominants - I had these on and off my bass in one day.  One of my students uses them and they sound nice and felt pretty good on his instrument, but on mine, not so much.  Kind of stiff feeling with a bright sound, fair under the bow.  Top bass luthier Arnold Schnitzer reports that the Solo set of Dominants makes a good low tension hybrid string at orchestra tuning.

Pirastro Evah Pirazzi - I got a set of these when they came out a few years ago, and wow, my bass had never sounded as loud and full as with these strings.  Somewhat dark sounding, but with a bit of growl and thump for jazz pizz and a nice, meaty bowed sound.  I used these for six months or so, but felt that I needed a string with a bit less tension for all the playing I was doing.  The old hands can only take so much and it was time to work a little easier, so I decided to try the next set.

Velvet Compas 180 Suit - This was my first experience with the Velvet line of strings.  Rufus Reid had introduced me to them a few years ago, and I plunked a few notes on his bass at the time, but I wasn’t that impressed with their sound out in the audience.  Most of the players I have heard with Velvet strings (Animas & Garbos) get a very dark, old school kind of sound, not really my thing.  The Compas 180 Suits are a bit different, they are made to be played either at orchestra or solo pitch, they have smooth, flat steel windings over a silk core and they are very low tension.  I have been using them for six months (until a week or so ago) at orchestra tuning and really enjoy them.  They are extremely easy on the hands, have some growl and bite and I think they could be called Velvet’s answer to Spiros.  They bow pretty well, but you have to lighten up as they have a pretty wide excursion from the low tension and they bottom out fairly easily, at least with my fairly low string height.  The regular Compas 180 have a bit more tension and might solve this problem.  I took them off my bass as the G string was not responding too well anymore, probably worn out.  On this bass I’m now on to Spiro E and A and Evah D and G, a good combination.

Kolstein Heritage - I wanted to get a set of these as I remembered them to be pretty low tension from my experience trying out basses at the Kolstein shop in NY.  I put them on my second bass and they work pretty well, nice full pizz sound and good arco.  I haven’t gigged with them at this point so I don’t know how they will respond in a more demanding playing situation.

A few miscellaneous string impressions:

The Spiro Weich G string is pretty thin and I wanted to experiment with some fatter feeling (and maybe sounding) strings.  I tried out the Pirastro Oliv steel wrapped gut G string for a couple of weeks.  It has a very nice, big, full and fat pizz sound, bows well and mixed pretty well with the Weichs.  I found it to be a bit slow in response on my gigs and a bit too dark to project the way I prefer when playing with a loud jazz band.  I also auditioned an Innovation 140H G string.  It also had a nice fat feel, good volume, and was fun to play, but after a couple of weeks I started noticing a kind of “plastic-y” quality to the sound, so off it went.

I am very interested in auditioning the new Evah Pirazzi Weich set, these may be the answer for for a good, lower tension, hybrid string.  Initial reports have been very promising.

Update 5/1/09

I just played 2 gigs with my new EP Weichs and my first impressions are very favorable. They do remind me of the regulars in tone, but they have more growl on the E and A strings. They are also quite a bit looser feeling on my bass, which I like. They sound dark and wonderful jazz pizz when playing alone or soloing with light accompaniment, they do tend to disappear in the mix to my ear when playing in the band. I've been tweaking the eq on my amp to the higher side to see if this helps and I think it does. They sound nice under the bow, but the feel is a bit spongy and will require a lighter touch, I think. All in all, I'm getting a nice, dark punchy pizz sound with them and they are quite enjoyable. I'll report back after working with them some more.

Thank you, Pirastro!

Update 1/21/11

Evah Pirazzi Weich

These have become my favorite strings on my fairly bright sounding Juzek labeled bass.  Where most steel strings have helped to create the bright and thin sound, these hybrid strings bring out a darker character with plenty of sustain, volume, and growl and the E and A string.  Nice and full sounding, and good bowers with little scratch, too.  Highly recommended for brighter basses when a darker, yet singing jazz sound is desired.

Plain Guts

I’ve been experimenting with plain gut G and D strings and have enjoyed the experience!  Think Paul Chambers, Oscar Pettiford and all the great jazz bassests before the development of steel strings in the ‘60s.  Have tried strings by Damien Dlugolecki and  Italian maker Dogal.  These strings require some getting used to and thumb position with the very fat D string is disappointing, but in groove mode and for soulful soloing, they are wonderful!

Update 3/1/14

Velvet Blues

I’ve been using these synthetic core, copper wound strings for a year now and have been enjoying their low tension feel and big pizz sound.  The G string has a tendency to be “whiny” at times, but an increase in string height cools that out pretty well.  These are not the easiest bowing strings, but manageable for jazz soloing with the right touch.  These strings are very easy on the hands.

Sonores Red Label Basso

I’ve had these strings on my second bass for a couple of weeks.  I’ve owned the bass about eight months now and have tried a number of different sets looking for the right sound and feel on this instrument.  It has been difficult finding a G string with a good, solid pizz tone.  I tried a Eudoxa G which was a winner sound-wise, but I really need something less fragile.  The Compas 180 Suit set felt good but was somewhat dark on this bass.  Since the Sonores are synthetic core with steel wrap, I thought they might be similar to the Compas strings, as they are developed by Gerold Gensller, one of the original creators of the Velvet line.

These are very nice strings with a smooth and refined wrap.  The tension is higher than the Compas, with a brighter sound.  I believe these strings were intended mainly for arco use, but they are working well for jazz pizz with a bit of growl and decent sustain.  These strings strike me as a combination of Evah Pirazzi Medium and Spiro Medium.

Miscellaneous G Strings

The search goes on for the perfect G string!  Tried an Original Flexocore on the recommendation of a colleague and found it to be very bright and stiff feeling on my bass mixed with Spiro Weich.  The Thomastik Superflexible G was a better match.  I found a Lycon G on Ebay.  Lycons were very popular jazz strings before Spirocores came into fashion.  This Lycon may have been faulty as it gave me a strange buzzing sound. I think the silver wrapped gut Eudoxa G may be the perfect G string.

Update 1/3/15

New Velvet Compas 180

The new formulation of this line added loops to the tailpiece end of the string, making installation a breeze compared to the previous edition of these strings.  These seem brighter to me than my other set of 180’s, but are similar in feel and response.  Very nice strings.

D’Addario Zyex Light

These strings replaced a set of Velvet Blues on my “A” bass.  I was frustrated by the Blues bowing characteristics and am happy to report that the Zyex strings not only sound wonderful pizz, but bow very well, too.  They are on the dark side with good growl.  They are kind of loose feeling on this bass which is good, however I find intonating a little more challenging than usual and I wonder if the looseness contributes to that?  Around and around it goes...

I’ve been using these strings for a few years now. I recently added a Zyex medium E with these and I think the set is now more balanced.

Update 5/29/20

Pirastro The Jazzer

I would call these Pirastro’s version of Spirocore Mediums. I found them to be stiffer feeling and less full sounding on my basses. Can’t say I enjoyed them and I only had them on the bass a couple of weeks.

Pirastro Perpetual

Similar to The Jazzer, but less stiff and darker sounding on my bass. While I think I prefer Spiros in general for jazz playing, these may bow a little easier and with a darker sound. I’m in no hurry to take them off the bass. A decent arco/pizz string.