herbass

If you mainly amplify you have many choices! I only play mine on my sofa, so acoustic sound production is my priority!

I play my 5string almost exclusively and I love it just as much as I need it for the music I play. Lately I've been playing my Fender jazz 4 stringer at home between gigs and I wonder often if I could switch back somehow! The thing is, I find the low B extremely useful and my bass is also very comfortable! So it ain't happening! :-)

I tried that too, but it was unsatisfying acoustically. It would be nice to have a rope core flatwound option like a double bass string, but the broken in bronzes work ok.

In my experience "bronze" strings have more depth and volume on an acoustic bass.

I had my standard jazz converted by a luthier when I bought my first five string bass. It ended up (or stayed) being my main gigging bass apart from the gigs where I needed the low B. It only retired when I could buy my fretless fiver! I still play it ocassionally, it makes me want to play four string again...

I really took it gradually as I went from 7-11mm to 4-8mm over about five years time. Every time I took off another millimeter it all gotten better. With better playability there is better sound. I don't feel that I'd have lost any power and I can dig in if I want to. I can use more finesse in shaping the sound, and play with less fatigue. The bass growls if I want it to, and moves air just as good. Just because its a big double bass, it doesn't have to be hard to play...

You'll find, that is often the case with mermaids!

I think it's closer to nyman in sound, but with the grab of pops if that makes sense. Apply it lightly to start with!

I have great pleasure listening to "One more angel" from John Patitucci, and "Summerflood" by the german Joergen Friedrich quartet with Kenny Wheeler on flügelhorn. Also the late Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys was a tasty player. I think they have a compilation album of their instrumental stuff only, if you're not into hip-hop!

I found the above true with both nyman and pops rosins. However, I bought a tub of kolstein soft about three years ago and it quickly became my favourit for sound, grab and longevity alike. I still use the same bit, although I may be a bit compulsive with putting the lid back on. I had to put it in the fridge once before using it on a hot summer day touring the states. Not much of a problem in the UK...