Guest subaudio Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Hi I am working on my tone and have started to play with a more controled right hand presure, basicaly playing a little lighter, and have noticed a difference in the sound of the D and G strings when I do this. They sound great when I dig in but sound unbalanced against the E and A when playing lighter, I know you have to play with a certain amount of presure to get a good sound but do know that a lot of players use different string types on the D and G, only trouble is I dont know which strings they use and exactly why, I use Spirocores and really like the E and A but want to try some D and G options. Any advice please ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endorka Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 According to Chuck Traeger's "The Setup and Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound", the positioning of the soundpost can affect exactly what you speak of; [quote]"Moving the post closer to the G string side of the top - away from the center of the top - allows the E string side of the top to vibrate more easily producing an increase in volume of the E and A strings in relation to the other strings... without changing the quality of quantity of the sound of the bass overall. It will also decrease the volume of the G and D strings... Moving the post closer to the center of the bass (toward the E) will have the opposite effect of making the G and D strings louder, and the E and A less loud. At no time is it advisable to move the post beyond the outside or inside edges of the bridge foot."[/quote] Experimenting with strings can be a time consuming and expensive business. When I have some spare time I'm definitely going to try moving the soundpost. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) Somewhere on the interweb I came across a retailer selling recommended mixed sets - something like E & A Spirocores with obligatos for the D & G. I'll dig around in my history and see if I can find a link. [i]Edit[/i] Found it: [url="http://www.uptonbass.com/double-bass-upright-bass-blended-string-set/"]http://www.uptonbass.com/double-bass-uprig...ded-string-set/[/url] They're in the US but even if you don't buy from them, their combined sets idea seems pretty well informed. Dave Edited April 9, 2009 by TheRev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest subaudio Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Many thanks Jennifer and Dave Great ideas both, i will tweak the bridge tonight and see how it does, it may well have shifted a bit whilst being dragged around town Does anyone have experience of synthetic gut core strings on the D and G? Marti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endorka Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Be careful moving the soundpost - if you knock it over, it will be very tricky to put back in its proper place. You really need special tools for this, although I had a wee shot at it just now with a coat hanger and a heavy file. I detuned the strings by about a fourth before attempting to move the soundpost. It does seem to work as advertised. Moving the bridge is a lot simpler, there are some guidelines here about this and other things; [url="http://dennishavlena.com/bassetup.htm"]http://dennishavlena.com/bassetup.htm[/url] I've had good results from adjusting the bridge position and adjusting the length of tailpiece wire so that the strings on the afterlength resonate 2 octaves and a fifth above the equivalent open string. It made the bass sound better and louder; I also know it worked objectively because the bass became far more prone to feedback when amplified, a sure sign that the bass was working more efficiently. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest subaudio Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 [quote name='endorka' post='458476' date='Apr 9 2009, 02:53 PM']Be careful moving the soundpost - if you knock it over, it will be very tricky to put back in its proper place. You really need special tools for this, although I had a wee shot at it just now with a coat hanger and a heavy file. I detuned the strings by about a fourth before attempting to move the soundpost. It does seem to work as advertised. Moving the bridge is a lot simpler, there are some guidelines here about this and other things; [url="http://dennishavlena.com/bassetup.htm"]http://dennishavlena.com/bassetup.htm[/url] I've had good results from adjusting the bridge position and adjusting the length of tailpiece wire so that the strings on the afterlength resonate 2 octaves and a fifth above the equivalent open string. It made the bass sound better and louder; I also know it worked objectively because the bass became far more prone to feedback when amplified, a sure sign that the bass was working more efficiently. Jennifer[/quote] Thanks for that, I think I will leave it till I get some more time to have a go at the soundpost, thanks for all the info, I really should learn more about setups, oddly I used to do quite a bit of carpentry but get nervous with adjusting my bass, go figure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny dissident Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I have just spent the last couple of hours looking at string repair .com on the upton site . Absolutely fascinating . Trouble is , I'm now casting a very critical eye over the construction of my Stentor. Ignorance was such bliss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
symcbass Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I Love plain gut G & D for digging into. The Gotz/Goetz have been about the most consistant for cheaper Guts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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