D'addario Helicores

[guyl]

Randomly met a man from D'addario today. I took the opportunity of telling him that although I'm a big fan of his company's electric bass strings, my experience of the upright Hybrid Helicores had been poor, being that they died so quickly.

He told me that he knew of historic "problems" and had heard many similar tales. D'addario have been working hard to fix the issues and promise that the radically different design appearing in the next "version/upgrade" will be a massive improvement. He understood that experimenting with £100+ strings is an expensive hobby but urged me to wait 12-18 months and give them another try!

Might just be marketing talk, but wanted to pass on the info ....

[saxobass]

[quote name='guyl' post='472886' date='Apr 26 2009, 07:45 PM']Randomly met a man from D'addario today. I took the opportunity of telling him that although I'm a big fan of his company's electric bass strings, my experience of the upright Hybrid Helicores had been poor, being that they died so quickly.

He told me that he knew of historic "problems" and had heard many similar tales. D'addario have been working hard to fix the issues and promise that the radically different design appearing in the next "version/upgrade" will be a massive improvement. He understood that experimenting with £100+ strings is an expensive hobby but urged me to wait 12-18 months and give them another try!

Might just be marketing talk, but wanted to pass on the info ....[/quote]
Tried them recently on an oldish Reghin bass.....lovely sound, especially low arco, but the mediums were very stiff and hard on the fingers. Anyone tried the Hybrid `lights`?

[johnny dissident]

Thats very interesting, I'm quite new to DB and my first " experiment " in the string world ,a couple of years ago,was a set of medium Hybrid Helicores. I chose them because I wanted to learn arco , still not very good though.At first I thought they sounded OK ,not having any other string to compare .As my playing improves ,I find that the lower two strings especially the E can provide some lovely growling sustain, but the D and G feel and sound like brake cables.
How long do other people keep their stings on ? is two years excessive. I just don't know what to try next.
Any tips on choosing strings out there ?

[saxobass]

Sounds as though mixing strings might be the answer for someone who, say, mainly plays jazz (and therefore probably needs a good clear, penetrating pizzicato sound and a fast smooth action) but also wants a decent bowed sound. Any suggestions out there?
Or do we have to set up two basses?????

[slobluesine]

similar experience here with D'Addario Helicore Medium Pizz's, E string has just snapped after a few months, i sent it back around two weeks ago and havn't heard

[ardi100]

[quote name='johnny dissident' post='473159' date='Apr 27 2009, 09:53 AM']I find that the lower two strings especially the E can provide some lovely growling sustain, but the D and G feel and sound like brake cables.[/quote]

I've found this too.

I love the sound of the E and A strings but the D and G aren't doing it for me.

Don't think I'll be going down the mixed strings route for now. At around £100 per set, I'll stick with the Helicores for a while yet!

[endorka]

[quote name='saxobass' post='472901' date='Apr 26 2009, 08:10 PM']Tried them recently on an oldish Reghin bass.....lovely sound, especially low arco, but the mediums were very stiff and hard on the fingers. Anyone tried the Hybrid `lights`?[/quote]

My double bass had these on it when I bought it, and they are pretty much as you would expect; similar kind of sound, but lighter, slightly twangier, and I'd say a little more nasal when bowed. They were also easier on the fingers. Not bad strings at all, certainly if you're playing jazz, although I swapped them out for my set of mediums, as in my opinion the better tone was worth the extra work.

Jennifer