Prestoflex strings

[Beer of the Bass]

Has anyone here used Presto Prestoflex strings? They're a steel string supposedly based on the old Lycon strings, according to a Talkbass thread a few years ago. From the samples on Herve Jeanne's String Matrix site and the few user posts about them I've seen, they're somewhat in the ballpark of Spirocores but with a slightly different midrange and attack, and I have a hunch that might work for me.

My current set of Spirocores (4/4 Mittel) have been on since 2015 and are losing some pitch clarity and sustain. The safe option would of course be more of the same, but I'm curious!

 

[Beer of the Bass]

Well, I suppose I'll find out, I've gone ahead and ordered a set!

[Paddy Morris]

Report back. Spread the knowledge.

 

String matrix is a great resource.

[Beer of the Bass]

They should be arriving tomorrow, according to the DPD email. Though getting them installed depends on hitting the moment that the puppy is napping and not looking for too much attention, so it may be a day or two!

[Beer of the Bass]

OK, got them on and had a little play. The bass is an old solid wood 3/4 flatback likely from Saxony, and I'd just taken off an 8 year old set of 4/4 Spirocore Mittels that were getting too dark and thumpy for my tastes.

Pre-installation impressions; The packaging is very simple and barebones, just the paper envelopes in an open faced cardboard sleeve, not much info on the package. Uninstalled the strings feel very flexible, which must say something about the core design. The ivory and blue silks are a little more subtle than my familiar Spiro reds, and the ball ends are slightly smaller. They look and feel like a quality string, I really can't fault the construction and polishing.

On the bass, the pitch stabilises quickly, and the tension feels a hair lower than the 4/4 Spiro Mittels, but not by much. I'd place the feel between those and 3/4 Spiro Weichs. The pizz tone is also instantly familiar, lots of growl and sustain, good volume. To my ears (and on my bass) they have a touch less midrange push compared to the spiros but a nice crisp, clear quality in the high end - the thumb position pizz tone is great with these. I think I might want the string height just a tiny bit higher than I had it with the Spiro Mitts, so I'll probably try that in the coming days. Definitely not a rootsy, gut-like sound, they're more geared to a modern jazz pizz tone. Which is absolutely my goal, but it should give you an idea of the kind of player they're for.

I only had a quick play with the bow since that invariably wakes up the dog! They're quite a bright arco sound, quick to respond, but quite friendly to get a clean tone on. Probably not your first choice for an orchestral section, but fine for a jazzer using the bow for practice, or for some of my free improv uses.

I'll see how they go over time, but if they last like Spirocores I could be pretty happy with these.

 

[Paddy Morris]

Excellent review marred only slightly by no picture of the slumbering pooch.

[Beer of the Bass]

9 hours ago, Paddy Morris said:

Excellent review marred only slightly by no picture of the slumbering pooch.

 

I can show you what happens if he wakes up during my practice time! It's a good thing I'm on steel strings and not tasty gut...

[Beer of the Bass]

Just a quick post a few weeks on - I'm still liking these strings. They feel closer to Spirocore weich than mittel, but I don't feel they lose volume compared to the mittels on my bass. I've had them out for a local free improv night and an afternoon gypsy jazz set so far - the latter probably not the ideal setting for new, growly steel strings, but they did ok.

Even after the initial settling and playing in, they're a bright, articulate string. They have a quick, crisp quality to the attack that seems fairly unique - possibly a step further in that direction than Spirocores. My bass leans towards being quite dark sounding so this is a good combination for me, though they might be too much if you wanted to warm up a bright sounding bass. I feel like I can coax a fair bit of volume and fullness from them without cranking up the string height, and they have a clarity that makes it easy to hear the pitches. With the flexible feel it is possible to overplay them pizz, but it's getting plenty loud at that point and they don't really need to be pushed that way to get the sound out.

I'm getting used to them with the bow too - if you're used to bowing Spiros then these are quite friendly, though the quickness and pitch clarity keep me on my toes. My bass has a wolf tone around the A (at the octave on the A string, or other positions of the same note), I had to use a brass weight with the Spiro mittels but the Prestoflex set don't set it off so badly.