Double Bass Double Bass strings that works well with a magnetic pick up while playing with arco

[Juanisimo]

Dear friends,

Which strings are appropriate for a magnetic pick up when you play it with the bow? I tried already Thomastik spirocore and only the D string responds well on my zadow magnetic, the other strings are not even close to speak up on the amp. For pizz. is no problem and the even sound amazing, but I really need my sound come out from the Magnetic with bow. I also use piezo but i want to have both of them. Any suggestions for good string made for magnetzpuck up that u can play the bow with? Thank you

Juanisimo

 

[Les Fret]

Any steel string or string with a steel core should work. Shouldn't be a difference with pizz or arco as far as string response is concerned. So I am not sure what is wrong.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

As far as I know you won't find a string that works well with a magnetic pickup, because the bowing limits the vibrational orientation and that won't get captured well by a magnetic pickup in it's normal position relative to string and bowing direction.

 

[Juanisimo]

Any steel string or string with a steel core should work. Shouldn't be a difference with pizz or arco as far as string response is concerned. So I am not sure what is wrong.

Thank you , me either

 

[Juanisimo]

As far as I know you won't find a string that works well with a magnetic pickup, because the bowing limits the vibrational orientation and that won't get captured well by a magnetic pickup in it's normal position relative to string and bowing direction.

Thank you, still I belive it should work, because how come it worked well on the D string and not the others . And I tried other uprights with magnetic pick ups with the bow and it worked (like the framud or the NS) . Unfortunately I dont remember which strings where on it. So there must be a solution .

 

[Povl Carstensen]

I am totally no expert, but the Spiros should have plenty of magnetic material on all 4 strings, so I suspect that strings might not be the problem/solution...

 

[Juanisimo]

Thank you.

 

[Les Fret]

Thank you, still I belive it should work, because how come it worked well on the D string and not the others . And I tried other uprights with magnetic pick ups with the bow and it worked (like the framud or the NS) . Unfortunately I dont remember which strings where on it. So there must be a solution .

I agree bowing with magnetics shouldn't be a problem. I have a magnetic pickup which I use from time to time (although not much), also with a bow. And there a plenty of players who use magnetic pickups with a bow.

I also agree with a remark above. Spiros should work (as do Helicore hybrids or any other steel string) so there might be another problem. But to make sure just change the string that is giving problem with another steel string, then you know if it is the string or another problem.

 

[LowG]

In my experience the pizz vs bow volume difference using my Pierre Joseph magnetic pickup is extreme. Pizz is so much louder than arco that it's essentially useless on it's own if I want to do both. This is over almost 20 years of use with tons of different strings. Now if I was just doing one or the other I could make it work (though I never liked the tone of arco thru a mag pickup).

My pickup can be bent to make the string - pickup distance what I want. Can you adjust how close the pickup is to the other strings?

Another odd aside- an overdrive pedal makes the arco louder and more even using a mag pickup too. But then, you know, it sounds overdriven