Double Bass Innovation Silver Slaps

ERIC A

ERIC A

Mar 9, 2004
434
174
5,416
Baltimore/Washinton DC
#1
I hear great reviews about the silver slaps strings. I've tried them on several occasions but perhaps i don't leave them on long enough to give them an honest shot. They always sound to "plasticky" and never enough like gut when you're actually slapping. They sound great for straight pizz. I've read that actually changes over time and they start sounding more like real gut. Can any of you folks verify that. Thanks!
 
#8
I'm in my 2nd week using Silver Slaps E and A, keeping my SBW Deluxe D and G... Generally I really like the SBW Deluxe complete set, but in a few different crowded band situations I just couldn't hear the SBW Deluxe E and A well enough for intonation, they were just too muddy. I really do like the SBW Deluxe D and G for tone and volume, which is why I'm keeping them in place. I went with Silver Slaps because I still wanted relatively low tension, but I wanted higher tension and much more clarity than the SBW Deluxe E and A, and I wanted the nylon (or some non-metal monofilament) outer casing.

The Silver Slaps are very loud and clear and I can easily manage intonation with them, their tone, volume and playability goes very well with the SBW Deluxe D and G, and the Silver Slaps gauge and tension difference has collaterally improved a few things on my bass which I hadn't been able to fix before, which is a very nice unexpected surprise.

I've been playing them heavily with pizz, slap and arco, and noted at first the "plastiky" tone; that is diminishing as I continue playing them. While these strings are not noted for their arco capabilities, I've found with some minor changes in technique I've been able to get them singing with the bow, and with more bowing they seem to be "wearing in" more quickly than with just pizz or slap work.

Perhaps because of my bass's bridge and tailpiece setup, I'm not getting the overtone issues that have been mentioned, but I'll watch for them.

Mostly I had a question for those of you who have used Silver Slaps... How long in general do these strings tend to last for you? With piz? With slap? With arco?

Thanks in advance for any shared wisdom...
 
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#9
Hey, any opinion on the silver/gold slaps vs. Thomastik Superflexible Solos? I currently have Helicores, but I'm wondering if it will be easier to slap on these other strings. Gig wise, I primarily play jazz and rockabilly. I do play in a community orchestra, but I don't care about the tone as much.
 
#11
Here is a recent thread about SilverSlaps that points to another thread that discusses them... FWIW, it includes my more more recent status and experience with the SilverSlaps E and A that I've been using.

SilverSlaps have been good for the 10% arco that I play, but I'm by no means an arco expert in public use. They took a few weeks of serious effort to wake up for arco, I've attributed it to generous rosin (Pop's), a tight bow and slightly modified technique.

It's worth mentioning that all of the Innovation string production has been moved to the USA under new GHS ownership. My understanding is that they are made with the same tools. Here's a very interesting thread about that change.
 
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#12
dhergert said:
My understanding is that they are made with the same tools. Here's a very interesting thread about that change.
Click to expand...

Yes, they actually shipped the winding machine over from Wales and set it up in Michigan. (!) And then trained people specifically to make the strings in the exact same way they were made prior to the move.

They're quite dedicated to keeping the strings in favor with the people who've discovered them (and love them as they are). @Jon Moody and I have been in pretty close contact for a while (since well before the acquisition; I helped a bit when he was designing and testing the Crossover strings he developed for the NS Design basses). And since upright strings are a new venture for GHS, we've been sharing our upright-specific knowledge back and forth, in their sincere effort to make sure they do everything right.

I'm very impressed with the dedication they are showing to the line and am expecting very good things to continue! They've already shipped out lots of new "made in USA" Innovation strings, and they're indistinguishable from the existing stock of "made in Wales" strings I had already.

:cool:
 
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#14
Mark Gollihur said:
Yes, they actually shipped the winding machine over from Wales and set it up in Michigan. (!) And then trained people specifically to make the strings in the exact same way they were made prior to the move.
Click to expand...

They sure did. That was...fun.


Mark Gollihur said:
@Jon Moody and I have been in pretty close contact for a while (since well before the acquisition; I helped a bit when he was designing and testing the Crossover strings he developed for the NS Design basses).
Click to expand...

Oh, it goes further back than that, sir! I think my first encounter with you was when I bought a Radial BassBone (v1) with the Y cable for the effects loop, nearly ten years ago? You also sold me the CR5-M NS Design bass that, incidentally, was the catalyst behind the Crossovers.


Mark Gollihur said:
I'm very impressed with the dedication they are showing to the line and am expecting very good things to continue! They've already shipped out lots of new "made in USA" Innovation strings, and they're indistinguishable from the existing stock of "made in Wales" strings I had already.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna pass along your praise to the guys winding these right now. They're putting in an extraordinary amount of time and effort into getting everything right, and up to their personal standards of quality.

About the only major change that we are planning involves packaging. Simply put, it looks awesome and should be easier for dealers to ship to players (which makes EVERYONE happy).
 
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#15
Mark Gollihur said:
Yes, they actually shipped the winding machine over from Wales and set it up in Michigan. (!) And then trained people specifically to make the strings in the exact same way they were made prior to the move.

They're quite dedicated to keeping the strings in favor with the people who've discovered them (and love them as they are). @Jon Moody and I have been in pretty close contact for a while (since well before the acquisition; I helped a bit when he was designing and testing the Crossover strings he developed for the NS Design basses). And since upright strings are a new venture for GHS, we've been sharing our upright-specific knowledge back and forth, in their sincere effort to make sure they do everything right.

I'm very impressed with the dedication they are showing to the line and am expecting very good things to continue! They've already shipped out lots of new "made in USA" Innovation strings, and they're indistinguishable from the existing stock of "made in Wales" strings I had already.

:cool:
Click to expand...

I'm curious will the USA made strings be cheaper for us since they were made here or will they stay the same? Only other usa upright string makers are labella and d'addario (as far as I know) and they seem much cheaper in general than strings made overseas.
 
#19
Polychromes have less tension than Braided. Due to the prototypes I got and since the ones that had too less tension for me (and in conjunction with other string from the prototype set) were the base for the Polychromes, I think the tension is about Braided which are tuned down by a halftone.

The strings from the prototype set that I use have roughly the same tension as the Braided, but due to the different core I like them a bit better than the Braided.

If you mean are the Polychromes less stiff than the Braided, I doubt it. The lower strings of my prototypes are (almost?) as stiff as the Braided. But for both I have my way to make them more flexible. I wrote often enough how to do that in the past.
 
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