Was looking for a brighter G string that still had body/warmth for orch playing. Have a dark/boomy bass, a mutual colleague suggested Kaplan heavy gauge. Wonderful for my particular instrument, feels thick under the fingers, bright but plenty of warmth/body. Took a month to get rid of the scratchy attack, but wow. Will have to try a D and A next time. A little less string roll/twist for jazz (vs Evah P's, etc), nice sustain.
I tried the Zyex for about a month and they just had too much of a tin can sound so I put my Helicore Hybrids back on for now. Also the Zyex were much harder to get the bow started. Zyex was also much quieter than steel core strings and I need volume for playing pizz in bluegrass settings. I think you may have talked me into a set of Kaplans!
Sorry, I got to this video so late. An excellent review. I play at church, and I need strings that work well for Arco and Pizz (primarily Arco). The Zyex seemed brighter but well suited for pizz and solo playing with arco. The Kaplans are more suitable for playing arco in an orchestral setting. I have arthritis in my hands, so I am looking for strings that won't kill my hand. My bass is very picky. High-tension strings seem to work better. I had bad luck with Helicores and great luck with Permanents, Belcantos (but they are too expensive and they don't last long), and Zyex. Since I play with small groups, my bowing needs to be very clean and the bowing response is very important. I am going to explore these two strings in more depth.
Zyex seems to have a more Rich living colorfull sound both pizz and arco, but is true the zyex are a bit harder to bow than normal.. you can get use i feel thought
Great comparison thank you so much ! I play the Zyex medium set, and I totally agree with you about this, say, imprecision in the low spectum, but, they have an incredible versatility and work so well for the pizz and in jazz ! True they work very well for the baroque style and have an incredible sustain, this is all true. I will definitely try the Kaplan once my Zyex will have "emptied", which occured after 1 year an a half for my previous set. Thanks again for your video, I'm feeling less lonely regarding my thoughts about these strings !! Also please what app are you using for displaying the spectral analysis ?
Great Video. The Zyex add color on your bass and agree sound great for solo arco work from the passages you played. I always thought they were a middle ground between spiro and EPS.
Great videos! I'm looking for strings that are easier on my right hand finger tips. I currently have thomastc spiro mediums and I'm 90% jazz pizz player with some Arco. It isn't uncommon for my RH index or middle fingers to blister and left hand to cramp during a long gig. So seeking an easier string to play, or possibly going to a light gauge. I watched your Kap-to-Perp, and your Perp-to-Zyex and now Zyex-to-Kap. You did mention if you were primarily pizz, you may choose the zyex. Wondering if that still holds true for you. It is always a balance between good tone and good feel, it seems the easier they are on the fingers, the less robustness in the tone. I do really like the tone of the spirocore mediums I have on there now, but find my playing becomes weaker as the gig progresses bc my fingers are getting sore. Also, I've been playing double bass for about 5 years and these strings are that old. Any suggestions you have are appreciated!
I like both Zyex and Perpetuals. I think that if I was going for more of an old-school gut feel,I’d go with Zyex, but for easy and even playing I’d go with Perpetuals. Just my two cents-I like them both!
I bought kaplan mediums and right away the bow response was fantastic. I like the sound of the D and G but the E and A are boxy sounding on my hybrid chinese bass. Were you playing zyex lights or mediums?
I had passiones on for a while and then tried flex deluxe, i found them a straight upgrade from passiones. Although i think the E and A string are a touch too flexible for me (still not as light as the passiones though) so ive gone with belcanto on the bottom, flex up top
Tons of music stores have them, and you can pick them up form D’Addario directly at www.daddario.com/products/orchestral/bass/kaplan-bass/kaplan-bass-string-set-34-scale-medium-tension/
@@doublebasshq i have a modern ply bass with solid top currently using spirocore weichs and i want to try a orchestral setup and concentrate on arco wht strength kaplans would you recommend
What do you think of Flexocor Deluxes? I'm mainly a classical player but I still do a good bit of jazz. The Kaplans sound great pizz, and they sound good bowed on my bass but they're way too warm so I'm trying to find something that's a better fit and great bow response is a must. I'm totally open to suggestions.
@@doublebasshq hi again, been trying to find an A and E (ext) string that match well with belcantos up the top. I love the G and D of belcantos but find the A and E a bit muddy and slightly slow to catch under the bow, do you think the kaplans would be a good fit? Cheers
Very helpful comparison Jason!
Thanks!
Was looking for a brighter G string that still had body/warmth for orch playing. Have a dark/boomy bass, a mutual colleague suggested Kaplan heavy gauge. Wonderful for my particular instrument, feels thick under the fingers, bright but plenty of warmth/body. Took a month to get rid of the scratchy attack, but wow. Will have to try a D and A next time. A little less string roll/twist for jazz (vs Evah P's, etc), nice sustain.
The Kaplans are definitely closer to your heart as can be heard in your vibrato / feel !
I tried the Zyex for about a month and they just had too much of a tin can sound so I put my Helicore Hybrids back on for now. Also the Zyex were much harder to get the bow started. Zyex was also much quieter than steel core strings and I need volume for playing pizz in bluegrass settings. I think you may have talked me into a set of Kaplans!
Nice! I’ve got Kaplans on my bass now and love them.
Sorry, I got to this video so late. An excellent review. I play at church, and I need strings that work well for Arco and Pizz (primarily Arco). The Zyex seemed brighter but well suited for pizz and solo playing with arco. The Kaplans are more suitable for playing arco in an orchestral setting. I have arthritis in my hands, so I am looking for strings that won't kill my hand. My bass is very picky. High-tension strings seem to work better. I had bad luck with Helicores and great luck with Permanents, Belcantos (but they are too expensive and they don't last long), and Zyex. Since I play with small groups, my bowing needs to be very clean and the bowing response is very important. I am going to explore these two strings in more depth.
Nice! These are both good strings, but they do respond a bit differently.
Great sound, interesting piece. When will they make a 5ths set?
Maybe soon!
Zyex seems to have a more Rich living colorfull sound both pizz and arco, but is true the zyex are a bit harder to bow than normal.. you can get use i feel thought
For sure!
Great comparison thank you so much ! I play the Zyex medium set, and I totally agree with you about this, say, imprecision in the low spectum, but, they have an incredible versatility and work so well for the pizz and in jazz ! True they work very well for the baroque style and have an incredible sustain, this is all true. I will definitely try the Kaplan once my Zyex will have "emptied", which occured after 1 year an a half for my previous set.
Thanks again for your video, I'm feeling less lonely regarding my thoughts about these strings !!
Also please what app are you using for displaying the spectral analysis ?
Thanks for the great thoughts on these! I’m using Tonal Energy-it’s my default music app these days.
Please talk and compare baroque bows and short scale french bows
Great Video. The Zyex add color on your bass and agree sound great for solo arco work from the passages you played. I always thought they were a middle ground between spiro and EPS.
Great videos! I'm looking for strings that are easier on my right hand finger tips. I currently have thomastc spiro mediums and I'm 90% jazz pizz player with some Arco. It isn't uncommon for my RH index or middle fingers to blister and left hand to cramp during a long gig. So seeking an easier string to play, or possibly going to a light gauge. I watched your Kap-to-Perp, and your Perp-to-Zyex and now Zyex-to-Kap. You did mention if you were primarily pizz, you may choose the zyex. Wondering if that still holds true for you. It is always a balance between good tone and good feel, it seems the easier they are on the fingers, the less robustness in the tone. I do really like the tone of the spirocore mediums I have on there now, but find my playing becomes weaker as the gig progresses bc my fingers are getting sore. Also, I've been playing double bass for about 5 years and these strings are that old. Any suggestions you have are appreciated!
I like both Zyex and Perpetuals. I think that if I was going for more of an old-school gut feel,I’d go with Zyex, but for easy and even playing I’d go with Perpetuals. Just my two cents-I like them both!
@@doublebasshq regarding zyex - I see they are available in both medium and light. Which do you have experience with? Thanks for your input!
Alot of jazzers use solo strings tuned down. Also the spiro weichs might be what you're after - low tension spiros basically. Also nice with the bow.
I bought kaplan mediums and right away the bow response was fantastic. I like the sound of the D and G but the E and A are boxy sounding on my hybrid chinese bass. Were you playing zyex lights or mediums?
Are the zyex lights or mediums?
Primarily classical player here! Just changed from gut to Pirastro Passione. I love the feel and sound. Super warm and crisp. Have you tried them yet?
They’re nice strings!
I had passiones on for a while and then tried flex deluxe, i found them a straight upgrade from passiones. Although i think the E and A string are a touch too flexible for me (still not as light as the passiones though) so ive gone with belcanto on the bottom, flex up top
Helicore Strings have a flexible core
cool. where can I find Kaplans?
Tons of music stores have them, and you can pick them up form D’Addario directly at www.daddario.com/products/orchestral/bass/kaplan-bass/kaplan-bass-string-set-34-scale-medium-tension/
@@doublebasshq thank you so much
Hey Jason! Curious if you’re using the medium or heavy gauge Kaplan strings?
Just the medium-they seem to work well on my Jakstadt.
@@doublebasshq i have a modern ply bass with solid top currently using spirocore weichs and i want to try a orchestral setup and concentrate on arco wht strength kaplans would you recommend
What do you think of Flexocor Deluxes? I'm mainly a classical player but I still do a good bit of jazz. The Kaplans sound great pizz, and they sound good bowed on my bass but they're way too warm so I'm trying to find something that's a better fit and great bow response is a must. I'm totally open to suggestions.
They’re great strings!
On your bass at least, the kaplans win by a mile. Great comparison
Thanks!
@@doublebasshq hi again, been trying to find an A and E (ext) string that match well with belcantos up the top. I love the G and D of belcantos but find the A and E a bit muddy and slightly slow to catch under the bow, do you think the kaplans would be a good fit? Cheers