Flexocor Bass Strings

There are now 3 kinds of Flexocor bass strings. Flexocor Originals, Flexocors and the new, Flexocor Deluxe strings.  First about Flexocor and Flexocor Originals.  Here's the quickie version of the story: For many years Pirastro made just a few brands of bass strings.  Flexocors were (and I think still are) the most popular orchestra type string used for the upright bass.  Then sometime around 1992 they had the idea that they could make these strings even "better"!  So they changed the old formula and came out with a new version and to be quite un-dramatic about the whole affair, almost caused a world uprising.  Well, not really, but most were unhappy that they messed with their favorite bass string. Finally, Pirastro quickly seeing their grave mistake, brought back their "Original" Flexocor bass strings and called them that so that there would never, ever be any confusion.  For a while, they called the "newer" version of Flexocors (Flexocor '92's), now simply referred to as Flexocor.  So now, you know why they have these two Flexocors.

So what's the difference?  Flexocor Originals "feel" like they have just a tad bit less tension.  Again, it will always boil down to what that particular bass does and what the upright bass player needs or wants. The key point that every bass player needs to remember is that for every one string characteristic strength, there is almost an equal "tradeoff" with something else in the string.  So in a nutshell, the Originals tend to "feel" less tight with the bow and they tend to sound just a little rounder (or thicker), but the reason lots of people like the other brand (simply called Flexocor) is that they have a bit more pop with the bow.  If you tend to really like Flexocors, the only way to really know what you like better is to try them both or ask a friend that has a used set, to try on your bass.  True, the old set might be worn out a bit, but you still can get an idea of what you might like.  We offer both Flexocor and Original Flexocor bass strings brands as well most all Pirastro brand upright bass strings.

Now about the Flexocor Deluxe bass strings.  The new Flexocor Deluxe strings still feel and are similar to both the Flexocor and Flexocor Originals.  The new Flexocor Deluxe strings have a bit of "looseness" to them that the other Flexocors don't have (as much.)  I can see that the new 'Deluxes" will win a lot of players over.  They kind of feel that your bow can sink into the string a little than the others.  It's hard to describe and ultimately (as we always say!) it depends on the bass and the player's needs and wants.  We have a whole page dedicated to the Flexocor Deluxes.

Why some don't use the Flexocor E string?

When comparing the tonal characteristics all 4 strings (of the Flexocor bass strings), they match beautifully.  Going from the G, D, A and then to the E (while the timbre matches), the loss of power on the E is more often too much to accept.  Long ago, upright bass players without having too much of a selection of bass strings to choose from, often went with an 'E' Spirocore.  It will give way more punch ( and you can then get a decent spiccato) on the E, but for longer sustained notes the brightness (edge) of that Spirocore is often too much.  We would keep these old Spirocores on forever.  Over time, the E would mellow and it would blend better with the rest of the strings.

The Helicore is far less brighter (with the bow) then a Spirocore.  The Permanent E string will have an even warmer tone (than both the Helicore or Spirocore) and still have a pretty decent attack with the bow.  Again, (and again) it boils down to what works best for that particular bass and the playing style of the player.  If you want a stronger E than what comes with the regular set of Flexocors,  we recommend using a Permanent E string instead.

We have the lowest priced bass strings in the world. See our complete upright bass strings page for prices and listing of the bass strings that we offer.