Heritage Upright Bass Strings (Newly Improved for 2022)

As the company promo says, these strings really do provide the experience of the best of both worlds of jazz & classical strings. When I first put them on there was a lot of rattle going on in certain positions. I also noticed the E string seemed a bit tame compared to the others. What I discovered is that these strings have a wide vibrating pattern (part of what I believe contributes to their outstanding tone & playability) so you need to adjust your action/setup accordingly. By allowing for more clearance, the extraneous buzzing went away and the E string was allowed to vibrate freely and really sing. I've had the Heritage strings on my bass for about 10 months now - with a lot of playing time both pizzicato and arco - and they still sound great! Easy on the hands, resonant, and a flexible tension to allow a great deal of freedom of expression. I will not hesitate to purchase these strings again.

I had the honor and pleasure of performing recently with the great bassist Harvie S. As bassists do, we got to talking gear. He told me about his new, improved (as of 2022) Kolstein Heritage strings. (Harvie works for Kolstein, but he only endorses what he loves.) Now I've been a citizen of Spirocore Nation ever since the late '70s, when I learned that a lot of my heroes used them. My only dalliances have been the occasional switch from my usual weich to mittel. (Oh, and, out of desperation, one Pirastro Perpetual G stark.) I've always liked a modern jazz sound, and I always thought that meant I was a steel string person. But thinking about Harvie's great sound, I thought that maybe while at least 90% of that sound comes from him, and much of the rest comes from his gorgeous bass, maybe there was a bit of credit due the strings. He let me try his bass and I was intrigued. Those strings are not cheap, and I stewed for about a week, but finally pulled the trigger and bought a set from Gollihur Music. The strings arrived a day before a session, but I had no time that day to install them. I knew it would be nuts to put on new strings right before the session but I couldn't help myself, so I did it. Wow! These are synthetic core strings, but they have a very modern sound with lots of texture and lots of growl in the low end. They are very comfortable to play. Perhaps the best thing about them is the precise attack, compared to the slower bloom of the Spirocores. And they actually stayed pretty well in tune despite having been installed only hours before! Love at first sight isn't always durable, but I have high hopes for this one. I've had them for a week and a half, including two gigs and a few sessions, and I'm hooked

These strings were a favorite of mine, but they tended to be a bit fragile back in the day... I recently picked up a set of these new improved versions, and they still have that same warm sound I remember, but they've been on my bass for several months now and show no signs of early decline. I noticed the comment in another review about a dud e string, and I think that's what happened to that customer because my e string sounds full and solid!

I've used the Heritage strings for about six weeks. The top three strings are everything I want, warm, powerful, lots of harmonic content without being overly bright, comfortable under the hands. And they are friendlier to the bow than most other "jazz" strings. The E string, on this set anyway, doesn't match the others, being rather dull, not much growl or sustain, maybe a dud string. But I love the top three.