Do Spirocores need breaking in again…

[Andrew McGregor]

if you don't play them for a few years?

I've just come back to playing after about 5 years off, and the Spirocores on my bass are not behaving. Now, of course I need to do a ton of practice, but the strings are being super-scratchy arco, and I don't remember them being like that. Mind you, they've now been on that bass for nearly 20 years…

I'm basically an orchestra player, but I expect I'll be doing way more rock than I used to, since I've been playing EB that whole time.

Should I just get a new set, or is there something else I should try? Maybe I want something that starts a bit easier arco, but still has a good pizz tone…

[Marcus Johnson]

Not in my experience... but the player might need some breaking in!. No offense intended, Spiros are a bit of a tightrope act when it comes to arco. So if you've been playing some lovely arco string for a few years, you might need a little acclimatization in order to get the sounds you want with the bow. Your ear may need time to adjust as well. Most people tell me that the scratchiness in Spiros' arco sound is not nearly as noticeable in the audience.

Then again... I've never played 20-year-old Spiros to my knowledge.

The Evah Pirazzis that I have on my bass now give me a great pizz tone, but it's not uber-growly like Spiros. The arco tone is gorgeous.

Ooops, sorry... just noticed that you've been playing slab only for a few years. Give yourself (and the bass) a little time... I'll bet you'll have the Spiros singing again soon.

[gnergaard]

Do you mean that the strings have been on the bass for 20 years?
Probably not. Spirochore have been highly praised for longlevity but that seems like a long time for any string.
Anyway, being a primarily jazz player who feigns arco occasionally the only experience that I can share is that after having some extensive work done on my bass it seemed like the spriochore mittel strings on it both before and after the repair work needed time to break in after the work was done. I hated the bass initially when I got it back from the repairs and tried new strings but then when I went back to the original strings, after a few months I found that they 'broke in' and started 'behaving' (a term that spirochore players seem to use often). Now I like the bass again. I really couldn't say for sure, but if the bass went through any changes then perhaps the strings will take a while to adjust.
They are inherently screetch-y, though.

[Andrew McGregor]

Yes, those strings were put on in '86 or '87. I've owned the bass the whole time, but it hasn't been played for a few years. No work done, it's just sat in storage. I took it out to inspect it every month or so, but that's all.

Having played them some every day since that post, they're slowly improving, so is my playing fitness. So I'll give them another month, then look at my options if they're still uncomfortable and brash.