Helicore Pizz Med -vs- Spiro Weich

[jallenbass]

Anyone have any first hand experience with both of these strings (jazz)? Impressions? I have Med Pizz on my bass right now. Sounds good but I'm trying get as little tensions as I can without sacrificing tone. According to the tension charts Spiro Weich is less than Helicore Pizz Mediums but more than the Helicore Pizz Lights which didn't work for me.

[Eric Hochberg]

IMO the Spiros are better quality strings. You didn't say why you didn't like the Heli Lights, but the Spiros are worth a try.

[jallenbass]

Originally Posted by ehochberg

IMO the Spiros are better quality strings. You didn't say why you didn't like the Heli Lights, but the Spiros are worth a try.

What I didn't like about the Lights was that they were dark sounding with not much definition. I assume that has something to do with the lower tension. The Mediums are not that way at all on my bass. I'm definitely leaning towards trying the spiro weichs but want to avoid spending $200 if they are the same as the Helicore Pizzacatos on my bass.

[Eric Hochberg]

They're $171 at Lemur and if you don't like them, someone will undoubtedly buy them from you here.

[jallenbass]

Thanks Eric. Good point.

[AMJBASS]

I would take Spirocores any day over Helicores. They are better quality, and they also have a sound that sits pretty well perfectly in the mix. I always found Helicores to have a dark and somewhat lifeless tone to them...

[martinc]

Spiro Weichs for me. I have tried the Helicore Medium Pizz but I seem more of the string sound than the bass sound.
The Weichs sound much better on my ply Eberle once they settle in. Tension on both strings is pretty close.

[Phil Rowan]

I don't have any experience w/ that kind of Heli (maybe I do, but it was very, very long ago, and at the time I'm sure I didn't really have the same kinda appreciation for good strings).. but I'd go w/ Spiro Weichs, which I do have experience using (good results). Bobshouseofbasses has sets going for $162.

[MrSidecar]

Hi,

like others, I´d advise you to leave d´addarios in the shop. Seriously, steer clear. I played them far too long, wrongly remembering spiros for bad bowing quality. But I was wrong. They bow great, pizz legendary, and last ages.

With d´addarios, I had wonkynesses on nearly all the sets, be it hybrid medium, hybrid soft, or pizz soft. Different problems like buzzing a-String, dead g-string, breaking a-string and d-string when stringing the instrument, metal resonance banjo-style a-string that went away after 4 days, dead d-string... I wonder why I sticked with them so long, since they are not even less expensive here in europe.

Best

Sidecar

[Phil Rowan]

I don't know if it's that my bass is set up slightly differently, or that my bowing technique is perhaps slightly better over the years (my bow is 100 times better, for sure).. but I just put on brand new Spiro mittel D/G and just under a year old (though not used the whole time) mittel E/A on my Lang hybrid, and I'm very pleasantly surprised at how well they sound.. especially the D/G for being brand new. I'd been using Evah Pirazzi mediums for A/D/G and a heavy gauge Helicor. Orch E.
I'm finding the Spiros to be much more defined and articulate, and the sound is already sweet, so I can only imagine how they'll sound in a few weeks/months/years. The A is especially punchy and growly w/ out rattling.. last time I had Spiros on was about 2 1/2 years ago. Mark Dresser was in town and I had a lesson with him, and after playing my bass a little, he made a comment about really liking the sound of the A.

I should mention that on the D/G I put felts on by the ball end.. that might help take some of the edge off them. I thought I'd have to use the rubber dampening rings Pirastro sent me, but they sound just fine w/ just the felts. Oh, and also, I use the Lang mostly for playing solo/orchestral stuff.