Spiro balls touching under tailpiece

bonaventura · #1 09-17-2009, 02:07 AM

just strung up the Gruenert with a new set of Spiro Mittels and man, what a sound! the old Mittel E had really faded, and the others (Weich A, Evah D, and Oliv G), well they were in various stages of decline after close to two years... the new Mittels really drive this bass, a fairly heavy and thick student model, so it responds nicely with the Mittels on it...

...but to my question: in addition to the usual metallic clash of overtones and sparks flying when brand new Mittels are bowed (may i call that "new Spiro syndrome"?), I also heard a separate and distinct metallic droning screaming-like distortion in the sound of the A string. i couldn't figure it out -- where the **** could that come from? a defective Spiro?

well, after checking all around, the sound seemed to stop if i held the tailpiece with my hand. looking under the TP, i then saw that the A and D string balls were crammed against each other because the tailpiece, a Laborie pearwood, is constructed in a way that those balls come to rest against each other, and under full tension are really pressing hard. owch! could that be where this unhappy sound was coming from?

so I took several of those nice soft cotton pads

Pirastro strings thankfully come with, and put two on the Mittel A, which didn't prevent all the contact with the D string ball, but softened the droning a bit. I then inserted another one between the A and D, and now the contact is gone and the sound seems to have disappeared. if you look at the picture i'm attaching you can see the pads on the A string and between it and the D string ball.

i'm not sure but i don't think this is just your usual "new Spiro syndrome" sound that would have gone away anyway with time.

has anyone else had that problem before?

my question stated specifically: has anyone else with a Laborie TP (or other TP that forces the balls to touch) had this issue with Spiro Mittels?

or, to phrase the question more generally: does contact between string balls interfere with string sound?

Gearhead43 · #2 09-17-2009, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonaventura

just strung up the Gruenert with a new set of Spiro Mittels and man, what a sound! the old Mittel E had really faded, and the others (Weich A, Evah D, and Oliv G), well they were in various stages of decline after close to two years... the new Mittels really drive this bass, a fairly heavy and thick student model, so it responds nicely with the Mittels on it...

...but to my question: in addition to the usual metallic clash of overtones and sparks flying when brand new Mittels are bowed (may i call that "new Spiro syndrome"?), I also heard a separate and distinct metallic droning screaming-like distortion in the sound of the A string. i couldn't figure it out -- where the **** could that come from? a defective Spiro?

well, after checking all around, the sound seemed to stop if i held the tailpiece with my hand. looking under the TP, i then saw that the A and D string balls were crammed against each other because the tailpiece, a Laborie pearwood, is constructed in a way that those balls come to rest against each other, and under full tension are really pressing hard. owch! could that be where this unhappy sound was coming from?

so I took several of those nice soft cotton pads

Pirastro strings thankfully come with, and put two on the Mittel A, which didn't prevent all the contact with the D string ball, but softened the droning a bit. I then inserted another one between the A and D, and now the contact is gone and the sound seems to have disappeared. if you look at the picture i'm attaching you can see the pads on the A string and between it and the D string ball.

i'm not sure but i don't think this is just your usual "new Spiro syndrome" sound that would have gone away anyway with time.

has anyone else had that problem before?

my question stated specifically: has anyone else with a Laborie TP (or other TP that forces the balls to touch) had this issue with Spiro Mittels?

or, to phrase the question more generally: does contact between string balls interfere with string sound?

decoded it......

Jake deVilliers · #3 09-17-2009, 11:42 PM

GEAR, that's ****ing hilarious!!

MT Spaces · #4 09-17-2009, 11:49 PM

Hey BV-Bill

.... I got No-Idea what Yer Problem Is ...... But Just The Thread Title is giving me a Spiro-woody here. When I ran Spiros .... I always tried to keep my balls separated .... If that is any help.

EDIT ... Sorry .... GearHead has it-all figgered-out (as usual) .... I didn't place the right emphasis on the Parts of the original long-winded text. Nothing slips-past GH's razor-sharp wit and ability to read

!! Who sez an old country / rockabilly / blues jumper upright-player can never get out of 6th-Grade

?? GH graduated Cum-Latte.

Now about that "balls touching under tailpiece" Thing ..... Where does a rural-bass-player like-myself go-about finding one of those kind of tailpieces ? I'm ready to order one.

(We sophisticated-double-bassists are really a Lot Of Help .... Huhhh ?? .... Maybe you should ask the same question over-there with The Slabbers ... )

bonaventura · #5 09-18-2009, 03:14 AM

guys, tanks. that was no-brainer. i grew up in russia where we were forced to speak in code. so please decode me but don't expose me. i happy when some body can grasp my tongue.

my really good advice when you string up: unless your nut also need some deepening of grooves with rat-tail, use soft cotton pads on balls! this highly recommended when balls on strings are forced to touch hard together under tailpiece, causing bad sound. those nice soft pads really good for stopping unhappy sound coming out of the student model. don't forget keep slapping neck! but please don't slap end-pin when rubber tip off, ohh, you can hurt self!

and tanks to you for really good help.

Phil Rowan · #6 09-18-2009, 10:30 AM

Oh the hilarity of it all!!! Well put Gearhead, well put!

clink · #7 09-18-2009, 12:43 PM

They are my favorite by far. Although they may make strange noises at first, once you play them 'in' they purr like a kitten. The mittel ones seem to be the best fit.
One other thing. The balls can be over or under. Over seems to feel a bit tighter. Dunno why.

relacey · #8 09-18-2009, 01:36 PM

Best thread ever!

Marcus Johnson · #9 09-18-2009, 02:21 PM

So now I have guts.... but only half the number of balls I used to have (four). If I trade the Evahs for Animas, I'll have no balls at all.

chuck3 · #10 09-18-2009, 02:27 PM

... an "only on TB" moment ...

Kevin Hsieh · #11 09-18-2009, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by relacey

Best thread ever!

Disappear · #12 09-20-2009, 05:28 AM

Paul Warburton · #13 09-20-2009, 08:11 AM

Nice.

bejoyous · #14 10-03-2009, 02:16 PM

http://www.bumpernuts.com/IMG_0126.JPG

olivieraleman · #15 10-04-2009, 12:50 AM

bona
my spiro weich E sounds like geezer butler on sabbath bloody sabbath. roll with it!

bonaventura · #16 10-09-2009, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearhead43

I was tempted by those Chordas too, but I'm too broke right now.

Happy with my current setup though!

I have learned that a huge part of being happy with strings is simply just getting used to playing them, the longer the strings stay put, the better you learn how to pull a nice powerfull sound out of them.

I am seriously trying () to keep my string swapping to a minimum these days now that I am so used to my current setup.

Finding a string combo that works well for both slap and pizz took me quite a while though. For me, guts are it, even if they are a PITA some times.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Rowan

Oh the hilarity of it all!!! Well put Gearhead, well put!