Strong Opinions On Strings

[anAnthony]

I have spiro mittels that are very old (at least a dozen years). I love the tone and sustain they have in general (at this age). I want to play more arco. I have a mid 70's Karl Meisel plywood instrument. I have a french bow with dark hair. I need to cut through a heavy and sometimes loud mix. I use a K&K bass max into a fairly simple signal chain. I played a set of velvets and loved the pizz feel and tone, but I still want that sustained thing that the spiros do. I played a set of obligatos and didn't dig the feel or the lack of oomph. I liked what they did under the bow...
So I want power, volume, sustain, growl, definition, not necessarily high tension and a bit more forgiving on the neophyte arco player.
I'm willing to suck it up and get another set of the Thomastiks, but I'm open to (asking for) suggestions about what else has hugeness but might be more bowable. Thanks.

[TroyK]

Honestly, if you love Spirocores, I'm not sure that there is something you're going to like as much. Someone will say Evah Pirazzis and they're fine strings, but they don't sustain like are describing. In fact there are a lot of fine strings out there that have their place, but for sustain and cut,...Jazzers are very good. I find them bowable, but there are reports to the contrary.

They aren't as popular as Spirocores for a reason, though. Sorry for the bad news.

Someone might suggest Corellis too. Do a search on them and see if that sounds like you, they will be lighter in gauge.

I think Helicores would be a let down to you after having the same Spirocores for over a decade. Superflexibles are an obvious answer, but I think you'll miss the difference.

Sorry, I've tried a bunch of **** and that's my answer. i don't think everyone should use Spirocores, but I think that anyone who loves Spirocores will only find heartbreak playing the field.

EDIT- You might try going down to weichs. They are easier to bow, but still retain that same goodness and will last as long.

[JtheJazzMan]

Yeah I think this subject can just turn into a "stick with spiros" fest....but with good reason. Youll save money not jumping on the string experimenting bandwagon and they will sort out your arco technique.

Maybe spend the money on a rehair with lighter hair. That will be cheaper and a worthwhile investment.

[Uncletoad]

It's hard to learn to play with a bow no matter what you are using.

The minute you change your strings to something else slightly more bow friendly, you will make your life easier in the practice room a little but playing out you might miss what you clearly like.

I wouldn't even change the strings. Dead spiros bow as well as many more arco friendly strings. When they are newer they are harder to get a sound out of.

You clearly know what you like to hear on your bass.

Practice with what you have.

[anAnthony]

It's also just that these are the only strings i've ever really used as a neophyte, BG crossover guy...
I end up eq'ing to cut through a bit more and the bow's tone sounds harsh. At home playing acoustically, not really a problem. Are the Weichs really a viable alternative as far as ballsiness?

[anAnthony]

I also think that as I'm playing more, the strings are just dead. There's a noticed lack of response and sustain recently. Once again, thank you all for the comments and advice. I'm happy to have such a resource and sounding board.

[Uncletoad]

There is no way to predict the sound of your bass with a change in strings. We can tell you weichs are more bow freindly than mittels across most basses. My basses sound better bow and pizz to me with Mittels than weichs but that's just me and my stuff.

I know for me strings that old hold no special sauce, I like them fresher sounding. They do have a certain something appealing when they live that long on a bass and sometimes changing them looses that thing. Good news is they are Spirocores and you can always put them back on and they will sound similar to what they are now.

No harm in experimenting.

[MR PC]

In case you are still reading Anthony, Toad is right, there's no way to predict how your bass will sound with a change of strings. I also agree that the broken in Spiro's bow better than new ones. But if they are dead, it could be time for a new set, just be sure to hold on to the old ones. You might try Spiro Weichs. If you need to cut through a loud and "heavy" mix, I'd start to investigate some options with eq.

Of course, if your technique is lacking, no amount of gearage will be of use. Ya'all gotta practice, plain and simple.

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Putting a bow to spirocores on certain basses can be a real problem. My plywood bows nicely with either mittels or weichs, but the old flatback has had a bad wolf tone, making anything around the open A string difficult. Until now.

Aluminum bridge adjusters - worked for me

Last night I adjusted my string mix back to a mittel E, A and D with an Olive G and got back some magic. Pizz is exactly what I want and arco is very manageable.
Really, this well-cut, Mirecourt bridge almost killed off the wolf tone. Dunno if it's due to a better proportioned bridge or hardened wood or whatever, but it's all good.

Thanks to JazzMan for mentioning his experience with minimizing wolfiness by using an Aubert Mirecourt bridge.

To anyone considering a new bridge I recommend getting the best. It's worth it.

The regulars here have seen me experiment with many different strings in an effort to have the perfect pizz string with decent arco response. Everytime I put the spirocores back in the drawer it would only take a week or two to miss their pizz magic and go back and throw them on. Getting a decent arco tone on them is finally a nice relief.

Anthony, the weichs do bow a bit better.

[anAnthony]

I feel closer to what I'm going to do.
Thank you all again for your input.