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Double Bass 2022 Spirocore Challenge

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#241
I made an appointment with the local bass luthier Wednesday morning. I'm going to have her check my bass out and put the new 3885W set on there with any needed adjustments and fiddling.

I'm really happy overall with the old set + the S42M G. Either the G from my old 3885W set is defective somehow or I'm just covering up a bass issue with that substitution. I'd like to make sure, if I'm going to do this, that my bass is working with me on it as best possible. If after spending time with the new set I determine that I'd still be better off with the S42M G, then I can always put it back on. It is a really nice string to my bass.
 
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#242
TroyK said:
I made an appointment with the local bass luthier Wednesday morning. I'm going to have her check my bass out and put the new 3885W set on there with any needed adjustments and fiddling.

I'm really happy overall with the old set + the S42M G. Either the G from my old 3885W set is defective somehow or I'm just covering up a bass issue with that substitution. I'd like to make sure, if I'm going to do this, that my bass is working with me on it as best possible. If after spending time with the new set I determine that I'd still be better off with the S42M G, then I can always put it back on. It is a really nice string to my bass.
Click to expand...
I'll be watching for your thoughts on this. I feel like the G on my S42M set doesn't quite match the rest, but it's been a short time, and the differences have become less glaring as I've been slowly raising my bridge (about 6-9mm string heights now, up from 4-7mm when the Spiros went on).

I also have some setup quirks. My fingerboard is under-scooped below the G string - it's a student grade ply bass, and my luthier suggested waiting on that work until I'm sure I don't want to upgrade. Almost two years later, I'm still thinking about it... But I imagine that's affecting the left hand feel. I also insisted he file the bridge's G slot lower to help with my string crossings as an arco newbie (he also suggested against that work, to his credit) so that's definitely exacerbating the poorly shaped board. My teacher suggested a business card shim for that. Then there's a bevel on the E side of the fingerboard, which is hard to wrap my head around when thinking about string heights. All of this to say that I'm not convinced the mismatch is unintentional by Thomastik, and even if I can't get used to it with setup and technique, there's the possibility of going to a 3885M G (or keeping my S42M G and switching the rest to a 3885W set, I suppose).
 
#243
Interesting. It's been fairly common practice for people to go up one gauge on their E string for decades, but I never really heard of people going up one gauge on the G string until recently.

That Mittle G is awesome on my bass. Arco and Pizza all the way up through thumb. But far the best G I've used...including an OLIV a long time ago.

Typically people report throwing their Spirocore Gs in the trash and replacing them with virtually anything.

I'm not quite sure why suddenly we're experiencing it differently. Maybe I'll learn more iny appointment. Ideally, I'd have new, as Thomastik intended set on with a complimentary setup, but we'll see.
 
#249
Ryan in PDX said:
I also insisted he file the bridge's G slot lower to help with my string crossings as an arco newbie (he also suggested against that work, to his credit) so that's definitely exacerbating the poorly shaped board. My teacher suggested a business card shim for that.
Click to expand...

That's good advice. I've had a business card shim in the nut slot for my E string for about the last 10 years. I suppose i could have the slot reshaped, but if it ain't broke...

TroyK said:
Interesting. It's been fairly common practice for people to go up one gauge on their E string for decades, but I never really heard of people going up one gauge on the G string until recently.
Click to expand...

Before I had my bridge crown reshaped to bring the G height to closer to the D height, I actually tried a heavier G and it worked perfectly. The problem was that the D, being so much higher off the board, always overpowered the G because I couldn't get as deep under the G with the pizz finger. Once the bridge curve was adjusted, the balance was restored, and most sets balance fine.
 
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#250
Don Hergert said:
And, at least as far as I've seen, there is no Stark version of the 3885 (3/4) set (and similar to S42W, the 3/4 Weich set is 3885W).
Click to expand...
That’s true. The reason is that the strings for the shorter scale need to be thicker than for the longer scale at the same tension and pitch. And that means a short scale Stark would be too stiff to work well in higher positions.

BTW, there are no light/Weich or heavy/Stark versions for the Superflexibles, but 4/4 and 3/4 versions in medium/Mittel and for Solo tuning exist.
 
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#251
Chris Fitzgerald said:
That's good advice. I've had a business card shim in the nut slot for my E string for about the last 10 years. I suppose i could have the slot reshaped, but if it ain't broke...

Before I had my bridge crown reshaped to bring the G height to closer to the D height, I actually tried a heavier G and it worked perfectly. The problem was that the D, being so much higher off the board, always overpowered the G because I couldn't get as deep under the G with the pizz finger. Once the bridge curve was adjusted, the balance was restored, and most sets balance fine.
Click to expand...
Thanks for confirming what I was theorizing.

DoubleMIDI said:
Just to avoid possible confusion of some readers:
There is no S42M set and no other set by Thomastik ending with M.
The medium/Mittel set has no appended letter so it is S42 for the medium/Mittel Spiro 4/4 set. Only light/Weich and Heavy/Stark sets get a W or S appended.
Click to expand...
Derp. The sheer number of Spiro sets is confusing enough, I should definitely stick to the proper names. Maybe there should be a "spiro nomenclature/slang translation" sticky.
 
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#253
Progris Report:

Well it’s been a solid three months of breaking in a set of the 3/4 Weichs and I’m pleased to note that the “smoothening” is well underway.

I’ve had about 14 upright gigs since October and nearly 100 hours of practice time.

I recently bumped up the adjusters a little to compensate for the seasonal lowering which seems to happen around November (and back up in April once the heat & humidity returns).

The sound is bright - but not abrasive, definitely full and much more powerful than 4/4 Weichs - on my bass.

I’m not officially in the challenge but I’m playing along at home. At this point I’m satisfied with the set as is … although I could be tempted to try the Mittel G if the existential string boredom or self loathing creeps in - lol - all good - stay healthy my friends and keep swinging!
 
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#254
Jason, did you notice a gauge difference when you went from 4/4 Weichs to 3/4 Weichs?

As an outsider who probably shouldn't use Spiros on his current DB, it does seem there are enough different types of Spiros that the rabbit hole could still be heavily explored while remaining safely inside the challenge group... There are enough different sets and possible mixes of Spiros available that a person could try a different set every month of 2022.
 
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#255
Don Hergert said:
Jason, did you notice a gauge difference when you went from 4/4 Weichs to 3/4 Weichs?

...
Click to expand...

About a year ago, I started a thread called something related to string neurosis which was really me trying things from my string box and making a few trades. I noticed and noted a significant difference between S42 Weich and 3885 Weich.

My bass it finicky, but the difference wasn't subtle for me.
 
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#256
^^^

Yes absolutely. The 4/4 Weichs are a dream to play with the left hand but felt a little squishy when digging in with the right hand - and not getting the volume or bump out of the note I was going for.

I had a bit of anxiety after installing the 3/4 Weichs because I perceived them to have a great deal more “tension”. It felt a good bit harder with the left hand but a bit better with the right.

After these past few months of working with them I’m quite happy with the tone & feel. I do plan to keep them on for a few years so I’ll get back with you lol.
 
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