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Double Bass 2022 Spirocore Challenge
- Thread starter TroyK
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When in doubt… 3885 Weichs. For those of us who can’t choose between Weichs and Mittels. 
Here's my March evidence. I'm still in. They were great in the studio today, which is the one place that I wasn't sure I would like them.
You can consider me beeing Spirocore challenge curious, have to admit unfortunately. Before I had a top off repair done and new bridge made to my bass I tried my options with different mixes of Evah and Spiro weichs. Ended up with Spiro mittels afterwards, and those are propably about to stay on the bass. They sound great, but I'm still on getting the feel right. The new bridge is a fixed one ( wanted to try ), so it takes a lot more than turning the adjusters. I have a adjustable bridge too, but it has different spacing and would require a bit of work to get where I really want it.
I understand completely if I'm tossed out, there are rules and code to this challenge.
I understand completely if I'm tossed out, there are rules and code to this challenge.
Played a bass with Weichs tonight and they sounded pretty good. Even with a sky high action. But I don’t know if I could get away from s42’s. But I still hear Oly’s or Perps singing their siren song.
Curse all these string choices.
Curse all these string choices.
What about all of the folks who have been playing Spirocores consistently for years who long ago stopped playing the new hipster string game... do we suddenly not exist?
I'm guessing the Spiros on one of my basses has to be at least 12 years old!!!! 
and they still sound great.
and they still sound great. 
You are viewed as wise though asexual.
Yeah, it irks me when the PBS station does its [quarterly
] fundraisers ... the new givers get the swag while those of us who have been giving for years get ...?
Yeah, it irks me when the PBS station does its [quarterly
The satisfaction of being “old money”.
No, we get the smug satisfaction of having lived multiple years of the Spirocore lifestyle AND…
…registration priority for the 2023 Perpetuals Challenge!
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I'm guessing the Spiros on one of my basses has to be at least 12 years old!!!!
does this include arco work? How have they “matured” in that area?
Yes, it does include a lot of arco work.
They now sound a lot warmer as they have aged and lost their bright sound.
Every once in a while I get a call from guys in local Orchestras asking me if I have old Spiros. They specifically ask me if I have any set that was played in for over 6 years!
I actually remember being disappointed when I first put them on because they were very bright and scratchy under the bow. But after all these years now it's when I think they sound best. And I haven't noticed any problems with intonation or any weird sound on harmonics,... and they don't sound dead and lifeless either.
Hope this helps.
My new Spirocores this year were not overly bright. They have beautiful clarity and are very pitch articulate, but not tinny or whiney in any way. I worried about them for recording vs live, but I made a demo last week and they sound just like my bass sounds. I'm really enjoying them arco and pizz.
I do miss the feel of the Perpetuals just a bit and they also sounded very good.
I do miss the feel of the Perpetuals just a bit and they also sounded very good.
Based on several students who have dabbled with Perpetuals where I have gotten to hear them in lessons and concerts, they speak slower than Spiros and while the students report they feel great, they don’t cut through in the mix as well. Both students have since gone back to spiros.
Perpetuals have a round core and it feels great. They are soft under the fingers and have a really nice bounce. They cut through fine for me. I was really happy with how they sounded until they were about 2 years old*, then I felt like the volume of my bass had dropped way off.
* 2 COVID years, not heavy gigging years.
* 2 COVID years, not heavy gigging years.
I get about a year of heavy playing out of them (went through 2 sets during grad school/covid). I don't play much upright since moving to nashville so I'm hoping to get 2 years out of the set on my bass.
This is part of the allure of Spirocores. With every Pirastro string I have loved (and I love several Pirastro string sets) I'm planning my string changes around gigs and recordings, but they all happen between about 9 and 18 months from new. When you buy Spirocores, they could reasonably last a decade.
Personally I think the "Spirocores last forever" talk is hooey. Yes, they last longer than most strings, but I've played plenty of examples of dead Spiros over the years. When I used them myself I felt they were past their prime after a couple of years. They still had clarity and sustain, but had lost much of their their brightness and punch. Plus they felt yucky.
- Steve
- Steve
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