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Double Bass Miss Lycon, my old lover

drurb

drurb

Oracle, Ancient Order of Rass Hattur; Mem. #1, EPC
Commercial User
Apr 17, 2004
10,334
784
#1
It was years ago and we were in love. We had some great times and made all sorts of wonderful music together. Then one day she disappeared. I was downtrodden. There were other fish in the sea, I was told. Indeed there were. After several courtships, I found Miss Spiro to be quite a doll.

Then Miss Lycon showed up at my door again. Was the spark still there? Could we pick up where we left off? Alas, we had grown apart. It was bittersweet. We've parted ways for good, it seems.
============

So, here's the story. I bought a very lightly used Lycon G-D-A set from salcott. I had a basically brand new Lycon E in storage. After all these years, I strung up a set of Lycons. They were exactly what I remembered them to be. They didn't speak quite as loudly on my bass as the Spiro mitts and, given my "old school" style of play, I missed the front-end stiffness of the Spiro mitts. I put the Spiros right back on.

I'll say this. If you favor strings with less perceived tension/stiffness than the Spiro mitts (e.g., Oblis, Spiro weich, etc.) you might go ga-ga over the Lycons.

I may just have to change my avatar. :(
 
#3
For us mere mortals who will never have the opportunity, would you compare the Lycons to the 3885 3/4 Spiro Weichs, which are also between the S42 4/4 Weichs and Mittels in tension and feel?
 
#5
iiipopes said:
For us mere mortals who will never have the opportunity, would you compare the Lycons to the 3885 3/4 Spiro Weichs, which are also between the S42 4/4 Weichs and Mittels in tension and feel?
Click to expand...

I wish I could do this for you but I really don't have enough experience with the Spiro weichs to say anything meaningful.

Phil Rowan said:
drurb, we can also just pretend the Lycon logo on your avatar is simply the Lycon jersey held high above the arena to symbolize one of the string greats that made a big impact and made it to the hall of fame.
Click to expand...

Hmm... I like this... very wise. :)
 
#7
iiipopes said:
For us mere mortals who will never have the opportunity, would you compare the Lycons to the 3885 3/4 Spiro Weichs, which are also between the S42 4/4 Weichs and Mittels in tension and feel?
Click to expand...

Kindly, no. They really weren't comparable to any existing pizz string, IMO.
I was listening to a Cal Tjader record I did in the late 60's the other day with unamped Lycons . The bass was well heard with a full section, including Armando Peraza on congos.
 
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#8
Paul Warburton said:
Kindly, no. They really weren't comparable to any existing pizz string, IMO.
I was listening to a Cal Tjader record I did in the late 60's the other day with unamped Lycons . The bass was well heard with a full section, including Armando Peraza on congos.
Click to expand...

Well, you could have 'em again! ;)
 
#10
iiipopes said:
For us mere mortals who will never have the opportunity, would you compare the Lycons to the 3885 3/4 Spiro Weichs, which are also between the S42 4/4 Weichs and Mittels in tension and feel?
Click to expand...

Feel-wise the Lycons are more like the S42 Weich - tone-wise, not so much. The Lycons are livelier, with a great 'ping' on the front of the note that I don't hear in any other steel string. It almost like the steel version of the 'pop' you get from a Gamut gut string... But the arco is smoother and cleaner than the Weich.

Seemingly contradictory, but there it is. :(
 
#11
Jake deVilliers said:
Feel-wise the Lycons are more like the S42 Weich - tone-wise, not so much. The Lycons are livelier, with a great 'ping' on the front of the note that I don't hear in any other steel string. It almost like the steel version of the 'pop' you get from a Gamut gut string... But the arco is smoother and cleaner than the Weich.

Seemingly contradictory, but there it is. :(
Click to expand...

Not really. A bassist buddy of mine likened them to a "piano string" in terms of pizz. Great point to the tone with fabulous sustain.
 
#12
I bought two sets of the original Lycon strings. Later on, Lycon had replaced the those strings with a Ray Brown Signature set, or at least I couldn't order the original strings. I bought three signature sets in 1970, if I recall accurately, and I'm glad I did. Lycon went out of business sometime later on. When I put a Ray Brown set on my bass, I wasn't as happy with the sound/tone as I was with the originals. I played through those three sets and wound up facing the same decision that others had to go through and settled on Thomastik Spirocore mittel's after having tried 4 or 5 different brands, including a set of Pogal's that I bought while I was in Italy, but wasn't happy with them for use playing jazz.

No one has mentioned the Ray Brown Lycon strings, but from what I can remember, at the time I would have rather had the Ray Brown Lycon strings than the Thomastiks. But it didn't take long to become acclimated to them given what I perceived as the lack of viable alternatives. Any remarks on this, the last Lycon string?

Lloyd Howard

LyconStrings_RayBrown_zpse1849004.jpg


LyconStrings_RayBrown_2_zps4e0e25ea.jpg
 
#13
lhoward said:
I bought two sets of the original Lycon strings. Later on, Lycon had replaced the those strings with a Ray Brown Signature set, or at least I couldn't order the original strings. I bought three signature sets in 1970, if I recall accurately, and I'm glad I did. Lycon went out of business sometime later on. When I put a Ray Brown set on my bass, I wasn't as happy with the sound/tone as I was with the originals. I played through those three sets and wound up facing the same decision that others had to go through and settled on Thomastik Spirocore mittel's after having tried 4 or 5 different brands, including a set of Pogal's that I bought while I was in Italy, but wasn't happy with them for use playing jazz.

No one has mentioned the Ray Brown Lycon strings, but from what I can remember, at the time I would have rather had the Ray Brown Lycon strings than the Thomastiks. But it didn't take long to become acclimated to them given what I perceived as the lack of viable alternatives. Any remarks on this, the last Lycon string?
Click to expand...

They were easier to play on, but not as intense in the point and the sustain, but included a nice autographed pic of Ray :hyper:
 
#19
kscbass said:
Wow it's amazing that no other string manufacturer has picked up on this. A copy of these strings would be the answer that many of us have been looking for.
Click to expand...

That's a hell of a question, isn't it? If they were widely available, I'd be putting them on every jazz bass that comes through the shop.
 
#20
As I mentioned, it has been attempted. They may not be widely available, but I know where two full sets are available. :)
 

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