Double Bass My string journey documented (to be Continued)

[bassfiddlesteve]

I believe 4/4. That's what I was told but the strings were cut, I believe after they were installed the first time making them shorter. Would this have an effect on the tension? The E string barley reached my closest peg

I don't think cutting the strings would have an effect on the tension. I use the 3/4 Weich set which is in between the 4/4 Weich and 4/4 Mittel set in terms of tension. This is the same set that John Goldsby uses. On my bass, the silk on the E strings ends right where the string meets the tuner shaft.

- Steve

 

[lrhbass]

Love the sound of Spiro Weich but need more when I walk. A little more heft etc. The spirocore reds choke this particular bass and feel somewhat harder to play ,,as we all know. Was thinking of trying the Helicore Hybrid med. size, I have tried the HH lights sounded good but too light. Have used everything almost, that is out there and need something bright.
Any comments or suggestions appreciated...

 

[Francois Blais]

Pirastro Jazzers?

 

[the_Ryan]

Pirastro Jazzers?

Or maybe Helicore pizz?

 

[Sam Dingle]

Love the sound of Spiro Weich but need more when I walk. A little more heft etc. The spirocore reds choke this particular bass and feel somewhat harder to play ,,as we all know. Was thinking of trying the Helicore Hybrid med. size, I have tried the HH lights sounded good but too light. Have used everything almost, that is out there and need something bright.
Any comments or suggestions appreciated...

You should really try the 3/4 weich strings. Sound like exactly what you're thinking of. they are the tension between 4/4 weich and 4/4 mediums (i assume you've only used 4/4 weich and if you've just ordered online the standard is to send 4/4 strings).

Invalid Link Removed upton is the only place i know that lists them. the 3885 weich. I liked them for a bit before going back to the 4/4 mediums.

 

[Jason Hollar]

Love the sound of Spiro Weich but need more when I walk. A little more heft etc. The spirocore reds choke this particular bass and feel somewhat harder to play ,,as we all know. Was thinking of trying the Helicore Hybrid med. size, I have tried the HH lights sounded good but too light. Have used everything almost, that is

Yeah I’m in the same boat - I like the feel of 4/4 Weichs but love the power of the Mittels. I’ve got a new, spare set of 3/4 Weichs waiting on deck.

 

[Sam Dingle]

I couldn't wait till tomorrow so I threw the medium E string on first. I didn't like the tension from E to weich A so thought to just throw the whole medium set on. Threw the A on and the tension felt pretty good across the bass. I have an hour long gig tonight so i'm gonna try medium EA and weich DG just to see how it feels on a gig. I'll throw the rest of the mediums on tomorrow.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Cutting a string (outside of its vibrating part) does not affect tension.
Tension is equal over the whole length of the string.

The only thing that might change a bit is elongation of the whole string. It is equal at each sub-part, but since the length differs the total might change a bit (since the string elongates still when wound onto the peg but less due to friction).

The spirocore reds choke this particular bass and feel somewhat harder to play ,,as we all know. Was thinking of trying the Helicore Hybrid med. size, I have tried the HH lights sounded good but too light.

As long as you do not change the bridge height you need a lower tension string than your Spirocore Mittel (you should know weather it is a 3/4 or a 4/4 string).
A look into my excel file on my Dropbox folder (referenced in many of my postings, search in my postings for Dropbox or look near the end of the last sticky here) may make it easier to find strings that are lower tension since the string tensions are recalculated to one user definable string length.
Which basically also means HH mediums are too much tension and would choke your bass too unless you lower the bridge height.

 

[lrhbass]

Thanks for all the advice, as far as 3/4 Weich, have tried those ,the bass is too big to use them . The Helicore Pizz. won't work because of the Arco factor I need . Probably go with the Helicore Hybrid medium and lower the bridge, as suggested.
Be looking for some Spiro's and Olivs in the F/S forum in the near future...

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Probably go with the Helicore Hybrid medium and lower the bridge, as suggested.

If you think the strings may get too low when you lower the bridge, an adjustable saddle might be solution to keep the string height where you like it and take off pressure from the top.

 

[Brad Maestas]

After many years of using straight sets, mainly Spiro Weichs, I am changing it up and putting on a mix of Spiro Mittel E/A with Obligato D/G. I started with Weichs mainly because that was what was recommended to me when I first started, as mainly a jazz player. I got very used to their sound though I struggled to bow them. Later I tried Velvet Animas but they kept breaking on me, down where the string becomes a loop. Then I tried Helicore Hybrids which I didn't like very much. Then I went to Evah Pirazzi Weichs. Which brings us to today. I am getting my bass back from some repairs and have requested the Spiro M/Obligato mix which I've heard so many good things about. Can't wait!

 

[Sam Dingle]

Let us know how that goes. I hated the Obligato D and G after a week. The full set of spiro mediums are good to me.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Let us know how that goes. I hated the Obligato D and G after a week. The full set of spiro mediums are good to me.

I hated them from the first time I took them out to a gig. Sounded great in the living room, got buried on the bandstand and would not cut through.

 

[Sam Dingle]

I hated them from the first time I took them out to a gig. Sounded great in the living room, got buried on the bandstand and would not cut through.

thats what happened to me. bass guitar sax and vocals gig. the spiros sounded fine but the obligatos lost so much power.

 

[Inky13]

Every time I read these threads, the RPM of my head increases.
I've had the same strings since 2007 and I keep telling myself to
try a low tension synthetic set. I've always played steels, but maybe
lower tension would be easier on the hands? There are so many options these days!

 

[Sam Dingle]

Every time I read these threads, the RPM of my head increases.
I've had the same strings since 2007 and I keep telling myself to
try a low tension synthetic set. I've always played steels, but maybe
lower tension would be easier on the hands? There are so many options these days!

They are easier on your hands if you don't expect a huge sound. If you want the same sound as spirocore mediums with spirocore weich, you will naturally pull and squeeze harder making them actually harder to play. That's my experience. My carved bass has spiro mediums. My plywood has innovation slap strings. Playing the innovations is harder for me.

 

[Lee Moses]

Every time I read these threads, the RPM of my head increases.
I've had the same strings since 2007 and I keep telling myself to
try a low tension synthetic set. I've always played steels, but maybe
lower tension would be easier on the hands? There are so many options these days!

Oh boy, they're getting to you. If you're happy with what you have, you really don't have to change.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

They are easier on your hands if you don't expect a huge sound. If you want the same sound as spirocore mediums with spirocore weich, you will naturally pull and squeeze harder making them actually harder to play. That's my experience. My carved bass has spiro mediums. My plywood has innovation slap strings. Playing the innovations is harder for me.

This is a great point, and one that can't be stated too often: after a certain point, strings and setup are the means to achieve the sound we are hearing in our mind's ear. If that sound is a bigger and more powerful sound than the strings are capable of producing, the natural inclination is to try harder to make them sound the way we want. In my experience, this rarely works (if ever). If you are hearing a spirocore sound with a spirocore attack, it's probably best to play spirocores. The same goes for the different gauges and varieties of string.

Different strings are capable of different things, but it's probably best to go with the strings that are inherently closer to the sound we are going for and just deal with the realities and side effects of that string. I will never be a gut player - I just don't hear that way; but I know several people who sound great playing with that sound because they hear it. One of them, a long time ago, told me he loved my sound and asked what bass and setup I used. I told him and he bought a hybrid LaScala and put Spirocores on it. It happened that a year later, we ended up on the same gig at a showcase with two bands. He was unhappy with his sound and asked me to play his bass to see what I thought. I played it, and thought it felt and sounded great. He said it sounded exactly like what he always loved about my bass.... but only when I was playing it. He eventually sold that bass to one of my students and bought an old German bass and put gut strings on it. He sounds great on that bass and is very happy, and works all the time around town. Point is, he found his voice. We are both lucky to have found what we like! At this point, we are best served by focusing on our playing.

 

[Inky13]

Oh boy, they're getting to you. If you're happy with what you have, you really don't have to change.

I hear you. I guess I'm looking for a string set for people like me that don't play enough to keep their chops up. I'm intrigued by the concept of lower tension. I have tapewounds on some of my BG's, and I like the feel of them and hope to replicate that on UB.
But maybe I'll always be an orchestra nerd.

 

[Sam Dingle]

I hear you. I guess I'm looking for a string set for people like me that don't play enough to keep their chops up. I'm intrigued by the concept of lower tension. I have tapewounds on some of my BG's, and I like the feel of them and hope to replicate that on UB.
But maybe I'll always be an orchestra nerd.

what strings are you using now? I would try to find a lighter version of them either here on the classifieds or buy a new set to try out a lower tension.