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Double Bass Spiro Solos EADG vs Weichs

WG Plum

WG Plum

Gold Supporting Member
Apr 9, 2021
9,885
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Seattle
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#1
I need to put some new strings on my (dun dun dun) Palatino upright. I don't know what it was originally strung with ten years ago, but the Weichs really opened it up and let it sing, as much it can. I talked to the good folks at Gollihur about it and it seems like the solos might be a good option to open it up a little more.

Can anyone here share experience with playing both the solos and Weichs on the same bass? I know the Weichs will work just fine, and the D and G strings sound particularly good, just wondering if with the solos the E and A might sing a little more.

Please skip the buy-a-better-bass posts, I know how folks feel about Palatinos, but The-Bass-That-Lived has done alright by me and yes, I will eventually buy a better bass.
 
#7
I've used both.

It's tough to say whether solos would "open things up more" on your bass. Broadly thicker tops tend to do better with more tension and thinner tops tend to do better with less, but there's a lot more to setup than that and it's possible that the answer could be different for two different of the same model of Paladino.

I will say that after a while, I felt like I had changed how I play to accommodate the solos and that's not really what any of us should want. The strings should support our instrument and playing style, not the other way around.

I've also had s42 Weichs (4/4), 3885 Weichs (3/4), and S42 Mittels (4/4) on my bass in the last year and there is a noticeable difference between the two weich formulas. If you were using 3885s and want to go lighter, the S42s would be my recommendation rather than solos.

I see that you're also in Seattle, if I still had that S42 set I would be happy to loan them to you, but they are gone. If you want to hang, though, give me a shout. If I played your bass, I could probably form a stronger opinion.
 
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#8
TroyK said:
I've used both.

It's tough to say whether solos would "open things up more" on your bass. Broadly thicker tops tend to do better with more tension and thinner tops tend to do better with less, but there's a lot more to setup than that and it's possible that the answer could be difference for two different of the same model of Paladino.

I will say that after a while, I felt like I had changed how I play to accommodate the solos and that's not really what any of us should want. The strings should support our instrument and playing style, not the other way around.

I've also had s42 Weichs (4/4), 3885 Weichs (3/4), and S42 Mittels (4/4) on my bass in the last year and there is a noticeable difference between the two weich formulas. If you were using 3885s and want to go lighter, the S42s would be my recommendation rather than solos.

I see that you're also in Seattle, if I still had that S42 set I would be happy to loan them to you, but they are gone. If you want to hang, though, give me a shout. If I played your bass, I could probably form a stronger opinion.
Click to expand...

That would be awesome, I'd really appreciate that. I'm in West Seattle.
 
#10
My experience has been solos tuned orchestra did the opposite of opening up the sound. The deep punch for pizz went away and the strings were easy to over play, both pizz and arco.

My basses like a lot of tension on the top and I have no problem playing higher tension strings.
If you want an E and A that sing go to mittel. Spiro stark for the E growls and snarls Mingus style with pizz.
Sings too lol.

Or, are you looking for easy playing strings?
 
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#12
HateyMcAmp said:
I have found that spiro Weich are considerably “bigger” sounding on every bass I’ve tried them on, particularly on the G string.
Click to expand...

This was certainly the case on my cheap POS. The Weichs were lighter in feel, sang more, and the D and G really sounded good. The E and A were also an improvement, especially in feel, but less so in tone.
 
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#16
I don't have direct experience with Spiros but did try the same thing with Pirastro Perpetuals - went from standard gauge to solos on my Eminence EUB, to see if I could reduce the tension without impacting the sound too much. I found them to be much lower in volume (not that big a deal with an EUB as I always played amplified), but as others have noted, the much lighter strings really had an impact on my playing technique. It was really easy to "overplay" them, it took a much lighter touch. I could see where this would be a problem with a conventional DB. Sounds like you are happy with the Weichs, if you have the funds to try Solos it might be worth a try, knowing that theres a chance that it wont work. Perhaps look for a set of used Spiros??
 
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