Double Bass SPIROCORES ARE SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Any issue with feel on the a and d or do you not notice?

I do notice a bit and I was kicking myself for ordering the blended set. I'm still trying to figure out how much tension the little bass can take and getting to know how each string behaves. But I love the way the G and E feel and sound. The higher tension chokes away some of the sustain, but if I had them on all four I could also lower the adjusters a turn, which might bring some of that back.

Getting to know every new bass is a learning process, a relationship. Even the ply LaScala was a learning curve for my brain/body to figure out how to get he most out of it even though it's an exact copy of the hybrid in every way but varnish color.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

The flex will have to be miles better

They are.

 

[Sam Dingle]

They are.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO haha

 

[Deltatim]

Tameing the New Spiro Twang.
Having recently joined the "Spiro Gang", comeing from Helicore Hybrid Orcs, my mid-century Germanic noname gained her voice.
As expected the new Reds opened it up, especialy the E string, which was a dull thud with the HH. The expected D-G twang has lasted longest, with the A starting to mellow out. On a whim, I thought maybe a little muteing may help. Looking around, I found a few rubber bands. The heavy blue ones that come holding bunches of vegies fron the market. I tied one around the D & G, right at the bridge. BINGO!!! Smoothed right out, no noticable loss of volumne. One more on the A, same. Now sounds like they are a year old. Will see how long they last, check every so often to see when they can go.

 

[sean_on_bass]

I believe i am about a month from 1 year old Spiros. Still sound pretty bright and punchy honestly. Not much of any gut vibes here just yet. Still loving the set overall, no inkling for a change. The only thing i think of sometimes is going up to mediums from the weichs, but that feeling goes away when i get on the stage and sit in a mix. Weichs sound great.

Off to today's jazz brunch to play them some more!

 

[Earl]

Tameing the New Spiro Twang.
Having recently joined the "Spiro Gang", comeing from Helicore Hybrid Orcs, my mid-century Germanic noname gained her voice.
As expected the new Reds opened it up, especialy the E string, which was a dull thud with the HH. The expected D-G twang has lasted longest, with the A starting to mellow out. On a whim, I thought maybe a little muteing may help. Looking around, I found a few rubber bands. The heavy blue ones that come holding bunches of vegies fron the market. I tied one around the D & G, right at the bridge. BINGO!!! Smoothed right out, no noticable loss of volumne. One more on the A, same. Now sounds like they are a year old. Will see how long they last, check every so often to see when they can go.

You put the rubber band on the fingerboard side of the bridge or the tailpiece side?

 

[Deltatim]

You put the rubber band on the fingerboard side of the bridge or the tailpiece side?

Fingerboard side.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

There are the rubber discs called tone filters that sit under the string with each half on one side of the bridge. They come with some Pirastro steel core strings and I think with some Thomastics too. If not you might call either of the companies and they might send you some.

Their intended use is with new higher strings to mellow them down until the strings did mellow down itselves over time. Then you can remove them and use the string without the filter.

 

[logdrum]

Third week on Mittels for 1/2 scale part number 3887.0. Unamplified practice with singer, Bluegrass, Country and some jazzier Amy Winehouse covers. No so called twang and very easy to bow. Louder than the house Kay with synthetics and guts. Simple bass lines are tiring but that momentum is very addicting, like a locomotive. Jazz guys have it easier with walking bass lines .

 

[ericsmith]

Just popped these suckers on...and they sound very good right out of the box!
I'm very positively surprised!!!
Edit: S42 is what I'm talking about here.

Edit 2: I had (god-knows-what-type) Weichs on before this. Mixed with gut and the full set in the end... But I have to say, these are so much "more" in every sense!!

 

[Jeff Kissell]

So I promised Rick Wolff I'd give a review of the Spirocore S43 (4/4) solo set recently installed on my 2005 NS Cleveland ply (the string length is 42".) This bass has had a full set of EP Slaps (w/ gut D & G) for the last year or so and before that plain gut D & G for several years with various E's & A's... Low Tension. I decided to start my Spiro re-emersion with the tension closest to the gut that's been on the bass. The reason I decided to come back to the Spirocores is the need/desire to explore a more modern sound but still have access to an older style/sound if I wanted and Spiros are the most versatile of any steel strings I've ever played. I was not interested in synthetics, I've never found a set with anywhere near the dynamic range as gut or steel on this bass. The solo E & A are really similar to the Evahs actually but have a bit more harmonic content, I like them a lot. The D & G are still very midrangey/bright and on the edge of me being able to control but are starting to settle in. They can still be whiny and I have to really pay attention to minimize this as much as possible with both left and right hand technique. It has been a challenge not to overplay and also to get used to the much smaller diameters, I definitely think these two issues are related. Under the bow, the whole set is really great, very lyrical and expressive. Overall there is plenty of volume pizz, arco and slap. It's really forcing me to focus on technique, though, to get what I want, there were sounds I just didn't have access to with the gut. I know with practice, I can find my way back to getting a very usable "gut" sound with these strings as well... that's the intention anyway. I'm still on the fence with the tension... I really want to give the solos a fair shake but I might end up moving up to the S42w (4/4) weich. The bass is feeling like it wants a bit more tension and I'm sure it would have more volume with the weich but I'll stick with the solos and concentrate on technique for now.

...it didn't last as long as I would have hoped. Firstly the 4/4 solos are great strings, possibly my favorite non gut strings yet. However, there has been much esoteric discussion in the "Spiro/Guts are so much fun!" threads about how we as bass players interact with our instruments via the strings. While it is possible and often times required to play basses that are not our own, the comfort, familiarity and facility that our own instruments provide cannot be underestimated. My bass with Spirocores felt like an experiment or a trial or a whatever else that is not that comfortable place called home (however that is defined), not quite someone else's bass but not really mine either... a full set of guts is back on.

 

[Povl Carstensen]

My bass with Spirocores felt like an experiment or a trial or a whatever else that is not that comfortable place called home (however that is defined), not quite someone else's bass but not really mine either... a full set of guts is back on.

I do not tour, nor jam a lot (with the bass at hand). But after 3 years with plain gut (and Rotosound 4000's before), whenever I do try a bass with steel strings, it feels like a cheese cutter or something... Not really a criticism of steel strings actually.

 

[logdrum]

When our sheep Edgar died, it was weird to know that a bass I was borrowing at that time was strung with was literally the same material as my sheep's guts (He was run over by a hay baler and was a bloody mess.) We buried him. I did not know about varnishing and gut maintenance and I though that fraying gut strings were irritating me more than steel strings could ever do. But they do sound glorious low end wise with an almost indeterminate pitch center and a sound that swallows you for lack of a better term. Once I went back to steel then I realized that my intonation was more forgiving when I had guts on. Maybe if I did arco I would have noticed sooner. I am however interested in these wound guts but my invisible teacher, says stick to Spiros until you can bow them ever so cleanly.

 

[Keithunem]

I am having a 3/4 Bohemian(fully laminated) bass made by Upton. I will probably never play arco. I play Americana to Blues to Jazz to Bluegrass. I am having spiros put on as one of my pickups will be a Krivo(other is Yamahiko), I will also rarely if ever play without using one or both pickups. Will I get the bottom out of Weichs and is the weich g string too whiny, or after broken in will the weich sound as rich as the mittels? I currently play an Eminence with Heli hybrids(light) and like their tension and feel. Thanks for your help. PS: I also use a Felix pre-amp so eq, notch, etc won't be an issue. Keith

 

[Sam Dingle]

I am having a 3/4 Bohemian(fully laminated) bass made by Upton. I will probably never play arco. I play Americana to Blues to Jazz to Bluegrass. I am having spiros put on as one of my pickups will be a Krivo(other is Yamahiko), I will also rarely if ever play without using one or both pickups. Will I get the bottom out of Weichs and is the weich g string too whiny, or after broken in will the weich sound as rich as the mittels? I currently play an Eminence with Heli hybrids(light) and like their tension and feel. Thanks for your help. PS: I also use a Felix pre-amp so eq, notch, etc won't be an issue. Keith

Mittles have more power imo. I think the weich are too weak and floppy. They don't sound as good in the gig settings im in currently so I stick to mittles.

 

[Sean Riddle]

I am having a 3/4 Bohemian(fully laminated) bass made by Upton. I will probably never play arco. I play Americana to Blues to Jazz to Bluegrass. I am having spiros put on as one of my pickups will be a Krivo(other is Yamahiko), I will also rarely if ever play without using one or both pickups. Will I get the bottom out of Weichs and is the weich g string too whiny, or after broken in will the weich sound as rich as the mittels? I currently play an Eminence with Heli hybrids(light) and like their tension and feel. Thanks for your help. PS: I also use a Felix pre-amp so eq, notch, etc won't be an issue. Keith

It all depends on your bass in the end. My bass happens to really like light tension strings and thereby the E and A of the full set of Spiro Weichs I have on my bass have a lot of low end to them. The G will be bright initially, but I would advise to stick with it as the string does mellow out overtime. It has a lot of punch and can sing really well without sounding overly bright. I think overall the only difference you could expect with the Weichs overtime is that once broken in, they’re a little darker compared to a broken in set of Mittels IMO.

 

[Keithunem]

It all depends on your bass in the end. My bass happens to really like light tension strings and thereby the E and A of the full set of Spiro Weichs I have on my bass have a lot of low end to them. The G will be bright initially, but I would advise to stick with it as the string does mellow out overtime. It has a lot of punch and can sing really well without sounding overly bright. I think overall the only difference you could expect with the Weichs overtime is that once broken in, they’re a little darker compared to a broken in set of Mittels IMO.

Sam and Sean, Thanks for your input. I am a long time semi-pro with lots of gigs and recording on a j or p bass. Started upright 8 months ago and have progressed much faster than I thought it would(I'm sure technique is off but end result is more than satisfactory). However, I have gotten some great advice on tb which has really helped. I have seen the comment that over time the weichs seem a bit darker, that seems counterintuitive to me. I would think the mittles would be deeper, darker sounding and the thinner weichs would lean to a little more of a bright tone. My hands are strong enough for mitts but think the weichs would be easier on the hands and fingers over time...tough decision, but once again Thank You for your positive input. PS: the guys at Upton have been very helpful also.

 

[Sean Riddle]

Sam and Sean, Thanks for your input. I am a long time semi-pro with lots of gigs and recording on a j or p bass. Started upright 8 months ago and have progressed much faster than I thought it would(I'm sure technique is off but end result is more than satisfactory). However, I have gotten some great advice on tb which has really helped. I have seen the comment that over time the weichs seem a bit darker, that seems counterintuitive to me. I would think the mittles would be deeper, darker sounding and the thinner weichs would lean to a little more of a bright tone. My hands are strong enough for mitts but think the weichs would be easier on the hands and fingers over time...tough decision, but once again Thank You for your positive input. PS: the guys at Upton have been very helpful also.

It honestly is counterintuitive! But if I remember right the logic behind the Weichs getting darker than the Mittels overtime is that since the Weichs have less mass than the Mittels, they vibrate on the fingerboard a little less than the Mittels. In the end worn in Weichs aren’t as dark as say a 2 year old set of Evan Pirazzi Weichs (which honestly sound really bad when they’re that old). They’ve really just mellowed out but still maintain the clarity that all gauges of Spiros have and are valued for.
So my reasons for choosing Spiro Weichs is because 1: my bass likes them and 2: they’re a little easier to bow than the Mittels and because I needed a good hybrid string that wouldn’t die on me. I tried several synthetic core strings over the past few years and liked them, but I didn’t like having to change them about once a year because they would sonically loose a lot of presence. I went to Spiro Weichs because I knew I would get a lot of life out of them. And in the end it turned out they had qualities in a string I was looking for all along.

 

[Thomas88]

Do you think this d string will break if i reinstall. The silk and some of the metal has worn at the peg box.

 

[Jon Mush]

Do you think this d string will break if i reinstall. The silk and some of the metal has worn at the peg box. View attachment 3406215

I can’t say anything definitive, but I had Spiros on my travel bass and the pegbox ends looked way, way worse than that for a long time and I tore the bass down daily on a tour. I’d dare say they’ve got a lot of love left to give.