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Double Bass Spiros! Back to bass-ics

#41
Marcus ...you beat me to it.
For a long time after I decided to go back to Spiro Weichs (Mittel E) I could not bear the thought of having to use that horrible, pingy, nasal Weich G.
But I played through all of that stuff and before long that awful G started to sound solid and full with a centre to the sound. It almost has a (dare I say it!) gut-like sound.
Now I can't imagine using anything else on my Eberle...even with an Oliv G and a Gamut Lyon G among others sitting in my string collection. The Gamut Lyon is a great sounding G string but there's something about having the G, D and A Weichs on my bass that evens out the sound and brings out the best from the instrument. More so since I had to fix the neck heel and install dowel rods to make it more secure.
This past year and a half since I went back to the Weichs has been "string-stress" free. It's a great feeling.:hyper:
 
#42
MIKMAN said:
Well Les, would you suggest the Dominants for a bass player playing 80% piz and 20% arco? Is the piz volume comparable with the EP weichs or the Spiro mittell?
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Absolutely-- IF you can avoid the breakage issues. They do not like being de-tuned and re-tuned. You cannot wrap ANY of the metal part of the string around the tuning peg without risk.
 
#43
My experience is that spiros do not gain fundamental with time, they do improve in the sense that they lose their "twang" and gain low-mids, but I haven't noticed a gain in the fundamental.

They lose a bit of volume too, but that may have to do with the loss of highs, in the sense that they tend to scream less and thump more, with time and use.

Disclaimer: I can't play anything but spiros, mostly starks.
 
#44
Well, not to reiterate Uncletoad's detailed and comprehensive comments in the "birth to death" thread but, yes, my Spiros have matured and... heaven help me... I'm really liking them! Yes, indeed, they have gotten warmer and they even seem to now be louder. Of course, it could just be that I've gotten used to them. As my hand has healed, I've gotten a chance to resume rehearsals with my group (no gigs for me yet!) and so I've had them lightly amplified. Nice!

One other advantage that I discovered or rediscovered is the pitch stability of the Spiros. With the Oblis, Doms, and Evahs, if you pizz. an open string and watch a tuner, you could see the pitch go sharp, settle, and maybe flatten just a bit (or was it the other way around?). In comparison, the Spiros seem to be rock solid from attack to decay.

Yeah, I rediscovered what most of us already knew! I think I'll keep 'em for quite a while.
 
#47
Its a funny thing. Most of us have spent at least a grand trying out different strings, end up coming back to Spirocores and wonder why we wasted so much money! Obviously there are some other great strings out there, but Spirocores are very consistant.
 
#48
I like spiros right out of the box, most of the issues can be solved by technique - bow/hand placement and pressure.
Having said that these solos I bought about a year ago have REALLY started to blossom.
They just sound so good clear and full!

The key to sprios is first understanding that they have a ton of overtone information in them. If you are good at manipulating the overtone series in both directions you will get a better experience.
And I don't mean just for avant garde music, I can get a clean sound with the bow because I understand how to purge the sounds I don't want.
The solos REALLY sing!
 
#50
Alex Scott said:
Damon, can you shed some light on manipulating the overtone series?

Thanks
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That is a whole other thread, but for starters, where you pluck normally subtracts the harmonic of the nearest node, same with arco.
They are just a more sensitive string and require more finess in general.
Most other strings are more dead and have less information - that can be useful as well, for blending in a orchestra section and things like that.
 
#52
damonsmith said:
I like spiros right out of the box, most of the issues can be solved by technique...
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Damon, I'm just a bit puzzled about exactly what you mean. I'm not sure if the "issues" you were referring to were the ones experienced when they are brand new. I don't find that technique can really fix the banjo-ey sound of Spiros that one gets "right out of the box." While some things can be done to alleviate or modify it, they certainly do change over the first few weeks. I suspect you'd agree with that. I also find that there's not much that can be done especially for the sound of the open strings produced via pizz. when they are new. I've found that you can place your hand anywhere from the bridge to the fingerboard and, in my experience, they're still gonna sound a bit weird until they break in. In any case, it simply is a fact that they sound quite different in the first few weeks than they do for years afterward. By definition, the profile of the overtones changes rather substantially as they break in. Also, by definition, and for those who might not know this, any change in the sustained sound you produce with your hands on Spiros or any other string is a change to the overtone series. Beyond all this, I certainly agree that Spiros have a rather rich set of harmonics (overtones) that one does well to learn how to manipulate.
 
#54
damonsmith said:
Agreed: they do change. On my bass the G is never SO twangy that I can't control it right out of the box, I can imagine other situations with other bassists and basses.
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Thanks for the clarification. Actually, when I put Spiros on this time, the A that sounded quite hollow. It was actually the most objectionable one. After a couple of weeks, it sounds fine.

I think you raised a very important point about Spiros. In an earlier post I mentioned having to re-acquaint myself with them. Over the past few weeks I've found myself changing the way I play in subtle ways to squeeze out the sound I want from the Spiros. They definitely require a different touch and one that I find requires listening carefully and "feeling" carefully.
 
#55
damonsmith said:
Agreed: they do change. On my bass the G is never SO twangy that I can't control it right out of the box, I can imagine other situations with other bassists and basses.
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That's been my experience too. They're bright out of the box. But you adjust, and you play what you hear from what the string is giving you.

The Spiro G is what it is. And it's different on every bass. You just make friends with it and work with it.

I think every bassist should be so lucky as to play a bunch of basses with a bunch of different strings. If you look at it as an opportunity to reassess your sound on every gig, you can really have some fun with it. In a perverse sort of way, I kinda dig seeing what music can be found in random basses on the road.

Spiros are the great equalizers. Given the choice on the road, I'd take Spiros on a variety of basses. Familiar territory, and most likely a good sound.
 
#56
Me too. I liked right them out of the package. I liked them best from about a week up through about 6-8 months. I used to change them out every 6 to 8 months. But even the day I put them on, they were easily controllable.

I should specify that this is for Spiros during the past 5 years or so. Before that, they took a little more time to break in and were harder to control when brand new. I think Thomastik changed their manufacturing process because the new Spiros sound, out of the package, like the older ones did at about 2 weeks. Anybody else notice this or is this just a reflection on the improvement of my playing abilities?

mark
 
#59
Marcus Johnson said:
That's been my experience too. They're bright out of the box. But you adjust, and you play what you hear from what the string is giving you.
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Marcus-- but did you ever find, even after adjusting to reduce the brightness, that you could get as good a sound as after they'd broken in? I sure didn't. I agree with all of you that you adjust when they're new and get the best sound you can but, for me anyway, it's never as good as what I can produce after they've settled.
 

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