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Double Bass Spiros! Back to bass-ics

#61
drurb said:
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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Well, they're pretty zingy when they're first on the bass. I'm sure I've played gigs on "same-day" Spiros in the past. Ya gotta gig! :D

I think that Mark is correct in his assessment of the current Spiros vs. old ones. I wouldn't want to jump right into an arco gig on a brand new set, but I think I'd be okay on a typical jazz gig.

At this point, I think I just adjust to it.
 
#62
Marcus Johnson said:
Well, they're pretty zingy when they're first on the bass. I'm sure I've played gigs on "same-day" Spiros in the past. Ya gotta gig! :D

I think that Mark is correct in his assessment of the current Spiros vs. old ones. I wouldn't want to jump right into an arco gig on a brand new set, but I think I'd be okay on a typical jazz gig.

At this point, I think I just adjust to it.
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Yup, thanks. That's exactly my experience as well. You can adjust but you get the optimum sound a few weeks in. I've sure been playing every day and I am now approved for full-fledged gigging and that'll start again on Dec. 4th. :)
 
#65
I'm about to do the string/bass crapshoot in the next few weeks.... a bunch of concerts throughout the islands with Amy Hanaiali'i. She provides the basses (different one at each venue), and most likely there will be at least one set of Spiros in the lot of 'em. I hope so!

More typically, loaner basses out here are strung with La Bella guts, jacked up to there. I'm cool with that, too. :cool:

What don't kill you makes you stronger.
 
#66
I've been quiet on strings for a while now. I have tried a few things this year, including some fancy guts (on loan) and the new apparent gold standard, EP Weichs.

The truth is that I love Spirocores. They are so complex and functional and honest and reliable. I just don't think I'm capable of loving a different string now. I've noticed that the second I put something new on there to try I start worrying about it. I look at my calendar to see who and where I'm going to be playing and should I really be experimenting right now? That sort of thing. With Spirocores on there, I think about everything but my strings. I just don't need to. Loud bop gigs, unamped trio gigs, classic lessons, whatever. They're going to be there for me. At the worst they'll be good at their best they'll be extraordinary. They were great for me on my gig last night and great in a rehearsal with a different group today.

I feel like I play in better tune than with other strings because me ear acquires the pitch so much faster with them than with just about anything else, with the possible exception of Jazzers. I'm playing weichs and am very happy with the sound. I sometimes am not happy with the gauge, but my bass seems to like them better. More and more, though, I'm over it. They are such amazing strings I just don't care that much if I have to adjust slightly.

It may be a phase, but it's been a year and a half now (same set by the way and they've never sounded better). So, if it's a phase, I can't wait to see what brings me out of it.
 
#68
drurb said:
Or busts your hand! :(
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Yeesh. No ****. Glad that chapter is coming to a close for you.

The one time I had any serious hand problems, long ago, was when I was doing long slab sessions during the day, and gigging every night on the DB. It was at a time when I was not really taking good care of myself, thinking I was Iron Man, just burning the candle every which way, just trying to do all the work I could cram into my life, and damn the consequences. I think I got sloppy with the actual technical manipulation of both basses.

It was nothing compared to what you just went through. But it did stick with me. I got a lot smarter in a lot of ways after that.
 
#69
Hey, thanks. For the life of me, I can't imagine what I might have done wrong in terms of technique. Believe me, I've thought long and hard about it. In the end, I think playing with two fingers on Evahs with moderately great string heights was what did me in. I figure age (mine, not the strings ;)) had something to do with it as well. The Spiros, which I am beginning to really enjoy (again) are SO much easier to play. I've heard reports of the Evahs actually getting stiffer with age and I think that happened for me as well.
 
#70
Me too. Both gauges of Evahs hurt me in a very subtle way over time and rather than getting easier to play, I felt like they got harder.

The weichs were better and in truth, i didn't give them a fair chance. I felt some of the same negatives that I did with regulars, though they were better, but I just moarned the time away from Spirocores and ran back to them!
 
#71
Okay this is odd. I actually find the Evah Weichs to be a touch softer on my bass than I remember the Spiros being. Hard to say, because I didn't exactly A/B the strings one after the other, but it was still an apparent difference to me. I tried doing a slap gig with the full set of spiro mittels and just about wound up in traction. The Evahs are no problem.
On the other hand, the Evahs are louder on my bass, so I also don't have to dig in as hard, which may account for some of the difference.
I'm also pretty sure the geometry of a 44.5" string length changes this stuff considerably. Like the way the laws of physics start to break down the closer you get to a black hole...
 
#73
I'll definitely be ordering Spiros on my new LaScala ply (just sold the old one with the Evah weichs on it to a student in need whose bass got totaled in a car accident). The Evahs were cool, but I want to start fresh with a set of mitts and maybe a stark E if Arnold and Wil will be so kind. Looking forward to falling in love all over agin!
 
#74
Chris Fitzgerald said:
I'll definitely be ordering Spiros on my new LaScala ply (just sold the old one with the Evah weichs on it to a student in need whose bass got totaled in a car accident). The Evahs were cool, but I want to start fresh with a set of mitts and maybe a stark E if Arnold and Wil will be so kind. Looking forward to falling in love all over agin!
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Wow. Spiros are good.

Where is the logic in selling an old one and then buying the same thing all over again? I'm missing it.

I'd think it would cost you $$$...unless you are taking a hit to be altruistic. Then you are very manly.
 
#75
Uncletoad said:
Where is the logic in selling an old one and then buying the same thing all over again? I'm missing it.

I'd think it would cost you $$$...unless you are taking a hit to be altruistic. Then you are very manly.
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[derail]

The original idea was to get an office bass that was just like the main bass, only in plywood. When it came time to order, I was told that I would have to wait 3-4 months to get a ply roundback, but that there was a flatback already in the states just about ready to go, and that Nnick had it, so I could get it pretty quick. I figured what the hell, and went for it.

When I got it, everybody loved the bass - students, my colleagues, Goldsby - everybody but me. It was uber-resonant and kind of poofy sounding, and loud as hell, but I never bonded with the feel and sound of the flatback vibe. Plus, it had a composite tailpiece, which felt weird compared to the wooden one on my hybrid. I'm after a more focused, tighter, sustain-ey sound like the hybrid has. It's a crapshoot, but I bet the roundback has more of that vibe.

Plus, the student was very much in need, loved the bass, and it would be a huge step up for her. Being one of the best students who ever graduated from the U, and being that I'd taught her (first on BG, then later on DB) since she was a wee lass, and since she's playing more gigs than I am at this point, it seemed like the right thing to do. My wife was cool with it as well, even with the extra $$$ involved. Hopefully, I'll bond with this one the way I'd hoped. John is in for a surprise this summer, though. :D

[/derail]
 
#76
Chris Fitzgerald said:
[derail]...Being one of the best students who ever graduated from the U, and being that I'd taught her (first on BG, then later on DB) since she was a wee lass, and since she's playing more gigs than I am at this point, it seemed like the right thing to do. My wife was cool with it as well, even with the extra $$$ involved.
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Nice guys finish first! Really kind thing you did. Kudos.
 
#77
Chris Fitzgerald said:
I'm after a more focused, tighter, sustain-ey sound like the hybrid has. It's a crapshoot, but I bet the roundback has more of that vibe.
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Well. I think you are responding to the solid carved top not a round or flat back.

...but I'd like to be wrong. Regardless it's a fine and manly thing to do. You spin good vibe into your surroundings.

And with spiros again you'll surely feel at home.
 
#78
Dude. I know you weren't fishing for compliments... but that was very cool of you to do that.

It reminds me of my high school music teacher, who pretty much sent me down the path by setting a great example. You're right in there with him, IMHO. Good men, both of you. And your wife's a good man, too. :D:hiding:

PS... big fan of great teachers.... both my parents are.
 
#79
Marcus Johnson said:
Dude. I know you weren't fishing for compliments... but that was very cool of you to do that.

It reminds me of my high school music teacher, who pretty much sent me down the path by setting a great example. You're right in there with him, IMHO. Good men, both of you. And your wife's a good man, too. :D:hiding:

PS... big fan of great teachers.... both my parents are.
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Are you drinking? What the **** are you talking about?
 

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