Double Bass Spiros for Kays??

[Naplesllew]

Of the many Kay owners/users, how many of you use spiros as your go to pizz string?

 

[John Chambliss]

Of the many Kay owners/users, how many of you use spiros as your go to pizz string?

I usually do at least on the E and A - Weichs

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Dead E&A Weichs over guts and Helicore Pizz both worked great on the last Kay I had.

 

[BobKay]

Full sets of mittels on mine for 25 years.

 

[james condino]

Mittel E A with gut D G

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Tried that. The tension mismatch messed with me, and I'm not usually picky about tension balance.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

I've installed the 3885.0W 3/4 Spiro Weich on many Kays and they all sound really good. It seems to be a good tension match to the basic architecture.

That said, the house basses tend to have Spiro Weich E/A/D with a Lycon G - a seamless match.

 

[james condino]

Tried that. The tension mismatch messed with me, and I'm not usually picky about tension balance.

If you consider all of the variations with different gut strings, you may have had the wrong set for your needs.On literally 100s of vintage Kays, my experience has been that nothing compares to a Spirocore Mittel for the power and confidence that comes out of an E string. I have also used Spiro Starks, but they tend to be too much of a good thing tuned to E and choke the bass; dropped down a whole step to D and they are great. As for weich....if I want a whimpy skinny little string, I'll play the mandolin that day!

kaybassrepair.com

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

With very few exceptions, I'll choose Mittels over Weichs every time for exactly the same reasons...projection, projection and projection.

To be clear, the guts I used in that setup were vintage and had significantly more tension and meat to them than, say, Clefs.

 

[mooseonbass]

With very few exceptions, I'll choose Mittels over Weichs every time for exactly the same reasons...projection, projection and projection.

To be clear, the guts I used in that setup were vintage and had significantly more tension and meat to them than, say, Clefs.

I have to chime in that I had the exact opposite experience. My '65 Kay was choked off by the heavier strings and putting spiro weichs on it has really made it shine. Much louder, fuller, and richer sounding. I wouldn't even think of trying anything different on that bass. I tried weichs on my carved bass and it sounded really thin and I went back to mittels. I guess its different for every bass.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

I guess its different for every bass.

Indeed, which is why we should thank our luck stars to be playing this instrument during a time when we have so many options.

 

[Naplesllew]

Thanks for all your inputs! Playing the permutations and combinations, while expensive and lots of fun, is so far inconclusive. Had dead Mittels on for years and guess I wanted to see what would be more pleasing to my limited ear. Currently using an Obligato E, Evah A and G and Zyex D. Stuck Spiro Weiches on my Stagg EUB (my day-in and day-out workhorse) and I like that combo so much that I won't swap them back on the Kay. May have to find another set of Weiches. Really ought to give the new set of Helicore Pizzicatos a chance first! They may work fine on the Stagg and free up the Spiro Weiches . . .
So many strings and so few years left!

 

[Scott Lynch]

Does Engelhardt count? My ply never sounded better with 4/4 Mitts.

 

[cdavisshannon]

I ran Mittels on my 50s Kay for a bit. It blew holes through walls thus I switched to guts to keep the structural integrity of my home. In all seriousness, they did well and have a great fundamental, especially on the lower strings. If you like the spiro sound you can't go wrong with a set and they're easy to unload should they not play well with your instrument.

 

[Naplesllew]

Does Engelhardt count? My ply never sounded better with 4/4 Mitts.

It sure does, and thanks for that input!

 

[Naplesllew]

I ran Mittels on my 50s Kay for a bit. It blew holes through walls thus I switched to guts to keep the structural integrity of my home. In all seriousness, they did well and have a great fundamental, especially on the lower strings. If you like the spiro sound you can't go wrong with a set and they're easy to unload should they not play well with your instrument.

I didn't toss the "dead Spiro" set; I'll find a dead Spiro E to fill it out, and give them another try after I get my sound post adjusted properly (or should I do my string swapping BEFORE getting the sound post adjusted)?

 

[martinc]

Of the many Kay owners/users, how many of you use spiros as your go to pizz string?

I'm an ex-owner of two Kays. Spiro Weichs sound fine when a Kay is set up properly.

 

[iiipopes]

I didn't toss the "dead Spiro" set; I'll find a dead Spiro E to fill it out, and give them another try after I get my sound post adjusted properly (or should I do my string swapping BEFORE getting the sound post adjusted)?

Have the bass set up properly first. Then you will know exactly what the strings sound like on the bass.

Yes, everything goes good with a dead Spiro E string!

 

[WillieB]

So I gotta ask ....
Heard some folks say that That Spiro Mitts have too much tension for a Kay ( from the 40's ).
That was what was on my Kay when I bought it ( from Cincy Bass Cellar ).
I swapped them out for of less tension .... ( can't remember what at the moment ).

Valid or not ?

Thanks

 

[FLORINS]

So I gotta ask ....
Heard some folks say that That Spiro Mitts have too much tension for a Kay ( from the 40's ).
That was what was on my Kay when I bought it ( from Cincy Bass Cellar ).
I swapped them out for of less tension .... ( can't remember what at the moment ).

Valid or not ?

Thanks

... I own a '48 M1 and also wonder about this (currently strung with Evah Weichs).