Double Bass Trying to identify a string set.

[gabehizer]

I bought a bass that was supposed to come with some cheap strings on it. So I ordered a set of Spirocore light gauge strings and immediately installed them on the bass the same day I received it. Later that day the seller emailed me to say that since I had to wait so long to get the bass (9 months....) the factory upgraded my strings to Spirocore!

But now that I look at the strings that I took off the bass, they have a red winding on both ends while my new set has red windings on the ball end but blue windings at the top. Can anyone identify the strings I took off? (The seller could only tell me they were indeed Spirocore but no more about them.) Thanks for any help!

 

[Don Hergert]

For Spiros:
Tailpiece Red=>pegbox Blue are Weich (Light tension)
Tailpiece Red=>pegbox Red are Mittel (Medium tension)
Tailpiece Red=>pegbox Green are Stark (Heavy tension)

It's worth mentioning, the strings you just took off are undoubtedly still good, so keep them in a safe place for when you want to try them again. Many people go back and forth between Spiro Weich and Spiro Mittel.

 

[gabehizer]

Thanks! That's just what I needed to know.
But what's odd is that the set I removed (red/red) are definitely of a lighter gauge than the new ones I just put on (when I line them up side-by-side). Yet the new ones are definitely Weich, since I took them out of the official packaging.

 

[Francois Blais]

Maybe the weich are 3/4 size and the mittels are 4/4.

 

[gabehizer]

Oh, very possible! My new ones are 3/4, for my 3/4 bass.
I did notice there was an awful lot of extra windings when I took the factory-installed set off.

 

[CaseyVancouver]

You might want to put the medium Spiro E back on for a test, since you indicated the light Spiro E is weak.

 

[Don Hergert]

Spiros are available in a number of lengths for different size double basses. 4/4 Spiros are very commonly used for 3/4 double basses (as are 3/4 Spiros of course). Also, the shorter-length 3/4 Sprios probably won't work on most 4/4 double basses. 4/4 Sipros are available in Stark, Mittel and Weich tension (plus Solo), while 3/4 Spiros are only available in Mittel and Weich tensions (plus Solo).

The 3/4 and 4/4 Spiros scheme works out nicely for people who have 3/4 double bases and who want finer tension steps and different gauge choices between Stark, Mittel and Weich. This is because the 4/4 equivalent of each tension grade is thinner than that same tension grade in 3/4 lengths. For example, 4/4 Mittel strings are thinner than 3/4 Mittel strings, but they are only slightly thicker than 3/4 Weich strings which have lower tension. So if a person likes the feel of 3/4 Weich strings but wants the increased tension based power of Mittel strings, 4/4 Mittels would be a good choice to try. And this helps even more with people who choose to create mixed Spiro string sets. For example, if a person really likes how 3/4 Weich feel, but doesn't like a possibly weak tone of a 3/4 Weich E, exclusively changing to the 4/4 Mittel E string might be just the right answer.

3/4 Spiros are also known by their model number, 3885. Similarly, 4/4 Spiro model number is S42.

It is most important to keep in mind that no two double basses sound exactly the same with the same strings. There are some general string sound qualities that are petty consistent, but things like volume and tone are also based on variables in the woods, in the builds and in the setups that are involved with each individual double bass. And the player's touch makes a difference too. It's easy to get caught up in technologies like strings, but it's more important to concentrate on building the time, study and practice related skills that are necessary to play double bass safely and well.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Compare the shape and size of the ball ends. There are cheap Asian strings tha have the same silk colors as Spirocore but are lighter. They can even have the same shape of the ball end (barrel), but the size of the ball end is smaller on the asian strings.

If they both are Spiros, the only way to find out if they are 3/4 or 4/4 is to measure their length. The 4/4 are about 8 cm longer than the 3/4 but that can vary a bit.

 

[gabehizer]

Spiros are available in a number of lengths for different size double basses. 4/4 Spiros are very commonly used for 3/4 double basses (as are 3/4 Spiros of course). Also, the shorter-length 3/4 Sprios probably won't work on most 4/4 double basses. 4/4 Sipros are available in Stark, Mittel and Weich tension (plus Solo), while 3/4 Spiros are only available in Mittel and Weich tensions (plus Solo). ........

Thanks! Very helpful.

 

[gabehizer]

You might want to put the medium Spiro E back on for a test, since you indicated the light Spiro E is weak.

Ahhh! Good idea. Thanks!

 

[AGCurry]

But now that I look at the strings that I took off the bass, they have a red winding on both ends while my new set has red windings on the ball end but blue windings at the top. Can anyone identify the strings I took off? (The seller could only tell me they were indeed Spirocore but no more about them.) Thanks for any help!

I call the color of Spiro-weich pegbox silks purple. Gollihur's string-identification chart calls it violet. I would not call it blue.

 

[Don Hergert]

Maybe I'm color blind... Here's the 4/4 from Gollihur:

And here's the 3/4 so their tensions are also available for comparison...

So interestingly, aside from the 3/4 Spiros being slightly thicker than the 4/4s, they're also slightly lower tension.

For those of us who are into string subtleties, I highly recommend hours of study of Gollihur Music's string section (NFI).

Transparency... I don't use Sprios, but I recognize that they are extremely popular for excellent reasons. I strive for less metallic tone with my Alcoa and so I use synthetic strings with it, but if I had a wooden double bass, I'd be using some form of Spiros on it at least part of the time. (And yes, I'd probably be using gut with it part of the time too. .)

 

[gabehizer]

I call the color of Spiro-weich pegbox silks purple. Gollihur's string-identification chart calls it violet. I would not call it blue.

You would if you were half color-blind, like me!

 

[DoubleMIDI]

The tension data on the Gollihur charts (as well as the the riginal Thomastik data) are for different vibrating string lengths (110 cm vs. 104 cm).

The tension for the same string length could be found in my excel file in my Dropbox.
(Link in signature and string sticky.)

 

[james condino]

...I strive for less metallic tone with my Alcoa and so I use synthetic strings with it, but if I had a wooden double bass, I'd be using some form of Spiros on it at least part of the time. (And yes, I'd probably be using gut with it part of the time too. .)

Don- the best acoustic sound I have ever had on one of my ALCOAs is an old set of Jargar mediums for the E A and raw gut D G. My other ALCOA is my loud / rowdy rig; that one sports a full set of Spiro mediums with a Stark G, because they are fantastic with the KRIVO pickup.

 

[Don Hergert]

Don- the best acoustic sound I have ever had on one of my ALCOAs is an old set of Jargar mediums for the E A and raw gut D G.

Thank you for mentioning that, I may try the Jagars sometime... Reading their descriptions, they sound like they're pretty nice.

I'm using some NOS SilverSlaps E and A at the moment and they're sounding excellent on my Alcoa. And some NOS Dirty-Guts D and G are sounding equally nice... I had to make a quick change for an upcoming gig after I had some unexpected string breakage with another set I was trying out, and decided to install the brand new SiliverSlaps/Dirty-Gut mixed set that I had as a backup reserve. I was immediately reminded of how good the SilverSlaps/Dirty-Guts mixed set really is on my Alcoa, as well as how much I really do enjoy occasional arco... The previous, old mixed set was on for 4 years and are actually still usable; I imagine I'll probably have this new mixed set on just as long or longer.

Comparing sound with Alcoa DBs is sort of hard to do, since my Alcoa has acoustic paint inside and powder coat outside and with the sound post and other work I've done; I imagine that there's a fair amount of muting going on with the pretty unique setup my Alcoa has. Plus Alcoa DBs are pretty rare, I'm not aware of any others in use in SoCal, although there's at least one Pfretzschner Aluminum in the Disneyland area. I'd love to be within a few hours drive of your place, I'd want to bring my Alcoa and compare sound with your more natural Alcoas, and also maybe play around with some other instruments -- or from SoCal, maybe just take a quick morning trip over in my Lear (I wish).

 

[Ash Hines]

Does anyone have any idea what these strings are? (red tailpiece, gold/yellow peg box) - they came witht eh bass I bought, and sound gorgeous - love to buy another set, but can't for the life of me identify them (Gollihur chart does not list them). Appreciate any assistance, thanks.

 

[bassmanbrent]

Does anyone have any idea what these strings are? (red tailpiece, gold/yellow peg box) - they came witht eh bass I bought, and sound gorgeous - love to buy another set, but can't for the life of me identify them (Gollihur chart does not list them). Appreciate any assistance, thanks.View attachment 4869281

My somewhat educated guess is Spirocore solo gauge.

 

[AGCurry]

Bel Canto solo gauge. The tailpiece silks look more orange than red to me.

 

[Earl]

I think spiro solo