Double Bass Vintage spirocores

[giantviolin]

Hi, I'm still on my hunt for a C extension spiro in Australia. Found a NZ shop selling them for a very good price but they look like theyre quite old stock. Has the spiro recipe changed at all? Would there be any cons to buying older spiros? Thanks so much

 

[Francois Blais]

I had no luck with two NOS Spiros F#.
Those very old strings probably dry out with time.
Just my opinion of course.

 

[giantviolin]

Thankyou ! What was the issue with them, did they just sound bad?

 

[james condino]

Please explain to me how a steel core, steel middle, and steel outer windings will "dry out"?

 

[Brad_Pearson]

I remember reading rumours somewhere on here that the old ones were brighter, and more powerful. Could have just been old timers remembering when they had more juice in the tank.

 

[giantviolin]

oo That sounds tempting. Theyre selling it for about half the price of a new one

 

[Francois Blais]

Probably loose core.
I think there is more than "just steel" in these strings.
Maybe some silk threading in the inner layers.
But I can be wrong of course.

 

[AGCurry]

Looking at the image of the sleeve, I see "Superflexible" printed and "Spirocore" stamped... so it might be either one of those, or a variety which preceded both of them? What color is the silk?

 

[Francois Blais]

These are simply vintage Spirocores.
The sleeves were like that at that moment.
Packaging changed several times since then.

 

[giantviolin]

Thanks everyone ! does anyone else have experience with NOS spiros, in particularl lower strings? Seems like there’s been a few for sale through talkbass marketplace so I guess they cant be that bad

 

[birgedb]

My first bass I bought had old spiros on it (bought it in 2010 and it wasn’t played much prior, I assume the strings had been there since the 90s). They don’t die, I’ve still got the same set and the E is on my current bass. The silk is darker. I clean them and that’s about it. If they are discounting NOS spirocores I wouldn’t worry too much and call it a good deal.

 

[Sam Dingle]

my old teacher in college collects old spiros. thinks they have a brighter and clearer sound than the new strings. I agree but its not enough for me to care

 

[DoubleMIDI]

What has changed with the new Spiros is the material they got from their suppliers. It is almost the same, but a little bit different. They need to use what they can get.
What can happen with old metal strings is corrosion/oxidization.

BTW, the inner windings are made from copper/brass or similar material. Those who had broken a lower Spiro might have seen it. This is where the corrosion/oxidatation might primarily take place, less on the steel core or outer winding.

Old Spiros are great, specially for the lowest string.

 

[Martin Beer]

my old teacher in college collects old spiros. thinks they have a brighter and clearer sound than the new strings. I agree but its not enough for me to care

I have wondered about this. My bass when I got it had Spirocores that probably dated to the 90s, but they were in poor condition. I bought a new set in 2008 and again in 2015, and my impression was that the 2008 set had a lot more brightness and sustain when new - the 2015 set were fine but it was like skipping that first month.
A change in material availability could certainly explain it, but when every hot new pizz or hybrid string in the last 20 years has been going for a less bright and growly sound than Spiros, it doesn't seem inconceivable that they may have subtly tweaked the formula in line with prevailing tastes.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

They told me that they have nothing changed in the manufacturing process.

 

[giantviolin]

Update: the string arrived and I put it on today! I think i might've created a monster, she sounds like a fold out couch and is stupidly loud. hopefully they mellow out before some audition stuff I have in late January. The spiro makes the belcantos sound so flat and one dimensional, I've got some flex deluxes so I might swap them in to see if they match more. Thanks everyone

 

[Eli Brockway]

Please explain to me how a steel core, steel middle, and steel outer windings will "dry out"?

Well, just like gut strings eventually lose their liquid content, metal strings sweat out their electrons, which negatively impacts the sound. The same thing happens with bass guitar strings—flatwound strings last longer and mellow out in tone in a more widely-pleasing way because the flat windings, with less open space, lose less of their electric potential over a given span of time, whereas roundwounds lose it far more quickly. Steel bass strings take even longer to lose it all due to both being flatwound and having more mass overall.

It's a whole thing.

I'm a deeply unserious person and couldn't resist some tomfoolery in here after reading that. If anybody takes anything I just said seriously that's their own fault and I can't be held liable.

 

[giantviolin]

Nah, Eli you’re right, these vintage spiros are alright but theres nothing like the zap of a fresh Spiro on your fingers in the morning.

 

[AGCurry]

It's a whole thing.

I'm a deeply unserious person and couldn't resist some tomfoolery in here after reading that. If anybody takes anything I just said seriously that's their own fault and I can't be held liable.

Eli, I don't think the font you used on that last sentence is quite big enough...

 

[Eli Brockway]

Eli, I don't think the font you used on that last sentence is quite big enough...

Well that would defeat the entire point of calling it the fine print.