Beer of the Bass Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I've had my old German (possibly Czech) flatback carved bass for about 8 years now and when I got it I had a new bridge, fingerboard and soundpost fitted along with a new set of Spirocore Mittels. People always talk about the longevity of Spiros, but I'm trying to decide what the trigger is for me to finally decide it's time for a new set. Due to trying some other sets, they've only done about 6 years of playing and I've cleaned them with alcohol several times. They don't sound terrible and they still have some sustain, but I'm sure they're lacking a bit of the brightness and liveliness that they had in the first few years. I enjoy that overt Spirocore growl and miss it if it's not all there - my big inspirations to get into double bass were Danny Thompson and Dave Holland, so I'm sure you get the idea. So, for any other Spiro enthusiasts, how long do you give yours? Is this the year for a new set? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I've heard the figure of five years mentioned as a realistic lifespan for Spirocores if you don't need your strings to be in absolutely prime condition for recording or whatever, but you do want a reasonably good tone. Obviously it depends on how many ours of use they get a week, but I think that came from a fairly keen amateur who played in a couple of bands, if that helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 (edited) How do you decide when they're dead? When they start to lose their nasal twang and give a satisfactory tone. There are a lot of dead Spiro enthusiasts. Just keep them clean with industrial alcohol and they'll last for ever, well almost. A useful trick is to de-tension them from time to time. You'll be surprised how their brightness comes back when you bring them up to pitch. Edited February 20, 2016 by bassace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Can't really give any sort of answer about how long a set of spiros can last, my set of weichs have been on the bass for a bit over a year now and are starting to mellow pleasantly and now sound better to my ear both pizz and arco than they did when new. I suspect that personal taste is more valuable than other peoples opinions - if very new zingy spiros [u]works for you on your bass[/u], then swap em out, but you might want to record the dead ones before you swap them and then decide whether they might be useful as an alternative tonally for certain situations, or whether you want to sell them on. I don't think that it's a particularly big risk to try a new set - if the DB string section on talkbass is representative, lots of players try the various altrernatives and end up coming back to spiros, so finding a buyer for a dead or nearly new set shouldn't be difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 (edited) [quote name='bassace' timestamp='1455983585' post='2984273'] How do you decide when they're dead? When they start to lose their nasal twang and give a satisfactory tone. There are a lot of dead Spiro enthusiasts. Just keep them clean with industrial alcohol and they'll last for ever, well almost. A useful trick is to de-tension them from time to time. You'll be surprised how their brightness comes back when you bring them up to pitch. [/quote] If I'm recalling this accurately, that objectionable metallic "zing" only lasted for about a month or so for me when the strings were new. That was in a period where I was spending a lot of time playing, so it might take longer now. I'm not looking for the sound of those first couple of weeks, more the sound that it settled into for the next couple of years. It does come back to some extent upon cleaning or just de-tuning and re-tuning, but that doesn't seem to last for long and I'm sure my bass is darker now than in the recordings linked in my signature, which were done about 2 1/2 years ago with the same set. On the other hand, they're certainly friendlier with the bow now. Edited February 20, 2016 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jaywalker Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 As you know, Mr Beer, I like my sound to be bright, sustaining and singing. I reckon about 5 years of constant use for spiros and they've about given up their characteristic sound. I use a solution made from milton tablets to clean my strings regularly. Every once and a while, I do a "mega-clean" : clean G-string; detune; clean again (more gunk off); leave for at least 30-45 mins; retune and clean again. Repeat for all 4 strings. Like Bassace said, they regain a lot of life after being detuned - and I suspect the bass gets some detensioned time to relax a bit too and this is part of it. My bass always feels much better after I do this. Also, make sure you reallyclean the fingerboard as well. Get the gunk off the fb and it seems like the sound brightens/growls a bit more. I dunno, maybe there's a bit more room for the growl-enhancing vibration between LH fingers and the fb to take place? Give this a go, see what happens. Defo cheaper than new strings.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 Giving everything a thorough clean and seeing how I get on does seem like a reasonable thing to try first. I'll probably budget for a new set some time later in the year though. It might be interesting to give the S42 Mittel a try next time too - my current set are the 3885 Mittel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I much prefer the older well used set of spiros. The new ones are always too bright on my bass, but they seem to get better and better if I leave them on. I wouldn't change them unless they were damaged or playing up somehow. BTW, I'm off to see Danny Thompson in Leeds on Friday and predict a serious bout of Spiro GAS coming up! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 [quote name='geoffbassist' timestamp='1456163947' post='2986128'] BTW, I'm off to see Danny Thompson in Leeds on Friday and predict a serious bout of Spiro GAS coming up! :-) [/quote] Doesn't he have a signature Elites set now? Or has he quietly stuck with the spiros? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jaywalker Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1456163640' post='2986124'] Giving everything a thorough clean and seeing how I get on does seem like a reasonable thing to try first. I'll probably budget for a new set some time later in the year though. It might be interesting to give the S42 Mittel a try next time too - my current set are the 3885 Mittel. [/quote] S42 mittels work out at a lower tension on a 3/4 bass, as they're designed for 4/4's. I think it's middling between weich and mittel, which is quite pleasant ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1456164341' post='2986143'] Doesn't he have a signature Elites set now? Or has he quietly stuck with the spiros? [/quote] I was wondering that too :-) I will be the bass nerd on the front row checking :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiipopes Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Some folks on TalkBass have used the same set for 10 - 20 - 25 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 I love dead Spiros. I took my usual old Spiros off my bass so I could use them on a borrowed bass I was using on tour and didn't get round to putting them back on before our first gig with my regular bass (which now had new Spiros on). The sound was horrible, all nasal and sproingy. I'll be putting my dead Spiros back on for tonight's gig.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbass Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 My mittels are 8 years old and I'm still waiting for them to mellow! :-) I have a set of lights and a heavy E that I bring with me to use on hire basses when I'm on tour. They started to wear out at the point where they leave the peg from being on and off so many times, but the sound is still good! Ply basses just love that huge E string! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted April 1, 2016 Author Share Posted April 1, 2016 (edited) It occurred to me that I have another set of Spiro Mittels of indeterminate age, with knackered looking silks which came in the bag pocket of an old bass. They look like a 4/4 E with the rest 3/4 size. I'd hung onto them as spares but just assumed that the condition would probably be worse than the ones I'd played for years. Upon trying these, it appears that I have indeed killed the set I've been using, as the ancient spares are livelier and better sounding and just seem to have the thing that the set I took off lacked. They're not metallic, but just have clearer pitch and a generally sweeter sound. So that's interesting - I wonder what I did to kill the last set? Perhaps the alcohol soak cleaning method I'd used a couple of times was less benign than I'd thought? But I do at least have a functioning set for the moment, which is nice. I guess this set are the "good kind of dead" that people talk about. Edited April 1, 2016 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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