Thomastik Spirocore Double Bass 3/4 L

Best strings for jazz

Makes my cheap double bass sound really good. Ideal for jazz playing, good sustain. But they're not cheap though...

That Spirocore Sound

It took me a long time to try Spiros, because I was in love with the sound and feel of gut strings. But I tried them on my jazz bass and I'm an instant convert. Just a fabulous, punchy, well-defined sound. And if you chose weichs, as I did, the feel isn't so massively different to guts or synthetic guts. But the sound is completely different. Not at all vintage, but a lovely rich, growly contemporary sound.

Ray brown ​tone(?)

Nice feel, light tension.

but I didn't like how it sound on the G string.

Not Sure.

I'm a pro/semi pro bass player of 30+ years.

I do double bass in the same manner of many of us in the same lucky situation: you do ok, get signed, get some money, get gear and buy a double bass. As such Double bass is realy a second instrument to me. I became good enough to be hired for it however, and for about a decade it was what I was hired for. I spent a bunch of time on Spirocore Mediums as I didn't know anything about the tension (on electric bass it's all about the gauge. I loved the sound, but was coming away from long sessions or performances with quite a sore swollen wrist from how much I was pulling on the stings at times.

I switched over to light tension to see if this would help....

- Pro's

The tone is really wonderful. Records well, amplifies well (Barcus Berry P/U into Sans Amp into SWR).

- Nice longevity of tone.

-Cons

Not really a con however I didn't ever really think there was a particularly large difference in tension between the mediums & the lights, which is why I swopped over to them.

Really, in itself the strigs are great. I can see no point (other than hubris or self absorbed extravagance) to spend more on a set that you do with these which are pricey enough, though I'm sure someone will see me as a peasant.

Industry standard

These never let me down, I’ve got them on three of my basses and they deliver every time. They have managed to keep them at a competitive price too which is quite amazing.

Good

I use spirocore for years and i love them. Thay need some time to sit well so you can get real spirocore sound, but i dont mind.

Great strings

Great sustain, great harmonics, I like a lot this type of strings because are very versatile

First impressions

I've only had these strings on my bass for about a week so this review is entirely based on first impressions.

That said, I had done a fair bit of research before investing in them as buying a set of double bass doesn't come cheap! I was keen to get some lighter gauge strings as I'm not getting any younger and I was starting to get some discomfort in my left hand and wrist. However, these are NOT light gauge strings in the same way that slap bass strings are. I knew this from my research so knew what I was getting.

I only play pizz so, again, knew that these strings were likely to suit my playing. What I didn't know was whether they'd suit my bass (Czech made, solid top and back, about 60 years old and tonally, quite dark) but they match superbly! I am absolutely delighted, especially with the E string which has made the bottom end of my playing so much more musical rather than thumping! Very highly recommended for jazzers and folkies who want their dark-sounding instruments to come alive!

Classic String

I have tried a few types of string and come back to these all the time. Fantastic sound and feel.

excellent set of strings!

These strings sound really focused, bright and loud. They feel great under your fingers also the light tension helps playing faster passages easier. To my surprise they even sound good playing Arco even though they are primarily made for Pizzicato.