Thomastik Spirocore Double Bass 3/4 L

Having taken up the double bass after 30 years of electric I wasn't entirely sure which way I'd eventually go - orchestral playing, slap, jazz, folk etc etc. What I decided I wanted was a string set that would give me a balanced performance across the range of styles so that I could make progress in all options before opting for one style.

I would say the result has been very successful in all the areas I had a right to expect a result. What I mean is that, as I'd rather gathered from readings lots of reviews, these strings give a solid workmanlike performance across a range of genres. Although new to bowing, I'm able to produce full sonorous tones (on the good days!) and when proper players have borrowed the bass or my teacher demonstrates something to me using my bass, I realise the richness that these strings are capable of producing in the right fingers.

The strings are quite forgiving to a new player's hands and I haven't created any callouses or sore spots. That said, they clearly aren't just beginner's strings because, as I say, real players make my bass sound great with them.

The one area I have had less success is in slap. I know they are not "proper" slap strings, but a few videos on the internet show what can be done with them for slap. However, I'm guessing that those players probably didn't learn rockabilly on these strings, even if they subsequently like the sound they produce for a skilled slap player, and I've given up that idea until I either restring the bass with something else entirely or get a dedicated rockabilly bass.

All in all I've felt these strings have worked with me, allowing me to learn to play the instrument and fitting a wide variety of genres. They came properly boxed and packaged and in secure outer packaging. All in all I've been thoroughly pleased and would certainly buy again.

These strings are a must have.
Thomastik spirocores are an industry standard and as such, are used by many bass players. I like them a lot, they have a pretty full sound, they work good under almost every condition. The tuning is kept nicely and the light gauge makes them easy to play. They work pretty well with the bow and they sound relatively good when amplified.

On the other side, I've found that the E string is a little too poor in sound, compared to the thomastik medium. In my experience they sound really nice when the action of the bass is pretty low, the light gauge makes it so that you can really reach a woody tone and I like that "dirty" sound that can come out of it. Sadly that is not the same experience with my bass, since I have a slightly higher action, but on other instruments that can work better.

The A and the D strings are my favourite in this set up. They have a snappy sound and they're easy to play!

The G string is also pretty nice, except I find it slightly too low in volume when in thumb position. As well I'm not a fan of the "meowing" sound that you might achieve by using this string, it does sound to my ear as an old fashioned 80's sound, which is not what I'm striving for.

I've found myself trying to mix the strings a lot and having both medium and light version of this strings I had a weird set up:

G - Thomastik Medium
D and A - Thomastik Light
E - Thomastik Medium

Certainly on every bass they sound different and If I listen to bass players with the same strings on different basses the result is something else.

I change strings a lot, due to my personal research for the right sound I have in mind and these helped me figuring it out.
As I said it's a must have, because they just are super reliable strings and they'll last a lifetime, opposed to gut strings for example.

Bought Two of these strings, one as a gift for a great Friend of mine who lives in Brazil, where those strings are very expensive, and one for his teacher who recommended it.

My Friend just got himself a second hand double bass and he is learning to play upright. This review is on his behalf, based on his feedback.

He cannot stop praising these strings: " they are a lot softer clearer and brighter, comparing to the ones that came in the bass. "

He claims it is "THE string for upright , for its growl, sustain, and brightness. "

Teachers comments:

"If you are primarily a pizzicato player , beginner or experienced" and want to get that clear jazz sound, the Spirocores are the way to go, and will enhance the sound of your bass"

"They are easy to Use, great Quality, Improves Sound
and will Last you for Years"

Needless to say that Thomann's service was amazing and I received the products in perfect condition in no time. They had the best price on those at the time as well.

Thank you so much , my Friends in Brazil are very happy

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 strings 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.

I'm fairly new to the double bass and it seemed like Thomastik Spirocores are the go-to string of jazz players. I wasn't disappointed: the strings are extremely well made (visible especially on the ball-end-side, which looks really premium) and sound nice and loud, with the lower strings sounding somewhat growly (in a good way).

Two things to note about those strings is that they are quite bright-sounding and not the softest, you'll need to have some amount of power in your fingers.

For my particular bass I eventually decided to go with Evah Pirazzi's but I'm going to try switching back to Spirocore's at some point I think.

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!