Evah Pirazzi strings megathread part I

[bassplayer57]

Hmmm...
Has anybody who had tried the EP's used the Original Flexocores (Purple wrap), and would be able to compare them??

[Pete G]

Hampton, you mentioned earlier that you weren't sure what rosin you'd end up using on these strings. Have you found the answer yet?

After a couple of days' playing on the Evahs, what seems to be working well for me now (on heavy-duty orchestral music) is the Oak soft rosin. I know, Oak soft in August in DC doesn't make much sense, but it's working at the moment. The medium Oak is okay as well, but it doesn't provide quite the grip I want on "Eroica."

Doubtless Arnold has passed you a cake of the soft Oak...

Interested in your thoughts...

[Hampton]

When I change string brands, I usually have to make instrument adjustments. Similarly, when I change rosin I get new hair. I haven't done that yet.

I haven't used Pirastro strings for many years, but coming back to them reminds me of one of the reasons why I liked Flexocors many years ago. It's the surface steel.

I'm re-experiencing that surface again with EPs and Pops rosin and finding it works very well. I can use a little less rosin and retain the tackiness that's great for feather brushing all the way to square edged Stravinsky attacks.

I've tried Arnold's rosin a couple of times over the years but it has never responded to the way I bow. Lots of people love it and can draw a fantastic sound. Maybe I'll revisit it now that I have Pirastro steel on the string surface again. But I'm in no hurry since the Pops works well with the EPs.

[Marcus Johnson]

Originally Posted by Hampton

I haven't used Pirastro strings for many years, but coming back to them reminds me of one of the reasons why I liked Flexocors many years ago. It's the surface steel.

Tru dat. Best in the business, I think. It's why I'm gritting my teeth, holding onto my wallet, and waiting for someone somewhere to tell me that the EPs are available.

[svenbass]

The elusive EP strings have arrived and been on for 3 hours. I have a great feeling about these ....... could the quest be over?

I gotta lotta gigs this week, so they should break in pretty quick.

details to follow

[PB+J]

NEVAH Pirazzi's!

Jeez, this thread is lasting longer than the Bush presidency, and STILL no strings. When are these things going to be available to ordinary, credit card-wielding non-string ho bass players! Another six months?

Wait, there are no non-string ho bass players

I see Lemur will sell you single strings...

[TroyK]

...except for A strings. They're out of A strings.

I'm not even thinking about it anymore. Who are you people? How did I get here?

[Marcus Johnson]

The weird part is, the only reason I want them at all is to have an E & A to match up with a new Oliv D&G. Otherwise, I'd just be leaving the Spiro set on.

Funny post, PB&J.....

[svenbass]

Hey folks,

EP's installed on my bass Monday, along with a setup from my luthier.

For comparison's sake I'm including a bit of my string history and a (hopefully helpful) description of my personal preferences.

My bass is a '47 Meisel with carved top, plywood back & sides, and a recently replaced fingerboard. I would describe it as a generally bright sounding instrument, therefore I tend to gravitate towards darker strings and soundpost placement.

I go for the Sam Jones, Haden, Chambers vibe in my pizz playing. My arco playing is limited to a Tango trio, but I shed the Simandl stuff regularly for tone and technique. 90% of the gigs I use this bass for are jazz and blues.

Strings I have tried in the past include:

Spiro/Wiech's and Corelli's - far to thin sounding.

Pirastro Jazzers for a while, but felt they did not let the bass breathe enough.

Pirastro Eudoxas - Those strings are absolutely fantastic from a sonic standpoint. I also love the way they feel, and bow. My favorite stings by a long shot. However, durability issues were the reason I continued searching. I cannot justify $400 strings with windings that give way within 6 months on a schedule averaging 2-3 gigs and 10-20 hours practicing per week. I would describe my touch as somewhat aggressive, but I certainly don't beat the sh*t out of my strings. I am also meticulous about maintenance and care of the instrument. I do not slap at all.

Pirastro Olivs - A great string - a bit heavier and tighter sounding than the Eudoxas - great thump, killer dark arco. They also had reliability issues.

Animas came later and were great except for bowability issues. They also tended to be a bit too boomy amplified.

My last setup was a set of Pizzicatos - once again I loved them all the way around, and once again the G & D windings failed after a few months. They were replaced by Kaplan Golden Spirals as a holdover for the EP's. Great strings, but impossible to bow.

As you can see I prefer the wound gut thing. I also prefer the feel of fat strings, with medium/low string height.

OK on to the EP's

I have done 5 gigs on them and in a nutshell, I love them.
Feel-wise , and volume-wise they are comparable to the Oliv's. They aren't as springy as the Eudoxa, Pizzicatos and Golden Spirals, but they do have a nice gut-like thump and a silky smooth top end. So far the sound is tighter and lack the grand sonority of the others mentioned above. I have not found this to be a problem whatsoever, and is offset by nice 'MWAH' and a more modern growl. Amplified thru an AI Contra I / Rick Turner pickup, they sit very nice in the mix, and are a bit less boomy. A good thing in my opinion. I have yet to try them through my big rig (Woods and Acme B2) but expect they will perform fine.

As with all Pirastro windings, I find them to be easy on the fingers and very bowable.

String to string I find them balanced very well. They work great as a complete set.

Pitch-wise they settled in a couple of days and are very stable, though I never really had much issue with the others losing pitch once the bass was acclimated to a room for a few minutes.

The arco sound is very even and not scratchy or whiny. I find them to be quite forgiving and deliver the goods with ease. They seem to like the stickier Pops rosin the best. My favorites to date have been Tartan, Jade, Carlsson. I also have found a sweet spot using less tension than before.

I have been searching for an affordable string I can stick with for a long time, and get on playing bass without compromise ... these may be the ones.

Assuming the Chromesteel wrap holds up, and they give at least a solid year of good tone I'll be happy. At this point, the only thing I could hope for would be that they open up and sing a bit more, but overall, I'll take 'em!

I'll do another report in a month or so, and also hopefully have some sound clips for comparison.

Cheers - Sven

[Mingus Fingus]

Anybody try a set with a low C yet? I have obligatos and am considering switching to the evah's because the obligato C is floppy to say the least. It also rolls like crazy. Trying to order a set next week if Lemur gets in the A strings.

adam.

[Pete G]

Originally Posted by Mingus Fingus

Anybody try a set with a low C yet? I have obligatos and am considering switching to the evah's because the obligato C is floppy to say the least. It also rolls like crazy. Trying to order a set next week if Lemur gets in the A strings.

adam.

I have a long C Evah on my 4-string. I love it. I've tried several other long Cs, and had most recently settled on the Permanent. But the Evah is better. And the Evah A and D are fantastic.

My only concern is the G string, which produces a rich and complex sound, but which is significantly thicker than some other Gs that I've played. It's fine for orchestral play, but I'm not sure how much I'm going to end up liking it in thumb position -- which I haven't played much yet with the Evahs.

[Francois Blais]

FYI:
I've sent an email to Pirastro, asking if they plan to make a solo-tuning Evah set.
Will let you know!

[Marcus Johnson]

Is it worth checking around for the E&A yet? My Spiros are finally gettin' tired.

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Is it worth checking around for the E&A yet? My Spiros are finally gettin' tired.

Next week I'm calling again. My E and A are starting to bark.

Or maybe thats just me.....

[Mingus Fingus]

im sold on these for the most part. the g string feedback concerns me a little bit. any thoughts on matching evah extended E, A, D with somelike like an Olive G? or some other G string option that people have tried?

[Pete G]

Originally Posted by Mingus Fingus

im sold on these for the most part. the g string feedback concerns me a little bit. any thoughts on matching evah extended E, A, D with somelike like an Olive G? or some other G string option that people have tried?

Let me try to be more clear about my comments on the Evah G. It is a beautiful-sounding string -- responsive, easy to bow, lovely. In tone quality, it is as good or better than Flexocor 92s, and, IMHO, better than the Bel Canto it replaced for me.

My ONLY concern about the G is its thickness and how that may affect my thumb position playing. The Evah G is noticeably thicker than the Flexocor or Bel Canto, but it's still a lot thinner than, say, the Velvet Compass 180, and I imagine it's a lot thinner than any gut string. I suspect I'll just get used to the Evah G and play it in thumb position as well as any other string once I adjust. (In orchestral positions, the thickness is not an issue for me at all.)

In any case, I'd be surprised if the Oliv G weren't at least twice as thick as the Evah, so an Oliv would not be the answer to my single (minor) concern.

[Marcus Johnson]

Originally Posted by Pete G

In any case, I'd be surprised if the Oliv G weren't at least twice as thick as the Evah, so an Oliv would not be the answer to my single (minor) concern.

Twice? I never thought of the Oliv G as an overly thick string. That would make the E-P pretty skinny.

[Pete G]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Twice? I never thought of the Oliv G as an overly thick string. That would make the E-P pretty skinny.

I don't have measurements, but it's pretty obvious the E-P is noticeably thicker than the Flexocor, and more still than the Helicore.

I haven't seen an Oliv in a long time, so maybe I'm mistaken in assuming that it's thicker than those other strings. But it's wound gut, isn't it? I'd have assumed any gut string would have to have a thickness much more comparable to the Compass 180s than, say, a Helicore.

I'm probably wrong.

[Marcus Johnson]

I never measured it, but it felt pretty comfortable to me. It's not faaaat like the plain guts I've played. I went to Olivs from Spiro Weichs, and I didn't have to make any major adjustments in technique. TP was fine for me; really nice and supple, with lots of tone and "grain" in the sound.

[Jake deVilliers]

I've been meaning to measure the Evah Pirazzi G & D for a while now and update the Sticky.

Here goes: the EP G string is .060 and the D is .071, 60 thou and 71 thou, almost exactly the same as Obligatos.