pirastro originals for jazz and classical??

danengland · #1 08-14-2007, 07:58 AM

Hi
A teacher encouraged me to get some pirastro Originals - I doubt il get them because of the high price, but anyway.. He said they are great for classical and good for jazz too, although his specialist area is classical, I assume he doesn't play much jazz. Anyone have opinions on how they fare for jazz pizz??

**Francois Blais** · #2 08-14-2007, 08:26 AM

Depends on what you consider a good pizz sound.
This is subjective.
If you like a bright tone with tons of sustain you'd hate them.
But if you look for a dark thumpy tone, you'll love them.

danengland · #3 08-14-2007, 01:51 PM

I currently play thomastik spirocore Mittels, which I like that sound of but find very hard and stiff to play. Do you mean the pirastros have a more traditional pizz sound?

TroyK · #4 08-14-2007, 02:04 PM

Under this forum (Strings), go to the thread entitled "String Comparison Matrix", follow the link and listen to all of those sound clips. I don't remember if he has original flexicores on there or not ,but you'll hear, jazz and arco the same guy playing the same thing on the same bass and it's VERY educational.

I think it will answer your question more accurately than we can. I can't possibly know what you think a traditional pizz sound is. It depends on when you grew up, who you listen to and a bunch of other things.

Listen to those clips and compare them to the clips of the Spirocores and then tell us which way your ear is taking you and ask follow up questions from there.

Once we're sharing a referrence point, it will make it easier for us to answer you questions.

troy

reedo35 · #5 08-14-2007, 02:10 PM

I've been using the Flex 92's on my Upton for a while now, and they seem to be working well for Jazz and Arco. But Like francois said, what are you looking for in a good pizz sound? The Flexes have a very good attack, but very little sustain for pizz. However, they bow much smoother than a lot of "hybrid" strings.
IMO, they have a nice dark old school sound that I happen to like.

bassplayer57 · #6 08-14-2007, 07:12 PM

I use the Original Flexocores.
GREAT for bowing, classical and jazz! They are very nice. I think they have a great sound to them, but the sound is different on every bass.

Jeff Moote · #7 08-14-2007, 09:01 PM

Shameless plug here, but I have a set for sale lightly used, if you're interested and concerned about the high price.

I like them for both jazz and classical: they're clearly arco strings in design, but they sound fine for jazz pizz for me, though I'm not much of jazzer on DB. They're some of the best out there for arco, IMO. Even for pizz, they're notably brighter than a lot of arco strings (Flexocor '92, Belcanto, etc.)