pirastro 'pizzicato'

[sean p]

i recently learned of a new line of strings from pirastro: pizzicato. then the other day, adrian juras's bass for sale post (down in 'for sale') mentioned that that bass comes with a set, and that they're wound gut.

can anybody contribute info about these strings? (how they compare to olivs, eudoxas; guage; windings; price; solo tuning availability)

sean p

[Adrian Cho]

Actually that's my bass - Adrian Cho although oddly enough I bought it from Adrian Juras.

The Pirastro Pizzicato have slightly rougher windings than than the Olivs and Eudoxas. I believe they have a higher content of gut. I found the pizz sound to die for but arco was harder. Also, while the pizz sound was gorgeous for smaller acoustic groups (and would be just perfect for latin with an acoustic guitar), I think I might prefer the Olivs and Eudoxas for larger, high volume groups.

[sean p]

oops! sorry, adrians. thanks for the info! what's the price like, and the guage?

sean p

[Adrian Cho]

To be honest I have no idea. This is an "early release" set that Pirastro sent to me before they were released on the market. I haven't actually seen anyone selling them yet but Pirastro is advertising them. I wouldn't sell the strings by themselves but since they were on my bass for a short while and I'm selling the bass I figure I should throw in the strings too.

The gauge is similar to the Olivs and Eudoxas.

[sean p]

in case there's anybody out there reading this thread with interest, here's what the new lemur catalog i received in the mail today had to say about these strings:

"... a new and very different string. special gut cores are wrapped with a fine, round, solid silver wire. the result is a jazz string with a bright, sustaining tone and a comfortable tension. there is also an alternative g string with the same gut core wrapped with a fin, round nylon jacket."

sounds not unlike the garbo to me, what with the round windings and optional nylon-wound g. i wonder if they wouldn't be a little less floppy than the garbos (i couldn't get used to just how much they moved under my fingers).

lemur's price: $249 for a set.

man, gut strings are getting out of this world expensive!

sean p

[Adrian Cho]

I wouldn't describe the sound as bright at all. Yes the set they sent me does include a string with a nylon jacket. I never tried it because I assume it is unbowable.

[ctxbass]

"...a jazz string with a bright, sustaining tone and a comfortable tension..."

I also had a chance to try Pizzicatos, and found this to be true. I've been playing Pirastro Chordas, so I guess it depends upon what you're comparing them to. I found them easily playable, with more of a "modern" jazz sound. Since I play plain gut top strings, I tried the nylon wrapped G. It seems to match the set in tone and sustain, and feels better to me than a thinner metal wound string.

The Chordas are going back on. They may be harder to play, but I feel like they give back everything I can put into them. IMHO the best sounding strings. That's my gut feeling.

[martinc]

I did a review of these strings on this thread last spring. Here's what I wrote:

I've used the new Pirastro gut/silver strings and the nylon wrapped gut G string for almost a month so here are my impressions with the caveat of course that they could sound very different on other basses......first of all the gut/silver set:

- they are designed for pizz only, easy on the fingers, low to medium tension and are close to Spirocores and Obligato's in thickness. They are thinner in diameter than the Golden Spiral G and D. They are very well constructed.

- they take a v-e-r-y long time to stretch out. Even after three weeks they were still stretching.

- they are very responsive and provided a nice pizz sound on my 1938 King plywood. I'm sure they would sound even better on a carved bass. The A string is very strong compared to other gut A strings I have used. I found the weakest string in terms of tone, was the E.

Summary: I think this yet-to-be-named set will do a great job for players who like the sound of gut but don't like the maintenance that plain guts need. This set is a lot like many medium steel sets in terms of feel but lower in tension. They are roundwound and are still quite smooth but not quite as smooth as the Oliv's and Eudoxa's. If your bass is set up for steel strings you won't have to enlarge the nut or bridge notches.
The set does not give the same full, dark sound that the Oliv's give. They are brighter than the Oliv's and Eudoxa's. There is also less "body" to them than the Oliv's and Eudoxa's.
On my bass I would prefer the Spirocore Weich E but the G,D and A sound great...lots of response and a good gut sound. They provide the kind of sound I would want if I was a jazz player. They also sound great on my bass for bluegrass, folk, rockabilly (but I'm not sure how the windings would hold up if they are slapped a lot) and old country.

I still don't know if Pirastro will decide to put these strings on the market. I hope they do because I think they will be ideal for many bass players.


As for the nylon wrapped G string .....its the same size as the Golden Spiral G and looks identical except the colour is a little darker. It sounds the same as the Golden Spiral G. Pirastro was not clear about whether they are planning on making a G and D .....like the now defunct Golden Spirals.... or whether they will make a complete set. We'll have to see what they decide but if you like the Golden Spiral G you will love this one. Its beautifully made and sounds great.

Even though these two lines of strings are not on the market yet it gives us an idea about what Pirastro is up to in the world of gut strings.

I have no connection with Pirastro whatsoever, other than being a tester for the Obligato's when they first came out. I guess they send me strings to test because for a while I had a lot of questions about string tension and use.
I'd be happy to answer any questions on or offline.

Martin Chapman.

[kip]

Lemur (online) shows the Pizzicato's to be in stock.

[ctxbass]

I took the Pizzicatos off the double bass and put them on my Azola Ampeg Baby Bass. I think I found the strings for that bass. Gut core, and bright sound to go with the hyper-percussive nature of the bass.