Pirastro Pizzicato

[Jazzman]

I put a new set of Pirastro Pizzicato's on my bass Tuesday evening. They are still not settling in. I have to tune up after every song. If I let the bass sit for a few hours, it will be a whole step flat. Any idea on how long it will take for these things to stay in tune?

[AMJBASS]

I like the Pirastro Pizzicatos. You should give them at least 2 weeks to settle in. You will always need to tweak them in tune, but to a much lesser degree. Initially they will always be a bit out. You should notice the tone will become much rounder and full as they settle in as well. Stick with them!

[Jazzman]

Thanks a lot for the input. Out of curiosity, are you using the the nylon G or D? Or is the whole set silver wrapped?

I purchased both the silver wrap and the nylon D & G. To my surprise, the entire silver wrapped set balances very well together. I thought for sure I was going to have to mellow out the G with the nylon wrapped version.

[AMJBASS]

I am not using the Pizzicatos any longer. I am using the Pirastro Chorda set now. The Pizzicatos are really nice strings, but I haven't played a set that has the volume and projection that the Chordas have. When I was playing the Pizz. I was using the Nylon G. The diameter doesn't match the other strings too well, but it sounded good.

[Francois Blais]

Okay, this thread is a year old, but I have a question about the Pirastro Pizzicato's: is the silver wrap similar to the Eudoxas?
What distinguishes them from Eudoxas?
A problem I have with the Eudoxas is the silver wrap that feels pretty sticky under my left hand fingers.

[Bobby King]

Francois,

The wrap on the Pizzicato is slightly less smooth than Eudoxa.
It's not at all like roundwound, but there's a little more of the feel of the ridges in the windings. I like the Pizzicatos but while it's possible to bow on them, the arco is pretty poor. Very nice pizz though. I'd say they are more flexible than Eudoxa, slightly thicker diameter; they are brighter with more sustain/growl, yet still have the punchy gut attack. I also find them to be more durable than Eudoxa/Olive and can take them off and put them back on a bass without developing separations in the windings. I've used the full set and mixed the A&E with plain gut on the top, both with good results. If you play primarily pizz, they are well worth a try.

[Francois Blais]

Thanks Bob.
I gave another try to an Eudoxa D yesterday and noticed something:
when I slide my left hand fingers over the string, I feel something like if the winding was moving over the core. It's hard to explain...
I remember than when amplified, this was giving kind of qweaks in the sound...

[Phil Rowan]

From my past experience the Eudoxas have a very sensitive and gentle winding that can start to losen quite easily for many different reasons. I haven't used gut strings in a while, I'm using Pirastro Permanents now with good results, a very gutty string with great projection on my old Kay.

[Bobby King]

Francois,

I've experienced that loose winding feeling you're describing on Innovation 140 strings. My theory is that whenever you have a string that is flatwound over gut or synthetic core, there is a likelihood of these types of problems developing because the core stretches (and contracts) much more than on a steel core string. The flatwound winding can't keep up with all that change without developing separations or becoming loose from the core. I've had the best luck with these type of strings when you put them on, tune them up and then don't take them off. The less fuss, the better. Maybe the Pizzicatos are more durable because they aren't all the way flatwound.

[jmpiwonka]

i think it may have to do more with your luck .
i put on a new set of pizzicato's and i noticed the G started seperating just a little bit right after i started tuning to pitch. it took it about 2 to 3 weeks for the winding to seperate pretty bad and then the string developed a nasty little buzz.

on the other hand, i got a Eudoxa g string that was lightly used, and put it on my bass, took it off, put it back on when the Pizz. g died and never had any problem with winding.

the other pizz. strings were fine just that one pizz. g string....i guess it was just a bad string.

[Bobby King]

Chris at Quinn Violins remarked that there had been some problems with recent batches of Pizzicatos. I never had problems in the past. But you're right, there is an element of "luck of the draw" with the type of strings we've been discussing. Some individual strings suck more than others.

[Francois Blais]

Originally Posted by Bobby King

Francois,
I've experienced that loose winding feeling you're describing on Innovation 140 strings.

Thanks, me too. Also with their black Rockabilly string.
I asked a free sample of two Pizzicato strings to Pirastro.
Will see.