Double Bass Evah Pirazzi strings megathread part I

[Pete G]

my initial reaction. these are GREAT strings right out of the package. i was impressed by how mellow they were immediately. quick background. i used to use flexocore 92's with a permanent E when i was pursuing an orchestral career. switched to obligatos last year when my primary focus became jazz. i loved obligatos, but hated the roll on the A and particularly extended E.

the tone of the whole evah set is fantastic...dark, warm pizz tone, and a dark arco tone that actually projects.

i highly recommend trying them out, whatever your focus is. good luck finding them...it looks like lemur should have full sets in very soon.

adam.

Adam, since your bass is the twin of mine, I'm glad to hear you react as I did. Great strings.

I don't play jazz, but I love the pizz sound from the Evahs. However, I could never understand the fascination so many jazz players have shown for the Bel Cantos. Seems to me that the Evah would be great for jazz, but I'm not seeing the Bel Canto for that use.

 

[TimoMetzemakers]

Also has anybody put these on a Cleveland? Mine is about a year old now.

Lastly I am concerned about volume. I play jazz primarily, and haven't played much with an amp in close to a year. So acoustic volume is very important. A volume comparison to other strings would be perfect.

On my hybrid Cleveland, the volume is similar to red Spiros, and Gamut plain guts (medium gauge) which puts them in the high volume category. I only played one unamped gig with the Evahs, but projection wasn't a problem at all. I have the G string at 7mm.

 

[Ben Rolston]

On my hybrid Cleveland, the volume is similar to red Spiros, and Gamut plain guts (medium gauge) which puts them in the high volume category. I only played one unamped gig with the Evahs, but projection wasn't a problem at all. I have the G string at 7mm.

That's great news!

I think I am going to add myself to the list of people tracking these down.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Uncletoad]

We have engaged the services of a detective.

 

[Pete G]

Hampton, are you still following this thread?

After playing these strings for a while, what do you think about playing them in thumb position? Is the diameter of the D and G an issue at all for you, or is it something you've just gotten used to?

 

[jazz bass guy]

I managed to track down a set in Vancouver, and I have had them on for a few days now. I am happy to report that the pitch has stabilized already, pretty much.

My first impression was surprise at how dark and gut-like they really are. I don't mean they sound just like gut, but that they have some of the qualities of gut that I really like, and in surprising amounts; particularly the beautiful attack. However, they have much more sustain than a gut, and a more focused sound and pitch, which I like. The ringing notes have some of that appealing funk that you get with gut. I have played mostly on Olive and sometimes Eudoxa, but only on the D & G. In the past, I have experimented with various strings on the bottom, and once tried an Olive E & A, for about half an hour (anybody wanna buy em???), before I realized that I just couldn't go down that road. Waaaay too thumpy and cloudy, and with not enough sustain for me. I would have to qualify that by saying that if I played only arco, they would probably have been my string of choice.

Regarding the Evah Pirazzis, I was concerned that the bottom strings might be too gut-like also, and thus too dead sounding for jazz (like the Olive E & A, for instance), but they seem to ring very nicely. Overall, the strings seem quite responsive (ie: more dynamic range) and louder than the Obligatos, which I have been using for a few years. They also sound absolutely beautiful with the bow, all the way up. In fact, these are the first strings I have ever played that make the E string sound full rich and even clear up in the thumb position. They offer, however, a big change in tonal balance, which may take some getting used to for someone coming from a brighter string. I wouldn't say the E-Ps are a replacement for gut (if you really want that sound, you need the real thing), but they are a very nice sounding string, overall. They give every indication of being stable in pitch, which is very important to me, and why I just can't use gut anymore. I guess I am too old and cranky for all that fussing.

I reserve final judgement, however, until I have gigged and recorded with them a bit.

I should mention that I am playing them on a 1963-ish Pöllmann Gamba.

KL

 

[Ben Rolston]

What's the longest somebody's had the strings on?

My main concern right now is that they might die like Obli's

EDIT: I looked back through and the first person (who kept them on) was Jeremy Allen who posted on May 14. Jeremy, do you still have them on your bass, and is the news still good?

 

[RShew]

I have had mine on (e and a) since May. They are wearing very well. No damage to the wrap at all. Pitch holds very well. I tend to play hard and do about 3-4 gigs per week (all pizz). I don't think wear will be an issue. I recently put the d on as well. Oliv G is the only gut left on my bass...

I also play a 1964 Pollmann Gamba!

 

[jazz bass guy]

That's good news about the strings wearing well. That was one thing I was a bit concerned about, since they are so dark sounding right away.

I had an outside gig today and loved the sound and feel more than I expected. So far, so good.

KL

 

[TroyK]

..and it looks like I'm the 2nd American to spend his hard earned on these. I just heard from Chris. Thanks for tipping us, Marcus.

Just for the record, I left a complete set of jazzers on for 13 months! My only experiment was the EP G when I got a loaner and then I stuck a Flexicore G on for a week or so before going back to the full set of Jazzers. I think that means the monkey is off my back.

Hopefully, these will be on for at least 9 or 10 months unmolested as well. I'll, of course, let you know.

 

[Uncletoad]

..and it looks like I'm the 2nd American to spend his hard earned on these. I just heard from Chris. Thanks for tipping us, Marcus.

I hope you hate them.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

..and it looks like I'm the 2nd American to spend his hard earned on these. I just heard from Chris. Thanks for tipping us, Marcus.

No probs, glad to see friends getting their hands on 'em. Chris asked me to get back to him with impressions of the EPs after they've been on for a bit. I'm really looking forward to trying them out. I'd be happy if they last anything close to a year if they sound good. Maybe it will be easier to get new ones by the time these early sets crap out.

 

[TroyK]

I hope you hate them.

I promise to tell you that I do regardless!

For me, the review is going to come in 2 phases, because I'm old and wize.

Phase 1: Do I like them? How do they feel? Pizz, arco? Tone? In the mix? Yada, Yada, Yada.

From my brief G test, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to at least like them, if not more. But, I'll swear to Phil that they suck.

Phase 2: They have the sins of Obligatos to overcome with me. I need to see them hold up under pressure for some reasonable period of time for me. Don't expect me to pronounce them all clear for me in 2007. Sorry, I'm a tough grader.

Troy

 

[Hampton]

Hampton, are you still following this thread?

After playing these strings for a while, what do you think about playing them in thumb position? Is the diameter of the D and G an issue at all for you, or is it something you've just gotten used to?

Sorry for the delay, I've been travelling.

I'm satisfied with the way they respond. More than satisfied. The tension is high enough there's leeway to adjust the string height. Diameter isn't an issue for me as long as I can get a workable string height - ie a compromise between low action for the left hand and high action for the bow.

Sounds bipolar, doesn't it?

 

[tbassist4]

So it sounds like these are best for jazz pizz, but the orchestral qualities intrigue me. I'm an orchestral player looking for a new set of strings. I was set on buying the Bel Cantos for orchestra/solo arco playing but this thread caught my eye a bit. For orchestral playing, how would these strings and the Bel Cantos compare? I haven't tried either, the only strings I've ever tried are the set of Corelli 370F's on my bass right now. Which of those two would be best for almost full time orchestra playing?

 

[Ben Rolston]

Look at Hampton's posts. He's using these in an orchestral context.

 

[tbassist4]

Thanks!

I looked it up and read all of his posts, he said he hasn't tried the Bel Cantos yet, so I guess I'll have to keep looking around.

From what I gather so far, it seems that the EPs (remember I'm speaking in an arco orchestral context, I'm not considering jazz in my analysis of these two string sets) would be best for a bass that does orchestral playing, and the Bel Cantos would be best for a combination of orchestral playing and solo playing in standard tuning....

Can someone verify this?

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I gigged with them last night, unamped piano duo. They were quite stable and sounded good straight out of the package, probably better than any string I can recall. I'm waiting for the E to open up a little more, which it did already last night. They have a nice substantial feel when pizzed, quite similar to Olivs on my bass. They don't roll at all... tension is perfect to me, again very similar to olivs. It was nice to get back to a big, fundamental sound after the Spiros more growly modern sound. These growl too, but it's somehow more organic and complex, less "giant fretless". The D & G are great, I love 'em already.

The real revelation for me came with the arco (sorry, jazz only so far). Really beautiful tone and fast response. I could go for melodic ideas with a lot more confidence than any other string I've tried. Just great tone and definition, even waay up in TP. A nice kind of organic graininess that really allows me to think like a tenor player or a singer, which I love to do when soloing. I can't wait to go further down this road with these strings.

I like 'em. I have a whole bunch of gigging and recording in the next few months, so we'll see how they look in the rearview after some more time.

 

[reedo35]

No!NO! You are supposed to say they SUCK!!!

 

[Jeremy Allen]

EDIT: I looked back through and the first person (who kept them on) was Jeremy Allen who posted on May 14. Jeremy, do you still have them on your bass, and is the news still good?

Oops, I missed this one. I still have the EPs on, and they came off once when Nick Lloyd put on a new bridge (and he might have brought them up to tension and back down again several times for all I know, because he was also tracking down a buzz). They didn't die as happens with Obligatos when they're removed and put back on again; they play exactly as they did before.

I have not noticed any deadness yet from these, but I think the G is less ballsy than the other strings, a bit more whiny. It was like this from the beginning, though, so I don't think it's a question of wear. These strings are just outstanding, and I would not at all say that they are either "a good jazz string that also bows well" or "a good arco string you can also pizz with"--they're just a good all-around string. The only string I've ever used that was better under the bow is Original Flexocors, but the EPs give 'em a run for their money in an orchestral context. When they become readily available, I may buy another set to put on the other bass (although I don't know that I can live without guts in my life).