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Double Bass Evah Pirazzi strings megathread part I

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#423
Just replaced my dom G, Spiro D,A,E on the '28 Juzek with a full set of Evahs. My god are they good. The A is the best A I've ever used or heard. I could live on the A and be happy. Just move right in and never leave. Have my meals delivered. The G and D pop like nobody's business. Strong fundamental, not a lot of overtones but powerful. I was almost reticent to change the Spiro E but did anyway and I'm glad I did. The Evah has all of the growl but is deeper sounding. The whole set just sounds deeper.

Mine weren't tight at all. In fact, I had to raise my action a little. Right now the bass feels looser than with the Spiros and Dom that were replaced.

Like a lot of people have said, it is the sound I've always heard in my head but had to work really hard to get with any other string. It just kind of happens. And I've only had them on for about an hour. But in that hour, the whole bass opened up in a way it never has before. It is not so much louder as the attack is more powerful. I can't wait to see what they sound like tomorrow. I don't have any gigs until Saturday but then I've 4 in following 5 days so they should be really popping by next week.

mark
 
#425
Mark...they sound good right out of the package, but they really start to talk down the line a bit. You will dig them even more then if you like them now.

Still the best all around string set I've ever played. I'm waiting for a fault to show up; nothing so far. I turned off the amp again last night, and the pianist said "man, I can hear you better now". They're working well with the amp, too... but I don't really need it for most things. Right in there with the Animas for great unamped sound. Different, but easily as good.

Also, I was soloing arco last night (unamped) and I could really hear the notes just popping off the bow, especially on the A string. I thought I was hearing things at first.
 
#426
Man, I'm just not hearing it. At least, not on my bass. What I need to do is find someone else to play my bass so that I can sit back and listed to it from a distance. Then I can get a more accurate idea of what it's putting out.

I do really like the A, but the D/G just didn't feel right to me. The sound from open string to the halfway point (first octave harmonic) is great with pizz, good with bow. Unfortunately, I hate the bowed sound above that (thumb position stuff). It's sounding choked-yet-scratchy. I can't deal with a sound like that in the upper registers, so I'm still experimenting.

Permanent D/G with tone dampening rings (those little black guys)
EvahPirazzi A
Belcanto long E (next to be replaced)


Marcus Johnson said:
Mark...they sound good right out of the package, but they really start to talk down the line a bit. You will dig them even more then if you like them now.

Still the best all around string set I've ever played. I'm waiting for a fault to show up; nothing so far. I turned off the amp again last night, and the pianist said "man, I can hear you better now". They're working well with the amp, too... but I don't really need it for most things. Right in there with the Animas for great unamped sound. Different, but easily as good.

Also, I was soloing arco last night (unamped) and I could really hear the notes just popping off the bow, especially on the A string. I thought I was hearing things at first.
Click to expand...
 
#427
Marcus Johnson said:
Mark...they sound good right out of the package, but they really start to talk down the line a bit. You will dig them even more then if you like them now.

Still the best all around string set I've ever played. I'm waiting for a fault to show up; nothing so far. I turned off the amp again last night, and the pianist said "man, I can hear you better now". They're working well with the amp, too... but I don't really need it for most things. Right in there with the Animas for great unamped sound. Different, but easily as good.

Also, I was soloing arco last night (unamped) and I could really hear the notes just popping off the bow, especially on the A string. I thought I was hearing things at first.
Click to expand...

I just went back to the bass after letting it sit for a few hours. Tuned it up. Even better now! A little louder. The attack is just so powerful, I get a little giddy with every pluck. The attack is heavy almost thumpy but with a lot of clarity. If they're this good now after just a few hours out of the package, I may need medical attention by next week...

I plugged it in and got a great amp sound as well. No tweaking. All of the good stuff that comes with Spiros without all of the scratchy and whiny. Of course, getting a good sound in the house isn't the same as on the gig but we'll see on Saturday. I have a good 3 days to break them in!

So far, this looks like the greatest single change I've ever made.

mark
 
#429
Basschair said:
Man, I'm just not hearing it. At least, not on my bass. What I need to do is find someone else to play my bass so that I can sit back and listed to it from a distance. Then I can get a more accurate idea of what it's putting out.

I do really like the A, but the D/G just didn't feel right to me. The sound from open string to the halfway point (first octave harmonic) is great with pizz, good with bow. Unfortunately, I hate the bowed sound above that (thumb position stuff). It's sounding choked-yet-scratchy. I can't deal with a sound like that in the upper registers, so I'm still experimenting.

Permanent D/G with tone dampening rings (those little black guys)
EvahPirazzi A
Belcanto long E (next to be replaced)
Click to expand...

These just might not be the right string for you. Based on my extraordinarily brief experience with these things (still measured in minutes), I don't think that the Evahs are going to be all things to all people. A lot of us started on Spiros (be they weich, mittel or stark)and would try new strings but would always end up back on Spiros. Whatever new string we tried would have something we liked but ultimately didn't give us that clarity and power that only Spiros have. Until now. I think, this may be the string we've always been looking for. It has all of the pizzazz of the Spiro with a super strong fundamental but without any of the compromises. On the other hand, if you are coming from gut or a softer, low tension string, these might be a little too harsh for you. Whereas coming from a Spiro these are really smooth.

By tomorrow night, when I'll have an order of magnitude more experience on them, my opinion might change but for now I'm sticking to it.

mark
 
#430
A co-worker of mine put a set of Evah's on his bass and then raised the action. His bass with the higher action and Evahs sounds like any other thumpy bass lacking fine detail to the notes. When playing Evah's with the action set too high you can end up killing the note spread/sustain and complexity because the left hand can barely hold down the string long enough to get things going.

When using Evah's try leaving your action the same or even a little lower than usual. This will allow you to relax a bit and let the Evah set do its thing. Which is strong projection, sustain, balance, and an earthy tone that no other set to date can duplicate, to my ears. For reference I typically set my action measured between the bottom of the string and the first octave. The E is 5mm and the G is 4.5mm to give an idea of where I'm at action-wise
 
#431
I tried the EP set on my bass for about a week and a half. I found a lot to like about them, but I ultimately decided that they weren't for me. The EP's pizz sound is loud and full with a big fundamental to the note. They bow very well and are pretty forgiving to less than stellar arco technique (like mine). Unfortunately, they didn't seem to be the best match for my bass. My bass is a big german shop bass that has a lot of "puff" to the pizz sound. When I string it up with Spiro Mittels, I get both depth and clarity. The EP's are a little less clear sounding to me (if that makes any sense) so it's sometimes harder to hear the pitch in a performance setting. On previous instruments I've owned, I have no doubt that the EP's would really shine. On this bass, not so much.

In reading Keith's post above, I'm reminded of how different we all are. I've tried my strings at the heights he suggests and could never get my right hand to be comfortable (my left hand loved it, though). I've ended up with my G string at 6-7 mm and my E strings at 9-10 mm. Maybe THAT'S my problem....

Shameless Plug Time: I'm selling my EP's in the TB classifieds.
Let me know if you're interested.

Jim
 
#432
Jim,

I was trying out the Heritage set on my bass when I received the Evah's. The Heritage is about the tension of Spiro-weich, so my action was set higher for that set. I left the action setting the same when I put on the Evah's, which are heavier than weich but less than Spiro mittel. When the Fall weather changed my action lowered and that's when I found the my Evah set to like the setting I posted.

I play more upright than Fender these days, sometimes playing upright 7 hours a day in different shows for Disney, so take the hours into consideration, too when reading about my lower action. There are other fine brands of strings out there, and not everyone will use Evah's. I just wanted to add my 2 cents.
Best regards,
Keith
 
#433
Just want to check in with some of you who have really hit it of with the Evah's. Think I'm gonna get bridge adjusters installed in the near future, but I wonder about what kind of string height setup would be best, off course what works for You.

Right now my G is at about 6,5-7 mm upp, D & A is 7,5 and E 9 mm. The G kind of sounds thin and buzzing as opposed to mainly the A & E's warm growl, but I guess my fingerbourd might need some planning perhaps (or the soundpost?!)..
Maybe this is more of a setup Q, but it's bout he Evah's so what the heck...:p
 
#434
Monki said:
Just want to check in with some of you who have really hit it of with the Evah's. Think I'm gonna get bridge adjusters installed in the near future, but I wonder about what kind of string height setup would be best, off course what works for You.

Right now my G is at about 6,5-7 mm upp, D & A is 7,5 and E 9 mm. The G kind of sounds thin and buzzing as opposed to mainly the A & E's warm growl, but I guess my fingerbourd might need some planning perhaps (or the soundpost?!)..
Maybe this is more of a setup Q, but it's bout he Evah's so what the heck...:p
Click to expand...

Bridge adjusters can make your life a bit easier. As I don't have EP's, I'm speaking in general terms about this. I usually just use my pinkie finger as a guide. If it can fit flat under the strings at the base of the fingerboard, even if it slightly squeezes the finger between the fingerboard and string, it's usually the right height for me. Of course, it could either go up or down a little depending on the type of string, but I use this as a starting point.
 
#436
I had them at 10mm to 14mm. Sounded great there. I dropped them a tad, probably to 8mm to 12mm and they seemed ok there too.

I can't play down at 6mm, I drive the string into the dirt if I do. But I don't play real fast either so I can do the higher thing and get away with it.
 
#437
hmm...should get those adjusters too find out what sounds and feels best, but maybe have my fingerboard overlooked too.. just can't get any good/clear pizz sound above the G octave, but that's with any string.
 
#439
After a day, they sound even better. The E is really opening up and they seem to be fully stretched out as I really didn't need to tune much today. Little tweaks but that's it. On my bass, they feel pretty much just like Spiro Mittels with basically the same tension and texture. But they require much less effort to get THE SOUND. No funky right hand gymnastics needed to keep the Spiro wire-iness away. Just pluck. Hit it hard and they respond, hit is softly and they whisper. Even across the board.

These are the Strings of the Gods...

For once, the marketing lives up to the promise, "I can't stop playing..."

mark
 
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#440
Yea. I'm thinking I may need to go back with them for a little longer.

I was playing tonight's gig and the A string was kicking the rest of the axe's collective ass.
 
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