Double Bass Evah Pirazzi strings megathread part I

[jazz bass guy]

The figure I used was 2.204622622, which is slightly more accurate than 2.2, which is a rough approximation.

Incidentally, I am also an island man.

 

[dchan]

Technically speaking, kilograms measure mass rather than force, while pounds measure force rather than mass. For force in the metric system, the unit is a newton. 1 newton is equal to 1 kilogram per 9.81 meters per seconds squared (1 N = 1 Kg/9.81 m/s^2), where 9.81 m/s^2 is the acceleration due to gravity.

And for those who want to know, the technical equivalent to kilograms in the English system is slugs, where 1 pound equals 1 slug per 32.2 ft per seconds squared (1 lb = 1 slug/32.2 ft/s^2). Too many engineering courses have led to this knowledge.

Now I'll go away until I actually try out these strings. Someday.

 

[BEEF]

I think it would be nice to start calling bass strings 'slugs' in general.

..."Hey, what 'slugs' you using these days?"

..."Whoah, these new 'slugs' just JAM!"

..."What's in the drawer here?" "Oh, just some old 'slugs' I tried on the old doghouse."



(Mid gig) ...PLOINK!!!... "DAMN!!!... ...dead slug."

 

[martinc]

Technically speaking, kilograms measure mass rather than force, while pounds measure force rather than mass. For force in the metric system, the unit is a newton. 1 newton is equal to 1 kilogram per 9.81 meters per seconds squared (1 N = 1 Kg/9.81 m/s^2), where 9.81 m/s^2 is the acceleration due to gravity.

And for those who want to know, the technical equivalent to kilograms in the English system is slugs, where 1 pound equals 1 slug per 32.2 ft per seconds squared (1 lb = 1 slug/32.2 ft/s^2). Too many engineering courses have led to this knowledge.

Dchan: Absolutely correct. I was going to mention this too but I assumed everyone else on the forum knew it already.

 

[elmer]

I put the EP´s on my arco bass and I like them bowed very much.
But the G-string gives me strange buzzes and noises when bowed near the octave G and F sharp. I put a Dominant G on and the noises disappeared. By the way the Dom. G sounds even better on my bass...

Anyone else experienced anything like this? Who was the guy to contact at Pirastro about damaged strings?

 

[Francois Blais]

Adrian Mueller.
He's the Technical Director, and a great human being.

 

[Mark Perna]

I put the EP´s on my arco bass and I like them bowed very much.
But the G-string gives me strange buzzes and noises when bowed near the octave G and F sharp. I put a Dominant G on and the noises disappeared. By the way the Dom. G sounds even better on my bass...

Anyone else experienced anything like this? Who was the guy to contact at Pirastro about damaged strings?

I didn't have any problems with the strings when I had them on. The Dom G sounds better on both of my basses as well.

mark

 

[bribass]

I put the EP´s on my arco bass and I like them bowed very much.
But the G-string gives me strange buzzes and noises when bowed near the octave G and F sharp. I put a Dominant G on and the noises disappeared. By the way the Dom. G sounds even better on my bass...

Anyone else experienced anything like this? Who was the guy to contact at Pirastro about damaged strings?

That's funny. I've been having the same issue w/ the EP G. I raised up the string height just a bit and it seemed to help. It may be something to do w/ the increased string excursion of these strings. It would follow that w/the G being the lowest of the 4 this is where a prob like this might happen if your action is on the lower side.

After about 6 weeks w/ the EPs, going back and forth between my two of my basses (the other strung w/ Superflex G and Spiro Mit D,A,E) on a wide variety of gigs I have come to some general conclusions about the EPs.

1)They deffinately make the bass acoustically louder.

2)They are darker and thunkier than steel strings, but do have some growl and point to their acoustic sound.

3)They are grabbier w/ the bow and it's alot easier to get the string started than w/ Spiros which is a pleasure.

4) Softer feel under the left hand, therefore I find them less fatiguing despite the 'not loose' right hand feel.

5) Piz they speak easily w/ a soft touch, but stand up to an agressive attack as well.

but here's the big down side for me:

6) They do not amplify as well as steel strings. They sound great purely acoustic or at very low vol. thru the amp, BUT the sound can seem muddy and get lost in the mix in med to loud, and/or noisier situations. This seems to hold true despite my best eqing efforts, but is deffinately alleviated to some degree when using a hi fi rig rather than a lower priced combo amp.

7) Still a quandry. Because of conclusion #6) they may not be practical for me. I need versatility from all my instruments.
But then a gain, if you asked me last week I was ready to put them on all three of my DBs and my EUB .

They do have some outstanding qualities.

A question for Dom. users;

Do Doms have this problem amplified as well?

BG

 

[Mark Perna]

That's funny. I've been having the same issue w/ the EP G. I raised up the string height just a bit and it seemed to help. It may be something to do w/ the increased string excursion of these strings. It would follow that w/the G being the lowest of the 4 this is where a prob like this might happen if your action is on the lower side.

After about 6 weeks w/ the EPs, going back and forth between my two of my basses (the other strung w/ Superflex G and Spiro Mit D,A,E) on a wide variety of gigs I have come to some general conclusions about the EPs.

1)They deffinately make the bass acoustically louder.

2)They are darker and thunkier than steel strings, but do have some growl and point to their acoustic sound.

3)They are grabbier w/ the bow and it's alot easier to get the string started than w/ Spiros which is a pleasure.

4) Softer feel under the left hand, therefore I find them less fatiguing despite the 'not loose' right hand feel.

5) Piz they speak easily w/ a soft touch, but stand up to an agressive attack as well.

but here's the big down side for me:

6) They do not amplify as well as steel strings. They sound great purely acoustic or at very low vol. thru the amp, BUT the sound can seem muddy and get lost in the mix in med to loud, and/or noisier situations. This seems to hold true despite my best eqing efforts, but is deffinately alleviated to some degree when using a hi fi rig rather than a lower priced combo amp.

7) Still a quandry. Because of conclusion #6) they may not be practical for me. I need versatility from all my instruments.
But then a gain, if you asked me last week I was ready to put them on all three of my DBs and my EUB .

They do have some outstanding qualities.

A question for Dom. users;

Do Doms have this problem amplified as well?

BG

Man, I agree with your comments so completely that I had to look to make sure I didn't write the post. I LOVED the EPs acoustically but found them to be fairly mediocre amplified and no amount of knob twiddling could improve it.

And no, Doms don't have the amplified problem at all. They aren't as loud as EPs acoustically but like EPs have more fundamental and less overtones than Spiros but they amplify as well as a Spiro. I dumped the EPs for a Dom G and D and a Mittel E and A. I had the Dom A on for a while but found I preferred the Mittel A. I am extremely happy with the results.

mark

 

[martinc]

Same here. I kept the G and D EP's because they sound so good. I will use them with steels on the A and E on my King if I need a straight acoustic sound. However I need to plug in for most jobs so the Pyramid Soloflex/Eudoxa G are staying on my Eberle.
I have to say that in an acoustic setting the EP's are wonderful.

 

[Damon Rondeau]

Why do they perform so differently when amplified?

 

[Uncletoad]

Why do they perform so differently when amplified?

Pickups generally hear more string than box. Most pickups I've tried amplify the sound of the string, especially its core. The air and the box tend to not end up as "amplifiyable" as the string.

If you could just use a mic it would most likely be fine.

This is why I could never get next to the "my bass but louder" thing. As soon as you plug in it's an electric instrument that works very differently than an acoustic instrument.

The EP strings drive a bass box very well. They have a pure souding core that doesn't confuse or diffuse the fundamental. As such I think they project extremely well. Better than say Spirocores as they have a more complex and diffuse tone coming from the core. Makes them an interesting string but not as clean in comparison to the EP.

I played with the EP at home and in an unamped rehearsal and was very stoked.

When I got out on a volume gig, especially when the bass was going through a loud PA with just a pickup it was a swampy mess.

Amplifying acoustic instruments is really a contradiction. As soon as you amplify them they cease to be acoustic.

I guess I never really stopped playing electric bass did I?

 

[Uncletoad]

A question for Dom. users;

Do Doms have this problem amplified as well?

BG

Not near as much. They still have a subtle plastic thing that bugs me a bit but I used them for quite awhile before I jumped into the string changing psychosis.


...and ended up with Spirocores again....

 

[MLysh]

I find this phenomenon true for Animas as well. They sound great acoustically, lots of what I want out of my German bass. However, when I plug in on a gig, not only doesn't the sound translate through the amp, but the amp sound seems to usurp all the acoustic goodness as well. I was seriously contemplating the EPs, but maybe the work-a-day world I live in requires Spiro Weichs, again.

I, also, don't buy into the my-bass-only-louder school of philosophical discourse.

 

[jrlynch]

this may call for a different thread, but, assuming one can't afford two instruments with two different setups, what is your personal priority, amplified sound or acoustic sound?

since i think amplified sound is by definition a compromise, if only because of the wildly varied ways amplified bass sounds in different venues, i would rather have an acoustic sound that moves me, than something that works a bit better amplified.

thoughts?

jeff.

 

[MLysh]

What good is having an acoustic sound that moves you if you can never bring it to people on the bandstand? It always seems to be a compromise once a drummer and/or talking patrons are involved. At that point, what is the sound and timbre of your instrument that will reach your fellow bandmates and the listeners? I've found that a lot of times it's coming out of the amp and not off the bass. Of course, as always, there are exceptions.

Yes, maybe this is another thread's topic.

 

[jazz bass guy]

I have absolutely no trouble with these strings when amplified. I think they sound great either way.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Doing okay too, but my amp and preamp is pretty "hi-fi".

 

[Ben Rolston]

Ken and Marcus, what amps are you using?

 

[jazz bass guy]

My usual amp these days is an Acoustic Image Coda R SIII. My current pickup is a Fishman Full Circle. Bass is a Pöllmann gamba.

Regarding the issue of whether it "sounds like my bass only louder", I would say that even a recording of a bass sounds different when you turn it up loud. The important thing to me is to get a sound that gives the illusion of being the bass, only louder, in a live setting. I have that feeling with this setup.