Mine is an EA iAMP 800 Combo, with a Raven Labs PMB II blender. The bass is an NS La Scala hybrid. Lots of opportunity for tonal tweaking. The pickup is a K&K DBT, which I like very much. Normally, I would also mix in my AMT tailpiece-mounted mic, but as usual, the dimestore-quality cable is futzed up, so it's out of the mix at the moment.
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Double Bass Evah Pirazzi strings megathread part I
- Thread starter Francois Blais
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I think the question is bogus. In this context, it presupposes that if you are not using EPs then your acoustic sound sucks but you're going with it anyway because it will amplify better. I want a string that sounds good acoustically AND amplifies well. If a string only does one thing well, and I don't care how well it does that ONE thing, then it is unusable to me.
The strings I'm using now sound great acoustically (just did a session and got the best bass sound I've ever gotten) AND they amplify well. I'm getting the best amplified sound I've ever gotten as well. For me, the EPs were a failure because they didn't do it all. Now if you like the kind of dark, swampy sound that amplified EPs have and I think some people on here do, then it is a great string for you. I don't like that sound for me though.
For me, the EP experience was part a journey. If I hadn't tried the EPs, I wouldn't have started using the Wizzy 10 in a futile effort to brighten them up. After ditching the EPs for the Doms, the Dom/Wizzy/Focus combination turned out to be THE combination for me. For now, at least.
mark
- May 6, 2003
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- Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine
Relative electric volume vs. acoustic volume is at issue here. How loud one is called on to play would dictate some large differences.
If the electric sound I'm using was only to supplement my acoustic sound and one could actually hear the acoustic sound I was making over or concurrent with the electric one then the EP may be more useful.
Half the gigs I play my acoustic sound is a small portion of the total thing so the electric sound has to carry the bags.
Very few gigs I play will the acoustic sound of my instrument suffice. I wish more did as I'd rather just do that.
Like Marcus.
And so the Ep would be a superior string for me.
But that's not how it is for me here in the Land of Cows.
I should move to an island.
If the electric sound I'm using was only to supplement my acoustic sound and one could actually hear the acoustic sound I was making over or concurrent with the electric one then the EP may be more useful.
Half the gigs I play my acoustic sound is a small portion of the total thing so the electric sound has to carry the bags.
Very few gigs I play will the acoustic sound of my instrument suffice. I wish more did as I'd rather just do that.
Like Marcus.
And so the Ep would be a superior string for me.
But that's not how it is for me here in the Land of Cows.
I should move to an island.
I play plenty of loud gigs. I'm doing a 4000 seater outdoors, in a couple of weeks, with Willie Nelson. So it can't be too much different than what the rest of you are doing.
The EPs sound at least as good as any other string I've ever played amped.
The EPs sound at least as good as any other string I've ever played amped.
- May 6, 2003
- 5,272
- 160
- 64
- Disclosures
- Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine
Wisecrack overload!!! Too many responses! Can't processes them all!
You're right, that's pretty much the gig I'm playing Saturday.
Oh, I don't know. Willie told me afterwards that he couldn't wait to get on the road again.
O.K., I'll stop there. They don't get better.
You're right, that's pretty much the gig I'm playing Saturday.
Oh, I don't know. Willie told me afterwards that he couldn't wait to get on the road again.
O.K., I'll stop there. They don't get better.
but, it all depends on:
-your bass
-the type of gigs you play
-how loud/soft you have to be
-the kind of sound you're used to hearing
-your hands
-your action
-your pickup
-your amp
-the room
-the noise level
-the volume of the rest of the band
-how much you play (or don't play)
-how hard you're playing the bass
-who you're playing with
. . . and I could go on.
I'm positive somebody somewhere out there has their bass set up with Red Label Super Sensitives and a BP-100 and has finally found their "acoustic sound, only louder!"
TO EACH HIS OWN.
The EP's are still on my bass. Still making them work through the amp. Still happy. Thanks, Mark
-your bass
-the type of gigs you play
-how loud/soft you have to be
-the kind of sound you're used to hearing
-your hands
-your action
-your pickup
-your amp
-the room
-the noise level
-the volume of the rest of the band
-how much you play (or don't play)
-how hard you're playing the bass
-who you're playing with
. . . and I could go on.
I'm positive somebody somewhere out there has their bass set up with Red Label Super Sensitives and a BP-100 and has finally found their "acoustic sound, only louder!"
TO EACH HIS OWN.
The EP's are still on my bass. Still making them work through the amp. Still happy. Thanks, Mark
The EP's are still on my bass. Still making them work through the amp. Still happy. Thanks, Mark
You're welcome. i was going to ask you if you were still making a go of it. Have you worked out the amplification problems or are you still fighting them? What did you do to make it work?
mark
- May 6, 2003
- 5,272
- 160
- 64
- Disclosures
- Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine
Yes of course balance is needed here. I do like that the string is finally taking some hits given the overwhelming love fest it was getting for awhile.
I could see it working very well under lots of conditions.
...I'm not selling mine yet.
I could see it working very well under lots of conditions.
...I'm not selling mine yet.
but, it all depends on:
-your bass
-the type of gigs you play
-how loud/soft you have to be
-the kind of sound you're used to hearing
-your hands
-your action
-your pickup
-your amp
-the room
-the noise level
-the volume of the rest of the band
-how much you play (or don't play)
-how hard you're playing the bass
-who you're playing with
. . . and I could go on.
I'm positive somebody somewhere out there has their bass set up with Red Label Super Sensitives and a BP-100 and has finally found their "acoustic sound, only louder!"
TO EACH HIS OWN.
The EP's are still on my bass. Still making them work through the amp. Still happy. Thanks, Mark
there's no question that a major joy, yet frustration, is that no two instruments sound the same, nor react identically to strings and pickups and such. the true value of this forum is having the opportunity to share and learn other's experiences, so you can make some somewhat educated guesses about what might work for you.
personally, i'm pretty grateful to all the folks here who contribute, particularly the players with deep professional experience, who probably have better things to do. as someone relatively new to db, it's a made a crash course relatively painless. the fact that i've come to a setup which sounds so close to what i've hoped to acheive so quickly, is something i deeply appreciate, and something that took years of frustration and misspent dollars in the bass guitar universe bfb (before talkbass).
yes, i love the evahs, they're working for me. now my head is far more into *playing* and far less into trying to get the sound, and for that i thank y'all, whether your still playing the strings or not!
jeff.
The key for me is just trying to get rid of some of that "honkiness" that these strings put out amplified when you turn up. Going back to the downfiring speaker (AI) has helped, and using a Fishman preamp really seems to smooth things out for me. These strings definitely have a 1khz thing that hangs around a bit too long, you know? It seems to be working for me, though. I've adjusted my EARS more than anything. It's not the same sound as with other strings, period. I've said this before, too, but the musicians I play with seem to just LOVE the way my bass sounds now.
Son of a... You're gonna make me want to try them again. Stop it. I don't to spend any more money on strings.
mark
mark
jasonheath
Bass Blogger / Contrabass Conversations host
I've been playing around with these strings myself on an older bass of mine. A friend of mine who plays a lot of jazz bass in an unamplified setting recommended them, and they really do have some nice qualities. I've also been playing with the bow on them, which seems to work well for the G and D, but not so well for the A and E.
I swapped the lower two strings out with Obligatos, and it seems like those two lower strings have a whole lot more punch than the Evahs. Now I feel like I've got two cannons on the lower strings and a mute on the upper strings.
The Evahs have some very nice qualities, but I seem to still gravitate toward the Obligatos (or Permanents for strictly arco playing).
I swapped the lower two strings out with Obligatos, and it seems like those two lower strings have a whole lot more punch than the Evahs. Now I feel like I've got two cannons on the lower strings and a mute on the upper strings.
The Evahs have some very nice qualities, but I seem to still gravitate toward the Obligatos (or Permanents for strictly arco playing).
Has anyone compared how the EP's sound mic'd v using them with a pickup?
Seems to me the mic would reproduce the strings and the bass better than a pickup ...which captures what comes through the bridge. If the EP's don't reproduce as well as steel strings maybe a mic would be better if there is not a huge amount of other sound on the stage that would cause the mic to feed back.
Seems to me the mic would reproduce the strings and the bass better than a pickup ...which captures what comes through the bridge. If the EP's don't reproduce as well as steel strings maybe a mic would be better if there is not a huge amount of other sound on the stage that would cause the mic to feed back.
No disrespect jason,but are u kidding me.Obligato's A and E is terrible ,i can never zoom or boom on them bow wise,they roll like crazy!Obligato G and D is not bad for bowing.
This is where is interesting,the evah's G and D is way too thick for bowing(esp. in thumb pos.),but the A and E has serious BALLS to them.
Anyone yet try just using the Evah low strings, and something else for G and D? If so, what has matched well under the bow with the Evah E and A (other than the Oliv G, about which many have posted in this thread)?
Second, has anyone heard anything about an Evah low B for the 5-string players among us?
Second, has anyone heard anything about an Evah low B for the 5-string players among us?
This is a really good question. EPs are so loud acoustically you probably could get a really strong signal into the mic.
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