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Double Bass Evah Pirazzi strings megathread part II

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#281
MR PC said:
What I'm reading throughout this thread is that these Evah Weichs are a string set that should have been available when the originals were released. Too bad it wasn't possible, for whatever reason.
Click to expand...

I was thinking that same thing. I was an early adopter of the regular set and I stuck with it for most of the year, but could never decide how I felt about it. In the end, I felt like Pirastro had created exactly what we had all asked for, a big, meaty non-metal core string that worked for arco and pizz and didn't unravel, twist or break like all those who had gone before. Yet, I felt like something was a little wrong with it and it sounds like, though they said that this was the introduction of a new gauge, that perhaps it was just a correction of some original lack of perfectness.

Just a thought.
 
#283
Hmmm... maybe. The character of the sound is different from Oblis. Maybe closer to Olivs on the top, with more growl on the bottom. The Oblis are really spindly and wimpy on my bass in comparison.

"Steroids" is right, though.... I never got anywhere near this much volume out of Obligatos.
 
#284
these strings are pretty loud on my bass. i'd guess probably as loud as the regular evah were except for the e string which seems just a slight bit weaker...or maybe i'm used to the spiro mittel E string...

i haven't played much on them yet. the E and A string felt a little funny playing pizz...like it would roll under my right hand but like i said i was probably just too aggressive coming from the mittels.

they definately sound dark with big volume. looser than the mittel and i think my bass likes them. about all i can say for now.
 
#287
Marcus Johnson said:
Hmmm... maybe. The character of the sound is different from Oblis. Maybe closer to Olivs on the top, with more growl on the bottom. The Oblis are really spindly and wimpy on my bass in comparison.

"Steroids" is right, though.... I never got anywhere near this much volume out of Obligatos.
Click to expand...

Yep, I agree-- I always found the Oblis to be too wimpy. I'd dig in and they'd give up.
 
#288
played the weich's on a gig last night. compared to the regulars these were alot clearer in the mix, the a and e string had a ton of growl and the amplified tone was really warm and pillow like. the note starts much easier with the weich set on my bass, playing on them was a blast.
there is no doubt the regular evahs had my bass choked. the difference is night and day on my bass. while the regulars sounded good enough to have had them on my bass for 6 or 7 months the weichs are a far better pizz string on my bass.
 
#289
TroyK said:
So, lower tension than Spirocre Mittels, can you compare them to Spirocore Weichs? Have you played with a band yet? I'm curious about their sonic character in the mix from the standpoint of a Spirocore user.

Troy
Click to expand...

Evah Weichs are looser feeling with more excursion than Spiro Weichs on my bass. Have to adjust my technique a bit for these. They are much darker sounding, so they don't cut through like Spiros. I'm enjoying the ride with these but do miss the ease of hearing myself very clearly that I get with Spiros. I don't miss the twang though. Strange dilemma!
 
#291
I put Evah Pirazzis on the bass 16 months ago, fell in love with them, and never looked back. Now thanks to Adrian I’ve had the opportunity to play the EP Weichs.

They’ve been on the bass for 3 weeks now and have settled in nicely. They are thinner than EP regulars (about the thickness of Spiro Orchs) and a bit more supple. And they feel great under the left hand.

EP Weichs greatly resemble the EPs in many aspects: big fundamental, the same tonal qualities (“woody,” to my ears), the click before the note, evenness across the set. They have power and punch, and display good volume on all strings. Both EPs have a wonderful growl.

I would characterize them, to note the differences, as a “compact” version of EPs. They’re everything the EPs are, but in a more compact version. I would stress, though, that they are not “EP lites.” Both produce a “meaty” fundamental, for example, but the Weich’s is a more compact meatiness, more focused, less broad than EP. They also seem speedier under the fingers, especially when playing across the strings.

The only caveat I have with these strings is that whereas the wolf on the A on the D string was effectively masked with the EPs, to the point that I seldom heard it, the Weichs don’t seem to mask it as well.

But that’s the only caveat. I love the way they sound (“woody,” “organic”), and the way they don’t get between my ideas and the execution thereof (if I can’t execute, it’s my own d*mned fault). The regular EPs sounded great after 16 months and I only changed them to try the Weichs. Now the Weichs will stay on.
 
#294
Sorry, Calvin, I don't measure strings. If they feel good under my fingers, I'm good.

So... two months now; really great strings. They do everything I need a set of strings to do, the sound and feel inspires me to play, without limiting me, and I checked the price at Quinn, and found that they're really affordable (this set was a gift from Adrian, but I'll happily pay for the next set). Unless they explode or crap out too soon, I think I've found my new "go to" string.
 
#295
My Evah Pirazzi Weichs arrived today, thanks to TB user Mike Arnopol. I've had the strings on my bass for about 3 hours, and the Weichs are absolutely SMOKING. I didn't know that bowing could be so easy, having previously used Thomastik Spirocore Weichs.

I'm an EP Weich man now.:hyper:
 
#297
This is kind of weird. I agree with all the good things people have reported about these strings, but after 3 weeks & several kinds of gigs they just don't seem to be my cup of tea. I put a slightly used set of spiro weichs back on my La Scala hybrid and found that the evah e string sounds perfect on that bass with the spiros. I put the other 3 evahs on my Shen willow on a lark with an old spiro weich & they sound and feel great on that bass. Go figure. I'll probably use the Shen on some theater gigs coming up because the Evahs make it a better crossover bass. The amplified arco sound is very good. I can't really play faster tempos with the evahs, but I can easily get by with show tempos with them.
The La Scala will now remain my trusty jazz bass, the willow will be my pit bass and also the bass for the few orch gigs I play.
The spiros on the La Scala will sound better with the bow over time, but not as good as the evahs. I don't take bowed solos with jazz so I don't mind.
Maybe this time I got it right..........................
I don't advise anyone to change basses much with evahs. If they are anything like obligotos they may begin to unwind. That isn't happening with my mine, but I still don't advise it.
 
#298
rdwhit said:
...I put a slightly used set of spiro weichs back on my La Scala hybrid and found that the evah e string sounds perfect on that bass with the spiros. I put the other 3 evahs on my Shen willow on a lark with an old spiro weich & they sound and feel great on that bass. Go figure....
Click to expand...

:eek: What? This is crazy? Evahs are the best string for every bass.

Just kidding, of course. I've mentioned many times that given the interactions among basses, players, and preferences, the strings one uses are a very individual choice. With all that in mind, it's impressive that the Evahs work for so many players!
 
#300
I think the great thing about the Weich gauge EPs is that they resolve the main issue that myself and other bass players seem to have with the regular gauge. Specifically, that although they're great-sounding strings, you had to work a little TOO hard to get that great sound. And Pirastro resolved that without sacrificing any of the things we like about the regular gauge EPs: great tone, and the ability to make a "nothing-special" bass into an instrument that sounds like it has some pedigree -- that's certainly what it did for my no-label 20th c. german/czech gamba bass. In addition, although the weichs are a smaller gauge, they actually give my bass more shaking bottom end. Somebody over at Pirastro is doing an awful lot of R&D, and to our benefit. I'm thrilled: like it says on the package, "I can't stop playing" them.

In view of all this, I look at the Weich EPs not as an alternative to, but rather an improvement/refinement of the regular gauge EPs. Consider the EPs as a first stab at the "model". You don't always get it right the first time . . . .

After all is said, the SOUND is still the common denominator. And the EP Weichs sound like how bass should sound to me.
 
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