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Double Bass Evah Pirazzi strings megathread part II

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#641
Had EP regulars on for a year, then G-string started to lose that magic. So I topped them off with an Olive G for three months.

Then I "won" a set of belCantos, and put them on for four months and was really loving the G-string. The others weren't bad either -- kinda that old school thumpiness pizz, but really nice arco (which I play 95% of the time). But then the BC's seemed kinda one-dimensional, which is talked about on our BC thread.

So I put on a set of EP Weich's, and wow! I forgot what I was missing, and am happy to be back "home". I was a tad concerned that the EP weichs might not drive the thick'ish top on my Romanian flatback, but that did not happen. The EP weichs, at first, seemed to have less volume than the BC's and the EP regulars (from my recollection), but over the last few days it seems like my bass is opening up to the lighter tension of these EP weichs.

- Mark
 
#642
On my bass i found the ep weich set to have lower tension than spiro mittles, and my bass to be acoustically louder with the spiros. The ep's are darker for sure on my bass. I also had a different experience with the strings getting stiffer over time. Mine seemed to become looser as they aged.

They are fantastic strings but for now i'm sticking with the spiro's.
 
#643
I am not sure that tension, and stiffness are always related. The EP Regular didn't have a lot of tension compared to say Superflexibles, but they do feel stiffer. I actually regret selling my set now as the Superflexibles have been bugging me so much I took them off last night. Too bright without that big round sound to the note that you get with EP's. Oddly enough I have Flexocor 92 on the A D G, and they sort of have that big round sound though with maybe 40% of the volume EP's gave me...
 
#644
martinc said:
Doc:

That's a lot of tension (stiffness?) for a string that is categorized as " weich".
I was expecting something close to the tension (stiffness) of the Spiro Weichs or Jazzers.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

Adrian Juras said:
I am not sure that tension, and stiffness are always related.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I was careful not to use the word tension in my descriptions. The EP weichs feel stiffer to me than the Spiro mittels. IIRC, the EP weichs are lower tension than Spiro mittels.
 
#646
My chamber ensemble (double wind quintet with bass) had our concert this past Sunday, and I just had my EP weichs on for two days prior. The Sunday before I did the dress rehearsal with my 5-month old BC's.

I recorded both the dress rehearsal and concert, and as a result I have a "control set" experiment where the only thing that changed are the strings on my bass.

Where can I upload these files? I'll cut excerpts that best show the differences, so they won't be that big.

- Mark
 
#648
martinc said:
Doc:

That's a lot of tension (stiffness?) for a string that is categorized as " weich".
I was expecting something close to the tension (stiffness) of the Spiro Weichs or Jazzers.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

Lets say their stiffness is bass dependent. The Evah Weichs are looser feeling than Spiro Mittels to me on my bass, especially so when newer.

Another thought, I put Evah Weichs on in May, when a set of strings go through the seasons, at least in the midwest and northeast, basses react to the change and I sometimes perceive the change as stiffness and tension in the way my basses play, so even though our strings may feel one way or another at different times of the year and on different days, it's not the strings themselves, it's the bass. So these comparisons might be somewhat useless... My weichs were older in the winter months when they started feeling stiffer, so it might not be their age causing this, but the change of season's effect on the bass.
 
#649
After having a set of Evahs on my Upton hybrid for the past year and a half, I just installed a set of solo-guage Evahs yesterday. :bassist: I'm at a classical school, and it seems that once you get to a certain level, all of the repertoire is written for solo tuning. So right now I'm working on a Bach Viola da Gamba sonata, as well as a Grieg cello sonata, and I've gotta tune that bass a whole step up.

I also had a bow rehair done at the same time. Talk about one-stop shopping. In any case, the solo guage strings absolutely SING. They sound especially good for the Bach pieces, as they have a very "pure" tone with a lot of front to the note and fit very well in the Baroque style. I will repost here after a month or so to let you know how they are settling in, and maybe even provide some sound clips.

Cheers,
CD
 
#653
Hello everyone.

After many years using Spirocore Solo, I'm testing Evah Pirazzi Solo for 3 months.
My double bass is an instrument that has the top table in spruce, back table in flame maple, but the ribs are lamineted. So I think it improved the quality timbre, do not know if he likes high or low tension.

The differences are many, as the Evah give a warm sound, full, nice touch, no noise, good response, note is less the wolf notes, etc., but after this time, seem to have lost some volume (or perhaps impression).

The Spirocore in my double bass, the sound is more metallic, the rope E2 is horrible, some noises with the bow, but have much volume. I know that strings are totally different, but I leave here some questions.
My teacher told me that I lost a little sound ... I'm thoughtful.

Is that really the Spirocore are the strings with more sound on the market?
Is the sound more resonable (EP), but as the strings are darker, with little gloss, does not seem to hear as much as Spirocore?
Has anyone tested the Evah Pirazzi Solo a recital? If yes, are strings that are heard well in an auditorium?
It is worth sacrificing some volume for the sound quality?

P.S.: I just play classical music.

Thank's.
 
#654
Eric Hochberg said:
Lets say their stiffness is bass dependent. The Evah Weichs are looser feeling than Spiro Mittels to me on my bass, especially so when newer.

Another thought, I put Evah Weichs on in May, when a set of strings go through the seasons, at least in the midwest and northeast, basses react to the change and I sometimes perceive the change as stiffness and tension in the way my basses play, so even though our strings may feel one way or another at different times of the year and on different days, it's not the strings themselves, it's the bass. So these comparisons might be somewhat useless... My weichs were older in the winter months when they started feeling stiffer, so it might not be their age causing this, but the change of season's effect on the bass.
Click to expand...

+1 to all that. OMB ("On My Bass") the Evah Weichs feel a bit softer than Spiro Mittels did - they're not new at this point though (broken in by Clink before I got to 'em).
 
#655
I keep thinking about this stiffness issue, especially with Spiro mittels vs. Evah weichs. Most here seem to describe Evah weichs as feeling softer than Spiro mittels. Maybe we're not using the words the same way. Here was my experience. After I injured my hand and had my surgery, I was allowed to play with a splint on. It was quite tiring on the Evah weichs and as soon as I switched to the Spiros, I noticed it was MUCH easier on my hand. Maybe the Evahs aren't stiffer than the Sipros (although that's how I remember them) but it sure did seem to require more strength to play on them. In any case, I finally started playing again without my splint and figure I'll give the Spiros at least a few more months and then I just might throw those Evahs back on. ;)
 
#656
drurb said:
I keep thinking about this stiffness issue, especially with Spiro mittels vs. Evah weichs. Most here seem to describe Evah weichs as feeling softer than Spiro mittels. Maybe we're not using the words the same way. Here was my experience. After I injured my hand and had my surgery, I was allowed to play with a splint on. It was quite tiring on the Evah weichs and as soon as I switched to the Spiros, I noticed it was MUCH easier on my hand. Maybe the Evahs aren't stiffer than the Sipros (although that's how I remember them) but it sure did seem to require more strength to play on them. In any case, I finally started playing again without my splint and figure I'll give the Spiros at least a few more months and then I just might throw those Evahs back on. ;)
Click to expand...

The Evahs are curious. The regulars I thought were generally softer and more supple under the left hand as compared to Spiros. The right hand feel was firm, but their elastic nature made it easier to dig in closer to the bridge. However there was something in the way the plastic core behaves and vibrates that seems less "charged" for lack of a better word than the steel Spirocores. I remember thinking that Evahs may be ultimately more work because of this character. Even though after break in they were softer feeling I think perhaps I was more prone to over play them thus griping them w/ too much pressure. Evahs have the neat quality of not bottoming out as easy, but perhaps knowing the bottoming out limits of all steel strings uncontiously keeps one from over working them.

After a couple of years on my back up bass they did start to feel stiffer even though they still sounded good.

BG
 
#657
I don't think the Evahs(Weich or Regular) are necessarily really stiff strings, I think compared to Spirocores they are just not as responsive. They seem to be stronger in the fundamental with less overtones. I think Spirocores just respond so quickly(and work so well with Piezos) that we end up using less energy when playing them. That has been my experience. I undoubtedly like the EP's better in the mix though. Probably the best sound I have had on a gig to date has been the regular EP's on my Hofner.
 
#658
Adrian Juras said:
I don't think the Evahs(Weich or Regular) are necessarily really stiff strings, I think compared to Spirocores they are just not as responsive. They seem to be stronger in the fundamental with less overtones. I think Spirocores just respond so quickly(and work so well with Piezos) that we end up using less energy when playing them.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I prefer Spiros.
 
#659
moles said:
+1 to all that. OMB ("On My Bass") the Evah Weichs feel a bit softer than Spiro Mittels did - they're not new at this point though (broken in by Clink before I got to 'em).
Click to expand...

Glad they are working for you. I remember them sounding great at home but getting lost on the bandstand. The Mittels just sound good when it counts. I do miss the arco response though.
 
#660
bribass said:
Evahs have the neat quality of not bottoming out as easy, but perhaps knowing the bottoming out limits of all steel strings uncontiously keeps one from over working them.
Click to expand...

That part has been a bit of a learning process for me. The fact you can really man-handle Evah's and they keep rising to the occasion is intoxicating. I get pretty juiced when the music is happening and would transfer that energy into how hard I was playing. I found myself sore and tired after gigs (like the good kind of sore) and thought at first I was just getting used to different strings. Later I found that I was just laying into them way harder than any other string I'd tried. I've had to focus on easing up a little.
 
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