Double Bass Evah Pirazzi strings megathread part III

[Hoyt]

What about an Innovation Silver Slap G?

IMHO the Innovations had a sort of plastic feel and sound I couldn’t move past. I tried the silver slap and the golden slaps about 3 years ago if memory serves and took them off my bass the same day I put them on. Plus, they had surprisingly more tension than the EP slaps.

Everyone here I assume has a drawer full of failed strings. I went through Helicores, Spiros, Cordes-Lambert’s, Inno slaps, Göetz, Lezner, Superior Bassworks, and a bunch of others before settling on the EP slaps.

I say “settling” because they were the first strings I tried that slapped well (what I do mostly), pizz well (what I do second most), bow well (how I torture my cat), and last a long time.

*edited for context

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Then probably a downtuned Innovation Braided Solo A (aluminium wound, I think, but that might not be so bad with the Evah Slaps) or any other synthetic core solo A. You might want to have a look at my excel file in my Dropbox about tension for downtuned solos. (Link in my signature or in string sticky.)

Maybe also a SuperSensitive Sensicore orchestral G. The high C I got from them was very low tension. These strings are often used by Slappers.

 

[Reiska]

I like Evah slaps and find the G a problem child too. Best match for me has been Chorda G, in tone, tension and feel. I`d quess a nylon wound Lyon G, or even varnished heavy gauge Lyon might be similar match. That`s where I`d look if I was sweating acid

 

[Bigbassguy]

i have been using Gotz d and g guts for about 2 years with on problems.
nice soft mellow tone that fills the room. i use them for jazz and some bluegrass.

j

 

[Francois Blais]

Jargars were totally devoid of personality both times I tried them. I don’t get their appeal at all.

I partially agree, but I had more the G in mind when suggesting it to Hoyt.

 

[Fat bob]

Curious to know how many folks are still playing these evahs for jazz or other pizz styles. I briefly fell in love with these strings because of how my bass sounded acoustically with them, full and loud, well balanced and a good tension(weichs) but have recently been discouraged with how these strings amplify. Or course, the pickup, room, and so many other factors are at play- but I recently went back to spiro mittels (and switched out the lifeline for a full circle) in search of some amplified clarity as volume levels rise- modern big band, bigger stages with large ensembles and even a combo with loud drummer... but man in the shed they sound so good acoustic! But maybe the darker strings could be balanced successfully with a brighter wing pickup- underwood or perhaps rev solo ii?

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Curious to know how many folks are still playing these evahs for jazz or other pizz styles. I briefly fell in love with these strings because of how my bass sounded acoustically with them, full and loud, well balanced and a good tension(weichs) but have recently been discouraged with how these strings amplify. Or course, the pickup, room, and so many other factors are at play- but I recently went back to spiro mittels (and switched out the lifeline for a full circle) in search of some amplified clarity as volume levels rise- modern big band, bigger stages with large ensembles and even a combo with loud drummer... but man in the shed they sound so good acoustic! But maybe the darker strings could be balanced successfully with a brighter wing pickup- underwood or perhaps rev solo ii?

What I dislike about the Evah Weich is the high stretching, the weak E and the dynamic limit.
The Full Circle should be OK, the Lifeline is too dark. I changed to Innovation Braided and later to early (higher tension) prototypes of the Polychromes.
The high stretch of the Evahs limits the dynamic response when plucking hard. The Innovation cores stretch a lot less than the Evah Weich. More on the range of gut strings. I made some measurements a while ago how much different strings stretch when tuned down (up) by a certain amount. You probably find it if you search for postings by me containing the word elongation.

 

[Sam Dingle]

Curious to know how many folks are still playing these evahs for jazz or other pizz styles. I briefly fell in love with these strings because of how my bass sounded acoustically with them, full and loud, well balanced and a good tension(weichs) but have recently been discouraged with how these strings amplify. Or course, the pickup, room, and so many other factors are at play- but I recently went back to spiro mittels (and switched out the lifeline for a full circle) in search of some amplified clarity as volume levels rise- modern big band, bigger stages with large ensembles and even a combo with loud drummer... but man in the shed they sound so good acoustic! But maybe the darker strings could be balanced successfully with a brighter wing pickup- underwood or perhaps rev solo ii?

Try evahs with the full circle and mess with the amp more. You should get a good workable sound. I personally liked the Evah weich ADG and medium E setup

 

[Fat bob]

Still going back and forth betweeen the Evah weichs and spiro mittels, i have both sets strung up now, evahs on my Shen and a new set of mittels on the juzek, both now have full circles... I love the feel of the evahs And the acoustic tone, but the brightness of the mittels sure does help cut through on the bandstand...

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

Still going back and forth betweeen the Evah weichs and spiro mittels, i have both sets strung up now, evahs on my Shen and a new set of mittels on the juzek, both now have full circles... I love the feel of the evahs And the acoustic tone, but the brightness of the mittels sure does help cut through on the bandstand...

I just switched from Spirocores to Evah Weich and I concur, but it's the arco performance that is winning me over. I also have Full Circle pickups on both of my basses.

- Steve

 

[Fat bob]

I few days ago I put the evahs back on my bass and Iam in love again. There is no comparison between these and the reds, the evah w are absolutely huge on this bass! I am going to work with getting a better amplified tone with em, any and all help is greatly appreciated- how have you been successful amplifying these strings??
I'll try the full circle And maybe the underwood; cutting the bass and boosting the treble... if only I played more gigs with mic to foh ! This is just after a good gig with the reds, I enjoyed the way they cut through, and the soloing up high was great, and they are so fast on the right hand, but I kept longing for the acoustic sound and the soft feel of the E.W.s. They are the perfect balance in between the spiro weichs(too flimsy- but soloing is really fun) and the stiff s. Mittels (that amplify well). Wish me luck, hope Iam not back in the spirocore forum a time least for this week

 

[Selim]

No question about it, there is something about the Evahs that is quite seductive. In my case, I played the same bass for decades that, with Spiros, never sounded like how I heard “bass” in my head. Then the Evahs came along and suddenly my bass had something like the burnished sound of a pedigree bass. That’s seductive — and I was seduced several times by them!

But now I play a bass that I think sounds wonderful with Spiros ... and Spiros are the string that just keeps on giving ...

 

[Anthony White]

I currently have Evah Pirazzi Weich A, D, G on my bass, with a Spiro E string.

I’m still doing occasional jazz gigs, but most of my practice is classical with a classical teacher, and I’m finding the Evah Pirazzi G bright, at least in my hands and under my bow. Too bright, and not blending well with the D. My bass is relatively bright anyway.

I’m thinking about an Oliv G. Is this likely to help making my arco sound darker?
I’ve read a few places about perhaps having to make the nut slot wider. If I do this, and then want to go back to an EP or another narrower string, will the wider nut slot be a problem, or will the narrower string still fit fine?

 

[polokojo]

I had the same experience with the G string from that set and I replaced it with an obligato G. It blends well with the EP and it bows much better in my opinion. Pizz sound has a nicer attack but also more sustain and focus. It' s a little thinner and feels great under the left hand.

 

[Selim]

I’m thinking about an Oliv G. Is this likely to help making my arco sound darker?

Or you could try an Innovation Polychrome G — the poor man’s Oliv!

 

[Sam Dingle]

I have evah lights on the shen after a few quick switches to see what it likes. I weirdly think the bass really likes them. I really don't haha.

 

[Fat bob]

I have been one more time around my string cycle- spiro weichs->evah weichs->spiro mittels->evah weichs->spiro weichs. Though I keep coming back to the spiro weichs, the evahs keep calling me. I think for playing acoustically and tempos under 200 the evah w's are the bees nees- but right now Iam playing some faster tempos in some louder ensembles- my hands are thankful for the spiro weichs.
"But what about the fat quarter notes and loud acoustic sound"- they keep calling!

 

[ericsmith]

Never tried Evahs but I'm curious.

I'm currently playing red spiros on my NS cleveland (ply). They are very bright...but cut through well. I think the bass is quite bright aswell.

Anyone else with a ply bass liking EP strings? More than spiros???

 

[downunder]

Never tried Evahs but I'm curious.

I'm currently playing red spiros on my NS cleveland (ply). They are very bright...but cut through well. I think the bass is quite bright aswell.

Anyone else with a ply bass liking EP strings? More than spiros???

I have a king moretone bass With EP weichs on it right now. I do like them better than the Spiros - more fundamental to the tone to my ear. My issue is that on the king the EP mediums are too stiff. I just put the Weichs on about two weeks ago. They feel kind of flimsy and twangy and I’m losing a lot of the sound from the instrument. It is a lot easier to play though. Thinking about trying pirastro‘s new perpetual strings or Zyex. Experimenting with new strings is expensive!

 

[downunder]

I have a king moretone bass With EP weichs on it right now. I do like them better than the Spiros - more fundamental to the tone to my ear. My issue is that on the king the EP mediums are too stiff. I just put the Weichs on about two weeks ago. They feel kind of flimsy and twangy and I’m losing a lot of the sound from the instrument. It is a lot easier to play though. Thinking about trying pirastro‘s new perpetual strings or Zyex. Experimenting with new strings is expensive!

Can’t seem to edit the above post... anyway I adjusted the sound post on the King and got it to sound like I want. Feels better too. Maybe the post slipped when I was putting the Welch’s on? Or maybe it’s that time of year.