My 2 cents:
I`ve had a full set of Evah weichs on for 6-ish months ( new GD, slightly used AE ) until I shortly visited 4 / 4 medium Spirocores / Spiro m / Evah w mix last week. I find the common claims on dynamical ceiling and weak E to be true, but still the Evahs are totally my choice. Spiro mittels are great strings in just about every aspect, but the thing with Spiros is that they cut thru unlike anything else and they have great tonal pallette pizz and arco, which in delivery demands a lot of attention from the player. For me, Evah w`s work sonically in the gut strings field, but they have strong steel-string-y vibe in their tone and playability. Whereas Spiros cut thru the Evahs place themselves more under everything else in the mix.
During the covid era, I`ve been playing mostly unamplified with my americana / folk band with reso gtr, perc and voices, or my brother`s original music, 100% arco, in the studio. Tonally the Evahs are a great match with both, much more so than the Spiros. However, we recently started a free improv / ambient trio with a violin / el. mandolin player and a very dynamical drummer. I`m amplified thru a Grenadier mic / pre / PA speaker on a pole setup in that mix, and Spiros would be exactly what that sort of more amplified, high-energy-at-times, demands lots of variety in tonal options -sort of thing would need. I can get there with Evahs too and they do sound great, but I certainly can relate to the Spiro praises from jazz / impro players here in TB. In that mix I have to live with the downsides of Evahs.
EP weichs bow like dream on my bass, which has been a revelation with my right shoulder problems. I spent a couple of years learning to bow plain gut and gut / synthetic or steel -mix, and now I`ve become spoiled with the ease of bowing. Which I think is great for me at this point of the learning process -Enjoying playing the music, rather than trying hard to not sound like something, which happens to me with plain gut and Spiros. The clean sound comes out pretty naturally, and when I need to go out with my arco tone, I know how to. My shoulder announces it`s existence every once in a while, but the major problem has been mostly gone. Part of the deal are changes in my practise and playing regimen, but the strings and lower than gut-setup play a big role here.
All in all, for me Evah weichs are the poor mans Eudoxas. They have a strong gut vibe, the low end with complexity on top, and a nice bouncy and stretchy feel, but without gut core headaches. I`ll get the synthetic core headaches instead
However, after 6 - 8 months they still feel similar than after the initial break-in. They have nice and balanced pizz sustain, not too long or short decay. For me this is ideal, there`s not as much need for controlling as with Spiros, I don`t want or need spiro kind of sustain from the double bass. I get a fat nice attack to the note with my right hand, thump so to speak, but the growly sustain is there when I need it. With Spiros I need to dig the thump out and control the excessive growl. For me, Evah weichs are best of both worlds, even with their synthetic core and Pirastro-associated downsides, such as the weak E. Still pretty balanced, and a good compromise. The Dynamical ceiling is there, but with medium+ string height the overall output is definently enough for acoustic playing, both pizz and arco. Their low end carries great in the room, and even outdoors. So, if you find Spiros a bit too much of a good thing and hard to control in your musical reality, and / or if you`re seeking for gut vibe in a steel outfit, this is a great option.
Reiska
I`ve had a full set of Evah weichs on for 6-ish months ( new GD, slightly used AE ) until I shortly visited 4 / 4 medium Spirocores / Spiro m / Evah w mix last week. I find the common claims on dynamical ceiling and weak E to be true, but still the Evahs are totally my choice. Spiro mittels are great strings in just about every aspect, but the thing with Spiros is that they cut thru unlike anything else and they have great tonal pallette pizz and arco, which in delivery demands a lot of attention from the player. For me, Evah w`s work sonically in the gut strings field, but they have strong steel-string-y vibe in their tone and playability. Whereas Spiros cut thru the Evahs place themselves more under everything else in the mix.
During the covid era, I`ve been playing mostly unamplified with my americana / folk band with reso gtr, perc and voices, or my brother`s original music, 100% arco, in the studio. Tonally the Evahs are a great match with both, much more so than the Spiros. However, we recently started a free improv / ambient trio with a violin / el. mandolin player and a very dynamical drummer. I`m amplified thru a Grenadier mic / pre / PA speaker on a pole setup in that mix, and Spiros would be exactly what that sort of more amplified, high-energy-at-times, demands lots of variety in tonal options -sort of thing would need. I can get there with Evahs too and they do sound great, but I certainly can relate to the Spiro praises from jazz / impro players here in TB. In that mix I have to live with the downsides of Evahs.
EP weichs bow like dream on my bass, which has been a revelation with my right shoulder problems. I spent a couple of years learning to bow plain gut and gut / synthetic or steel -mix, and now I`ve become spoiled with the ease of bowing. Which I think is great for me at this point of the learning process -Enjoying playing the music, rather than trying hard to not sound like something, which happens to me with plain gut and Spiros. The clean sound comes out pretty naturally, and when I need to go out with my arco tone, I know how to. My shoulder announces it`s existence every once in a while, but the major problem has been mostly gone. Part of the deal are changes in my practise and playing regimen, but the strings and lower than gut-setup play a big role here.
All in all, for me Evah weichs are the poor mans Eudoxas. They have a strong gut vibe, the low end with complexity on top, and a nice bouncy and stretchy feel, but without gut core headaches. I`ll get the synthetic core headaches instead
However, after 6 - 8 months they still feel similar than after the initial break-in. They have nice and balanced pizz sustain, not too long or short decay. For me this is ideal, there`s not as much need for controlling as with Spiros, I don`t want or need spiro kind of sustain from the double bass. I get a fat nice attack to the note with my right hand, thump so to speak, but the growly sustain is there when I need it. With Spiros I need to dig the thump out and control the excessive growl. For me, Evah weichs are best of both worlds, even with their synthetic core and Pirastro-associated downsides, such as the weak E. Still pretty balanced, and a good compromise. The Dynamical ceiling is there, but with medium+ string height the overall output is definently enough for acoustic playing, both pizz and arco. Their low end carries great in the room, and even outdoors. So, if you find Spiros a bit too much of a good thing and hard to control in your musical reality, and / or if you`re seeking for gut vibe in a steel outfit, this is a great option.Reiska
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