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Double Bass Evah Pirazzi strings megathread part III
- Thread starter Chris Fitzgerald
- Start date
The Evah Weich stretches a lot at the beginning, so you need to retune rather often during the first week. I think after two weeks the tuning has settled (but only if you keep the tension!). If you put the string down, even just for some minutes it will stretch again, at least for a day or so.
I cannot comment on the long time behaviour of sound since I didn't keep this string long enough on my bass. (I only got a G for testing, but it was a bit too dark for my taste amplified.)
Anyway sometimes I'm thinking about break-in time if the strings that sound "dead" after some months are only broken in at that time. About the same time after the old Spiro Mittel sounds good...
I cannot comment on the long time behaviour of sound since I didn't keep this string long enough on my bass. (I only got a G for testing, but it was a bit too dark for my taste amplified.)
Anyway sometimes I'm thinking about break-in time if the strings that sound "dead" after some months are only broken in at that time. About the same time after the old Spiro Mittel sounds good...
- Apr 19, 2004
- 808
- 42
- 48
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Conklin Guitars (Basses)
Can anyone comment on experience with the C Extension Regular vs light evah? how balanced is the Weich with the orchestral A D and G?
Thanks?
Thanks?
Probably about a week. After that they are very stable and last a little under a year for me. I play jazz 5-7 nights a week.
- Apr 19, 2004
- 808
- 42
- 48
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Conklin Guitars (Basses)
Weichs are back on, everyone loves the sound even though im assuming they are shot. Im going to upgrade to orchestral when i get the money. Im a big guy and im doing lots of yoga so im playing loud and beating the crap out of my bass. It is awesome!
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
As much as I like the sound of orchs on my bass I went back to weichs about six months ago. Last week, I put the orchs back on for one gig and my left hand began to hurt. The weichs are back on and will stay on, with the Olive G. The orchs have a bigger, darker tone but the tension is just too high for my old hands. A big, young man like you might not mind them.
A month or two ago I changed my old Helicore Hybrids to EPs. It's my first string change ever.
At first that transient hit everybody talks about was totally awesome. Now I feel like that little sound has mellowed a little bit and the strings seem to have lost the tension they had when I really was into them. Is the honeymoon over? Is this just what happens after you get used to strings? Should I just forget about it? Or am I the next guy in line to try Spiros?
When I got my new bow at Gage (when I bought the strings), I thought I was gonna get Spiro weichs, but the guys thought maybe I'd enjoy my new bow a little more w/ the Evahs. Huh.
I still like the EPs. Anybody got an Olive G??
At first that transient hit everybody talks about was totally awesome. Now I feel like that little sound has mellowed a little bit and the strings seem to have lost the tension they had when I really was into them. Is the honeymoon over? Is this just what happens after you get used to strings? Should I just forget about it? Or am I the next guy in line to try Spiros?
When I got my new bow at Gage (when I bought the strings), I thought I was gonna get Spiro weichs, but the guys thought maybe I'd enjoy my new bow a little more w/ the Evahs. Huh.
I still like the EPs. Anybody got an Olive G??
I'm hoping to buy a S/H set of Evah Pirazzi - the "part numbers" are 4491, 4492, 4493, 4494 - does anyone know if that makes them medium, weich or solo?
Trying to identify them before going for it, as my bass works best with hefty strings. Light strings usually produce a pitchless vague waffle. Apart from my playing I mean...
Trying to identify them before going for it, as my bass works best with hefty strings. Light strings usually produce a pitchless vague waffle. Apart from my playing I mean...
Now that we're into Part III, I'll reference this as a recap of my experience with Evahs, Spiros, etc.
A disclaimer: YMMV! What follows, is my experience on multiple basses:
For me, Oblis are basically the weakling brothers of EPs, medium or weich. I liked the sound of Oblis in my living room. On the bandstand, they just didn't cut it. I would dig in and they would give up. The EPs have a much more powerful sound, thundering fundamentals, have that front-end "pop" and have a stiffer feel. The EP regulars were tiring in sustained playing; the weichs were a far better balance of sound and playability. With all that said, I've been back to Spiro mitts for years and don't plan to switch anytime in the near future.
With all the love that Spiro weichs get around here, they just don't seem to be for me as I actually prefer the power and feel of the Spiro mitts.
drurb, I have had the opposite experience. When I experimented with Spiro mitts I felt that they were too stiff and hard to play, even at a low action. Then when I put the EP weichs back on there was no strain on my hands, pizz or arco. But you are right about the Obligatos. I actually felt that they were too flexible which made it hard to play the double-time swing feel I had to play as part of an audition which led me to the EPs after suggestions from Reddit and Lemur Music.
Funny story about Obligatos, one of my friends in the bass section of the youth symphony I play in uses Obligatos and had his A break during rehearsal last week and had to use a bass that the school where we rehearse at had.
Funny story about Obligatos, one of my friends in the bass section of the youth symphony I play in uses Obligatos and had his A break during rehearsal last week and had to use a bass that the school where we rehearse at had.
Ryanpet42 said:
Well, I'm actually "right" about the rest as well.
I took great pains to point out that I was reporting my own experiences on the basses I played. It really does depend on the bass. The "front end" stiffness of the EPS (which seems to increase with their age, as reported by myself and others) is what got tiring. After my hand surgery (see link in my previous post), the ease of playability of the Spiro mitts vs. the EP weichs was very apparent and undeniable on my bass. That was a very sensitive test under circumstances I wouldn't wish on anyone here. Again, YMMV!BTW, did you have the opportunity to let the Spiro mitts settle in and play multi-hour gigs? FWIW, that's how I evaluated the EP mediums, weichs, and Spiro mitts on my bass.
drurb said:Well, I'm actually "right" about the rest as well.
BTW, did you have the opportunity to let the Spiro mitts settle in and play multi-hour gigs? FWIW, that's how I evaluated the EP mediums, weichs, and Spiro mitts on my bass.
It was over the summer and I didn't have any gigs but I was practicing 3 hours a day during those few weeks. For some reason my thumb position was really out of tune when I used the mitt G compared to the Evah weich, Obligato, or OFC Gs I had used before. Going Evah DG and Smitt EA was better but the Spiros didn't respond fast enough for some of the orchestral excerpts my teacher had me work on. And after a while I realizes that the brightness was too much for my bass, pizz and arco as my bass is only ten years old and is rather bright anyway.
Thanks. BTW, brightness is not really a function of age. If your bass is bright now, it'll likely be that way in 100 years. The bass I play was dark-sounding from its first week of life. The voice your bass has early on is essentially the voice it always will have. Decades can modify the sound but time, per se, does not alter the sound dramatically.
I've had EP wiechs on my bass, a shen 7/8 flatback, for well over a year, and I like them enough that I haven't tried anything else. They have a good fundamental, a little percussion on the initial attacks, and a reasonable but not totally spiro-ish decay. I think the spiro weichs are easier to play, easier on the hand. I could play faster on spiros. But i like the tone of the Evahs
They are nearing the end of their service life as they are getting hard to tune. I might get another set--undecided.
They are nearing the end of their service life as they are getting hard to tune. I might get another set--undecided.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
I pulled them after Friday's gig and put on an old spiro weich set which made my life easier on Saturday and Sunday gigs. Although the EP weich set has a stronger fundamental they are harder to get around on. Spirocores speak easier and are easier on the left hand. A new mittel E went on today.
Progris: Mittel E,A,D and Olive G as I used about three years ago.
Progris: Mittel E,A,D and Olive G as I used about three years ago.
Mine are still keeping up and it has been almost 2 years with the strings on and they are keeping tune just fine (and I bought them used here). I might not play as much as other users but they are seeing 1-3 hrs a day of use.
I recently put a set of Evah weich on my bass, an Eastman 305 and I just can't get into their sound. Totally a love hate relationship right now. I did a few sound post adjustments and it helped. The sound post was so flipping tight so I took it out, trimmed it and reset it. Now it is snug like it should be. For this bass, I think they are a miss.
