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Double Bass New! Pirastro Perpetual Double Bass strings

#361
mingusman37 said:
I bit the bullet and got a set of Perpetuals.

I'm mainly a classical guy, so here is my review for anyone considering these strings as an orchestral/solo bassist.

To be as succinct as possible, I love them. I think that they have pretty quickly become my favorite set of strings that I've used, though I think they are still breaking in at this point. In the past I have tried flex deluxe, flexocor, bel cantos, and spiros. Out of these strings I found that I really loved spiros because they had an incredible ring and the largest sound of any string I used. This to me was really important, and why I liked spiros, but they have (as you may know) pretty heavy drawbacks in their response time, and brightness. I play on a new instrument (made by Mike Shank) so my bass naturally has a very bright sound, and at times the brightness of the sprios led to a brittle sound. Basically anything above the second G on the G string required vibrato in order to be warm enough to listen to. Flex deluxe and flexocor were both great strings in terms of response, but they lacked a singing quality that I really wanted for solo playing. Bel Cantos have that singing quality, but they don't really sound great to me, and I have trouble getting strong articulation with them. Now, onto my experience with the perps... They are pretty low tension strings. They have a ton of give, and at times I accidentally get them vibrating into the fingerboard which isn't ideal. However, they have that characteristic spirocore sustain, brightness, and volume, while being a tad darker and much much better response. Perpetuals ring forever, they have incredible richness and overtones, and I feel like almost make your bass sound like you're playing in a church or boomy concert hall in a small practice room. That being said, they have fantastic articulation response, and I've been getting a cleaner brush stroke than ever. If you are an orchestra player that loves the sound of spiros but hate the way that they respond, I could not recommend perpetuals any more. I think that these strings are fantastic for orchestra playing given the response, sound, and darkness, and I think that they are equally impressive for solos given the sheer amount of volume you can produce with them. When I was looking into these strings I heard them billed as "spiros with a darker sound and better response" and to me, that's exactly what they are.

Review over. Cheers.
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This review has me wanting to put them on my carved bass. I might just do that, and go back to the Spiro/Obligato set on my plywood.
 
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#362
DaveAceofBass said:
This review has me wanting to put them on my carved bass. I might just do that, and go back to the Spiro/Obligato set on my plywood.
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Dave: I replaced the Spiro Weichs on my Eberle ply recently with the Pirastro Perpetuals. Not going back. No need to mix them either. The Perpetuals sound good, there is plenty of volume and they are easy to play.
 
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#364
rickwolff said:
I made a little clip with my friend, Jonathan, on piano today. This is with the full set of Perpetuals. It was recorded into my Zoom Q8 using the onboard mic as well as a 414 on the piano and the Chuck Israels mic on the bass.

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Yeahhhhh ! This is the sound i like it!!! I saw this at the wake-up hour and was great!!! Well done Rick & Jonathan!
 
#367
I've got a set from Pirastro for testing some weeks ago, and have them on one of my basses since then. A pizzicato string with good sustain and growl. And it bows well. The G string is slightly too thin for my taste. If you like fat gut strings for the G, you won't like the Perpetuals. But the sound is nice and even, and not metallic, right "out of the box".
Another good option for those who need a hybrid Jazz string.
 
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#372
leonard said:
How is the pizz attack?

I think the Spiro Weich 4/4 S42w set is flimsy and insdistinct with a loud band. The Spiro Weich 3/4 3885,0w set is noticeably thicker and just fine in the attack department. Both on a 3/4 size bass.
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An interesting observation. I went to S42W after 3885W and I’m pretty sure I’ve noticed the same thing. My 3885 are ancient and look like they’ve been dragged behind a team of horses though, but my memory has them sounding nicer. (Maybe it’s the slight tension increase?)

I do, however, also have a set of Perps (thanks to Pirastro for the deal!) on my desk waiting to go on. As a Chadwick user, I’m hoping they are the true hybrid to rule them all and live long in travel bass land There’s some killer reviews on this thread. I’m pretty stoked.
 
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#374
leonard said:
Yes, I guess so. Following that logic the Mittels would be even better. But the Perpetuals are very tempting.
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I know that I'm a broken record, but "better", "louder" and a few other qualities that we tend to assign to string sets are highly dependent on your bass and set up. If your bass responds better to more tension, then Spirocore Mittels will probably produce a better result for you than Perpetuals. Don't get seduced by those of us talking about how great they are on our basses. My bass chokes down under tension and opens up when it gets relieved.
 
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#375
Got these on my bass today, first impressions coming off a mixed set of spiro weich/mitt:

-slightly darker than spiros on my bass
-slightly more flexible than spiros
-soft string feel
-noticeably smoother arco response(this is a big plus for me)
-tuning stabilized rather quickly
-Wish G was beefier, but you just adapt to it

Overall i like them so far, i think this is a nice hybrid string set due to the arco response compared to other steel strings. I'll keep them on for awhile and see how they age. Will have a gig Sunday to see how they sit in with a band.
 
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#377
Sam Dingle said:
These threads always make me remember that a lot of this depends on the bass and player. The G string on this set has more punch and power than any other steel/synthetic string I’ve tried haha
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Actually it sounds great, i just wish it was a slighter thicker string coming from a Spiro mitt G. But when i have switched to a thinner G in the past i really don't care after a few days on it. The arco tone on it is amazing.
 
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#378
Sam Dingle said:
These threads always make me remember that a lot of this depends on the bass and player. The G string on this set has more punch and power than any other steel/synthetic string I’ve tried haha
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I hate almost every G string and this one is probably my favorite steel G. I love it. It would have never occured to me that it was thin, coming most recently from an Original Flat Chrome.
 
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#380
TroyK said:
I know that I'm a broken record, but "better", "louder" and a few other qualities that we tend to assign to string sets are highly dependent on your bass and set up. If your bass responds better to more tension, then Spirocore Mittels will probably produce a better result for you than Perpetuals. Don't get seduced by those of us talking about how great they are on our basses. My bass chokes down under tension and opens up when it gets relieved.
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Thanks for being the broken record! My bass is made of thick plywood and works well amplified in loud environments. Maybe that's why it likes thicker strings.
 

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