• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass New! Pirastro Perpetual Double Bass strings

I won’t try them. I resisted the Polychromes I can resist this too...

I’m eating my words here y’all. Pirastro was kind enough to let me test out the strings so I’ll be sending y’all a review! Fed ex estimates the strings will be here tomorrow, so I’ll throw them on Friday morning and let y’all know.
 
so I’ll throw them on Friday morning and let y’all know.

Sam, you often speak of "throwing" strings on. It takes me a fair amount of time, perhaps because I don't know how to throw strings on ... I have to lubricate the nut and bridge grooves, thread the string through the tailpiece, and wind them on the tuning shafts. Can you share this throwing method? Thanks! ;)
 
Sam, you often speak of "throwing" strings on. It takes me a fair amount of time, perhaps because I don't know how to throw strings on ... I have to lubricate the nut and bridge grooves, thread the string through the tailpiece, and wind them on the tuning shafts. Can you share this throwing method? Thanks! ;)

Not sure if that’s a joke haha but yeah I do the same as you. Sometimes I don’t lube the slots though...
 
I won’t try them. I resisted the Polychromes I can resist this too...
Well that was a mistake.

The bottom strings don’t impress me for pizz but I feel that anybody who has tried and liked aspects of oblis, evahs, zyex and the like owe it to themselves to try the top two polychromes — especially if you also want a nice bowing string (way nicer than any of the above imo). Very strong pizz.

They have turned out to be the best “[something DG] on top of spiros]” for me.

On my bass anyway.
 
How's the stiffness / tension compared to mitts?

really cool. They have good power but they are more flexible. Ed wise who played a few notes and compared the left hand feel to almost Obligato like without the roll if that makes sense. Less effort to pull the string down.

I'm a little worried about my review on them though because according to Pirastros website the extended E string is 4 ish pounds heavier than the normal E which, like most pirastro sets, is less tension than the A by 0.1 pounds. so take that into consideration but I'm not sure how much that'll make a difference. I'll report after the weekend. Got 4 gigs starting tomorrow so I'll be a good test.
 
They're on my bass as of today. I'm gonna play the weekend and let yall know what I think. Very nice strings. I think I like them a lot. First time in a bit i've tried a new set and didn't hate something right away. These may be what I hoped they would be.

Will be interesting to read your review.
I'm interested to know whether they are bright with Arco...
The tension seems on the low side according to website specs...I'm looking for an Arco string perhaps brighter than flexocore deluxe...mostly for orchestra work
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hoyt
I tried these strings at the convention. The Pirastro rep said they didn't want to describe these as jazz strings because they didn't want to limit their market. He gave the example that when they put the word "slaps" on the Evah Pirazzi Slaps, they lost a lot of money because a lot of players dismissed them as a slap only string.
To me they sounded very close to a Spirocore. Tension felt lower, they had a looser feel. Definitely not a bow friendly string. I wouldn't consider them a good hybrid string unless you consider Spirocore hybrid.

It’s a shame that more people don’t give the “Slaps” a shot. Granted it got my attention because I mostly slap & pizz w/some arco, but they have a nice dark gut like tone and are easy to bow (at least for a bow novice like me). My only real complaint is the aluminum wrapped G on the full synthetic set. They don’t seem to last very long at all and have a noticeable difference in tone under the bow.

Spiros are my favorite pizz only string, but I never enjoyed their slap tone or arco. Maybe these might land somewhere in-between Spiros & Slaps which would definitely peak my interest.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ERIC A
The E feeling a little light is a good thing.

The Spiro Stark E is a freak outlier. It and the 92 Stark E are the only heavy Es that don’t sound like a muddy mess under the bow. Embrace physics.

I play old Flexocors. That fat old E is SLOW. If you have a bass that can pump fundamental a lighter E buys you clear low notes. That’s valuable.

yes but my view as a 90% pizz player is that a little more tension is good. just for example spiro E is about 1 pound heavier than the spiro A. Evah E's are 4 pounds LESS than the evah As.

I'm not saying its bad. I'm just saying right now the tension is great for me. exaclty the right balance BUT before my extension went on my bass felt most even with a stark E (medium spiro flopped around a lot) so its bass specific. I emailed pirastro asking about that. I may get a set for my backup bass once these are released publicly
 
I checked the tension specs from Pirastro´s website and yeah - they are interestingly low for a steel string. Lower than Kaplan lights, Zyex lights (except the A string) an EP Weichs. Only a bit more than Spiro Weich 4/4 on a 105 cm scale.
Could this be the answer for us with tight basses who were hoping for a Flexocor Deluxe light version? I´m eagerly waiting to try these out and hoping they aren´t extremely bright :)
 
Sam, how is the bowing on these strings compared to Spiros or Evahs(if you've tried them)? I'm super interested in this set, it almost sounds like it is designed to be a spiro killer, if that is even possible.

I'll post a video in the next week. The bowing is very spiro-like, bright not warm, but these are not as HARSH. Bow like spiro lights more than mediums, so thats as "easy" as they get. I'll make a video for everyone hopefully tuesday/wednesday. First gig tonight on them.
 
I also received a trial set from Pirastro and "threw" them on about 30mins ago.

VERY interesting strings. Like Sam said, quite flexible -- maybe even more than Spiro Weichs. My bass runs tight, so this is a welcome thing. Out of the gate they are darker and more flexible than spiros, and much more consistent sounding than Zyex, I'm worried that I'll miss the pop of Evah's but the tension is MUCH better. I'll give a more full update soon, but here are some pictures:

+In my opinion the afterlengths color is really cool!
+String gauge comparison pictures with Evah Weich (top string in each picture is the Perpetual)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20190615_150539.jpg
    IMG_20190615_150539.jpg
    867 KB · Views: 683
  • IMG_20190615_143753.jpg
    IMG_20190615_143753.jpg
    986.2 KB · Views: 366
  • IMG_20190615_142338.jpg
    IMG_20190615_142338.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 342
  • IMG_20190615_143121.jpg
    IMG_20190615_143121.jpg
    928.5 KB · Views: 348
  • IMG_20190615_141610.jpg
    IMG_20190615_141610.jpg
    859.1 KB · Views: 379
My take on Pirastro strings , is that maybe with the exception of the Evah P is that you need a good carved bass to explore their potential.

My question for people who do a lot of thumb position, how much sustain compared to Spirocores? Between the D and G when playing double stops in TP, is one string more dominant than the other? Do they have that usual Pirastro complexity? Have you guys tried getting partials? How easy?
How different are these to Flexocores or Flat Chromes? Less tension?

Will these be priced significantly higher than Spriocores? What Spiros have going for them is the pricing, availability and the wide gamut of gauge and lengths, plus the fact that they are long lasting. Unless you create a time machine, the last attribute is really hard to contend with. How do you guys get into the list getting free strings from Pirastros? :)

If you incorporate bowing in your practice Spiros are not really that hard to bow. I have gotten to the point that I can play them very soft from the bow tip. I do get why Spiros are considered hard to bow.

Also punchy means different to many people. I equate them with thump and thud like BelCantos when plucked.
 

Latest posts