That said, neither Perps or Spiros are considered arco strings. Try some Belcantos or Flex Deluxe...you won’t like them for pizz but you’ll know why the Perps and Spiros are not made for arco (not that you can’t play arco on them)
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Double Bass New! Pirastro Perpetual Double Bass strings
- Thread starter luisraulmunoz
- Start date
Totally. My concept is just being able to play something functional. I’ve been able to at least practice with spiros and perps. As many have said, if you can deal with spiros under the bow you can deal with anything. Not to toss shade but belcantos can mask some shotty technique that spiros won’t let you forget about.
There's a number of section players using spiros and I think if not now soon using Perps. I think you need to decide what kind of bowing you want to do. Play solo literature? Play a jazz ballad melody? Do the PC bebop solo thing? Extract non-traditional sounds and effects? Spiros are the choice for some section players because a ballsy sound that projects and takes up space is a priority over delicacy and nuance.
Jake deVilliers
Commercial User
- May 24, 2006
- 6,349
- 607
- Disclosures
- Owner of The Bass Spa, String Repairman at Long & McQuade Vancouver
If you want to try a newer set you can borrow them after John's had a turn with them. Unless he doesn't want to give them up!
Maybe. I’d like to think I don’t have shoddy technique. (I’m an Adjunct Professor of Bass at a local university, full time Band Director at a charter school, and play bass professionally.) The arco strings I mentioned just don’t fight you as much. If you want to try some arco strings that also work for pizz and reveal shoddy techniques try Corelli 370F or 370TX...they will squeak and squawk until your bow arm is very smooth and your bow is absolutely at a 90 degree angle with the strings. Spiros are just harder to start compared to Belcantos or Flex Deluxe, especially the upper strings. Perps are a little easier than Spiros.
True, however it seems to be a little more common to have them on the E and/or the E and A than all four strings in a section. They are often blended with other strings. Marcos Machado uses Spiros on lower two strings and Belcantos on upper two. I have had good results and know folks who also used Flex Deluxe with Spiros (this works as a nice hybrid set too). Obligatos also blend well with Spiros. I believe Edgar Meyer uses Spiros on the bottom with Permanents on top.
Totally and I didn’t mean to imply you had bad technique I just ment spiros require more focus and attention to detail.
In general I just need a string that can be bowed consistently. Don’t need to get in a section but just for my practice. So far my only issues have been gut and non wrapped strings.
I wasn't sold with them on my shen. Something about it. I want to call it magic but some basses regardless of key factors (body size, string length etc) all basses are different.
I tested an E and A that was lended to me on the shen and it felt better, just need a little setup. Look to another thread for more shen info....
Perps are still great for the juzek. I am finding the G string a little brighter than the rest of the strings but the weather has been weird. On wednesday the whole bass was SUPER bright and loose. Today it was darker. Feel is perfect which is my main concern.
I tested an E and A that was lended to me on the shen and it felt better, just need a little setup. Look to another thread for more shen info....
Perps are still great for the juzek. I am finding the G string a little brighter than the rest of the strings but the weather has been weird. On wednesday the whole bass was SUPER bright and loose. Today it was darker. Feel is perfect which is my main concern.
Seeing a lot of people selling their perps. Shows you can't please everyone. I still feel that this is the set I feel most content on.
Good tension for my bass, I know and still remember the drastic sound change moving my juzek from spiros to these. Spiro mediums by comparison didn't allow a lot of breath, and spiro lights didn't move the top at all to the point that I couldn't hear myself in a bass guitar vocal trio.
Good tension for my hands: I can get a great punch out of them and dig in to a point, (but they help me not overplay which is a playing issue for me). I can keep the action low and still feel satisfied with the general feel
Sound is generally very even. I find they have a easy feel to manipulate so the sound from E-G is even. Only complaint is the G is sometimes louder but that can be a me issue.
Arco is good enough: the EA create issues but I am also lacing on my arco chops lately. With focus they sound very decent, just like spiros, enough to practice my rep but i'd change the top 3 for belcantos if I had a gig
Tone is IMO a little more organic than spirocores and more basic. Playing spiros lately I hear that SPIRO sound. Can't quite explain it but its there, and its lacking here. Maybe its a metalic thing, I'm not sure, I could just be bias.
Heres a video of me yesterday just past the 8 month period. I've been doing 3-4 hours of practice 6 days a week while in school, plus rehearsals for big band and combo. Not a ton of gigs since most of mine have been on electric (super fun).
Use headphones:
I'm calling out:
@rickwolff @Steve Boisen @TroyK @Fran Diaz @Don Kasper and anyone else still using them, how're they holding up. Any urge to switch?
Don I'm curious about your setup since you got a full set but changed your extension string to a spiro last I remember.
Good tension for my bass, I know and still remember the drastic sound change moving my juzek from spiros to these. Spiro mediums by comparison didn't allow a lot of breath, and spiro lights didn't move the top at all to the point that I couldn't hear myself in a bass guitar vocal trio.
Good tension for my hands: I can get a great punch out of them and dig in to a point, (but they help me not overplay which is a playing issue for me). I can keep the action low and still feel satisfied with the general feel
Sound is generally very even. I find they have a easy feel to manipulate so the sound from E-G is even. Only complaint is the G is sometimes louder but that can be a me issue.
Arco is good enough: the EA create issues but I am also lacing on my arco chops lately. With focus they sound very decent, just like spiros, enough to practice my rep but i'd change the top 3 for belcantos if I had a gig
Tone is IMO a little more organic than spirocores and more basic. Playing spiros lately I hear that SPIRO sound. Can't quite explain it but its there, and its lacking here. Maybe its a metalic thing, I'm not sure, I could just be bias.
Heres a video of me yesterday just past the 8 month period. I've been doing 3-4 hours of practice 6 days a week while in school, plus rehearsals for big band and combo. Not a ton of gigs since most of mine have been on electric (super fun).
Use headphones:
I'm calling out:
@rickwolff @Steve Boisen @TroyK @Fran Diaz @Don Kasper and anyone else still using them, how're they holding up. Any urge to switch?
Don I'm curious about your setup since you got a full set but changed your extension string to a spiro last I remember.
Oh and I like these so much I've decided to just replace them when they do get old. Found a great deal on a 2 day old set with an extension string so i'll have them when the time comes.
I still have Perpetuals on both of my basses and I am still pleased with them. The older set that is on my Wunderlich is quite a bit darker than the newer set, but that is the bass I have rented out a couple of times. They still amplify well and since I use this bass for trad jazz gigs, the sound works in that context. Even the newer set does not quite have the “pizzicato punch” of a set of Spirocores, but I think the nice feel and improved arco response is worth the trade off. To me, Perpetuals are similar to Pirastro’s synthetic core strings, but with the clarity and durability of a steel string. I plan to stick with them.
- Steve
- Steve
They sound great on that bass. I'd still be using them if i didn't start going into tension junky mode.
I'm still enjoying mine. I had previously moved from Spiros to Obligatos to go just a little more 'old school' after listening to Charlie Haden. I liked the Oblis and the Perps are very similar but will probably last longer. Happy with the tone and the feel of the Perps.
Q: what do you call playing 4 to the bar with Pirastro Perpetuals?
A: A PERP WALK.
Q: what do you call playing 4 to the bar with Pirastro Perpetuals?
A: A PERP WALK.
Hey Sam,
Still completely happy with mine (Perpetual EAD & Oliv G). No intention of going back to the Spiros if the Perps keep sounding as good as they do at the moment.
Still completely happy with mine (Perpetual EAD & Oliv G). No intention of going back to the Spiros if the Perps keep sounding as good as they do at the moment.
Though it's been slow for me, things are starting to pick up. I've had a few gigs and am playing a couple of times a week somewhere, with someone, even if it's just someone's living room.
No temptation to switch. Zero.
I do have this "what about an OLIV G..." voice in my head. Not that there is anything wrong with the Perp G, but I just can't leave well enough alone. I had a used OLIV G (OG?) years ago that I really liked, but always worried that it was going to unravel on a gig and I think I was unhappy enough with strings overall that I decided that it just wasn't worth it. The fact that I'm thinking about it at all is a sign that this is a good string set.
But, not doing anything about it at the moment. I've also thought about getting my bass, with the full set of Perps, onto a bench somewhere to dial in my setup around them perfectly. All things considered equal, @Jake deVilliers is my luthier of choice by a huge margin, but I heard the boarder crossing is much worse that it used to be, so I'm just going to play on.
My Oliv is more than three years old and shows no wear at all (no separation of the windings). It still sounds great and I don't usually need to check out tuning more than once or twice on a 1-1/2 hour gig; good enough for me when my band mates are playing Martins or Gibsons that need a lot more tuning time on the gig. It's an expensive string but IMO and IME worth every penny. Just make sure that your bridge and nut is cut for its thickness and well lubricated.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
The Perps are the first strings that don’t have me thinking about the Oliv G. Very happy.
Sam,
I like the A,D, and G, just fine. The Perp E/C was not cool - it had a noticeable lack of fundamental, almost too much Growl and not enough BITE. (?) (...both arco and pizz.)
I hope to keep them on for my usual "1 or 1.5 years", and then make a decision, but I don't have any problems with them, (yet?) and would consider Perps for the top 3 strings.
Thanks.
