Double Bass New! Pirastro Perpetual Double Bass strings

[Papageno]

How compared the tension/stiffness of Perpetuals to Spiros light or Jazzers?

I have no quantitative figure, but when I switched from spiro light to perpetuals I did not feel any significant change in tension (resistance to longitudinal force).

Concerning stiffness (resistance to bending they are very different: Spiro light are very stiff, whereas perpetuals are very simple. This is something that really striking when you manipulate them unmounted. Once they are mounted on the bass, you don't notice that much, because the strings under tension hardly deviate from a straight line.

 

[TroyK]

How compared the tension/stiffness of Perpetuals to Spiros light or Jazzers?

I have a good amount of experience with both. Subjectively, they're a little more supple than Jazzers. The low strings feel similar, but the D and G have more bounce than Jazzers to me. Not floppy, but supple. To me, they feel better matched across the set than Jazzers. I love Jazzers and have 6 or 8 years of experience with them. Perpetuals feel better to me. They don't sound exactly the same. Again, the D and especially the G sound better (Perps) to my ears, but that's subjective. Jazzers E and A strings have a really good sonic quality, maybe better than Perps pizz (but not arco), but the Perps E and A are a better sonic match to their D and G string, so I think it's a good tradeoff.

(Again subjectively) Spirocore Weich never felt quite right to me. Tension might be similar, but I felt like it was easy to overplay and get tangled up in them, which doesn't happen for me with either Jazzers or Perpetuals. I recall Weichs feeling thinner under the fingers as well.

 

[TroyK]

Arco, Perpetuals are absolutely better than Jazzers, in my experience, though Jazzers are also "bowable".

Spirocore Weichs are very good arco strings on my bass, though, so ... take that for whatever it is worth.

 

[PBandJazzBass]

I don't have any experience with the Jazzers but on my bass the Perpetuals feel like they're in between Spirocore Weichs and Mittels (S42) though they lean a little closer to the Weichs. In my opinion, the Perpetuals are much better for arco than any Spirocore variant I've ever tried. That being said, I'm not sure you're going to see a lot of orchestral players using them any time soon.

Mine have been on my bass for about 9 months and they still sound good, but have definitely lost some acoustic volume which is similar to my experience with Spirocores and Helicore Hybrids. I still haven't decided what I'm going to do when it comes time to change them. I hear both Spirocore Mittels and Evah Pirazzis calling my name...

 

[Sam Dingle]

Ok!!! About 2 weeks shy of a year on my set and I've decided to change things. As stated in the video my bass is getting re-setup and I'm having an olive put on. Just to see how it sounds and cuz the former owner recommended it.

four days old:



One year old:



enjoy.

 

[TomB]

Remarkably lively for year-old strings - doesn’t sound like they’ve lost much tone or volume. One thought - if you lower the bridge will these get buzzy? Thank you for the comparison.

 

[Sam Dingle]

Remarkably lively for year-old strings - doesn’t sound like they’ve lost much tone or volume. One thought - if you lower the bridge will these get buzzy? Thank you for the comparison.

no they won't. at least not more than a spiro. my typical setup is usually 6mm on the G and thats the height in the 4 day old video. in the new video the G is at around 8 or 9 so....high lol.

 

[TomB]

Interesting that they don’t sound more different! Further evidence that the player makes the sound. Well done!

 

[lurk]

I no longer get orchestra gigs - it's been at least a decade - so take with a grain of salt. Perps are a much better Arco string under my hand than any flavor of Spiro. They're the best crossover pizz/arco string I've ever had.

 

[sean_on_bass]

For me the Perps felt a little looser than 4/4 Spiro Weich, and softer texture.

 

[Sam Dingle]

olive G is on and feels nice. good match with the broken in set not sure i'd like it with a fresh set

 

[elmer]

For me the Perps felt a little looser than 4/4 Spiro Weich, and softer texture.

This was the case also on my bass. But soundwise I liked Perps better. The A string sounded a bit too weak so I replaced it with Spiro weich 4/4 which had more power and punch on my bass.

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

Here's a recent video I recorded using my E.H.Roth and six-month old Perpetuals. I really like the feel of these strings. The bass is amplified via a Full Circle pickup and Fender Rumble 100.



- Steve

 

[AGCurry]

olive G is on and feels nice. good match with the broken in set not sure i'd like it with a fresh set

A little dark for fresh Perpetuals?

 

[Sam Dingle]

A little dark for fresh Perpetuals?

im thinking so. though a friend puts on fresh helicore pizz with an olive G each year and it works for him

 

[Sam Dingle]

messing around yesterday in G. olive goes slightly out of tune near the end (or maybe I do...) but its a cool sound. more stable today

 

[PBandJazzBass]

Here's a recent video I recorded using my E.H.Roth and six-month old Perpetuals. I really like the feel of these strings. The bass is amplified via a Full Circle pickup and Fender Rumble 100.



- Steve

Very nice. Bass & Vocal jazz duets don't get performed enough.

 

[AGCurry]

Very nice. Bass & Vocal jazz duets don't get performed enough.

A lot of singers can't seem to "hear" pitches from the bass.

 

[Barcza]

This was the case also on my bass. But soundwise I liked Perps better. The A string sounded a bit too weak so I replaced it with Spiro weich 4/4 which had more power and punch on my bass.

Ah, yes seems pretty light...Maybe too light? Don’t tends to a slap string? I really don’t like stiff strings, but nether like the “slap string” kind of floppy strings too...Do you know how compared to nylon core strings like Obligato or Pirazzi Weich?

 

[Sam Dingle]

Ah, yes seems pretty light...Maybe too light? Don’t tends to a slap string? I really don’t like stiff strings, but nether like the “slap string” kind of floppy strings too...Do you know how compared to nylon core strings like Obligato or Pirazzi Weich?

Not as noodley has obligatos. Around the tension of Evah weich maybe a little lighter