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Double Bass New! Pirastro Perpetual Double Bass strings

#1,023
I go back and forth between Reds and Perpetuals and on my bass (which has a small body) the bass loves the sound and feel of perps opening up with that round tone and lower mids. THen I put the spiros back on and it gets tighter bot faster and more cutting. Both are good, but the perps make me feel relaxed when playing and the spiros make me feel powerful. Two kinds of good. Except for the spiro G which has to go everytime. (I use the Perp G)
 
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#1,024
I swapped the (weich, red-violet) Spirocores for the perpetuals about a year ago. I am happy with the perpetuals since.
With spiros, the E (and to a lesser extent A) strings sounded somehow lifeless on my bass, and did not project very well (and under my fingers). The perpetuals E and A have much more life and growl, and project much better (although, from behind the bass, we are not in the optimal position to judge about projection). As far as the D and G strings are concerned, I find the perpetuals much less "zinguy" that the spiros. The overall result is very well balanced among the strings.

In addition, I always had difficulties in bowing consistently the spiros (but this is likely due largely to my sub-par bowing skills): strings were hard to start, or sometimes produced horrible scratchy sounds. I obtain now much more consistent and pleasant results when bowing the perpetuals.

But I am sure I shall some day put back the spiros, and I would not be surprised to be pleased by them...
 
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#1,025
PBandJazzBass said:
Thank you for answering and yes, the S42's are for 7/8 and 4/4 basses whereas the 3885's are specifically for 3/4. As @DaveAceofBass said the S42 variant are the most common in the U.S. and, even though they're meant for larger instruments, are frequently used by individuals with 3/4 basses.

The 3885 Weichs are actually my favorite of all the Spiricore variants and, if I ever go back to Spiro's, they're the ones I'd probably go back to. I actually wish more retailers in the U.S. stocked them. (And your arco work sounds great!)

I liked the Perpetuals and if Pirastro ever makes a heavy (stark) set I'll definitely give them another try.
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no such plans for a stark set from pirastro, i've asked many times
 
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#1,027
Jazzers are somewhat similar to Perpetuals. I was a long time Jazzer user. The Perp set is more consistent and balanced across the strings and I think a bit darker. Someone above said the Perpetuals reminded them of a synthetic core string...I kind of see that, sort of. They feel supple like a synth core and they have some of that mellower than steel vibe, but they are stable and punchy in ways that most synthetic core strings are not. Jazzers also have that quality in the E and A strings, but as the strings get thinner, they behave more like harsh, metal pizz strings (to me). The Perp E and A are not as aggresive as the Jazzer and it might be a good experiement to try a Jazzer E with the Perps if you miss the Aggressiveness of the Spirocore E.

I don't have as much experience with Helicores. They weren't compelling to me when I tried them 15 years ago, but they work well for some people and I think they've monkeyed with their formulation, so you'd have to try them to know for sure.

Overall, I think Perpetuals are an improvement over the Jazzers, but not a direct replacement.
 
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#1,028
Barcza said:
Both strings seems very good! I think depends on the particular instrument, which works/fit better...
I’m curious, how compared Jazzer and D’addario Helocores to those strings?
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I have a bass that's currently wearing a Jazzer E and A, which I find to be quite similar to Spirocores, and a Perpetual D and G, which I find to be a little darker than Helicore Hybrids. Great combination on this particular bass!

Edit. Bear in mind that these are some pretty big generalizations on my part :-)
 
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#1,030
Barcza said:
Both strings seems very good! I think depends on the particular instrument, which works/fit better...
I’m curious, how compared Jazzer and D’addario Helocores to those strings?
Click to expand...

On my bass the Helicore Hybrids (mediums) have more low end/volume, particularly on the E & A strings. The Perpetuals did have a cleaner and altogether more focused sound (low mids) and they did handle the bow considerably better. I found the Perpetual E string to be kind of weak and the A to be a little bland, even after a soundpost adjustment. The G sounded good but was a little thin for my preference (insert dirty joke here). I agree with the notion that they feel and play more like a synthetic core string than a typical steel core which may be one of the reasons I didn't stick with them. They felt particularly rubbery and started losing volume after they'd been on my bass for about 9 months and I changed them about a month after that.

I think they're both good but wouldn't necessarily say one is better than the other, they're just a little different.
 
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#1,032
PBandJazzBass said:
The 3885 Weichs are actually my favorite of all the Spiricore variants and, if I ever go back to Spiro's, they're the ones I'd probably go back to. I actually wish more retailers in the U.S. stocked them.
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There are US retailers who stock them! ;-)
 
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#1,033
Mark Gollihur said:
There are US retailers who stock them! ;-)
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Agree. I've not found it difficult to locate them, but you have to ask or specify or you just get what you get.

Spirocores are great strings. S42 weichs sound great on my bass arco and pizz, but I don't love the feel. Spircore Mittles are the gold standard for a lot of people, but are too stiff and apply too much pressure on the top of my bass, which has a fairly long mensure and has been set up to reduce tension.

In the end, you've got to match strings to the bass + setup and then consider the music and the person playing them. There is no one right answer, but I'm happy that we have the options that we do.
 
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#1,034
It's true what you say Troy, basses are all different and that is just the first variable. But, like the venerable spiro's themselves there are some kinds of products that hit a sweet spot that covers alot of bases(so to speak) I have seen many new strings come and (well stay, they never seem to go except Golden Spirals) but (and I could be wrong) it seems like Perpetuals have that kind of combination of elements that work across a lot of variables for a lot of people. Obligatos they are not. (not to dis obli's)
 
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#1,040
Eric Hochberg said:
One difference to me is that the Jazzer's were much growlier and stiffer feeling than Perps. The growl was so intense on my bass I had to bail on them.
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Definitely growly out of the pack. I really liked that on the low strings, but it goes away in about a month and then they're great, but absent most of that growl for usually about a year of hard use...and I start to lose interest and they start feeling stiff and I realize that they slowly died. and Repeat.

I would like the D go about 6 or 8 months longer and never used the G's.

The Perps aren't growly LIKE THAT, they do have some life, though.
 

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