Double Bass New! Pirastro Perpetual Double Bass strings

[Selim]

What has really amazed me is despite the fact that the Perpetuals are almost the same gauge as the weichs/solos they have a much thicker sound and considerably more punch.

Just goes to show us once again how it depends on the instrument— my experience was the opposite. On my bass, I thought the Perps lacked the punch of Sweichs and were more “polite” for lack of a better word.

Regardless, I think they are beautiful strings and I’ve thought about trying them again.

Sounds like they really work your bass. Play on!

 

[stefaniw80401]

I have noticed the the perpetual E has been somewhat hard to start, but that may change as they break in further.

I've had a perp long-E on my 2003 carved flat back C-extension for 2 months. It seemed okay initially, but now it seems be getting harder to start with the bow making me reach for the rosin more than usual. They sound metallic arco.

 

[TroyK]

I just went through the great quarantine string experiment of 2021 and really went back and forth between Perpetuals and various gauges of Spirocores.

The Perpetuals compared most favorably to the 3885 Weich set of Spirocores, not the S42 set. I think I preferred Mittels to all, but my bass really disagrees.

I agree that Perpetuals are a bit more "polite" or well mannered than Spirocores, but they are much better balanced and once I got setup dialed in they were equal in terms of projection. There is that special dynamic with Spirocores that really nothing else has, but the Perpetuals sound very good and they feel much better to me. I think it's the rope core, but you can lean on them without them giving out or getting tangled up in them or you can kind of fingertip feather them and they respond well to both. I'm not the best guy to ask about arco, but my conclusions were when I got everything adjusted for whichever string set was on there, they were all fine for a jazz guy. Perpetuals are probably easier for a novice/medium skilled arco player to not sound objectionable on, but I could have dealt with Spirocores too.

I incidentally opine that this is the biggest issue I see with mixing string brands or even gauges from the same brand, going string to string with the bow I'm more likely to squeal. I seem to make some subconscious adjustment to the bow attack with whatever string set is on there and after a bit of daily practice, it's ... I'll stick with "unobjectionable". But, with some guest G string or something, even if both the D and the G are fine arco, going between them, I'm usually missing the adjustment. Not an issue pizzicato or I'm better and subconsciously making the adjustment pizz.

 

[Dutch Williams]

I just went through the great quarantine string experiment of 2021 and really went back and forth between Perpetuals and various gauges of Spirocores.

The Perpetuals compared most favorably to the 3885 Weich set of Spirocores, not the S42 set. I think I preferred Mittels to all, but my bass really disagrees.

I agree that Perpetuals are a bit more "polite" or well mannered than Spirocores, but they are much better balanced and once I got setup dialed in they were equal in terms of projection. There is that special dynamic with Spirocores that really nothing else has, but the Perpetuals sound very good and they feel much better to me. I think it's the rope core, but you can lean on them without them giving out or getting tangled up in them or you can kind of fingertip feather them and they respond well to both. I'm not the best guy to ask about arco, but my conclusions were when I got everything adjusted for whichever string set was on there, they were all fine for a jazz guy. Perpetuals are probably easier for a novice/medium skilled arco player to not sound objectionable on, but I could have dealt with Spirocores too.

I incidentally opine that this is the biggest issue I see with mixing string brands or even gauges from the same brand, going string to string with the bow I'm more likely to squeal. I seem to make some subconscious adjustment to the bow attack with whatever string set is on there and after a bit of daily practice, it's ... I'll stick with "unobjectionable". But, with some guest G string or something, even if both the D and the G are fine arco, going between them, I'm usually missing the adjustment. Not an issue pizzicato or I'm better and subconsciously making the adjustment pizz.

I’m all mittels now looking to go stark e ... do I do it?!?!!!!

 

[TroyK]

I’m all mittels now looking to go stark e ... do I do it?!?!!!!

It depends on what problem you are trying to solve and also on your bass.

I would point out, additionally that there are more than 4 gauges of Spirocore, though. Stark is not one up from S42 Mittels. 3885 Mittels are.

 

[Dutch Williams]

It depends on what problem you are trying to solve and also on your bass.

I would point out, additionally that there are more than 4 gauges of Spirocore, though. Stark is not one up from S42 Mittels. 3885 Mittels are.

Dang... I’m seriously exhausting all possibilities, I guess that’s my problem .... lol
Is that Stark E MORE spiro-y or less?

(like I consider the mittels more spiro-y than the weich, weich are darker to me)

 

[TroyK]

There are basically 8 gauges of Spirocores for your bass, not counting 5ths tuning sets. It's going to be expensive to explore and exhaust all possibilities.

The only way to know the real answer to your question is to buy a new 4/4 stark E and break it in over the course of a year or two, then by a 3/4 stark E and break it in over a year or two, then try to remember what the Mittel E was like 3-5 years ago and then post your conclusions here, but temper it with "on my bass, anyway - YMMV"

Personally if my bass wore either set of Mittel well, I'd never change strings again.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Do they even make 3/4 Starks?

 

[TroyK]

I think they do. Not sure how many they sell. Not sure how many starks they sell.

 

[Phil Rowan]

Do they even make 3/4 Starks?

Pretty sure the 3/4 Stark set comes with a hard hat and a waiver form you have to fill out.

 

[Reiska]

I think that starks only come in 4/4 lenght.

 

[Jeff Kissell]

I just put a set of perpetual orchestra on my new Shen SB88 (41.25 string length.) I gotta say these strings feel great. They don’t seem all that much tighter than the spiro solo E / superflexible solo A-G they replaced, and if anything they feel a bit more springy and elastic under both hands. They don’t feel stiff but there is some tension to dig into when needed. The solos could be just the opposite on this bass; weirdly stiff feeling but easy to overplay. Compared to the solos there is a lot more punch to the sound. I don’t feel like I need to set them super high to get projection or super low for playability’s sake. Can’t wait to break them in!

This has been my experience too

 

[sonicyogi]

I've been playing Perpetuals about a year on a 42" New Standard Cleveland ply and have really enjoyed them in a daily arco setting. Really great pizz sound and surface feel. Kind of wish they had a little more tension, but that may just be my bass.

 

[downunder]

just put a set of perpetuals on a newly restored 3/4 czech flatback. Had a new fingerboard and CF rod put in the neck, and it came back from the shop very bright and high tension. Even EV weichs seemed like too much tension. It may be true that perpetuals are more 'polite' than spiros, but this bass is not polite at all. The g was too twangy. An old flexocore is a little tamer.

 

[HateyMcAmp]

just put a set of perpetuals on a newly restored 3/4 czech flatback. Had a new fingerboard and CF rod put in the neck, and it came back from the shop very bright and high tension. Even EV weichs seemed like too much tension. It may be true that perpetuals are more 'polite' than spiros, but this bass is not polite at all. The g was too twangy. An old flexocore is a little tamer.

They chill out a lot after the first week or two IME.

 

[Decomposer]

They will mellow... nicely. I use EAD with Oliv G. Excellent combo!

 

[Sam Dingle]

Do they even make 3/4 Starks?

starks only come in 4/4 size

 

[Drew Tanner]

These strings! Last week they got me through an arco gig with the local youth orchestra on Thursday, old time tunes at the farmers market Saturday morning, and an amplified folk-rock gig in the park on Sunday afternoon. I ordered a set of Perpetuals from Quantum Bass Center that have now been on my Upton Hybrid Deluxe for a month. They settled in beautifully after a couple of days, then really mellowed nicely the first week or so. I’ll go so far as to say think they may have cured my ‘roving eye’ for strings. I’ve haven’t even searched the strings forum lately! On this bass I’ve tried dead spiros, Zyex, Obligato, and combinations of dead spiros on bottom and the synthetics on top. On my previous bass I tried all the above, plus Corellis, Evahs, and the Oliv G. The full set of Perpetuals is very even, full, and responsive on my bass, both for pizz and arco. Our fiddle player, unprompted, commented on the tone recently. Perfectly comfortable for 2-3 hours of old time jamming. Happy camper here. I’m likely to dump my string drawer, save for one of my dead spiro sets as spares.

 

[Mouldy]

how about to standard tuning?
thanks

I recently put some solos (tuned orchestra) on my double bass. First thing I noticed is that they are higher tension than any solo string I've used before including....spiros, superflexible, obligato and evah pirazzi. They're a bit too tight for me so I'm currently in the process of putting them on my Eminence bass instead because it is a lower tension bass. The spiros on the Em will be put back on my db because they are great on that. The perpetuals do seem to be a good quality string and uniform across the strings. I haven't tried them with a bow yet.

 

[Mouldy]

I disagree about Obligatos sounding good “in the real world” or “when amplified with a band”, especially the D & G. I’ve had no issues, but the pickup and amp and bass do play a role. It’s important not to generalize...that might only apply to your setup but not fit everyone.

I agree with you regarding the D and G. When I first tried Obligato solos I took them off within a week. Some years later I put the D and G back on and I've used them for years since. They work well with Superflexible E and A. on my bass. (I like fat DG and not-so-fat EA). The only reason I have them off now is I needed to use a magnetic pickup for awhile. Currently using spiro solos and messing with Perpetual solos.