Yeah ... this and the brightness edge never fades is why I jumped ship. I think Perps sure are a long lasting string.
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Double Bass New! Pirastro Perpetual Double Bass strings
- Thread starter luisraulmunoz
- Start date
Yeah ... this and the brightness edge never fades is why I jumped ship. I think Perps sure are a long lasting string.
I find the Perpetual bow beautifully and are great amplified. My reason for trying the Zyex has more to do with acoustic pizzicato. I think someone described the Perps a “polite” and I would agree but I’m not putting them up for sale just yet.
I’m gonna let the Zyex settle and I’ve got a few amplified gigs in the next few weeks so we’ll see…
I’m gonna let the Zyex settle and I’ve got a few amplified gigs in the next few weeks so we’ll see…
Last edited:
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
I traded an old set of Perps for a lightly used set of Spiro Weichs and put them on the Rodier.
For the first 24 hours I didn’t know what to think because the E string sounded dead and the bass seemed to have less character. Well, now that they have settled in, the Spirocores are definitely an improvement with more volume and power. Arco is more than fine but I think the Perps might blend better in a section.
For pizz, they feel just a bit stiffer under the right hand and certainly so under the left hand. Off the bass, Perps are like wet noodles and that follows to a degree under tension.
I believe Spirocores will significantly outlive Perps.
This is yet another example to let the strings settle for a day or two before evaluating how they might suit a particular bass.
For the first 24 hours I didn’t know what to think because the E string sounded dead and the bass seemed to have less character. Well, now that they have settled in, the Spirocores are definitely an improvement with more volume and power. Arco is more than fine but I think the Perps might blend better in a section.
For pizz, they feel just a bit stiffer under the right hand and certainly so under the left hand. Off the bass, Perps are like wet noodles and that follows to a degree under tension.
I believe Spirocores will significantly outlive Perps.
This is yet another example to let the strings settle for a day or two before evaluating how they might suit a particular bass.
I bought some slightly used perps more than a year or so ago. I have only A- G and I am just stringing them now. I have a Spiro Mittel E in there that I haven't taken it off since late 2017. And it was an old used string to begin with and it has joined, Flexocore Deluxe, BelCanto, Spiro Weich and Evah Weich and briefly guts.
So is the E perpetual useful at all? Should I try to get an E?
So is the E perpetual useful at all? Should I try to get an E?
I installed a set this week. They replaced a set of spiros and an oliv G - these were getting a bit tired and dull so the new set feels great in that context. much brighter and clearer.
That said, the E is a bit odd to me - it has an overtone to it that doesn't sound as natural as I would expect and it's hard to get started with the bow.
I was hoping the strings would feel more flexible or low tension than they do.
That said, the E is a bit odd to me - it has an overtone to it that doesn't sound as natural as I would expect and it's hard to get started with the bow.
I was hoping the strings would feel more flexible or low tension than they do.
The Stark G start d feeling normal with the regular set and I kind of forgot to update this thread about it. Had a gig in a big room last week and everything felt and soundeg great despite some stage sound issues. I have an acoustic piano trio thing coming up and see no real reason to mess with it.
I will throw the 3885 Weichs on their with the Perm Stark G at some point, though.
I will throw the 3885 Weichs on their with the Perm Stark G at some point, though.
FYI the 3885 Weich E&A feel good with an Obligato D&G, in my opinion. YMMV
Similar to Gary Upton's Blended set, although he uses Medium Spiros instead of Weichs.
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If he used 4/4 mediums there is no large difference in tension to the 3/4 light ones.
We need to take more care when talking about Spiros and Superflexibles as the 4/4 and 3/4 set of the same „tension name“ have a different tension at the same pitch and same scale length.
They are built to have the same tension on their intended scale length, but that leads to different weight per length unit, so the 4/4 strings need to have less weight per length unit to archieve that.
Sometimes we are a bit lazy about that and others who didn‘t understand that difference get mixed up. That includes me (about the laziness), at least sometimes. And years ago before I understood that I got mixed up myself.
We need to take more care when talking about Spiros and Superflexibles as the 4/4 and 3/4 set of the same „tension name“ have a different tension at the same pitch and same scale length.
They are built to have the same tension on their intended scale length, but that leads to different weight per length unit, so the 4/4 strings need to have less weight per length unit to archieve that.
Sometimes we are a bit lazy about that and others who didn‘t understand that difference get mixed up. That includes me (about the laziness), at least sometimes. And years ago before I understood that I got mixed up myself.
I was the lucky winner of the ISB "Build-A-Bass". It came with Perpetuals. I didn't care for them. They sounded too much like Spirocores. Not the sound that I am looking for playing classical.
I've been really happy with the Perpetuals lately. I currently have the Stark G on with the regular set. As has been said, I thought one of the great things about the regular set was the balance and I didn't have any problem with the G, but someone sent me a Stark G and of course I had to try it. At first I thought it threw the set out of balance, even though I liked the string on it's own, but then I kind of got used to it and as I've started playing out and rehearsing with other people it's seemed normal and sounded great. I have felt a few times that *MAYBE* I could have used a tad more tension, but I didn't want to bring the strings up any higher, that could be the Stark G making the other strings feel that way or it could just be something to get over.
Because I am so happy, I did what anyone would have done in the same situation and decided to mess with it. I replaced the E-D Perpetuals with some 3885 Spirocore Weichs and left the Stark G in place. I'll stick with it at least through the weekend and report back, but I will say first impressions, that it feels really well balanced sonically and otherwise.
Because I am so happy, I did what anyone would have done in the same situation and decided to mess with it. I replaced the E-D Perpetuals with some 3885 Spirocore Weichs and left the Stark G in place. I'll stick with it at least through the weekend and report back, but I will say first impressions, that it feels really well balanced sonically and otherwise.
Congrats!
I can understand why you don't dig them too much for classical playing.
They are possibly Pirastro's answer to the Spirocore weichs, so not a typical arco string, more a pizz one.
As a non-orchestral player, I think they are a very good arco string. The best set that I've ever used that was also a good jazz-pizz string.
When I tried the reg set last summer, I thought the same thing. I didn’t keep them, but that was one of the things I really liked about them — as in no need to mix them with any other string. The other thing I liked about the reg set was that the overall tension of the set was very comfortable.
But when I tried these strings again this summer, it was with the stark G and I thought that the stark threw both of those things off.
As to the arco question, I took my bass to my luthier to see if there was any special adjustments needed for the Perps. There wasn’t. He knew the Perps and said that he liked these strings as a do it all string, say, if you were working in a pit orchestra for example, which required a string that could handle some bowing passages. But that the arco (and pizz) sound is a bit “vanilla” (his words) for him.I agree with him on that.
I haven’t tried it as such, but I like the stark G and am going to keep it as a possible replacement string, like for a Spiro G, for example.
I put a set of Perpetuals on my Chadwick folding bass yesterday. Some observations:
- These strings are lovely to work with – flexible and supple, easy to wind on and off. There's lots of silk at the pegbox end so they need a few more turns before they grip.
- The strings are extremely smooth, with an almost polished feel. Might be a problem in hot climates but I (Swedish) find it to be nothing but positive.
- The tone right out of the box was a bit e-bassy but that went away pretty much completely after a 3 hour jam session (pizz only). Will try arco during the next few days.
- The tension is noticeably lower than on Spirocore Mittels and the sustain is slightly shorter. But there's still enough for my bluegrass needs. They don't feel very different from Mittels while playing.
- The G string felt thin and I expected it to sound tinny, like Spirocore Weich. But the tone was nice and full, and on my bass nicely balanced from to to bottom.
My impression so far is clearly positive.
- These strings are lovely to work with – flexible and supple, easy to wind on and off. There's lots of silk at the pegbox end so they need a few more turns before they grip.
- The strings are extremely smooth, with an almost polished feel. Might be a problem in hot climates but I (Swedish) find it to be nothing but positive.
- The tone right out of the box was a bit e-bassy but that went away pretty much completely after a 3 hour jam session (pizz only). Will try arco during the next few days.
- The tension is noticeably lower than on Spirocore Mittels and the sustain is slightly shorter. But there's still enough for my bluegrass needs. They don't feel very different from Mittels while playing.
- The G string felt thin and I expected it to sound tinny, like Spirocore Weich. But the tone was nice and full, and on my bass nicely balanced from to to bottom.
My impression so far is clearly positive.
So I was on the Pirastro site today and noticed this! I’m very curious about trying the Stark D. Maybe this is the ultimate cure for the “thin and wimpy feeling but somehow also stiff” issue with steel upper strings.
This unfortunately means I want to try these again. Anyone got a used E and A for sale? 
