Double Bass Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Slaps - Unamplified Volume

[Ampig]

I'm looking at these on the Gollihur site and am contemplating buying the Synthetic E A D set with gut G. My Englehart has been strung with Spirocore Weichs, Corelli 370's and currently Zyex lights. I've always wanted to try guts/synthetic guts but never made the jump. My only current gig is with a traditional bluegrass band. I'm amplified for shows, but at practice and jam sessions I'm acoustic only. I'm concerned about being able to hear myself in the latter situation. I find that when I can't hear myself I dig in harder and wind up with a hurting right hand afterwards. Does anyone have experience/advice that might help me with the decision. I'm semi retired so these strings are somewhat of a big investment for me.

 

[bassmanbrent]

Bear in mind that this is my personal experience only... I'm mostly a steel string player, and I found that I often overplayed the Evah Slaps in an attempt to hear myself better. That said, I did a few unamplified gigs with them that I really enjoyed. If you are used to higher tension, brighter strings like I am, you may find yourself overplaying these. I am very curious to see what others have to say...

 

[BassinCT]

How is your bass responding to the Zyex? That set is very lively and easy to hear in an acoustic mix. What direction are you interested in going in terms of feel/sound?

I use Evah weich on a hybrid bass. In comparison to Zyex light or medium, they feel a little stiffer under the fingers, but give a nice well-defined attack and solid bottom end.

 

[Don Hergert]

... Does anyone have experience/advice that might help me with the decision. I'm semi retired so these strings are somewhat of a big investment for me.

Since late last year I've seen and played a number of DBs using Eurosonic (NFI) sets (I'm guessing in Ultralight tension range) in bluegrass circles and have been impressed with their volume, tone and feel.

Eurosonics have a metallic/synthetic hybrid core with a white "Polimide" (nylon like) synthetic outer winding. Their volume is excellent, a metallic tone is noticeable but not overwhelming (but is a little more metallic than I prefer for my Alcoa since I'm trying to subdue its natural metallic tone). The Eurosonic feel is excellent. Their price is also excellent compared to other brands. If I had a wooden DB I'd definitely be trying these strings.

On my Alcoa I use [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] EA under Superior Bassworks (SBW) Deluxe ("Dirty Gut" color) medium tension DG...

SBW Dirty Guts are basically a dark yellow colored Kevlar core "Gator Line" which has been "spiral cut" and then setup with rubber dipped metal ends for secure tailpiece mounting. They are probably the nicest "cheap wacker strings" available and their price is excellent. They come in a "bump pack" of 6 strings to span a very-low-tension to heavier-tension range of thicknesses. The spiral cut makes them feel and look very similar to plain gut; these strings have an excellent feel and they do move a lot of air, and they surprisingly bow very well probably due to the spiral cut. On my Alcoa the whole set of these strings sound great amp'ed or DI'ed, but acoustically the E and A were a problem... The medium D and G have actually been excellent acoustically, but I couldn't get even the heavier E and A to produce enough acoustic volume and clarity, so I replaced them with...

SilverSlaps are synthetic core, nylon wrapped strings, the lightest tension in GHS/Innovation's line of strings... On my Alcoa the E and A strings are loud, clear and they produce a noticeable growl that helps them really cut through a mix of instruments acoustically. Their feel is excellent and they also move a lot of air. They are tough for arco -- I needed to play them for about 2 weeks with generous rosin and a tight bow before they started responding reasonably well. But for pizz and slap they are great. Interesting to note: my SilverSlaps E and A had somewhat of a "plastic" tone that went away after a few weeks of playing, and I've seen one or two other references to that here.

I've been using this mixed set for about 2 years now and they've been doing very nicely for me. They are surprisingly well balanced for tone, volume and touch. They are so good on my Alcoa that it's been very hard for me to pull the trigger on trying other strings...

Somewhere in my string bucket list is plain gut DG over SilverSlaps (or some synthetic) EA, but I think this is going to be a number of years down the road.

 

[Keith Rawlings]

I'm using the EP Slaps on my E and A and they are plenty loud unamplified. I pair them with an Oliv D and G wrapped gut and they sound great acoustically and amplified. I love the tension of the Evah Pirazzi's as well.

 

[Ampig]

Wats looking for a more organic tone and something easier on the hands at 60

 

[Keith Rawlings]

Wats looking for a more organic tone and something easier on the hands at 60

I love the slaps and they're way easier on my hands than my old round wound gut LaBella E and A were; as well as a the Supernil E and A round wound strings I played on for years - plus they're way easier on the fingerboard. Pizz tone is nice too. The E and A are fairly cheap compared to other strings; the gut D and G for that Slap set are very pricey though.

 

[Ampig]

Looking at the synthetic D and the gut G. I understand that gut D strings can lose a lot around the second position.

 

[Keith Rawlings]

I have a friend who loves the synthetic D and G for that set. I'm going to try them at some point once my Olivs wear out. I've heard they bow pretty well for synthetic core strings.

 

[Reiska]

I'm looking at these on the Gollihur site and am contemplating buying the Synthetic E A D set with gut G. My Englehart has been strung with Spirocore Weichs, Corelli 370's and currently Zyex lights. I've always wanted to try guts/synthetic guts but never made the jump. My only current gig is with a traditional bluegrass band. I'm amplified for shows, but at practice and jam sessions I'm acoustic only. I'm concerned about being able to hear myself in the latter situation. I find that when I can't hear myself I dig in harder and wind up with a hurting right hand afterwards. Does anyone have experience/advice that might help me with the decision. I'm semi retired so these strings are somewhat of a big investment for me.

Hi, I have used full set of synthetic Evah slaps on a big bass that`s set up for acoustic playing ( as well as with plain guts ADG, DG or G only ). I think they should be compared rather to gut strings than steels in perceived audibility. IME they absolutely need high action to work properly, with G at least at 9 - 10mm and E at least at 13 - 14mm to deliver the low end projection they`re capable of, and a playability that can withstand a more physical than basic steel string pizz touch. They`ll never behave like spirocores if that`s what you`re used to, but they do deliver huge low end thump when set up and played right. I had no problem playing them unamped with reso guitars, banjos, saxophones and drummers, in- and outdoors, but the overall balance of the ensemble, players physical touch and the setup of the bass needs to right IME.

They`re a great old school vibe hybrid string, but I`ve found the G winding pretty damn fragile. Plain gut G fits the rest of the synthetic set great.

 

[Ampig]

Thanks for the input

 

[Bar Star]

Hi, I have used full set of synthetic Evah slaps on a big bass that`s set up for acoustic playing ( as well as with plain guts ADG, DG or G only ).

Hi Reiska,

At optimum string heights, how does the plain gut D sit in the sound mix between the EA and the gut G?

I am looking for strings to get an old school vibe playing acoustic bluegrass on an Eastman hybrid. I would like to try plain gut GD but have seen concern in some threads about various plain gut D's.

 

[Jon Mush]

We used to do an acoustic part of the show, in the middle of the crowd.

I used to have my Chadwick wearing all synthetic EP Slaps. I'm not sure I had that action as high as prescribed above, but definitely a few turns higher than where I have the steels. I really liked them, and while a bit quieter in the upper mids from the driver's seat, they seemed to be great in the room.
I asked the other guys repeatedly if they noticed if I was quieter, and they always said they could hear me fine, and no less than with the steels.

The fragility of the windings led me to take them off the travel bass, but I'd definitely have a go again if I can ever afford a second bass that lives in one piece.

 

[Reiska]

Hi Reiska,

At optimum string heights, how does the plain gut D sit in the sound mix between the EA and the gut G?

I am looking for strings to get an old school vibe playing acoustic bluegrass on an Eastman hybrid. I would like to try plain gut GD but have seen concern in some threads about various plain gut D's.

I think the E and A blends really well with plain guts as they are close in tension and sound with guts. I would pass the EP slap gut D though, I found it a helpless noodle. The G is a good string, I`ve used that with a Pistoy D. I`ve tried Pistoy DG, no-name guts, Efrano mediums and Chorda CH`s and they all have worked well. Gamut Pistoys are the best match on my bass, compared to loud as all hell Chorda CH`s, as they have less aggressive sound and blend well. That said, I now have a different setup with Evah weichs and Pistoys as I found that I was working a bit too hard with that overall low tension. Anyway, I think that EP slaps with any good gut GD is a great set. Surprise, they slap really well and bows just fine too.

 

[Reiska]

We used to do an acoustic part of the show, in the middle of the crowd.

I used to have my Chadwick wearing all synthetic EP Slaps. I'm not sure I had that action as high as prescribed above, but definitely a few turns higher than where I have the steels. I really liked them, and while a bit quieter in the upper mids from the driver's seat, they seemed to be great in the room.
I asked the other guys repeatedly if they noticed if I was quieter, and they always said they could hear me fine, and no less than with the steels.

The fragility of the windings led me to take them off the travel bass, but I'd definitely have a go again if I can ever afford a second bass that lives in one piece.

They surely fill the room! The last time I changed them on our guitar player entered the house and said that he could hear the difference on the front door, upstairs. They carry like crazy in the low end while beeing a bit anemic to the drivers seat. I practise a lot facing to a corner, and I think that might have helped when getting used to them.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Exactly. You don't hear squat in the playing position but you're rattling their fillings. Fun experiment.

 

[Martin Spure]

Another excellent and brand new review of Evah Slaps (both synthetic G+D, and gut G+D) from Mr. Hervè :



(Post moved/copied from 'Innovation'-thread)

 

[Francois Blais]

Thanks Martin!

 

[james condino]

The Evah E and A, like many plastic core strings, will sound very different amplified than they will acoustic.

 

[Francois Blais]

Indeed James.
They don't sound well on my instrument.
And they need more room to vibrate fully.