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Double Bass Velvet Anima vs Evah Pirazzi Weich

ErikvanD

ErikvanD

Guest
Oct 25, 2013
182
37
Moerdijk, The Netherlands
staggeub.wordpress.com
#1
Hi all,

Almost from the moment I started on DB (about 1,5 years ago) I have used Evah Pirazzi Weich on my basses. I have also tried Spiro Medium, Presto Balance Hybrid and Belcantos but come back to the Evahs every time. I like their feel, dark sound and bowability. I'm a beginning player and I play mostly arco at the moment.

For a while now I have been curious how a set of Velvet Animas would do on my bass. I have read around on TB in the Evah and Velvet megathreads etc. but so far I have not found a direct comparison between the Evah weich and the Anima (could very well have to do with my search abilities :meh:...) I would very much welcome some input on how they compare. Especially on the following aspects:
  • bowability: especially the G as I have read this differs from the other 3 and is more difficult to bow?
  • tension and the effect on stringheight: the Animas have 25 kg of tension and the Evahs vary from 25,5 - 29,2 kg. This will probable mean I would have to make my string height a bit higher?
  • soundwise: which string sounds darker? And what set does have more sustain?
Any input is welcome. Thanks!

Cheers,
Erik
 
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#4
I've used the Evah Weich (currently) and the Regular gauge. If you're interested in a slightly darker sound and bigger sound then you may want to try the Regular gauge next. Some people say they have too much tension but I found it the same as Spiro Mediums.
 
#6
Hi Erik, I have played the Anima's but was not very impressed. They do not bow great and my G-string broke. This seems to happen a lot with the Anima's.

Do you know the DVD from Rufus Reid (The Evolving Bassist?) On that DVD he bows the Anima's - well I can say , you can hardly hear them...

Anyway, this is my personal experience....

If you want to refocus on bowable string, you might try some Pirastro's like: Flexocor, Permanents, Passiones and/or Original Flatchrome. I like the Orignal Flatchrome (OFC) a lot.

Could luck with your (expensive) search!
 
#8
Anima's are very nice strings for pizz. You can bow them, but in my opinion they are more pizz strings. If you mostly play with the bow: stick with Evah Weich.
Evah's are nice to bow. And if you want to spent money on strings ....... buy a Oliv G and fall in love with it. Works well in combination with Evah E A D.
If I was a classical player I would like to try out Flexocor Deluxe (watch out changing strings can become a disease......)
 
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#9
marco zomer said:
(watch out changing strings can become a disease......)
Click to expand...

This is very true, and unfortunately most of us seem to succumb to this disease at least once in our playing careers, if not multiple times. Hopefully we can learn from our experimentation- and from the experience of others. Many of us spend a LOT of money and time on different strings in various combinations and setups, only to end up back where we started, but lighter in the wallet! :crying:

Oddly though, and the inverse of my previous statement, sometimes a bass just "likes" a certain string, and really comes alive with them...so, you never REALLY know until you try a bunch of them and see what happens!

That all said, Evahs are great strings! Maybe stick with them?

Good luck!

Joe
 
#11
I just put the Oliv G on. Had to do some work on my tailpiece first as the Oliv is much thicker than the EP. My first impression: I love it pizzicato. It gives a much fuller tone than the EP. I also like the feel of the thicker string. Under the bow it also sounds very nice but it bows differently than the EP. But I guess I'll get uses to that quickly. I also like the way the Oliv sounds together with the three EP. I feels like a set.

I am curious to see how I like it on the long run. And how the Oliv will stay in tune.

Cheers,
Erik
 
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#13
Well, after a month I am still liking the Oliv G a lot. My first impressions still stand.

I just love the sound pizz and the larger diameter feel under my left hand. It really does make a good set with the EP weich on my bass. It does still detune a bit after the bass has not been used for a day or so. But not as much as in the beginning, especially after putting it very carefully on the tuner. I can live with that. I also noticed that the Oliv seems to have a lot more volume on my bass compared to the Evah.

However, I am still finding the Oliv G not so easy to bow as the Pirazzi G. Somehow it feels "harsher" and I sometimes find it hard to make a good transition from one of the other strings. I'm sure this has 99% to do with my (still crappy) technique but nevertheless. It also depends a bit on the bow I use. The harsher feel/sound is more present on my (main) white hair Seifert German pernambuco bow and less on my (spare) black hair French Arcus carbon bow.

But I slowly seem to get it right. So, for now the Oliv is a keeper!
 
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#15
On my bass the Oliv g is a great string. As stated above it suits E, A, D strings from other sets. I’ve used the Oliv g with Spirocore red/red Helicore Hybrid Heavy, La Bella 7720 medium and Evah P. medium. I tend to change the Oliv g every 12 months. I’ve been using Oliv g on and off for 15 years and consistently for the last three years. Pizz and Arco are excellent
 

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