Double Bass Velvet Blue vs. Evah Pirazzi

[kristianbl]

Anyone who has played with both sets of string?

Whats the difference between the Evahs and the Blue from Velvet? (soundvise).

Would really like to hear some recordings of the velvet blue strings.

 

[weary gill]

On my bass, I didn't like the Evahs much at all. I had a really difficult time playing them (pizz) and compared to the results others seem to get, I couldn't bow them either. The Blues, on the other hand, were GREAT for pizz. They had a great mix of warmth and clarity and other people I play with greatly preferred them over the decade-old Spiros I had on before them. The Blues were pretty hard to bow too though. I'd like to try the Evah Weichs before I completely pass judgment on them but IME, Blues > Evahs in most respects.

EDIT: I just realized you were more concerned with sound. The Evahs had a really focused, dry sound...kinda like Joe Martin on some of his recordings. While I love his sound, for some reason I didn't dig it on my own axe. And they seemed to quit on me in TP. I had the blues on about two years ago but I remember them being pretty even in addition to my earlier comments on the tone.

 

[jloehrke]

Evahs bow better, and pizz have a shorter sustain with a more focused tone. The blues have a fatter, more "full spectrum" sound, and are very clear when amplified. I switched from Evahs to Blues about a year ago, and am happy I did.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

I agree the Evahs bow easier. They also have a percussive ping on the front of a pizz note that the Blues don't have. The Evahs have a more articulate pizz because of that ping, IMO.

Tone wise, I find them both to be warm and fat sounding, compared to Spiros, for instance. On my bass the Evahs are more powerful. The Evahs also have a stiffer feel and are more tiring to play. They are both excellent pizz strings.

 

[Peck_Time]

On my bass (carved chinese about 6 years old), the evahs were quite stiff and sounded underwhelming when amplified. The Blues were much easier to play and sounded like gut. The blues are hard to bow for me.

 

[edwise]

I am having good results using an Evah Ext-C string and A string and Evah solo tuning E (as D) and A (as G). My bass is a 7/8 German flatback ca. 1880 with (obviously) a C extension. I play jazz and do a lot of bowing and, for me, the Evahs are the best of both worlds.

 

[SirMjac28]

I'm jealous I've always wanted to learn the upright bass

 

[Peck_Time]

String update:

I'm still on the Velvet Blues. In fact i'm still using the set I had in 2011. That's a good amount of longevity for hybrid construction strings.

 

[jamesimm]

been playing upright for 50 years orchestral and jazz,,and for my jass bass..the Velvet Blues are phenominal..huge tone, clear responsive..Evah are good for classical ...in my estimation they are no longer a good option for jazz...,arco response on the Velvets is thin...if you play both orch and jazz..I would look at the Helicore..they are a good middle ground,,,,

 

[Mepelsteeltje]

Does anybody know where to get the Velvet Blue's? It seems the production stopped or something, I can't find information on distribution or production aswel. I live in The Netherlands, so any European link would be fine.

 

[Sam Dingle]

Does anybody know where to get the Velvet Blue's? It seems the production stopped or something, I can't find information on distribution or production aswel. I live in The Netherlands, so any European link would be fine.

so velvet went out of business there is a thread here about it. Sorry but you have to find something else.

 

[lurk]

Does anybody know where to get the Velvet Blue's? It seems the production stopped or something, I can't find information on distribution or production aswel. I live in The Netherlands, so any European link would be fine.

Out of business. I was a big Velvet fan, but am looking elsewhere because I don't want to get stuck on something I can't replace. Currently I'm using Evah Medium E, Weich A & D, Oliv G and like it. There's a spot on the Oliv about F# that's looking kinda sketchy though, which makes me a little nervous. I bought it used ..