francois, as far as g and d is concerned, would these be like putting some flexocor on or something? do they sound that damped for pizz playing?
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Double Bass yo string addicts, new Pirastro Passione string?
- Thread starter jmpiwonka
- Start date
wonka:
When I put the Bel Canto G with a Jazzer, Spiro Weich, Corelli 380 (nickel) or a Med pizz D'Addario Helicore..and probably other several other strings.....for pizz it sounds gut-like and not too dark. Just what I like.
But with the Bel Canto G and D, both strings become too dark-sounding for me. So I would imagine a whole set would be very dark-sounding.
When I put the Bel Canto G with a Jazzer, Spiro Weich, Corelli 380 (nickel) or a Med pizz D'Addario Helicore..and probably other several other strings.....for pizz it sounds gut-like and not too dark. Just what I like.
But with the Bel Canto G and D, both strings become too dark-sounding for me. So I would imagine a whole set would be very dark-sounding.
Might the G and D Passione be more comparable to Permanents? I was thinking about buying Permanent G and D to top off my Mittel E and A. The belcanto G and D I have on sound nice but I am looking for something with a bit more color and overtones for solo playing. These new strings sound like they could work...
Not in my experience, but maybe Martin will have another option.
The Permanents G&D are much brighter/metallic, IMHO, and could be a better choice for you though.
Any comparison with Belcantos for arco? Also, what sort of gauges are we talking about for these strings? I'm getting a big old german 5 stringer set up in the next couple of months, and thinking about some nice new strings..... (for 99.9% arco playing)
Do we have any numbers for string tensions? I'm just curious. My bass (and I, I suppose) likes bel cantos a lot, and I'm curious if they're much heavier or lighter. I had a set of Original Flat Chromes on and they just killed all my resonance.
I've never played a whole set of Olivs, but:
The Oliv G is the most beautiful bass G I ever tried, and the Passione is not as good, although very nice.
The Oliv D was very dark on my bass, no similarities with the Passione D which is more lively and have a clearer articulation.
I'd need to A/B them, but IIRC, about the same, meaning not much... (*maybe* the BelCanto had a tad more)
Here's my arco comparison between the Passiones and Belcantos.
Bearing in mind that everybody's bass and setup is different, I put these on my 9mo. old [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and the Belcantos I replaced were 8 mo. old. Also, I only put on the top 3 strings (long E was on back order.)
Sound:
The Passiones have a nice, clear, sweet, sound. More color and character than most other Pirastro strings but not as much as the Belcantos. They sound kind of like a darker version of the Permanents.
The Belcantos have a more robust sound. How much more is debatable. On this bass, the Belcantos also seem quite a bit louder and more resonant. That's under my ear as well as around 12 ft. away.
Response:
Passiones - As easy as the Belcantos are to bow, the Passiones blow them out of the water. I don't think it's possible to get them scratch.
Pizz:
The Passiones seem to have a similar amount of sustain and possibly a little less volume compared to the Belcantos. But still nice.
General impression:
The only gripe I have with these strings is my inability to vary the character of the sound. It doesn't matter if I'm only using two hairs over the fingerboard or flat hair on the bridge, the only difference I hear is a change in volume. I'm not sure if it's the strings (low tension or thin gauge?) or my lack of technique. Or maybe I'm just being overly critical of them...=/
Anyway, these are nice strings, certainly not Belcanto killers but they're definately worth trying if you're in the market.
Bearing in mind that everybody's bass and setup is different, I put these on my 9mo. old [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and the Belcantos I replaced were 8 mo. old. Also, I only put on the top 3 strings (long E was on back order.)
Sound:
The Passiones have a nice, clear, sweet, sound. More color and character than most other Pirastro strings but not as much as the Belcantos. They sound kind of like a darker version of the Permanents.
The Belcantos have a more robust sound. How much more is debatable. On this bass, the Belcantos also seem quite a bit louder and more resonant. That's under my ear as well as around 12 ft. away.
Response:
Passiones - As easy as the Belcantos are to bow, the Passiones blow them out of the water. I don't think it's possible to get them scratch.
Pizz:
The Passiones seem to have a similar amount of sustain and possibly a little less volume compared to the Belcantos. But still nice.
General impression:
The only gripe I have with these strings is my inability to vary the character of the sound. It doesn't matter if I'm only using two hairs over the fingerboard or flat hair on the bridge, the only difference I hear is a change in volume. I'm not sure if it's the strings (low tension or thin gauge?) or my lack of technique. Or maybe I'm just being overly critical of them...=/
Anyway, these are nice strings, certainly not Belcanto killers but they're definately worth trying if you're in the market.
FYI, I got an email from Pirastro this morning.
They're releasing a Stark version of the Passione DB strings. (for added brilliance and power)
Good day,
François
They're releasing a Stark version of the Passione DB strings. (for added brilliance and power)
Good day,
François
We just put a set of these strings on a Pollman 5 string at work. The bass is 2 years old and has a bright tone. We had Belcanto's on it previously.
What I hear from after first day analysis...
The string has a very clear/warm tone (warmer than belcanto). The playing ability is easy due to light tension. What I hear is potentially an extremely colorful string. The dynamic range appears to be wider than belcanto. I play Spirocore on my (dark sounding) bass. I find this Passione string to have a similar tension (without the raw metalic sounds). It may be a very good string for brighter/new instruments. You can play with ease closer to the bridge.... it reacts well to that type of bow resistance. Off string playing... I liked the comfort in bouncing, however the sound is very weak when playing closer to the fingerboard. To get a good forte you must move down the string. I like how the string forces you to naturally work with bow weight/speed in variation of where you play on the string. It's seems very comfortable and natural to play. BTW, the pizz is fantastic for orchestral playing. Extremely warm, over-all this string has an ideal warm bass tone.
*** I fear this string may not last very long for the everyday orchestral musician. Heavy players, you know who you are, may find this string to not be high enough tension.
I'll add more info as the string acclimates better to the bass. This info is only from a short test run today.
What I hear from after first day analysis...
The string has a very clear/warm tone (warmer than belcanto). The playing ability is easy due to light tension. What I hear is potentially an extremely colorful string. The dynamic range appears to be wider than belcanto. I play Spirocore on my (dark sounding) bass. I find this Passione string to have a similar tension (without the raw metalic sounds). It may be a very good string for brighter/new instruments. You can play with ease closer to the bridge.... it reacts well to that type of bow resistance. Off string playing... I liked the comfort in bouncing, however the sound is very weak when playing closer to the fingerboard. To get a good forte you must move down the string. I like how the string forces you to naturally work with bow weight/speed in variation of where you play on the string. It's seems very comfortable and natural to play. BTW, the pizz is fantastic for orchestral playing. Extremely warm, over-all this string has an ideal warm bass tone.
*** I fear this string may not last very long for the everyday orchestral musician. Heavy players, you know who you are, may find this string to not be high enough tension.
I'll add more info as the string acclimates better to the bass. This info is only from a short test run today.
Francios, I play on Spirocore medium gauge orchestra strings. To answer your question, yes I find them to be comfortably flexible and much lighter tension than the heavy. These new strings have a similar tension/flexibility without the harder metal winding. They feel softer on the left hand and have what seems to be a similar string thickness. All in all a much warmer tone color.
I sincerely look forward to testing the Stark gauge. Pirastro is on to something good here.
We put chromcore on the same model bass... the sound is way to bright. Maybe they will settle in nicely??? I have a bad feeling about them. I'm guessing the flat-chrom originals are going to win out. I may even have my section go half flat-chrom and half flexicore (original). I think that will be a very nice sound.
I sincerely look forward to testing the Stark gauge. Pirastro is on to something good here.
We put chromcore on the same model bass... the sound is way to bright. Maybe they will settle in nicely??? I have a bad feeling about them. I'm guessing the flat-chrom originals are going to win out. I may even have my section go half flat-chrom and half flexicore (original). I think that will be a very nice sound.
