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New strings...FFS!


TheRev
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Every time I try a new set of strings and then inevitably find myself going back to Spiro weich and I promise myself that I won't be tempted to spend hundreds of pounds on the pointless pursuit of 'something better'.

So why did I allow myself to get sucked into a Talkbass thread on the new Pirastro Perpetuals? 

They should arrive this weekend so I'll have a couple of days to agonise and try to analyse if they're 'better' than Spiros. Why do I keep doing this to myself....  

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8 minutes ago, TheRev said:

Every time I try a new set of strings and then inevitably find myself going back to Spiro weich and I promise myself that I won't be tempted to spend hundreds of pounds on the pointless pursuit of 'something better'.

So why did I allow myself to get sucked into a Talkbass thread on the new Pirastro Perpetuals? 

They should arrive this weekend so I'll have a couple of days to agonise and try to analyse if they're 'better' than Spiros. Why do I keep doing this to myself....  

More money than sense?

I jest. I've always loved Sprios and never needed to change. I've got a box full of effects and a cupboard full of books however, so I feel your pain!

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I'm seduced by that Perpetual thread too, or mainly by the phenomenal buttery tone on Rick Wolff's bass, and 'low tension and flexible' description here .

I'm sure my vintage ply will sound exactly like Rick's with them on. 😁

I've got a Perpetual E and an Evah Pirazzi weich A heading my way as step 2 in my radical venture away from deeply-ingrained gut purism. I'll let you know which I prefer, or whether Spiros have enough thump to to the job. Or whether I go back to guts after all.

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Yeh, but listen to the clip he made on day one, better mic placing...

It also sounds gorgeous through his KNA pickup ... I'm minded to try mine out again. Though I think it struggles with scratchy high-mids, will really show up any raggedy slapping I might do with steels .. and is a bit feedback prone with big bottom end. Based on my single road test in live setting. Sweet sound at low volume though. 

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10 hours ago, PaulKing said:

I'm seduced by that Perpetual thread too, or mainly by the phenomenal buttery tone on Rick Wolff's bass, and 'low tension and flexible' description here .

I'm sure my vintage ply will sound exactly like Rick's with them on. 😁

 

Yeah, my bass doesn't sound like that....

So, they've been on a few days and had time to settle down and so far I'm enjoying them, which is a good sign - usually if new strings aren't working for me they're off the bass within days.

They were a lot brighter than my Spiros when they first went on (though the Spiros were probably a bit dead...), especially the E string, but that seems to have mellowed out now l. I recorded some clips with the Spiros, followed by the Perpetuals ehen I first put them on for comparison. I'll record some  more when I get home from this weekend's gigs to see of there's a noticeable difference. On first impressions, the Perpetuals have a richer, more complex sound, but with a clear fundamental, but, as I mentioned before, my Spiros could be well past their prime.

Tension-wise, they feel pretty similar to the Spiro Weich. There may be a bit more bounce under the right hand, especially on the G, but it's subtle and my perception is probably skewed by the mention of this in the Talkbass thread.... in a blind test I probably wouldn't be able to feel a difference between Spiro Weich and the Perpetuals.

What is noticeable is that the Perpetual G has a much sweeter tone than the Spiro G, especially up around the E and into thumb position. There's none of that twangy,  nasal tone thing going on.

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19 minutes ago, TheRev said:

Yeah, my bass doesn't sound like that....

So, they've been on a few days and had time to settle down and so far I'm enjoying them, which is a good sign - usually if new strings aren't working for me they're off the bass within days.

They were a lot brighter than my Spiros when they first went on (though the Spiros were probably a bit dead...), especially the E string, but that seems to have mellowed out now l. I recorded some clips with the Spiros, followed by the Perpetuals ehen I first put them on for comparison. I'll record some  more when I get home from this weekend's gigs to see of there's a noticeable difference. On first impressions, the Perpetuals have a richer, more complex sound, but with a clear fundamental, but, as I mentioned before, my Spiros could be well past their prime.

Tension-wise, they feel pretty similar to the Spiro Weich. There may be a bit more bounce under the right hand, especially on the G, but it's subtle and my perception is probably skewed by the mention of this in the Talkbass thread.... in a blind test I probably wouldn't be able to feel a difference between Spiro Weich and the Perpetuals.

What is noticeable is that the Perpetual G has a much sweeter tone than the Spiro G, especially up around the E and into thumb position. There's none of that twangy,  nasal tone thing going on.

Good signs ...

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  • 2 weeks later...

I recognised all that in the E I tried. It’s nice, quite soft and airy, very bright to begin but mellowed quickly.

im suspicious I’ll prefer them to Spiros where I want a Spiro sound ... but all in all I’m digging EP weich for the sound I want ... clarity with a big nod to gut thump and fundamental 

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A few weeks in and another couple gigs and I'm really enjoying these strings. Ignore what I said previously about the tension and bounce being close to Spiro Weich, now that the Perpetuals have mellowed and opened up a bit, they are  noticeably more supple under the right hand.

There is much more bloom to the start of the note, which means they're a bit less punchy than Spiros, but once I got used to that, I really started enjoying them.

So that's it. My 4 year relationship with my Spiro Wiech is over. I might even buy a set to replace the Preston Nylons on my carved bass....

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