String advice

[thisnameistaken]

I've got a set of Evah Pirazzi (orch) on my beater L-plate ply bass at the moment, no idea how old they are (I've had the bass 5 months and they were on it when I got it) but the E and A sound a bit indistinct intonation-wise and extremely thumpy and bassy when plucked, bowed they're a bit livelier but still very deep compared to the G.

I like a deep tone and I like the volume, but I do sometimes wish it wasn't quite so boomy. It can make it difficult to hear whether I'm playing in tune and I sometimes find myself craning over the front of the bass for a listen, especially when accompanying other instruments/voices.

I wondered if anyone else using these strings could tell me whether it might be an idea to replace them? Would new ones be clearer but still deep and loud? And would you say these the most appropriate strings for this kind of old-school sound with plenty of volume?

[TPJ]

Has the bass been set up recently? Might be a sound post adjustment could help even out the sound for you.

[TheRev]

Are you playing pizz or arco?
If you're mainly playing pizz, then orchestral strings aren't going to sound great - they'll be too dark and thumpy as they're designed to be bowed.

Obligatos muy suit you better, or a set of Helicore Hybrids if you want to play both pizz and arco.

[Major-Minor]

I now use Evahs (orch) for both jazz and arco playing. And I think they are superb.

Yes they are a little darker (for jazz) than say spiros, but they growl beautifully at the bottom end, and have a solid tone in the higher register.

The pizz sustain is much longer than on most orchestral type strings.

Maybe you have a duff set (it does happen!) or they have been thrashed.

The Major

[Hector]

Major, are you using the regular Pirazzis or the Weichs?

I've heard mixed reviews about them, with some saying that they die too early and are a bit of an extra effort to play - what are your thoughts?

I've been using the same old set of spirocores for years now, and they're starting to sound a bit tired, so was looking for a new set but I'm struggling since my playing is pretty much split 50-50 between jazz and classical stuff.

p.s. I like the spirocores' playability, but their tone is a little bright for me - looking for a woodier/ Christian McBride Style tone playing pizz.

Edited June 7, 2010 by Hector

[thisnameistaken]

Well mine don't have a lot of sustain on the E it is very thumpy, so maybe they do need replacing? I am mostly playing pizz, but currently learning to use a bow and enjoying it so I think I do want to keep using hybrid strings like these.

To be honest I'd quite like to have the bass given the once-over by a boffin - I'm noticing a few little jobs it could benefit from - it's just bad timing since the missus quit her job last month.

[Hector]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='860141' date='Jun 7 2010, 05:56 PM']Well mine don't have a lot of sustain on the E it is very thumpy, so maybe they do need replacing?[/quote]

This is reportedly what happens after about a year with the pirazzis.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Hector' post='860144' date='Jun 7 2010, 06:00 PM']This is reportedly what happens after about a year with the pirazzis.[/quote]

Oh don't say that man I really like them apart from the bass string super-thumpiness.

Are there any other hybrid strings that sound this loud and stay healthy a bit longer?

[harmonicon]

If you're not happy with the E but like the others, why not just replace the E with something else? A lot of players play with mixed sets for these sorts of reasons. You could try a few different E's for less than the price of an entire set, then if you find an E that you especially like, when you want to replace the entire set, maybe try an entire set of that kind.

Have you checked out this incredible string comparison site?
[url="http://www.hervejeanne.de/saitenmatrix.php"]http://www.hervejeanne.de/saitenmatrix.php[/url]

The ones that sound the best to me on there on the obligatos, but different people will want different qualities. I thought the aquilas sound great pizzed (I use the same brand on my uke) but crap bowed... that's just from this site though - I've never played on them.

[Major-Minor]

[quote name='Hector' post='860136' date='Jun 7 2010, 05:48 PM']Major, are you using the regular Pirazzis or the Weichs?

I've heard mixed reviews about them, with some saying that they die too early and are a bit of an extra effort to play - what are your thoughts?

I've been using the same old set of spirocores for years now, and they're starting to sound a bit tired, so was looking for a new set but I'm struggling since my playing is pretty much split 50-50 between jazz and classical stuff.

p.s. I like the spirocores' playability, but their tone is a little bright for me - looking for a woodier/ Christian McBride Style tone playing pizz.[/quote]
The first Evahs I bought were the Weichs, which sounded great but I found them too rubbery, almost too easy to play - I like a bit of resistance.
They were ok with the bow but not great.

Then I tried a set of the regular orchestral Evahs on my orch bass. Wow ! Big sound, responsive, solid under the fingers (they are a bit fatter than most), but yet sustaining and growly for jazz pizz.

The spiros I had on my jazz DB were getting very old, and have always been awful with the bow. As I was doing some concerts that were mainly big band stuff with some orchestral bits thrown in that required bowing, I decided to try the regular Evahs on this jazz DB. Again, i was bowled over ! And I got some great comments about the sound of my bass from other members of this (27 piece) orchestra, both the straight players and the jazzers. So now I am a happy chappy !

Having said all this, i can see that they are not for everyone. And I too have heard that they don't last long. I've been using them for 6 months now and the sound has not deteriorated yet. But time will tell ...

Hector - if you want that woodier, darker sound, try the Evah Regulars.

The Major

[TPJ]

[quote name='Hector' post='860144' date='Jun 7 2010, 06:00 PM']This is reportedly what happens after about a year with the pirazzis.[/quote]

If you read on Talkbass then some say these die in a year, but they also say that their Spiros die in a year which is really hard to believe. Some of the people report the Evahs going strong 18 months on. Too many variables. How you play, how often you play, your bass, your tone preferences etc...

This string business is a buggar

[Hector]

Argh, string chat is so frustrating!

I just want to sort my gear etc. out so I can stop worrying about how they affect my sound and start concentrating on my own playing and how that affects my sound!

I'm probably gonna go for the Evahs, but I'm still on the fence about Regulars vs. Weichs. I'm not gonna fuss about their lifespan, so I guess I'll just read around and try and make as informed a choice as possible. I've heard the regulars give a lot of resistance, but soften up a bit after a few weeks or so of playing and actually break in really nicely. I've read that their G sounds a little weak in the higher positions, so might be a thought to get an Obligato G with the Pirazzi regulars E, A and D. Probably leaning more towards Regulars than Weichs. I am keen on playing more melodic lines up in TP though, which might mean Weichs are a more solid choice for that, but I'm troubled by Major's lack of success with their arco response.

I want to do what I've done with my electric bass, which is find the string set that suits me and stick with it. Problem is the DB strings cost about 10x as much! I wanna concentrate on how I use my tools, rather than spend all my time poncing about with which ones I use.


EDIT - Once I've cracked on a set of whatever I choose, I shall report back in with my findings in the hopes of aiding those who also walk through the valley of expensive confusion that is string choice. Might not be for a few weeks though, as I've got a few big concerts coming up and I'll stick with my trusty Spirocores till then (better the devil you know!).

Edited June 8, 2010 by Hector

[Bilbo]

I have nothing to contribute to the advice as I have only played two types of string: one I can identify, the other I can't. I guess the difficulty is that, at these prices, few of us can afford to experiment in any meaningful way (I woudl not consider playing a set on one brand three years ago to be a useful perspective to take). Drawing on the experience of others only has limited value as many have only played a small percentage of the available brands/string guages so comparisons are problematic. Personally, I like the Evah's but, having never tried anything else other than the ones the bass came with, I have nothing to relate them to. Spiros are THE brand for jazzers but the opinions on their arco sound seem divided. Everything else appears to be a lottery as few have tried them!!

As someone suggested above, I intend to focus on the playing and let everything else come to me over time.

[thisnameistaken]

Yeah it does seem difficult to get good advice about strings. I hear what you're saying about focusing on playing but I feel like I've got a problem with the strings on the bass that is actually making playing more difficult for me (the intonation issue) so I don't think this can be classed as gear-head behaviour.

Not that I buy/sell a lot of gear anyway.