Evah Pirazzi Weichs

[Ken Smith]

Ok, now that I've had some time with these strings on several of my basses (all only briefly) I can comment on them with more experience in the tests I did.

I used the Weichs on 2 of my basses for a short time. These were some good basses as well. One was the Mougenot and the other my Big Gamba. I put them on the Mougenot after I brought the Gamba in for a C-extension. When the Ext. was completed I brought the Mougenot in for restoration and took the strings with me. Afterwords, I didn't have an Ext. E/C for the Weich set so I put a regular set of Evah's that had been on my Gilkes earlier. The only 'new' set tested was on the Gamba for a few weeks before it went in the shop.

I had heard from one of the string distributors I met while at the ISB that there was now a Weich E/C string available. So a few weeks after returning from the show I called and ordered a few sets. I put that set on my Hart which had a fairly newish set of Belcantos on it. While doing this I layed out my Martini on another bench and pulled off the 92s putting the Belcantos on the Martini while putting the new Ext. Weichs on the Hart, one string at a time.

When it was all done I actually liked the Martini with the Belcantos better than the Hart with the Weichs as far as improvements go. The Hart being an older flatter arched Top with numerous repairs as compared to the Martini, half the age of the Hart, with a high arch and only a fraction of the repairs.

As time went on, because of the shoulders mainly of the Martini as compared to the wider Maggini model Hart, I stuck with playing only the Martini. I went back and forth between all 4 of my Basses here for a period of about 4 weeks, each time ending back with the Martini for comfort reasons mainly.

I had thought to myself over and over 'how would the Martini sound and react with the lighter tensioned Weichs on it being that it has such a strong Top'. Switching strings between two basses and tuning them back up (both with bow quivers attached) takes me about 2 hours in total from start to finish. The Extension string taking the time of 2 strings on and off per bass. It's tight up in there.

So last night while working late I said, 'maybe I can try this now', looking up at the clock..10:30pm.. So.. I did it and switched the Belcantos back to the Hart and the bass actually thanked me.. I think.. smooth Bel's sing on that bass and the Weichs on the Martini feels like I have an improved bass.

Ok, orchestra bowing wise, you can 'hammer' Bel's and Flexocor's all day long but the Evah's are half way between gut and steel in playability. The Pizz on the Martini for jazz is the best it's ever been in the 5 years I've had the bass. The string response being softer is no less powerful than the heavier Bel's. The feel under the left hand I must say is about as good as it gets for me.

So, Evah Weich's with the Ext. E/C has just given new life to the Martini. Also, I will be using mainly this one bass through out the season so I will have a lot more to report back about once the Orchestra season starts. All I have to do now is fit my pickup into the bridge wings so I can take it out on the few Jazz gigs I do during the year. That's if the venue is safe for an expensive bass on the gig location..

[Eric Swanson]

Ken, thanks for the thoughtful A/B with the Belcanto. I am currently using the BC's and haven't ponied up the cash to try the EP Weich's yet.

As ever, sounds as if it will have much to do with the bass and the setup. At least it sounds as if they are in the same ballpark.

[Joel Larsson]

A friend of mine always had this problem of his (pretty good Chech) bass sounding choked, so he gave the Evah Weichs a try. He loved the way the bass sounded afterwards. But, he couldn't cope with them for high solo passages. Didn't deliver the goods, apparently; not enough carrying power or response. It may of course be a question of playing technique, but after a couple of months he changed back to Perm G and D and was all happy again. So, maybe they are better suited for orchestral playing than solo..? The Bels that I have on work all around, but they also have a different feel in thumb pos than your 'average' steel string such as the Flexos I had before. Anyways, I think my next orchestra set is going to be Evah Weich. Unless somebody has talked me into something else by then, which, come to think of it, is kind of likely. :cool:

[Calvin Marks]

I'm still not sure about the actual playing qualities of these weichs? I owned Evah Regulars, wasn't a fan. Too thick and heavy tension for my taste. Liked the sound and feel under the fingers but abandoned them due to their high tension and lack of playability in thumb position (we're not even talkin' end of the fingerboard, these start to sound lumpy around the first G harmonic!)

Orig Flexocore is a great set but the G is noticably brighter than the rest of the set. I think Flex 92 has the nicest sound for orchestra playing. Not sure how these Weichs compare.

[Ken Smith]

I'm still not sure about the actual playing qualities of these weichs? I owned Evah Regulars, wasn't a fan. Too thick and heavy tension for my taste. Liked the sound and feel under the fingers but abandoned them due to their high tension and lack of playability in thumb position (we're not even talkin' end of the fingerboard, these start to sound lumpy around the first G harmonic!)

Orig Flexocore is a great set but the G is noticeably brighter than the rest of the set. I think Flex 92 has the nicest sound for orchestra playing. Not sure how these Weichs compare.

The 92s and the Evah's DON"T compare, period. They are completely different strings. I had the Weichs Ext. E/C set on the Martini for a few months and just took them off. I don't think I played the Bass on any Jobs besides a big band gig but I did practice quite a bit on them before putting a new set of 92 Starks on the bass with the E/C which I have still a few left as they are not made anymore.

I played one concert on the Mougenot with the Weichs regular E, no Extension. It was mainly a Pops/Jazz thing but 'American in Paris' has some fast parts to play. I think the Strings worked fine for that venue.

The Evahs do not respond as fast as Steel when digging in and the upper notes choke a little like Gut strings or more. The flexibility actually works against them I think.

I think they are a great hybrid string for the right bass and right player. I have Belcantos on the Hart and when that set was on the Martini, I think it sounded its best as well. The Flex 92s is always a good set to go back to in my opinion. They bow great, the G is smooth and they are dark sounding with an edge under the bow.

[Calvin Marks]

The 92s and the Evah's DON"T compare, period. They are completely different strings. I had the Weichs Ext. E/C set on the Martini for a few months and just took them off. I don't think I played the Bass on any Jobs besides a big band gig but I did practice quite a bit on them before putting a new set of 92 Starks on the bass with the E/C which I have still a few left as they are not made anymore.

I played one concert on the Mougenot with the Weichs regular E, no Extension. It was mainly a Pops/Jazz thing but 'American in Paris' has some fast parts to play. I think the Strings worked fine for that venue.

The Evahs do not respond as fast as Steel when digging in and the upper notes choke a little like Gut strings or more. The flexibility actually works against them I think.

I think they are a great hybrid string for the right bass and right player. I have Belcantos on the Hart and when that set was on the Martini, I think it sounded its best as well. The Flex 92s is always a good set to go back to in my opinion. They bow great, the G is smooth and they are dark sounding with an edge under the bow.

Great review.