Pirastro Permanents

[stan haskins]

I'm not looking for solo strings - just orchestra string with projecting power. Think Berlin Phil under von Karajan.

I will start with the perms this summer, then make adjustments as necessary.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by stan haskins

I'm not looking for solo strings - just orchestra string with projecting power. Think Berlin Phil under von Karajan.

I will start with the perms this summer, then make adjustments as necessary.

FLEXOCOR, ANY of the styles and which ever works best on you Bass including the Original Flat Chrome. Perms sound goof on the E and E when broken in but the G and D are thin sounding. Mix with a Flexocor type on the top. You can thank me later!

Belcantos are getting raves as well these days and have them on my Pollmann which I haven't yet picked up. They were nice when I played them but tonally I still prefer Pirastros of any styles just mentioned. I spent over a year testing these FOR Pirastro a short time ago putting various sets on some of my Basses and have used every variety in an Orchestra setting. The newer the Bass, the better the string needed to compensate for lack of mellowed age. Even the best of the new handmade Basses need the right string to work.

[stan haskins]

The Permanents are pretty good right out of the box. They sound alot more "brilliant" then what I'm used to (Heliocores - won't be going back to those), and I hope that translates into "penetrating" or "projecting" in a big room. They still have a good deep fundamental tone, though. . . .

They're lower tension than what I expected, which I guess might end up being a good thing in the long run (and my bass seems to like it). I think I'm going to miss a little tension under the bow, though.

[Brian Gencarelli]

Originally Posted by stan haskins

The Permanents are pretty good right out of the box. They sound alot more "brilliant" then what I'm used to (Heliocores - won't be going back to those), and I hope that translates into "penetrating" or "projecting" in a big room. They still have a good deep fundamental tone, though. . . .

They're lower tension than what I expected, which I guess might end up being a good thing in the long run (and my bass seems to like it). I think I'm going to miss a little tension under the bow, though.

Stan,

Now that you've had them on the bass for a while, how are you liking the perms?

[stan haskins]

I like them. For some reason, it's easiest for me to describe tone and timbre as color: the Permanents have more bright blue in them. They are pretty responsive to the bow, and are definitely louder than the Heliocores were (which had more reddish/lavender tone to them).

The sound is not as "rounded out" as I eventually want it to be, but they will easily do for a while . . . maybe I'll try something else next year.

I'm planning to put some new recordings up early this summer, I'll let you know when I do.

[Brenton Carter]

"The Permanents are pretty good right out of the box. They sound alot more "brilliant" then what I'm used to (Heliocores - won't be going back to those), and I hope that translates into "penetrating" or "projecting" in a big room. They still have a good deep fundamental tone, though. . . .

They're lower tension than what I expected, which I guess might end up being a good thing in the long run ..."

in my own experience and upon my teacher's advice, thomastik is a bit hit and miss: their quality assurance doesn't seem to be as good as pirastro, especially with helicores. i've played on some helicore that sounded 3 years old and others that sounded okay... something i'd recommend for a student to stay away from.

permanents were nice on my bass. they were really well balanced across and very even when extending in the upper registers. plenty of power all over too. they are one of the best sets of strings (if not the best i've experienced) for standing out a little bit in your section: if your sound doesn't have the bite to stand out. and a little less tension on your top is good for your bass. if it's too low, you can mix them with some Original Flat Chrome on the bass side... might be unbalanced though.

they do have initially alot of nice ring to them, but after a while mine sort of seemed dead and made my bass sound more "woody" than i'd like it to (a sound that has become pretty unpopular with some recent audition committees).

i've been using flexocores and will probably remind my ears how permanents sound sometime soon.

...my cents

[Eric Hochberg]

I think your confused here, Brenton. Helicores are made by D'Addario, not Thomastik. Also, what is this "woody" thing you and audition committees don't like? That is the term many bassists use to describe an ideal sound.