Pirastro-Evah Pirazzi

[Arnold Schnitzer]

I received a set the other day and put them on a mint 1960s Juzek. My impressions so far are mixed. The feel is a bit stiff to me and the pizz tone is on the dry side. Arco response is so-so. I like the arco tone. I'm kind of scratching my head so far, not sure if I like them or not. They seem to me like darker-sounding Dominants, but not quite that stiff.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

I received a set the other day and put them on a mint 1960s Juzek. My impressions so far are mixed. The feel is a bit stiff to me and the pizz tone is on the dry side. Arco response is so-so. I like the arco tone. I'm kind of scratching my head so far, not sure if I like them or not. They seem to me like darker-sounding Dominants, but not quite that stiff.

Arnold, trying a new set on a factory made Bass may not be the best way to test them. I think if you pick a high quality handmade Bass that you know, judging the results will tell you more about about the string that you can tell from a German Shop Bass. True, there are 1000's of these Basses in the world but I think only a smaller percentage of them used for bowing.

AT least we know it may not be the best string for that type of Bass. I put them on my Gilkes which is a Bass you did a long and fine restoration on. I must say the Bass has never sounded or played better and I have used several types of strings in the search both before and after the restoration.

The Pizz on the Gilkes for either Jazz or Bowing is about the best it has ever been. The Gilkes sounds noticeably louder than I have ever heard it. It has always bowed smooth so there was little room for improvement there. They do however remind me a bit of Oliv's which I have used on the Martini and some combo with G & D Oliv's on 2 other Basses. I think for me they Bow at least as good as any other great string. As a matter of fact, when bowing the G on the Gilkes if I move the Bow a bit sloppy, the string doesn't catch as well. With these new EPs, they catch even on bad strokes.

Each type of set out there has their own feel and design. The Basses themselves seem to decide which string it wants. When the 'sweet spot' is found string-wise, you will know it.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

My understanding is that these strings are to be considered "hybrids". So I put them on a bass that is going to be used for both arco and pizz. This bass was recently upgraded by me with some regraduation, a new bass bar and a new neck. It's a good instrument. I'm going to let the strings break in for a while, and let some other people play it. I'll post my findings here. What I wrote above was simply my first impression.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

My understanding is that these strings are to be considered "hybrids". So I put them on a bass that is going to be used for both arco and pizz. This bass was recently upgraded by me with some regraduation, a new bass bar and a new neck. It's a good instrument. I'm going to let the strings break in for a while, and let some other people play it. I'll post my findings here. What I wrote above was simply my first impression.

Thank's for pointing that out. I know you did some work but didn't know just how much. Again, for myself mainly, I can only tell how a String actually is in comparison by testing them on a Bass that I know. Of course just putting them an a Bass you can tell if they work well on that Bass or not but not really know how the fair with other strings on the same Bass. Sometimes I have switched strings 6 times over only to discover that the first set I had on was the best for that Bass to begin with within the same condition and set-up.

One other thing I want to point out is the usage intended for 'that' Bass. Only a few Basses I have owned works well for both Jazz or Classical with the same exact set of strings and set-up. My Gilkes and Cornerless Bass seem to do anything with a good set of strings on it. The Martini however is so dark on the bottom that for Jazz only I would want a brighter type jazz string.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Two other people played the Pirazzi's today. Consensus was that this set is a winner. They liked the pizz feel and tone, felt they could dig in and the bass responded with a lot of volume. I feel they are a little stiff for me but I'm liking them more as they break in. Arco is pretty good so far, not amazing. So far the best of the hybrid strings I think.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

Two other people played the Pirazzi's today. Consensus was that this set is a winner. They liked the pizz feel and tone, felt they could dig in and the bass responded with a lot of volume. I feel they are a little stiff for me but I'm liking them more as they break in. Arco is pretty good so far, not amazing. So far the best of the hybrid strings I think.

Yes Arnold, the best Hybrid in my book as well. I think reg. Flexocors Bow better especially on the Lower strings and Oliv G & D on the uppers are about the best but for overall playing for Pizz, Jazz, Classical etc, they do it all very well.

If you need a single Bass to be flexible for both Bowing and Pizz, this is a string to check out.

The G-string has such a great Pizz sound that I have not heard since using Olivs and the A-string.. woah.. what a cannon..

[Arnold Schnitzer]

I just want to add a little something I learned about these strings yesterday. The open strings vibrate with a huge excursion when played aggressively (pizz). I can make the open E and A hit the adjacent string if I fire them hard. I dressed the fingerboard on this particular bass with a good amount of camber, but the potential for rattle is still there. I see this as the opposite side of the coin from their ability to play loud and punchy.