Pirastro-Evah Pirazzi

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Richard Prowse

Tonight I put the Weichs back on that came with the bass and they feel pretty damn good! The BCs were sweet, the EPs had a lovely strong pizz sound. The Weichs do it all!

The Weichs do it all? You mean they Bow as good as the EPs? Not in my experience and nor to they sound as fat or project as well either in my world.

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

The Weichs do it all? You mean they Bow as good as the EPs? Not in my experience and nor to they sound as fat or project as well either in my world.

I put the EPs on for a while and then I put the BCs back on. I went to a friend's place who had EPs on a similar bass (same maker) and we compared them. I thought that the BCs had a nicer bowing sound but the EPs have a nice big strong pizz sound. I don't like the BC pizz feel (a bit too gentle under the fingers) so I put the EPs back on. I gave them a good go for about three weeks. I found I had to use a lot of rosin to make them speak (well, more than I generally use, which is about four down bows every day or two - I practise for 1 to 2 hours per day on average... sometimes less). They're big fat strings and were harder to play at the top of the board. One day I picked up my old plywood that has Weichs on. Obviously this bass can't match the new bass for sound but it was a pleasure to bow the old Weichs. I put the Weichs, that were on the new bass when I got it, back on. It had been sitting in a shop for a while (about 5 years) and hadn't been played much but the Weichs had certainly settled quite a bit. The bass felt good and the sound seemed to match those of the EPs - I played it for a while with two EPs and two Weichs on. I eventually put the BC E back on so that I could have an easy bow on the lowest notes. I'm practising a lot of bowing and I'm enjoying the sound that the 3 Weichs are giving and, of course, their reliable pizz sound. I guess the EPs and the BCs haven't lived up to all the hype for me. I've listened hard to all these strings - I'm really fussy about how my bass sounds. I've been known to change my mind, but I think that the Weichs will be staying put. People often disagree with me about the bow-ability of Weichs. I went to a clinic once (in Palmerston North) and some yankee bassist called Tom Warrington (who was playing at the clinic) rubbished what I said, which was basically that Weichs were not hard to bow (I know you have to be careful not to make them scratchy). Well, I've bowed Weichs on quite a lot of different basses but no one wanted to listen to me at that clinic. It still bugs me a bit how no one would listen. All I can say is that I'd happily put my money where my mouth is and have a 'bow off' with anyone. Just bring your bass to Wainuiomata and face up to the Weich challenge.

[Richard Prowse]

The Weichs (with a E BC) are sounding great. I gave the EPs to my brother. I played solo the other night in a blackboard concert (90% arco). It was great to have the Weichs on board.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Richard Prowse

The Weichs (with a E BC) are sounding great. I gave the EPs to my brother. I played solo the other night in a blackboard concert (90% arco). It was great to have the Weichs on board.

I hope your brother plays classical DB. These are one of the top strings in Orchestras today. I know of several great players using them.

When they first came out I put a set on my Gilkes and the bass shortly after went out on sale trial. The customer put Flex 92s on the G&D because he said they rang more. I thought the Evah's were just fine top to bottom and that is with the Ext E/C. I did Beeth. 6th on that fingering all the separate 16ths in the Storm. The Bass sounded just great.

The Gilkes fell out of my rotation when the Hart came in from restoration and also using the Martini as well after a restoration on that. Today I was playing some of the Basses when my son pointed out that I play better on the Gilkes. His observation was that me and the Gilkes work best than me with the Hart or Martini and I had been playing mainly the Martini the last few weeks.

Well, I had some old Orig. Flexs on the Gilkes that I put on to try a while back and althought they worked ok, I never got used to the sound. The Ext.E/C was an old Eudoxa FlatChrome (now called Orig. FlatChr.). A few weeks ago I bought some strings to have for my Basses here in the shop and got a set of the Evah's once again. I just put them on the Gilkes and the Bass seems louder and deeper off the bat. Not smoother and not less smooth than the Flexs but just different.

So Richard, you just gave away a great set of strings.

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

So Richard, you just gave away a great set of strings.

Ah well, that's what brothers are for!
He helped me get my hands on a great bow that make my Weichs sound so good.

[Calvin Marks]

I was curious about these strings so I decided to e-mail Pirastro. They contacted me the next day and offered me a FREE set...I didn't even ask for one, but that's incredible!!!