Synthetic Strings (Dominants, Evah P, Obligato)

[Jeff Moote]

I'm wondering what people's experience has been with the new synthetic strings (ultimately designed to at least somewhat simulate gut) as classical/orchestra strings. Do any of you feel that these strings can provide a richer tone than steel? Has longevity or breakage been an issue?

I'm primarily interested in Dominants, and particularly uninterested in Obligatos (at least in using them myself), but all thoughts would be appreciated.


So far I've determined that the Doms are a bright string, stiff but fairly low tension (as gut/synthetic goes) making them good under the bow - more like steel.

How about the new Evah Pirazzi strings from Pirastro? I've read the giant thread over at TB, but there are only 2 or 3 people with serious thoughts on them as orchestra strings. Too much string discussion at TB is from jazzers who as far as my needs go have little information that is of use (Thanks Ken for splitting it up here!)

[Marcus Johnson]

Originally Posted by Jeff Moote

How about the new Evah Pirazzi strings from Pirastro? I've read the giant thread over at TB, but there are only 2 or 3 people with serious thoughts on them as orchestra strings. Too much string discussion at TB is from jazzers who as far as my needs go have little information that is of use (Thanks Ken for splitting it up here!)

Sorry, I'm just a mere jazzer, and I wish I could fill you in, but the Evah Pirazzis have been unavailable so far, at least in my searches. They're supposed to be available in a couple of weeks. We'll see. Until then, the point is... well.... moot.

[JoeyNaeger]

I was able to try a bass with the evah pirazzis at the isb convention. Keep in mind this wasn't my bass, and I didn't spend a lot of time with them. To me they seemed to bow pretty well and pizz okay. They feel much stiffer than the obligatos and as such, don't roll under the bow. They're quite a bit darker as well. While they seem like pretty good strings, they didn't seem amazing by any stretch. I was hoping I would be excited about these strings, but there didn't seem to be anything special about them to me. On my bass with more time to play them, my opinions may change so ymmv.

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

I loved the Obligatos for a few months, but went back to Spirocores due to Dead Obligatos. The E began to fail and all four began to lose it. The old set of Spirocores sound great. Pizz only.
No experience with the other strings, but he Doms breakage issue scares me.

[Jeff Moote]

Thanks guys, but as I posted in another thread I'm doing almost all arco playing, split maybe 70/30 between orchestra and solo (classical) playing, so I don't really care what they're like as jazz pizz strings. Still, your opinions can be extrapolated to give other indications

It seems universal that people find the Oblis die fast (under 1 year for sure) and that the low strings go first. That alone is enough to steer me away from them. On the other hand, Dominants when installed carefully are said not to break as much as Talkbass might imply, and will definitely last (1-2 yrs+)

I'd jump on the Doms (or a Dom/Spiro combo) if all I was doing was section playing since that will be a nice loud/bright set. My concern is for when I want to play solo repertoire that their sound will be too harsh and hard to start under the bow at low dynamics.

[Pete George]

I've had a full set of the Evahs (with a long C low string) on my Arvi bass for about three weeks. I love them. The tone is fantastic, and they bow very easily -- at least as forgiving as the Flexocor '92s, but with a much better tone (IMHO) than either the Flexocors or the Bel Cantos.

It's also the only string I've found that's truly balanced on my bass. I've had to use mixed sets with everything else.

In particular, I love the long C, which tends to be either wimpy or unbowable in almost every other maker except the Permanent. But this C is a better sound and just as loud, with more tonal complexity, than the Permanent long C.

My only concern is the diameter of the G string, which is a bit greater than I'd like. It may be an issue in solo playing, but for standard orchestral use that's not an issue at all for me.

Count me as a BIG Evah fan.

[Jeff Moote]

I've gone for the Dominants with a Spiro low C (I'm in fifths) and so far they're great. They can get a bit out of control under the bow compared to Pirastros (Flex, Orig Flex, Perminant has been my experience) but in return they have a very dry, lively tone. I'm happy so far, and we'll see after a season with the Orchestra but I think they're going to work very well for section playing.

All this talk of the EPs has me really wanting to try some, but having just changed to fifths tuning I have to wait until the solo set is released. That is supposed to be within a year, so that should be plenty of time for me to enjoy my Dominants.

[Johnny Layton]

I've only tried the Dominants on my own bass, and I liked them very much...a great pizz and arco string. They are too high tension for my tastes, though, and so I haven't used them long enough to confirm or refute rumors that they lose most of their brightness after only a couple of months (something that I liked quite a bit and still sounded very good with the bow to me).

I've tried Obligatos a little on other people's basses and don't dislike them, but I like the Dominants better for their sustain and brightness...however, I'm not a big fan of gut strings or old school sound, despite the lower tension.