Double Bass Evah Pirazzi Slap Strings

#83
This was shared with me which might help folks that have the same questions I did.

Evah Slap
  • G (Plain Gut): .085 • 45 lbs tension (20.4 kp)
  • D (Plain Gut): .105* • 39.7 lbs tension (18 kp)
  • G (Wound Synthetic Core): .080 • 47.6 lbs tension (21.6 kp)
  • D (Wound Synthetic Core): .089 • 44.3lbs tension (20.1 kp)
  • A (Wound Synthetic Core): .092 • 47.6 lbs tension (21.6 kp)
  • E (Wound Synthetic Core): .106 • 45.6 lbs tension (20.7 kp)
Oliv .070 .085 .105 .135
 
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#86
I feel a little late to this party, but wanted to offer my experience. I've played Spirocores forever. Every time I try something else, I always go back. I wanted to see what a gut set would sound like on my bass, so I recently went to Williams here in Nashville and bought the set of Evah Slaps with the gut G and D. They sounded great! But, it was just a little too different from what I had been used to, so I went back and got the synthetic G and D to replace, and man I love 'em. I find that I do miss some of that "growl" from the Spiros, but that's really it. I like that they are a little softer under the fingers, they sound a ton better when slapping, and I find them easier to bow than Spiros. I'm certainly no expert at bowing or slapping (or playing at all for that matter) but I'm already finding them to be more versatile tone-wise, and even my band mates have noticed a difference. I had a couple sessions last week, and I think they sound great on the microphone, too. Super warm. I might play around with putting a Spiro E back on, especially with using the hip shot, but it's not necessary. Anyhow, my two cents.
 
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#87
Bobby King said:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Slaps Hoyt. I hope the G holds up because I like it.

I've tried a lot of guts too, and the best ones have been the Gamuts. The Pistoy gut D is about the only one I've ever been happy with, but the sucker costs like $175! And still, it gets thunky above around an A note. I like the Evah Slap D a lot. The Gamut Lyon gut G is also very good- around $100. So you're paying almost $300 for the top 2 strings. Then pick your poison for the E and A. The wound Gamuts are good - lots of $$ and I've had A strings break above the nut. Plus they're real susceptible to temperature change and have to be tuned frequently, more than the plain guts. The Innovations have probably been my favorite synthetics on the bottom - best tone, tension and diameter match. Not very good for
arco. But a mixed set like that still costs you $400-$500 dollars! A full set of Gamut guts is like $550! The plain guts last a good long time though - the ones I have are almost 2 years old and still sound fine.

Has anyone tried the Evah Slaps with the gut uppers? I wonder how that D string is?

Anyway, I'm hoping I continue to like the full synthetic set - reasonably priced, and a sound and feel that I like.
Click to expand...


I know im a little late to the party, but I had E.P. slaps with D and G guts and I absolutely LOVED them on my bass. I got them twice. The D was great for me..only problem is they only lasted about 7 or 8 months, but i suppose that's pretty typical for guts.

How long did your synthetic G end up lasting? since I'm not really making much money gigging right now due to the pandemic, I couldn't really justify spending all that money on guts that are just going to die again in less than a year. So I ended up getting a Spiro E and A, and E.P. weichs for my D and G. I actually like the spiros for my low strings, but the E.P. weichs have wayyy to much sustain and are way too bright for my taste (I like my higher notes to have a quick decay and that nice gut-like thunk).

But I still can't justify buying guts right now, so im thinking of trying to sell the EP weichs and getting the EP slap synthetics for my D and G, and from your comments it sounds like you like them for all the same reasons that I would. So I'm curious to see if your high opinion of them still holds up after 3 years, and if you still have them on your bass.
 
#89
KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
IIRC the Slaps are Evah Weichs in a lighter gauge.

Why do you believe guts don’t last? I’ve heard of orchestra players in the old days never changing them for an entire career. Might be body chemistry.
Click to expand...
Yes IMO guts last a long time AND get better sounding with age.
Synthetics aLso last a long time but only become duller from the day you put them on!
 
#92
JeffKissell said:
The EP Slaps are the same construction but lower tension and much larger diameter.
The plain (unwound) gut strings can last years with proper care.
IMHO, YMMV, etc.
Click to expand...
Not to be a jerk about it, but I would say if they are lower tension and higher diameter, they are different construction. BUT, I never even tried these strings.
 
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#94
Guys, according to Pirastro, they are a variant of the Evah strings, both in construction and materials. For E&A strings, I've used three versions of EPs- regular, light & slap and they are all WAY more similar than different IMHO.
 
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#96
PBandJazzBass said:
Has anyone tried a combo like Evah regular and/or weichs on the E/A with the synthetic slaps on top? I'm wondering if that could be a more cost effective alternative to the Evah/Oliv combo that a lot of players are using.
Click to expand...

EP slaps DG are plain gut tension ( 20 - 21 Kp / string ), whereas Olivs are close to what now discontinued silk core Velvets were ( 25 - 26 Kp / string ). I`ve tried EP slaps ADG with Evah weich E, but for me on a bridge with reqular curvature they are a bit too different tension ( EP weich has around 28 Kp tension ) and thus hard to find a balanced string height.

EP slaps were my go-to strings with plain guts for a while and I`ve been thinking about EP weich with slaps on the top. Again, for me, this would work if I lowered the EA side of the bridge in relation to DG. This is what I did with plain guts on top of Evah wechs or Spiro reds. However, with Olivs on top I`d go with a standard string heights. I don`t think that EP slaps work too well without old school-ish action, think 9 - 10mm under the G. That said, my bass ( and playing ) is set up for acoustic playing and projection.

I`m now using a full set of Evah weichs with reqular bridge and am happy enough to not even think about changing anything. If I was slapping more than occassionally, a full set of EP slaps would definently be a option. I think that synth EP slaps are a great all-around hybrid string for those who seek for punchy and bass-y old school pizz tone, they bow and slap well and easy. Olivs on top of EP weichs would propably be fantastic, but I don`t think the difference to EPw DG is enough to justify the cost and unreliability, at least with all the busking that I do.

Just my 2 cents, hope it helps.
 
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#99
I tried the Evah Slaps (all synthetic) a few years ago and remember thinking they sounded kind of bland but that was from the drivers seat. I had similar feelings about the Evah orchestras but then heard a recording I did with them and realized, in front of the bass, it was a totally different story. I wonder if the same is true with the slaps. The review Stringmatrix did on Youtube a few months ago of both the gut and synthetic slap sets made me start thinking about that.
 
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#100
JeffKissell said:
The EP Slaps are the same construction but lower tension and much larger diameter.
The plain (unwound) gut strings can last years with proper care.
IMHO, YMMV, etc.
Click to expand...

In speaking with Pirastro during their development (and since) I can tell you that they have similarities, but they also have differences in formulation as well as in winding techniques. Don't want to get too much further into it for fear of sharing information that they might consider a "trade secret," but genetically, consider them as "cousins" rather than "siblings." :)
 
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