Welcome to Violinist.com! Log in, or join the community!
Violinist.com
Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube
Violinist.com - Violin Discussion - Accessories

Evah Pirazzi's

Accessories: I've become a new disciple!

From Joshua De Anda
Posted December 4, 2011 at 05:57 AM

I went out and bought a set of evah pirazzi's and I simply had to share my experience. First of all, the tension problem I don't feel. They just feel much like dominants. The sound however, at least on my instrument, was absolutely out of this world. Great response, nice colour palette, and it takes a lot of bow pressure. I'll be performing solo this Tuesday, and I hear on my instrument that these strings have added some greatly needed depth and complexity. One minor complaint I do have is that the silver E which is all they had at the music doesn't seem to be sweet enough. Can anyone recxomend a sweet sounding e string? String crossings are so much more crisp. There is much more projection from what I hear when I recorded myself on my iPad. I will make sure to keep you updated, as I have only had the set on for about six to seven hours. I literally can't stop playing!

From steven su
Posted on December 4, 2011 at 06:45 AM
That's how I felt when I switched. But apparently it doesn't work with all violins. Btw I use gold e string. I Like my sound to be bright so I don't really care if it's sweet or not. One thing I notice however is that these strings wear out fast. They don't break easily but strings lose their sound pretty fast. I replace mine every 6 months or so cause I couldnt stand the sound. Maybe cause I practice a lot but yea they sound unbelievable Cost might be an issue in the long run though :(
From Millie Bartlett
Posted on December 4, 2011 at 07:00 AM
I like the Peter Infeld Signature platinum E, a bit pricey but the loveliest one I've yet had the pleasure to play on. And seemingly lasts forever.
From Jesse Branovacki
Posted on December 4, 2011 at 08:11 AM
I've tried multiple e strings and always come back to the good old Gold Label E (brand name, NOT a gold plated E..... if you don't know).
From Brian Lee
Posted on December 4, 2011 at 08:38 AM
The Gold Label medium E is a good match. If you want the sound to be even warmer and sweeter, Goldbrokat medium would be your best bet (and it's cheap). My personal E of choice to mix with Pirazzis would be the Westminster medium.

Oh, and six months out of any set of strings is really good... I replace my Dominant strings every month and a half to two months (the longest they last me is three months) although I wish I could do so every month.

Evah Pirazzis last for a much shorter time for me than do Dominants. They keep most of their sound, but they lose their response..

From Michael Pijoan
Posted on December 4, 2011 at 09:56 AM
Westminster is good as has been mentioned. I think Goldbrokat is pretty sweet sounding, but it depends entirely on your instrument.
From Tammy Kirwan
Posted on December 4, 2011 at 10:33 AM
I too love how they sound, but they only last me 1-2 months, sometimes as long as 3 months. At that rate, it gets way too expensive! I do have a seriously good ear, so I notice immediately when they loose that perfect sound :(. If you like the Evah's but find out that they don't last you, try the Warchal strings! I use the Ametyst ones, and they are super on my violin! They last me 2-3 months easily and only cost $25!
From Joshua De Anda
Posted on December 4, 2011 at 04:19 PM
Will make sure to get some new goldbrokat e's and possibly the PI e. Does anyone reccomendations a hill e?
From Cyril Millendez
Posted on December 5, 2011 at 01:04 AM
Welcome to the club. I'm a recently-converted Evah Pirazzi disciple, too. :)

As for sweeter E strings, the Pirastro Gold Label E works very well, although some of my friends have said that it rounds out the sound more than sweetening it, but to each their own.

Regarding the Hill E, I tried it out once when I was struggling to find an E that would make me like my Dominants. From what I recall, it had a pretty strong, robust sound. Not exactly "sweet". It did whistle a lot, and it turned black on me after a week and a half.

If you have a corrosive hand sweat problem like me, the Pirastro Universal No. 1 E works well. It's been almost three weeks, and it looks as shiny as it did when I first put it on. It has a somewhat muted quality for the first two or three days, but once it opens up, it sounds a lot like the Gold Label.

From Tony Boone
Posted on December 5, 2011 at 06:06 AM
Purchased a Ming Jiang Zhu workshop violin last week. It came with Dominant G,D, and A strings and a Goldbrokat E. It was one of two I played and sounded best to my ears, most aged, played in, but it didn't project as well as the other which I'm still pondering since I'm within the return period.

I have a set of Vision Titanium Solo G,D, and A strings I tried on it to see if it would give it a larger voice, but they sounded too metallic and cold compared to the Dominants.

Took the Evah's off of my other acoustic and put them on the Zhu. Didn't change the Goldbrokat E. Put the Dominants that came on the Zhu on my hand made acoustic. I think both instruments benefited from the change.

The Zhu projects and sounds even better than it did with the Dominants. My other acoustic's wolf note (B on the A string 1st position) sounds more musical although still present.

Looks like the Evah's are what I'll use on the Zhu.

From Dave Snow
Posted on December 5, 2011 at 11:26 PM
off topic, but I'm a bit confused here Tony. I thought you were going to trade back the one with the wolf for either the Zhu or that German?
From Joshua De Anda
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 12:04 AM
I'm glad this has occurred to you, too. My instrument with dominants was lacking in complexity, projectness, and response.
From Tony Boone
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 01:13 AM
@Dave Snow: I bought the hand made violin from a private individual a few months back. The wolf was an annoyance to the point of distraction so I picked up the Zhu.

I may take the hand made violin to Pablo Alfaro and have him give me his appraisal as to whether it can be fixed. I've been told that the top may need to come off in order to correct the problem.

From Craig Z
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 01:44 AM
From Joshua De Anda
Posted on December 4, 2011 at 04:19 PM
"Will make sure to get some new goldbrokat e's and possibly the PI e. Does anyone reccomendations a hill e?"


I have a Hill E paired with Evahs. This combination was on the violin when I puchased it and I really like the pairing. Maybe one day I'll do a little experimenting and try some different E strings, but so far, I know the Hill works on my particular instrument. Dominants don't work. I normally like Dominants.... but not on this instrument. I'll probably stick with Evahs despite the cost. I might try Tonicas on it at some point. I know the Obligatos will be too dark for my tastes.

William Preucil at Juilliard

On the scene: Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies

Violinist.com editor Laurie Niles wraps up her coverage of the 2013 Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies, held at The Juilliard School in New York.