Evah Pirazzi (Pirastro)
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Reviews
R. Leda (10/20/15)
I tried them on my 1735 violin and they sounded terribly scratchy, even once they were supposed to be broken in. I was very surprised because I had used them on a previous instrument where they were great.
S. Park (3/16/15)
As an intermediate-advanced violinist who has been playing for about six years, I have just recently become aware that there are different violin strings on the market, and yes, they make your instrument sound different. (Gasp!)
A bit reluctant to spend so much money on a potential failure, I originally started by trying E strings. First I paired Goldbrokat with lower Dominants, and I think that satisfied me for a little while. (Way better than the cruddy steel E from Doms, by that's a different story.) However, I felt that there could be more. I tried the Gold Label E, immediately put back in the envelope. Pirastro's wound E was a similar experience. Finally, I bought into the raves I'd heard about the holy Evahs and bought an E.
What a change. My violin, which I had previously been convinced needed taming, thinking it was brassy, absolutely sang. Even just an E made a world of a difference. And so eventually I took the plunge and bought a full set. At first, I was worried that the tension was too much for my instrument, as I had heard about from a few accounts. The strings seemed awfully choked at first. However, remembering the long (long, long) break in time of my previous Dominants, I waited.
Now it's been about 48 hours and ~5 hours of playing and they have settled in already. The instrument, again, sings, and the projection is unbelievable. While maintaining its focus and power, the tone is surprisingly warm and smooth, going against what I'd typically expect from soloist strings. One thing to keep in mind is that the higher tension strings (the action is still easy) require a grippier rosin than most, but I expect that a dark rosin like the Evah-Oliv Pirastro or the Dark Melos I prefer will do the job.
All in all, these are wonderful strings; singing, almost warm, and silky smooth, with great, great projection. The only concern I would have is the fact that Evahs tend to have relatively short lifetimes, however I am not playing more than three hours a day at average, and if they continue to serve me this well for almost a couple months, I do think the price is worth it!
A bit reluctant to spend so much money on a potential failure, I originally started by trying E strings. First I paired Goldbrokat with lower Dominants, and I think that satisfied me for a little while. (Way better than the cruddy steel E from Doms, by that's a different story.) However, I felt that there could be more. I tried the Gold Label E, immediately put back in the envelope. Pirastro's wound E was a similar experience. Finally, I bought into the raves I'd heard about the holy Evahs and bought an E.
What a change. My violin, which I had previously been convinced needed taming, thinking it was brassy, absolutely sang. Even just an E made a world of a difference. And so eventually I took the plunge and bought a full set. At first, I was worried that the tension was too much for my instrument, as I had heard about from a few accounts. The strings seemed awfully choked at first. However, remembering the long (long, long) break in time of my previous Dominants, I waited.
Now it's been about 48 hours and ~5 hours of playing and they have settled in already. The instrument, again, sings, and the projection is unbelievable. While maintaining its focus and power, the tone is surprisingly warm and smooth, going against what I'd typically expect from soloist strings. One thing to keep in mind is that the higher tension strings (the action is still easy) require a grippier rosin than most, but I expect that a dark rosin like the Evah-Oliv Pirastro or the Dark Melos I prefer will do the job.
All in all, these are wonderful strings; singing, almost warm, and silky smooth, with great, great projection. The only concern I would have is the fact that Evahs tend to have relatively short lifetimes, however I am not playing more than three hours a day at average, and if they continue to serve me this well for almost a couple months, I do think the price is worth it!
H. Papakonstantinou (12/9/14)
A great string set overall. I assume that you can get the most out of it, by having a balanced, well set up instrument. They are of a higher tension than most synthetics, but if they match your instrument, you'll forget it soon, they really compensate you in terms of response, action, and most of all, power and projection. These don't mean that you cannot play very soft pianissimos of course. I have to mention that the Oliv-Evah rosin, would really improve the overall experience, making the sound more round and robust, and helps the bow grab these strings better.
E (the silver one)Responsive, balaned matching the rest of the set. Consistent, as most Pirastro E strings.
A. This was a revelation. It's higher tension than most A strings I've used, and at first I was no sure if I should try it. But somehow, it's one of the best A strings I've ever had. Brilliant, colorful full of overtones, yet focused enough. It can also really match the "soprano" E string.
D. Full, powerfull, colorfull and easy to draw anything from it.
G. It is full of power and overtones. The higher tension is no problem at all. Could describe it as a litlle more spicy than the Evah Pirazzi Gold silver G, or the Obligato G.
For me, they are great. Even if you end up not liking them, they are definately worth the try.
E (the silver one)Responsive, balaned matching the rest of the set. Consistent, as most Pirastro E strings.
A. This was a revelation. It's higher tension than most A strings I've used, and at first I was no sure if I should try it. But somehow, it's one of the best A strings I've ever had. Brilliant, colorful full of overtones, yet focused enough. It can also really match the "soprano" E string.
D. Full, powerfull, colorfull and easy to draw anything from it.
G. It is full of power and overtones. The higher tension is no problem at all. Could describe it as a litlle more spicy than the Evah Pirazzi Gold silver G, or the Obligato G.
For me, they are great. Even if you end up not liking them, they are definately worth the try.
A. Putra (8/21/14)
Evah pirazzi strings are the loudest type of string that I have tried in my whole life!! The strings gives me a warm sound but a very singing E string. I like the G and the D string, the tone is so colorful, very rich, dark sounding. I don't really recommend the E string...it squeaks a lot, when i'm trying to do some fast bow attacks or chords, it whistles and it's pretty annoying.
C. Maimaris (4/5/14)
One of the greatest strings i have played for about 3-4 weeks! After that they die and in 1 month you have to change them! The only problem is the durability and life of this string! Everything else is absolutely AWESOME and PERFECT!!
D. Shin (3/30/14)
Sound quality and projection is by far the best that I've tried, except for E string.
A string is also great, but wears off unbelievably quickly. I'd even say it deteriorates many times just by tune it for the first time. I brought my violin to several different luthiers to see if my fiddle was the problem, and they all tell me Evah A just does that. Really not acceptable for such expensive string. That said, when they work, they sound just awesome.
A string is also great, but wears off unbelievably quickly. I'd even say it deteriorates many times just by tune it for the first time. I brought my violin to several different luthiers to see if my fiddle was the problem, and they all tell me Evah A just does that. Really not acceptable for such expensive string. That said, when they work, they sound just awesome.
H. Dam (3/29/14)
At first I was rather turned off by the high tension, coming from gut strings (Eudoxa, Oliv, Dlugolecki), but I appreciate how...loud these sound. However, maybe this is just because I only hear it up close, the partials that are emphasized are not...euphonic ones. Without carefully analyzing it, I can't tell you which ones, but I much prefer the timbre of Eudoxa, Obligato, and the like. These have a place though, and actually in recordings with Evah Pirazzi I think they don't sound as bad as on my violin.
R. McDonnell (2/7/14)
To this day, I can not see why these strings are so popular. I have used these strings on three different violins with no success. They sound pretty good for two or three weeks but go false and lose their clarity. To make matters worse, the response is quite slow after that three week "golden period." I have used gut strings before and these are no faster than them. I suppose if you are sponsored by pirastro and can change your strings every 2 weeks for free, these are ok. Sound-wise, they are quite nice and pretty punchy, but for the rest of us, who can not spend 80 dollars every few weeks, they are a poor choice.
K. Dillon (5/15/13)
They were very nice and complex, but after a month they seemed dead. The tension is high but still feel soft on the finger. They are not good when playing piano or pianissimo.
H. Jansberg (5/15/13)
For years this was my string set of choice. I still like the G D and A string but do not use the E string anymore. This string is a favorite among a lot of my colleagues.
J. Penfound (4/21/13)
Over the years I have found these strings to sound the best with my instrument. I have tried other strings and always come back to Pirazzis. I find that my sound projects more with less effort than it takes with other strings. I am not a fan of the gold E string however which I have found to be way too bright and tinny sounding at times.
S. Taylor (4/17/13)
These were the most unpleasant strings I have ever used. They were the medium gauge but felt very tight like heavy, I developed callouses where I hadn't had them since beginning, and after 3 weeks the A string started to unravel in the 3 rd position thankfully so i took the whole lot off. They definitely didn't suit me or the instrument. The E string was a good sound, and the G string had great clarity.
S. Welling (4/16/13)
These are fantastic strings, but not for my instrument. They are higher in tension compared to most synthetic strings, and choke the sound of my instrument. I consider these as a brighter/more soloist version of Dominant strings.
R. Schick (4/9/13)
For a long time, I did not realize what a different set of strings could do to my sound! But once I found out that it could make a difference, I started switching around and trying different strings. So far, these have been the best for my instrument. My violin has always been on the soft side, but with these strings, I am able to project a lot louder than before!