Double bass string comparison - Kaplan vs Perpetual!

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[@stevelivinghouse3378]

I've had Perpetuals for about two months. I love them! To me they have a very good jazz sound and are very bowable. I've had, Evah P, Obligatos, Zyex, Corelli 370 and I like these the most. As a mostly jazz and community orchestra player, it's the best string I've had so far for my purposes.

[@doublebasshq]

Awesome-great to hear that you’re digging them!

[@IvicaMarusevic]

It would be nice to hear the follow up video with at least a month of break-in of Perpetuals

[@RuiFilipeBacelardeOliveira]

Thanks for this review / comparison, kudos from Portugal.

[@doublebasshq]

Thanks for watching!

[@danmorrison8194]

String shopping is so arduous and expensive. Plus, you need a second person to play your bass so you can hear what it sounds like a few feet away. My luthier recommended that I try a set of Perpetuals with the stark D&G strings; I’m patiently waiting for them come in the mail.

[@KevinJohnson-tw9ip]

that was awesome Jason. I just discovered this video today, and i see it was made some time ago. It great to see you in action

[@doublebasshq]

Much appreciated, Kevin!

[@KevinJohnson-tw9ip]

@@doublebasshq sure thing Jason

[@vanderpoolfarmsl.l.c.9983]

Thank you for your excellent videos. You reinforced that which I already knew; I have ALOT to learn! Great job!

[@jamesgiles4061]

Nice video, Boss! I like the perpetual strings on the Jakstadt. They’re especially nice on a big, dark-voiced bass like my five-string.

[@doublebasshq]

Thanks, James! They are cool strings for sure.

[@vernaybass]

Thank you for this review, Jason. As a bassist who plays a lot of styles including a steady chamber ensemble gig, I am always on the look out for a 'do it all' string that still bows well. I usually keep Kaplans on my carved bass, but I think that you have given me the confidence to try Perpetuals.

[@doublebasshq]

They’re cool strings for sure! I’m also a Kaplan fan, but it has been fun to try something new.

[@vernaybass]

@@doublebasshq I have tried Bel Canto’s, Evah’s, Hybrid’s, TI Weich’s on this bass as well but I keep coming back to the Kaplan’s because they start under the bow so easily and consistently. I’m encouraged after hearing your arco example. They sound great under your bow…I just hope isn’t due entirely to your superior bow technique!

[@jmsiener]

In my maturity I’ve been drawn to a brighter sound, maybe because the high end in my hearing is dropping off, and I’ve been looking for a way to brighten up my dark sounding Riley Cerutti copy. Thanks for this!

[@doublebasshq]

You bet-these are cool strings!

[@mattargo5979]

OK Jason. You sold me. I bought a set of Perpetuals that I'll put on tomorrow. They were pricey but they sound excellent in your video.

[@doublebasshq]

They’re good strings-I hope you enjoy them!

[@jamesgiles4061]

Nice video, boss ! I like them on the Jakstadt . They’re great on a big, dark-voiced bass like my 4/4 Viennese five-string.

[@mrassilyer]

The perps are great sounding. For arch they’re awesome sounding

[@andrewprzybyla8871]

I have watched this video before and again today. Thank you, I will buy my first set of Kaplans. They sound so much better than the Hellicore Orchestral Strings. Especially the E and A Strings.

[@doublebasshq]

Glad I could help!

[@tommy49elliot]

Right on, Jason! I’ve been using the heavy gauge Kaplan’s in the orchestra for the past four years and I love them. However, my favorite strings are Spirocore which I keep on my Jacquet. You’ve got me very curious.

[@doublebasshq]

Thanks, Tom! I’d say that they’re close in category to Spirocores but a little friendlier under the bow (under my bow, at least!)

[@JeffDenson]

Hello Thomas, I used Spirocores for 15 years - that was my sound, but when I found the Perpetuals I was completely blown away! The Perpetuals will give you a great growl for pizzicato and they bow beautifully. As Jason mentioned, they are friendlier under the bow, but also your hands. The Perpetuals are slightly more flexible, so I've found that I lightened my attack just a little and they really respond beautifully. I love them. :-)

[@danmicklos]

I switched from Bel Cantos to Passione's and a Permanent E on my Shen Willow. Great decision, and they continue to get better and better. Now, my new ISB "Build-A-Bass" is virtually brand new and it came with Perpetuals on it. I unpacked it on the Southwest Air cargo dock and loved them, and the bass from the first stroke of the bow. They are indeed bright and have the long "ring" that you mentioned. I thought about switching to the same Permanent / Passione setup that I have on my Shen. But, after a bass nerd afternoon with John Wieland and one of his students, decided to give the current setup a good 6-8 weeks. I have already noticed a significant difference in the few days (a week on Friday) that I have had this bass in my possession. Our consensus is that these strings and the bass will be even more awesome. I will let you know how this plays out. Great videos! Keep up the good work and we will get you on regular!

[@doublebasshq]

Nice, Dan! Enjoy the new bass--it sounds like an incredible instrument!

[@willb3698]

I have the Perpetual SOLO's as I came from Velvet 180's - no longer made. I had a feeling and I was right - they are a GREAT string. I could go on but. Suffice to say, that I feel these are the strings I have been looking for for a long, long time. I WILL try the standards. I have played ALL the standard "Hybrids" - these blow them away ....and they are not even marketed as such. They Bow so well - yet they are a 'pizz" string! And I LOVE the pizz sound. Always lovely to see / Hear your little doggy :). note: I always use a spiro E - but I think I may try the Perp E. I did not think to put it on.

[@doublebasshq]

Sweet-good to know that you’re finding those strings useful!

[@JeffDenson]

I agree with your sentiments, Will. These are the best hybrid strings I've ever played! Honestly, I think they could be advertised equally as a pizz or arco string - awesome!

[@bassnsax]

Wow, the pizzicato sound was great! I've got a set of Zyex Lights on my bass (carved bass, playing more jazz, pop and rock, with some occasional community orchestra playing) currently and I really like them...but given my bass's very bright sound and somewhat tight feel, I was thinking about bumping up to Zyex Medium and lowering my somewhat medium-high string height to try to ease up the bass's tighter feel and give some more warmth and low end to the bass's sound.

[@doublebasshq]

Zyex are great also. I’ve really enjoyed using them.

[@viennesetuningchannel6101]

Hi Jason! By coincidence the Kaplan Mediums and the Perpetuals are my two favorite steel strings, although to my taste they're almost complete oposites tone-wise. I'm mainly a gut string player, but for modern bass these two are hard to beat. Kaplan is nice and warm, great for orchestra and chamber music. Perpetual is wonderful for solo playing (haven't tried them in an ensemble yet), in the orchestra tuning version. Need to try them in solo tuning as well. The Kaplan Heavy and Solo Tuning versions i found less convincing. Thanks for your review !

[@doublebasshq]

Nice! By the way, Korneel, I’m working on a new video about Viennese tuning and the rise of the Violone as a solo instrument. Planning on putting it out in a few weeks, and I’m sure I’ll be quoting your channel and Meta Hodos. Barry Green says hi, by the way. Take care, and looking forward to talking with you again soon! 😃

[@harukokorneel6585]

@@doublebasshq Great! Sperger-wise, we've covered concertos 1-5 now, more news coming soon. Big hug for Barry!

[@bassface84]

Those sound awesome... I've been playing Evah P's for the last decade (mostly on the same set, lol...) thinking of giving these a shot.

[@kornfedboy]

Many of the basses I've imported in the past have the D'Addario strings on them as standard. Other than using for a low-C extension string, I have never cared for the Kaplans. They are, however, very affordable. I wish I could like them, since they are American made, but the remind of playing a Fender bass guitar with the "factory" strings. Just not my cup of tea. In my Chicago workshop almost all the basses have various sets of Pirastro strings--mostly medium or light gauge Evah Pirazzi. I also have several combinations of Evahs (D and G) and Perpetuals (A and E, or extened E for low C). When making a low-C extension, I will use a Thomastik spirocore, unless the client ask for something different. Personally, I have used Evahs as well as Flexocor Deluxe on my bass set up for playing arco--mostly Tango (a c.1800 flatback bass); Evah/Perpetual combination on my jazz bass (Calvin Baker, Boston 1881). I also love (and used for 12 years) the Pirastro Eudoxa but they became too expensive for me to justify (even at wholesale price!). Pirastro is very much a hand-made product, with excellent quality control and this shows in their consistency of product, in my opinion. Really enjoying your posts, Jason! thanks!

[@doublebasshq]

Right on, Mark! It’s hard to argue with Pirastro. I used Permanents for years on my Jakstadt, and I was using Flexocor Deluxe right before I started working with D’Addario. I hope you’re doing well!

[@SteveAbrahall]

Hay Jason Great work - would have loved to hear the low C though. Beautiful clarity and depth to the Pirastro.

[@nemo227]

Those strings sound very good all the way out here in California.

[@SonicAnihilator]

Jason!! Please upload a quickupdate of this strings un tour bass, for listening the real not new strings sound Haha. Greetings from México!!

[@doublebasshq]

I filmed one! Waiting to get it edited and uploaded-hopefully soon. 😀

[@Oscaraha]

Just came from Kaplans to perpetuals, for me the perpetuals seems better for cutting through in a jazz pizz setting. Think they are quite bright, so it is exciting to see how they mellow after some months. If they are like spirocores they will just be better and better. Does anybody have a long term experience with the perpetuals yet?

[@refonbass]

Great review. I tried a set, and although I think they are a great "hybrid" string, I just can't find a string that I enjoy for both pizz and arco more than Eudoxa. Despite the price (over $1000 here in Canada!) and propensity to unravel, I always end up coming back to them.

[@doublebasshq]

They’re cool strings, right? Thanks for watching!

[@TimWolfebass]

Great, Jason! Will you do a follow up on these in a few weeks once they settle in?

[@doublebasshq]

Sure! BTW, they’ve settled in quite a bit already. They are sounding awesome on the solo stuff I’m working on. I’ve yet to test them on a gig since we’re still gig-free here in California 😬 - looking forward to doing so soon...

[@makendeavors8171]

I have never heard a squeaky toy improvisation

[@doublebasshq]

Ha!

[@bustabass9025]

Not sure what constitutes "best". With so many options available, it's hard to put any stock in one being anointed best. Same with electric bass strings. Whenever I see one of these best of the rest deals on KZbin, I simply defer to what's best for me according to my own experiences. For double bass, it's Thomastik Spirocore Weichs. For my electrics it's Labella Deep Talkin' Rounds, and Flats on my Fenders. Are they the "best"? I dunno, but I love 'em. In the end that's all that matters to me.

[@matiasguzman1865]

Concuerdo con vos 👍 para mí las Thomastik spirocore son las mejores cuerdas para contrabajo, de orquesta obvio

[@bustabass9025]

@@matiasguzman1865 Si👍🏿[Laffin'😄]

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

D'addario Helicore Strings (Orchestral) are the most playable & affordable. They're easier to bow cause they're just a tad bit thinner in gauge plus you can pluck em too for a unique thumping sound. They have a Stranded Steel Core which makes them sound like Gut Strings while being more affordable.

[@arbous65]

They sound great! My bass is dull and quiet just an entry level so I like to make it ring and be loud as it can as far as strings can do. Also I like something as easy as it can be on the left hand. Right now my pinky doesn’t seem to have enough force holding down E or even A string firm enough so sometimes I get buzz caused by loose hold just how strings are stiff and tense. They are spiro 4/4 weich strings on a 3/4 bass. I was thinking I change them to helicore light but my impression is that helicore has a too metallic sound quality. Would you say perpetual is warmer sounding than helicore (less metallic and more pure fundamental frequency)? How about comparison of tone with spirocore? And what about tension and stiffness for left hand? Would you say perpetual is as hard on the left hand as helicore? and much easier than spirocore? I came from guitar playing impression so of course I need to build up strength but for time being I like to have easier time on my left hand while getting a good tone for bowing and pizzicato. Thanks a lot.

[@doublebasshq]

Good questions! One of these days I need to pick up a ton of different brands and do a massive A/B comparison. I’d say that the Perpetuals are closer to Spirocore Weichs. Jeff Denson (the endorser in the packaging and an awesome bassist) has been enjoying switching from Spirocores to Perpetuals, so that’s a high endorsement to me. They feel great under the hand-a little looser than Spirocores for me. I need a few more weeks to see how they settle in long-term, but I’m digging them so far! 😀🎶

[@lanebrain55]

good stuff

[@patriciajohnston9926]

Just curious... were those “heavy” gauge kaplans you took off? Thanks for the review!!

[@doublebasshq]

They were medium Kaplans-those seem to work really well for me. Thanks for checking this out!

[@Rui1982]

I always have been spirocore kind of guy, but on my new 3/4 bass I had to spirocore light, the regular where simply to much tension (almost unplayable), are those strings light?

[@Jackestephan]

Have you ever tried the Kaplan light ?

[@patricktelfort]

Wait! Is that a fair comparison J? You need a fresh set of strings to compare to the other but dayum this Pirastro 🤯

[@matthewv789]

Have you ever tried the strings from Gerold Genssler? (Sonores or Tempera) People like Francois Rabbath, Bozo Paradzik, Janne Saksala, and Szymon Marciniak swear by them.

[@doublebasshq]

They’re super-cool strings! I haven’t used them myself, but I’ve been meaning to get Gennsler on my podcast for years...

[@jeroenvankeulen-bassist8584]

Great review Jason! Thanks. These strings are on my bucket list since they came out :) I heard a lot of good things about them already. They might be just what I'm looking for being a hybrid player and owning a very dark sounding old bass. Also check out this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWS8i51mpt9qhpY Tip: I always literally rosin fresh strings in the playing area which helps me break them in more easily.

[@doublebasshq]

Yeah, that’s a good tip for rosining in the playing area! I used to think I was the only one doing that, but I’ve learned that it’s a common thing among a lot of bassists!

[@willb3698]

You will not be dissatisfied.

[@mauricioromero94110]

Thanks , I play Chinese strings first price and ok