| Author |
Subject |
Leasha
Registered User
(12/29/00 4:34:08 pm)
Reply |
Strings
I know that this has probley been
asked before but...
My teacher got the savings on sets of strings
and i was wondering which strings out of the following would you
recomend
Pirastro obligato
thomastik dominant
thomastik
spirocore prim
larsen
d'addario helicore
pirastro
eudoxa
pirastro permanent
thanks a ton
Alysha
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ruthann
Registered User
(12/29/00 8:12:32 pm)
Reply |
Everyone's FAVORITE Topic!!
I'd go for the Obligatos. That has
no bearing on whether you should. Look up one of the string sites
that tells what kind of sound qualities each basic type (gut, steel,
rope, synthetic) is known for, think about what sound you want for
cello - brighter? deeper? louder? sweeter? - and match it to
something on your list. All the strings you listed are good brands,
and you have a range of types to choose from. I think
www.quinviolins.com (not sure of the url) has such a list as does
www.subscriptionstrings.com.
Good Luck!
cello_suttonr@hotmail.com
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lblake
Registered
User
(12/29/00 10:24:11 pm)
Reply |
oh boy
oh boy oh boy
favourite topic,
indeed!
Well... it really completely depends on your cello.
But, if I were to pick a few from that list, in order of how often
I've seen them doing well on other people's cellos... well, I'd pick
(in this order, probably)
Larsens
Helicores
Obligatos
(haven't seen them a lot, but they're new... great,
though.)
And, I'm a little partial to Pirastro Permanents,
too, when I want a strong-sounding string on my cello.
Each
of these, though, has its own very different set of
characteristics... both benefits and drawbacks. But, you'll never
know what they are for YOUR cello until you try them! 
well,
that's my always-at-hand opinion!
|
Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
(12/30/00 10:44:02 am)
Reply |
Re:
Strings
First - I would ask, "How much of a
savings?" or "A savings compared to what?"
The typical
discount dealer today, Southwest, Shar, Ifshin, Cellos2go, Concord,
Quinn, Music City Strings, International amd all those in
competition with them, have to price their strings at about one half
the "list price" to be competitive. Usually the differences in price
are fairly slight.
Next - I would ask - "Does it have to be
sets, or can I buy two of these and two of those?"
My second
favorite setup has been Larsen A and D with Spirocore C and G. (But
Spirocore strings come wrapped with tungsten, silver or chrome (in
order of decreasing density of the wrapping metal) and different
cellos do better with one or the other.
Right now my cello
string set of choice for its fine responsiveness is the Thomastik
Belcanto Gold. Can she get those? I have one cello strung with a set
and another with Belcanto Gold A and D (just because I was not ready
to retire a virtually unused Spirorore G/C combo) and that works
well too.
The Obligato cello strings take more time to settle
down than I have had patience for, but those I know who have tried
them with patience seem to feel well rewarded. (I do know that
Obligato violin and viola strings are very fine.)
My own
experience with Helicore strings on cellos is that they sound good,
but are less responsive than the other brands, and in particular it
is harder to play the C string easily (especially for very fast
articulated notes). One thing, they do seem to have a strong
tendancy to suppress the wolf tone on the G string - two of my three
cellos, when strung with Helicores showed no tendancy to wolf, but
as I have them strug now, all three have wolf eliminators mounted on
the c string afterlength.
You probably want to stay away
from gut-core strings like Eudoxa because of the difficulty keeping
them tuned (without going int great detail).
I also know that
all the major string brands are quite good and it is the differences
in the instrument's response to them that determine which would be
best for yours. Experimenting with strings is instructive, but
expensive.
I would venture to say, from my own experience,
that before you venture into the expense of a new set of strings,
you should see to it that you have lightened up on both your
tailpiece and your endpin. The Wittner metal or the Acoustikus, or
Ferwerda composites, or the more expensive wooden Pusch or most
expensive Harmonie tailpeices all have built-in fine tuners and are
much lighter in weight than the combination of a wooden tailpiece
with added on steel fine tuners and the resulting tonal improvement
to many cellos is phenomenal. The New Harmony (David Bice) endpin
(8mm)** will fit most endpin fittings, and work miracles with tone
quality. Being conservative, one can acquire both the new tailpiece
and an endpin for $80 or less (depending on which brand you select)
- less than the cost of a decent set of strings. It's where I would
start!
Andy
** Bice also sells a 10 mm diameter
endpin, but it will not fit standard fittings. Ferwerda (Australian)
also sells a 10 mm composite endpin, but you would have to have your
cello handled by a luthier to insteall the endpin fitting, and that
labor might cost $30. (The Ferwerda composite fitting is not very
light in weight so that some of the advantage of the light-weight
endpin would be lost. (None of this is conjecture - I've been
through it all.) You may be able to track down previous posts about
some of these other items from the search function here at
ICS.
|
Leasha
Registered User
(12/30/00 9:34:38 pm)
Reply |
Thanks
Thank you for all your
suggestions..... i have not visited that site yet, but i plan too. I
actually just got a new endpin which i really like. It is Carbon
Fiber and pointed on the end (very sharp, which i find nice to play
on hrd wood floors and not needing a rock
stop)
Thanks
Alysha
|
elgee
Registered User
(1/5/01 12:03:35 am)
Reply |
Re:
Strings
Well...Weather a string works is
mainly depend on your cello, the only way to know that which strings
work the best on your cello is to try all the string brands.
In
my opinion, you better firstly try the cheaper brands, so it may
cost less to you.
You may also ask Ellen at www.cello2go.com
for more information about the string brands.
One more thing
I want to say is that a Gut-core G with Steel-core A, D and C works
on many celli.
Good luck on your string expariments.
Edited by: elgee
at: 1/5/01 12:03:35
am
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