Nemo Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 I'm thinking about trying out gut strings. Never used them so I'm doing it just for the experience of it. Currently I'm using Obligato's. I was wondering if there is a big difference between cheaper gut strings (i.e. D'Addario) than that of pirastro's 40+ dollar Eudoxa's and 60+ dollar Olives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erika Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 One of the nice thing about Olivs is that they last a *long* time -- helps to offset the initial higher price. I'm not sure how the others compare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winston Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 Kaplan Golden Spiral has always been a high quality gut string that compares to the Pirastros. Made in USA, so it will be $$$ cheaper. The Kaplan name was around long before D'Addario aquired it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted April 30, 2005 Report Share Posted April 30, 2005 I'm using the Eudoxas and I love them. I have heard good things about the Kaplan and for the money you really can't go wrong. You may want to consider the lower priced ones too see if you like gut strings. If you do, the Olivs would be the best bet (IMO). I believe Pirastro is still doing their free trial set. Just email them expressing your interest in wanting to try gut strings and ask them if they can send you a trial set. Mine arrived in about two weeks. I asked for the Eudoxas not wanting to be too greedy asking for the Olivs. A friend of mine asked for the Olivs and received them. www.pirastro.com Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staylor Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 I wish I would have done that too. Anyway, I bought my first set a few months ago. They seem a bit nicer to my ear than Eudoxas. But it's still not everything I'm looking for, on my violin. I understand that the greatest gut violin strings might be Duglecki, and I want to try them as soon as I can. It's interesting, that a few years ago, (pure) gut strings were laughed at. Only an old member of Maestronet HKV, spoke alot about them. But now, I seem to see them becoming slightly more popular in the world. In fact, my Luthier (who is from a long line of musicians in his family) said that (pure) gut strings certainly give the better sound, but they cost too much/break too easily, therefore they are not so common. I never thought of it as being so clear as that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guta Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 A pure gut A string can be very enjoyable, and produces a more "natural" sound, with a bit of edge to it. I was originally turned on to them by Lillian Fuchs, who used them exclusively on her Da Salo viola. I took chamber music with her at Manhattan School of Music, and she would demonstrate a lot. The sound of her Da Salo with the gut A was sizzling and penetrating, also extremely beautiful. Pirastro Chorda is excellent, and costs roughly the same as aluminum wound. The way to make them last and not be so hard to keep in tune is to rub the string with a very small amount of olive oil every day for the first week, and as needed after that. If you do that, they will be just as stable and long-lasting as any other A string. I have never tried a gut D, but it could be interesting. All Best, Larry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
florea Posted May 2, 2005 Report Share Posted May 2, 2005 Bryan Did Pirastro respond to your email or just send the sample set? I havn't heard from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staylor Posted May 3, 2005 Report Share Posted May 3, 2005 You're talking about an A string on a viola? Yes, there are also gut e's for violin. I have some, but I didn't put them on yet. Thanks for olive oil advice. I heard they normally break very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guta Posted May 3, 2005 Report Share Posted May 3, 2005 Staylor- Yes, Fuchs used a gut A on her viola. The idea of a gut E on violin seems daunting, because it is so thin. btw, Heifetz used a pure gut A and D on all his violins his whole life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted May 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2005 You are refering to using olive oil only on the string area over the fingerboard, correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guta Posted May 3, 2005 Report Share Posted May 3, 2005 Yes, up to the end of the fingerboard. I do this on aluminum wound gut strings also to stabilise them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted May 3, 2005 Report Share Posted May 3, 2005 Quote: Bryan Did Pirastro respond to your email or just send the sample set? I havn't heard from them. Florea, they didn't respond to my email. A free set of strings just showed up in my mailbox about two weeks later:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted May 3, 2005 Report Share Posted May 3, 2005 Quote: A pure gut A string can be very enjoyable, and produces a more "natural" sound, with a bit of edge to it. I was originally turned on to them by Lillian Fuchs, who used them exclusively on her Da Salo viola. I took chamber music with her at Manhattan School of Music, and she would demonstrate a lot. The sound of her Da Salo with the gut A was sizzling and penetrating, also extremely beautiful. Pirastro Chorda is excellent, and costs roughly the same as aluminum wound. The way to make them last and not be so hard to keep in tune is to rub the string with a very small amount of olive oil every day for the first week, and as needed after that. If you do that, they will be just as stable and long-lasting as any other A string. I have never tried a gut D, but it could be interesting. All Best, Larry. Hense, your user name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guta Posted May 4, 2005 Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 Bingo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K544 Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 florea, I just received a set of trial strings from Pirastro (Evah Pirazzi's, for the viola, mucho bucks); i did not get an email acknowledgement of my request. Thre strings simply appeared in the mail a couple of weeks later. Nice strings, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Wahoo for free strings!!! Good ones too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 Florea, I tried to PM you back but it appears that you have your profile set up not to receive Private Messages. The email I sent to Pirastro was through their general information email link. I didn't fill out the questionaire until after I tried the strings. Mine took between two to three weeks to arrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staylor Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 I personally might not be honest if I asked for strings to try, because I've already bought my set of Olives (for the first time), which is what I wanted to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brontosaurous Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Just to rehash an old thread. Interesting advice re the olive oil over the fingerboard area. Wouldn't that make the string, well, oily though? Do you have to dry it off after you rub the oil on? Please elaborate on the process, if convenient. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles Posted September 23, 2006 Report Share Posted September 23, 2006 quote: Originally posted by: K544 florea,<br /><br />I just received a set of trial strings from Pirastro (Evah Pirazzi's, for the viola, mucho bucks); i did not get an email acknowledgement of my request. Thre strings simply appeared in the mail a couple of weeks later.<br /><br />Nice strings, too. How did you do it? I filled out a form last year on their website, but never received anything from them. Larry, I thought guta was Japanese. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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