The Holy Grail????

[DonaldG]

Many players have searched for a string which is as good

sounding as gut and stable and durable.Many manufacturers have

claimed this for their synthetic product and all have been

wrong....nothing sounds as good. Is

passione the answer....

It sounds like gut.(because it is!)

It is much more stable.

Is it durable?????.

I guess we have to wait and see.

Has anyone had a set on for long enough yet??

(It has only just become available in the UK)

Donald G.

[DonaldG]

Updating my own question!!

So far ,after 3 months I have no complaints re durability.

No sign of wear and tear and no sign of false intonation or tone degradation.

Anyone else got ant comments?

Donald

[GMM22]

"Anyone else got ant comments?"

Yes, Why was the baby ant confused about his gender? Because all his uncles were ants. That, and the fact you likely set a record for the most views without having a single reply (current reply excepted).

It seems luthiers are slow to try new strings, or perhaps slow to admit it. I remember attending a talk at the recent VSA competition and someone asked whether anyone in the (well attended) room had tried the new Larsen Tzigane strings. To my surprise, I was the only person who raised their hand. I guess I will have to try Passione soon even if only to be able to reply more relevantly.

[PhilipG]

Funny, but you reminded me of my situation.  I have finally

(at least I believe) found the right spot for a sound post for a

violin I picked up on eBay about a year and half ago,

a Schweitzer copy. The instrument appears to

be incredibly vibrant, even with Correlli Crystal strings, which I

believe are supposed to be somewhat tame.  I am now wondering

what the instrument would sound like if I put Dominants on them or,

as I would like to try, Infeld Reds.  Having an instrument as

vibrant as this seems to be, trying a different set of strings

would be a neat experiment.  Perhaps costly, but then, to be

able to find a set of strings that would really make the instrument

stand out that much more, would be worth it.

[Jacob]

"It seems luthiers are slow to try new strings, or perhaps slow to admit it."

We don't need to - the string players do it for us. They save us $$$" by jumping at every new string on the market, thinking it will be a substitute for a proper setup or a decent instrument. It's about the only scenario in which luthiers are the bookies' favourites - we get to know everything about every new string on the market, without lifting a finger or spending a cent, thanks to the gullibility of the average player.

[C.B.Fiddler]

Amen, Jacob.

I went through the string crusade as a performer. It wasn't until years later I really understood that it is the set-up that is key - especially if the luthier tunes the bridge. Any other set of strings just won't sound correctly.

[DonaldG]

Ouch! but

I do agree about luthiers making money from persons indulging in fruitless changing of strings to try for a better sound when the problem is elsewhere. Some even advise their customers that they are not likely to succeed

but few customers seem to listen.

I do however think that a new gut string which is supposed to be stable like synthetics merits some consideration. If it is not a desirable aim then why do manufacturers often claim their new synthetic string is close to a gut sound?

Donald.

[Michael_Molnar]

Strings cannot hide the problems of a poor setup.

[Steve_W]

quote:

---

Originally posted by:

PhilipG

Funny, but you reminded me of my situation. I have finally

(at least I believe) found the right spot for a sound post for a

violin I picked up on eBay about a year and half ago,

a Schweitzer copy. The instrument appears to

be incredibly vibrant, even with Correlli Crystal strings, which I

believe are supposed to be somewhat tame. I am now wondering

what the instrument would sound like if I put Dominants on them or,

as I would like to try, Infeld Reds. Having an instrument as

vibrant as this seems to be, trying a different set of strings

would be a neat experiment. Perhaps costly, but then, to be

able to find a set of strings that would really make the instrument

stand out that much more, would be worth it.

---

Huh, that's the first time I've heard a "Schweitzer" described as being vibrant, which is a word that I think of as having more pleasant connotations than I'd use for the tone of those fiddles! My Schweitzer copy screams like a banshee with most synthetics; it's loud but not pretty! Infeld Reds didn't do anything for the sound, and Dominants and Tonicas were OK but not as good as the Corelli Crystals, which is what I'm currently using. The other strings that sounded decent on it were Pirastro Gold Labels so maybe Passione's are a way to go, but I don't think I'd waste high-priced strings on it... Maybe yours is better than mine, though!

[Jeffrey Holmes]

quote:

---

Originally posted by:

DonaldG

I do agree about luthiers making money from persons indulging in fruitless changing of strings to try for a better sound when the problem is elsewhere.

---

I'm not sure luthiers are really "making" any money on string sales. My experience is that unless you're doing a huge volume, the markup on strings is so small that, after the time it takes to order, pay for them (handling) & the real cost of holding an inventory of any size, one would need to mentally reduce ones hourly rate to a humerous low to claim a profit. I make an effort to stock strings I use, or my regular clients use... nothing else. Frankly, I really don't care if I sell another string or not. Got better things to do.

As far as tying new things goes, most luthiers I know are slow to jump in on the bandwagon... for good reason. It takes time to figure out how any material "works" (a learning curve). I don't invest that kind of time unless I've seen/heard results that impress me. I recall that many jumped on Obligato strings when they were first introduced. Maybe they are OK for some, but I honestly can't see why I'd want to use them, personally. Only one of my clients used them... and that changed after a bridge and post. Glad I didn't waste the time. On the "they work" side of things, it took me well over a year to try Vision strings... and a few months to try Eva's (both of which I lfind work wonderfully on some fiddles, BTW).

[Ken Pollard]

Jeffrey Holmes wrote:

"I'm not sure luthiers are really "making" any money on string sales. ... "

Amen to that. With so many internet sites selling at what we small shops can get as wholesale prices, it's hard to make a profit off string sales. I stock what I use in repairs/set-ups, which is where most of my string sales come in.

[PhilipG]

I think I am having a lot of trouble with Java on my home computer.

Usually I use my work computer for this forum. Can’t

understand what is going on. Therefore, to separate the sentences,

I will use the “----“ key a bit.----Anyway, I

can’t tell you how much I appreciate your response. It

reminds me to “Leave the sound post alone and don’t

mess with it anymore!”---- I found this schweitzer copy on

eBay about a year and a half ago for the royal sum of $130.00. It

was missing a fingerboard and the seams were loose all the way

around. Naturally, I took it apart to clean it,

etc.----Interestingly, it had two labels, one on top of the the

other. The top label said “Strad Copy, Made in

Germany”. The label underneath said “Copy of

Schweitzer, 1954’. I re-glued the top label next to the

bottom label and put the instrument back together.----I cut a new

sound post and fiddled with it for several months (on an off) and

now this instrument has quite a voice. And with Correlli Crystal

strings. ----Ironically, as you stated about your own Schweitzer

copy, until I found this particular spot for the sound post, the

instrument did have quite a bit of raucousness to it. Maybe

it’s the characteristic of this type of violin.

[tarawa1943]

Over the years, I have had quite a few Schweitzer models from different maker/manufacturers and I have liked them all. They all sounded different, but they all sounded good. They can be tricky to find the sweet spot though.