I like these Violino strings

[crystal]

My free strings came yesterday, the Violino's from Pirastro. When I put them on last night, they were very edgy and rough. But today, I really like them. They are lower tensioned, but seem quick responding and I like the tone. I think it's as good as the Infelds are right now. My infelds lasted a good long time.

So, the verdict still isn't in. But so far, they get a thumbs up.

[tarawa1943]

Although I like to use the Helicores for my fiddling, I put the (free) Violinos on last night. They immediately brought back all the color and complexities that was missing from the Helicores fairly simple tone. They are still stretching, so I believe that they should be even better tonight when I play.

george

[scott]

How can I order a set of free strings,George or Crystal?The price be right.

[crystal]

Scott:

Pirastro is giving full size sets away as a way of promoting their newest string.

All you have to do is write to info@pirastro.com and request them. Mine took a few weeks to get here. But I like them and yes, the price is right.

[Oldbear]

Pirastro's Web site says they're free to music schools, but it doesn't say "only". I presume you didn't pretend to be one? Well, I sent in a request too. Can't beat the price and it doesn't cost anything to ask.

[tarawa1943]

I was skeptical, but the strings arrived with a lot of nice information on all of their strings. The "Violino" is a really nice playing string. Now I am curious about the Evah Pirazzi strings....!!!!

George

[Ann]

Could someone please post the website as a link, please? As usual, my dinosaur computer can't find it.

[rainyann]

http://www.pirastro.com

[crystal]

Well, day three now and the strings are fantastic. I am starting some celtic lessons at the conservatory here in my town. I started today and the teacher played and played my fiddle, and could not put it down. She fell in love with my Doetsch and my violino string combination. I mean, she went on and on. That's such a nice feeling!

Anyways, I really like the lower tension and they have a very sweet sound. She described them as "sweet, and yet very powerful".

[Omobono]

Hmm. Pirastro "IS" getting generous. I received four sets of strings(violin: violino full size and 1/2 3/4 size; plus obligato for both violin & viola!) Who's complaining? All I did was send back a solid report and thank you for the last set I received.

Have the violino's on a student's fiddle and haven't had time to check how ther're going. First impression is that they are bright and a little stiffer in feel than Tonica's. have the Obligato's on my fiddle (I have been wanting to try them for some time but was waiting for an excuse)replacing Infeld Red's which were performing o.k. Immediate impression is of greater depth and softness (more like a gut string), but also slightly slower response.

Omo.

[caleb]

crystal: good to hear about your lessons. that sounds great!

i know what you mean about how good it feels when someone appreciates your fiddle. when i play with bonsai we usually trade cos we both like the other's so well...kinda a mutual admiration society.

glad to hear you're getting back into your music full force!!!!

[lwl]

I got my free set of Violinos some time ago, but I hadn't tried them 'til tonight.

I've been using Larsens recently; I love their punch and projection, but the G and D strings seem to have a lifespan of at most four weeks, and the A not much better than that. More problematically, the decline in sound quality on the lower two strings is rapid once it begins, and when they go, they *really* go. This time the G went badly false, and after a couple of minutes of trying to play tonight, I got fed up and went hunting for something else to use.

Because the Larsens wear so quickly, I hadn't gotten around to buying spares. So I pulled out the Violinos, and strung up the G for starters.

It's got a fairly nice ring to it, but almost no depth or complexity -- it's worse than the Infeld Red G on my violin (my teacher disliked the Reds so much when I tried them out some time ago that her reaction was "Take them off!"). Under-the-finger feel is similar to Obligatos and Evah Pirazzis -- quite soft. The tension seems to be rather low.

The string is very forgiving; I can well imagine how a student with a crunchy, pressed, sound production technique might find this makes the instrument sound much more pleasant. It's a smooth, round sound, but definitely not what I'm looking for, and the power is mediocre at best.

I dislike the G sufficiently to not want to try the D or A, though I feel obligated to because of the Pirastro free sample and thus feedback form; I think I'd rather cope with the dying Larsen silver D for the moment.

Time to throw in the towel on the string experiments -- I ordered myself some Obligatos (my original switch off Dominants) from Shar's string sale.

(On the other hand, I still have a pack of Infeld Blues to try out. I'm half-tempted to put them on while waiting for the spares to show up. Got things to play this weekend, and the false D string and the weak sound of the Violino G is going to drive me nuts, I know.)

[crystal]

My only real complaint about the Violino's is that they just don't last long. They do sound pretty good when they're new, but they do not compare to others in longevity.