strings- asked by babydoll_1602

[matt the fiddler]

HEY GUYS!!!
I just wanted to know how many fiddlers on here use D'Adarrio strings? I am going to order a set of them pretty soon, but I really don't know which ones. Some people tell me use the Helicore the others say Zyex? Which ones do you all prefer? Does anyone have a clue which ones Sara uses? I know I have read where she uses D'Adarrio. Lots of help will be DEEPLY appreciated! :)
~Lauren~



i use the zyex. i have used the helicores a lot before, and before that i was on dominants. helicores i think are better on most fiddles than the domant strings [depends on the violin]
i prefer the zyex because-
1- they are a gut imitation, and have a more mellow sound, and my violin is very bright- so i am always fighting that.
2- they are more durable than dominats- and don't mess up as much in tempature changes
3- they are pretty close in price

i do NOT use d'addario e strings. i find them to be too slick- [causing squeaks on the e string] this same thing can happen wiht gold plated e strings- i use eiterh a dominant e srring by thomsak- or recently i have switched to a westminster e string, which i highly reccomend- over half of the symphony players i know use westminster e strings.

also there is one more type wort trying ou [for my next set- i am going to test these, have only seen positive results] thomsak started amkeing a string called infelds that are either blue or red- one is a dark sounding string, and the other is a brighter sounding string, however both are the same quality- AND you can mix these if you want a brighter G and a more mellow/ dark E sound..... etc. many people swear by these. [as all of these strings mentioned.] mark oconnor uses zyex now, even though he did use helicores for several years.

hope that helps some.

matt

[fidlmaker]

Last time I saw Sara she was using D'Addario Helicore, medium tension strings. In fact, asking her which strings she used is the opening conversation that eventually led to me making her 5-string fiddle. Her 5-string was also equipped with Helicores including a viola C, all medium tension. I just mounted a set of heavy tension Helicores on a 4-string that I play most of the time. You can dig in a bit more and they respond with quite a bit of power. I really like them. A violinist who recently purchased one of my violins has swithched to the Heavy Helicores and is also quite pleased with them.

After trying alot of different strings, I've chosen the D'Addario Helicores as standard issue with my instruments. They provide a sort of bench mark from which I can judge the sound of each fiddle I make on a level playing field.

[babydoll1702]

Well I don't know if I could get any luckier wth this! I just ordered a set of helicores! I had no idea that Sara used the same kind! Now that just makes me even more anxious to recive them! The only downfall is that even though I may use the same kind of strings that Sara usues, too bad that I won't be able to sound like her! LOL! Thanks sooooo much for the help guys! :D

[waltage]

while i'm not much of a page frequenter...i just thought it interesting that all of the flecktones also use d'addario strings

wouldn't that be awesome to get sponsored by a string company?

my goal: get sponsored by d'addario, thomastik-infeld, and the coda-bow company :)

oh...and a signature series electric named after me hehehe

[fidlmaker]

Any of you who subscribe to Strings magazine will probably already know this, but Dr. Norman Pickering, inventor of ultrasound and electronic sound spectrum analysis, is a co-designer of D'Addario Helicore and Zyex strings. Doctor Pickering is considered by many to be the worlds foremost expert on acoustics in general, as well as bowed instrument acoustics, and is a violinist himself. He is co-founder of the Catgut Acoustical Society which is dedicated to the study of bowed instrument acoustics and is largely responsible for the science that identified the characteristics of Antonio Stradivari's sound that makes it so desirable and unique. His research has provided a quantifiable target that much of the violin making world now strives to duplicate. So for me, as a violin maker, it's not too surprising that D'Addario stings are among the best out there. Probably sounds like a commercial, eh?

Just thought one or two fiddlers out there might find it interesting.

Martin

[obsessedwithNC]

Originally posted by fidlmaker
Last time I saw Sara she was using D'Addario Helicore, medium tension strings.
I have a question, maybe matt or fidlmaker can answer. Why do D'Addario strings cost so much? I went out to get a pair at a music shop around here and the guy told me there were different D'Addarios for fiddles and violins. The strings, he told us, that would be used for fiddle playing were $5-$10 while the violin strings were $21-$32 dollars. .. So I didn't buy either set. Can anyone help me?

[sob]

[matt the fiddler]

well $5 string will sound like junk.. might as well buy floral wire and fish string and string the fiddle up with it...

this mindset is porbably going the old fiddlers are violinists that don't play also a misconseption on tones of the instrumets.. cheap strings give a rawer tone. fiddle= rawer than violin.

what ever.. i completly dissagree with the chaep strings being fiddle ones. and don't knwo a fiddler that prefers the fiddle strings. the classical makes have ways to get jsut about any tone you seek.. [depending on the instrument]

$30 is cheap for strings! look at the price of bass strings [$100's].. or gut. heck my baritones cost $115

www.sharmusic.com has great prices on strings- where i usually shop. free shipping too plus brad [a good firend of mine- one heck of a fiddler]was on the cover a few months ago :cool:

[obsessedwithNC]

heh. I didn't know how much fiddle strings cost; I was expectin to pay about 15 dollars. :confused: shows how much i know! lol
well, thanks for the site matt!

[AgentJade]

If you want a more mid-priced string, Dominants are pretty reliable and go for about 30-something a set at Shar, I believe? They just had to up their prices because the price of the Euro's risen (and they're made in Vienna), but they're pretty reasonable.

Of course, most players I know don't use one kind of string for all four strings on their instruments...I like the Pirastro Gold Wondertones for the E. They aren't quite so...harsh, I guess is the word?

[obsessedwithNC]

Wow! I had never thought of using different strings for each string... any advice to what the best ... um, quartet (?) of strings would be? Hee hee

[matt the fiddler]

about 30-something a set at Shar add $3 bucks for d'addaros or infelds- your tone will be better..


be carefull mixing strings.. differing tensions can really messup your bridge and your instrument... mixing strings is for people who really really know what they are doing- [ the most common is for putting a different E] and understand the tension issues- a normal set puts at least 100 pounds of pressure on the bridge, the face, and then the soundpost of the instrument.. having this off ballance on a piece of wood 1/8th of an inch think is nothign to sneeze at...


the E i use is westminister..

infelds are made for mixing sets [of like tensions] there is a dark and a bright design of them- and depending on what you want out of each string.. you can pick what you get...

[AgentJade]

Yup. I just know that my teachers have all always been fans of mixing strings. My sister's cello teacher said it depends all on the instrument. She has a really warm cello, so she mixes the mellow and bright strings she uses.

[Bart Simpson]

I too use daddiro Heilcores! Jason Carter from Del Mccoury uses them too. They are the best out there.

[Bart Simpson]

I too use daddiro Heilcores! Jason Carter from Del Mccoury uses them too. They are the best out there.